Sahavoay

Last updated
Sahavoay
Regions with significant populations
Atsimo Atsinanana
Languages
Sahavoay [1]
Religion
Traditional beliefs and Christianity (Minority)
Related ethnic groups
Sahafatra, Antefasy

The Sahavoay are an ethnic group [2] from the Farafangana District, [3] [4] [5] in the Atsimo Atsinanana region, Madagascar. [6]

Contents

Location

The Sahavoay are primarily located in the Farafangana District, [7] [8] within the Atsimo Atsinanana region of Madagascar. They are especially concentrated in the communes of Bevoay,Ambohigogo, Maheriraty and Ambohimandroso. [9] [10]

Recognition

The Sahavoay like the Karimbola, Vezo, Mikea and the Sahafatra aren't included in the 18 officially recognized tribes of Madagascar despite being a full-fledged ethnic group. They are registered as Antaifasy in official documents. [11] [12]

History

The Sahavoay and the Sahafatra were considered among the most remote tribes on Madagascar's east coast in the 19th century and are recognized as the earliest known inhabitants of the Farafangana District. [13] [14] Related isolated groups to the Sahavoay and Sahafatra are regarded as the first inhabitants of southeastern Madagascar, though they are not well documented and were largely assimilated by later arrivals such as the Antemoro, Antaifasy, Antaisaka, and Antambahoaka. [15]

Over time, the Sahavoay lost parts of their ancestral territory due to the expansion of groups from the west, likely of Sakalava or Bara origin, who became the Antaisaka and Antefasy. [16] Many Sahavoay were assimilated by these groups—particularly the Antaisaka subgroups such as the Zaramanampy and Zarafagniliha as well as by the Antefasy of the Ndremamory clan. [17] However, those who remained unassimilated continue to inhabit their present territory. [18]

Clans

The Sahavoay are traditionally divided into three clans:

Economy

The Sahavoay are primarily engaged in agriculture. Their economic activities include the cultivation of both subsistence and cash crops. Key export-oriented products include Coffee, cloves, and black pepper, while rice remains a staple crop cultivated for local consumption. [20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Diocèse de Farafangana". Rakotobe. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  2. ↑ "Le droit écrit appliqué dans toute l'île en 1900". L’Express Madagascar. 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  3. ↑ Université de Montréal. Vulnérabilité des ménages à l'insécurité alimentaire et facteurs de résilience. 2022. p. 67. PDF
  4. ↑ Archives nationales d’Outre-Mer (ANOM), 44PA166-27. Notice en ligne
  5. ↑ Alain, Jean Paul (2015). Dictionnaire de l'ethnologie malgache (in French). Éditions Ambozontany. p. 246.
  6. ↑ Chaigneau, Pascal. Rivalités politiques et socialisme à Madagascar. Paris : Centre des Hautes Études sur l’Afrique et l’Asie Modernes (CHEAM), 1985. p. 17. ISBN 9782903182151. PDF
  7. ↑ Morasata, Marc (2017-05-12). "Farafangana: FYIAH roule pour la mise en valeur des femmes rondes". La Gazette DGI. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  8. ↑ Deschamps, Hubert (1961). Histoire de Madagascar (in French) (2e ed.). Paris: Éditions Berger-Levrault. p. 295.
  9. ↑ Turcotte, Denis (1981). La politique linguistique en Afrique francophone : une étude comparative de la Côte d'Ivoire et de Madagascar. p. 53.
  10. ↑ Lucie (2019). Les funérailles chez les Sahavoay : Fokontany Manatohampy, district de Farafangana. Fianarantsoa: Université de Fianarantsoa, Faculté de Droit, d’Économie-Gestion et des Sciences Sociales. p. 14.
  11. ↑ McLain, R.; Ranjatson, P.; Heidenrich, T.; Rakotonirina, J. M.; Nomenjanahary, A. R. F.; Razafimbelo, N. T. R. (2021). Analyse des textes juridiques et de la littérature sur les systèmes de tenure vivante à Madagascar. pp. 14–15.
  12. ↑ Razafindrakoto, Mireille; Roubaud, François; and Wachsberger, Jean-Michel. Puzzle and Paradox: A Political Economy of Madagascar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. p. 32 (map). ISBN 9781108499692.
  13. ↑ Turcotte, Denis (1981). La politique linguistique en Afrique francophone : une étude comparative de la Côte d'Ivoire et de Madagascar. p. 109.
  14. ↑ Histoire et géographie de Madagascar. Paris: Firmin-Didot et Cie. 1884. p. 496.
  15. ↑ The Chronicle of the London Missionary Society. London: London Missionary Society, 1890, vol. 40.
  16. ↑ R. K. Kent, « Chapitre 28 : Madagascar et les îles de l’océan Indien », in *Histoire générale de l’Afrique, Vol. V : L’Afrique du XVIᵉ au XVIIIᵉ siècle*, UNESCO, 1970, p. 957, PDF
  17. ↑ Randriamamonjy, Frédéric (2008). Histoire des régions de Madagascar: des origines à la fin du 19 siècle (in French). Antananarivo: Trano Printy Fiangonana Loterana Malagasy. p. 161.
  18. ↑ Bied-Charreton, Marc. La Côte sud-est de Madagascar: Étude géographique et problèmes posés par l'intensification de l'agriculture. Thèse de doctorat de troisième cycle, Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences humaines, École pratique des hautes études (VIe section). Dir. G. Sautter. Paris: ORSTOM, 1972. Tome 1, pp. 42–48.
  19. ↑ Bied-Charreton, Marc. La Côte sud-est de Madagascar: Étude géographique et problèmes posés par l'intensification de l'agriculture. Thèse de doctorat de troisième cycle, Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences humaines, École pratique des hautes études (VIe section). Dir. G. Sautter. Paris: ORSTOM, 1972. Tome 1, p.42.
  20. ↑ Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Poverty and Food Security Survey in Madagascar. Tokyo: JICA, 2017. p. 47. PDF

Bibliography

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