The Sihanaka are a Malagasy ethnic group concentrated around Lake Alaotra and the town of Ambatondrazaka in central northeastern Madagascar. Their name means the "people of the swamps" in reference to the marshlands around Lake Alaotra that they inhabit. While rice has long been the principal crop of the region, by the 17th century, the Sihanaka had also become wealthy traders in slaves and other goods, capitalizing on their position on the main trade route between the capital of the neighboring Kingdom of Imerina at Antananarivo and the eastern port of Toamasina. At the turn of the 19th century they came under the control of the Boina Kingdom before submitting to Imerina, which went on to rule over the majority of Madagascar. Today the Sihanaka practice intensive agriculture and rice yields are higher in this region than elsewhere, placing strain on the many unique plant and animal species that depend on the Lake Alaotra ecosystem for survival.
The Sihanaka have a generally egalitarian social structure, with the eldest male at the head of the family. Traditional beliefs predominate, although Christianity has also had an influence. Social life here, as elsewhere in Madagascar, is guided by the principles of respect for the ancestors and the fady (taboos) established by them. Traditional social practices include complex funeral and divorce rites and a strong and continuing prohibition on working in paddy fields on Tuesdays.
Ethnic identity
The Sihanaka are concentrated around the historically swampy land surrounding Lake Alaotra and the town of Ambatondrazaka in central northeastern Madagascar. Their name means the "people of the swamps", partly in reference to the marshlands around Lake Alaotra that they inhabit.[1] More specifically, the word for swamp is a compound composed of sia (to wander or lose one's way) and hanaka (spilling or scattering), and some ethnologists have proposed that the name evokes the earliest period in Sihanaka identity when the group's ancestors were migrating in search of the better home they eventually found at Alaotra.[2]
History
Distribution of Malagasy ethnic groups
Oral history offers several stories regarding the origins of the Sihanaka. Betsimisaraka traders may have been the first to reach the area traveling inland on the Maningory River. Another view posits that the presence of ancient earthen defensive trenches suggests the ancestors of the Merina may have passed by Lake Alaotra on their migration from the southeastern coast to the central highlands, leaving behind settlers whose descendants formed the first Sihanaka communities.[3] Alternatively, a large group calling itself Sihanaka may have migrated from Imerina into the Alaotra area, which may have already been settled by individuals of various other ethnic groups, in order to maintain independence from the rule of the Merina king.[4]
At least as far back as the mid-1600s, the Sihanaka were established as a technologically sophisticated and prosperous people who provided slaves to slave traders supplying the plantations of the Mascarene Islands.[5] To protect themselves and their wealth, Sihanaka villages were often fortified by earthen walls (tamboho) of the type also prevalent in the neighboring Kingdom of Imerina. Around 1700, the Sihanaka were a major trading partner of the Betsimisaraka, to whom they traded rice and zebu. The Betsimisaraka, desirous of greater access to Sihanaka wealth, successfully negotiated for French assistance to bring the Sihanaka under their control. French militiamen launched several attacks against Sihanaka communities. This incursion was foiled through a combination of firepower - the Sihanaka having obtained numerous firearms through trade with the Sakalava to the west - and the prevalence of malaria and other tropical diseases that decimated the French soldiers.[6]
In the 18th century, the Sihanaka were vassals of the Boina Kingdom. They mounted at least one major attack against the Boina in an attempt to regain independence, but were unsuccessful. The high number of slaves possessed by the Sihanaka led to a spate of slave revolts in 1768 that they requested European assistance to quell.[5] Around 1800 the territory was conquered by the armies of the Kingdom of Imerina under the leadership of King Andrianampoinimerina. This led to a massive inflow of Merina colonists who settled among the Sihanaka and introduced a variety of cultural, economic and political practices that were assimilated into the local culture to the extent that by the mid-19th century "it resembled a Merina province".[7] The Sihanaka resented this imposition and held the Merina sovereigns in low regard.[8]
The 1895 capture of the Merina royal capitol, the Rova of Antananarivo, by the French sparked the Menalamba rebellion against foreigners, Christianity and Merina domination. In the chaotic 1895–97 period, bands of Sakalava, Marofotsy and other bandits engaged in raids to loot cattle and other goods. The Sihanaka were especially hard hit owing to their reputation as a relatively wealthy trading people. Many Sihanaka villagers resorted to sleeping in the forests and fields to avoid falling victim to nighttime pillage and arson; entire Sihanaka villages were burned.[9]
Following French colonization of the island in 1897, the colonial administration imposed a heavy burden of corvée (statute labor) on the Sihanaka in the 1910s, requisitioning them for minimal to no pay to build the railroad linking the coastal port of Toamasina to the capital city.[10]
Today, the Sihanaka heavily cultivate the land around Laka Alaotra and have increasingly drained the swamps to make way for farming using heavy machinery.[1] This loss of habitat has posed a threat to species living in the area, including the critically endangered Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur, the only lemur species on the island to have evolved to live in and eat the papyrus reeds bordering the lake.[11]
Family and society
In 2013, the Sihanaka were estimated to number around 200,000.[12] Families are hierarchical, with parents exercising authoritarian control over their children.[13] Sihanaka men and women have significant autonomy in deciding when to marry and whether to divorce. Marriages are disallowed between siblings, cousins, and direct ascendents.[14] To reinforce this forbidden physical intimacy, Sihanaka have historically used a formal term of address when speaking to these particular family members.[15] Mothers are traditionally subject to several fady, such as not being allowed to look at dead infants, eat veal, or eat a particular type of banana once their child had learned to say the word for it.[16] Parents were traditionally responsible for educating their own children, and while today those who can afford a formal education will study at school, parents and the broader community remain collectively engaged in educating children into social and cultural norms and practices.[4] Male children are circumcised by their families no later than the age of seven.[17]
Among the Sihanaka, communities are led by their eldest members, termed Tangalamena or Zokiolona.[13] Social relations are guided by the principle of fihavanana (solidarity, goodwill).[4] Although the Sihanaka never developed a centralized kingdom like their western neighbor, the Kingdom of Imerina,[5] the Sihanaka were historically united around their traditional religious beliefs.[7]
Religious affiliation
The traditional beliefs of the Sihanaka, as elsewhere in Madagascar, revolve around respect for a creator god (Zanahary), the ancestors, and fady (ancestral interdictions). Aspects of ancestor worship among the Sihanaka include joro (collective prayers said to invoke the blessings of God or the ancestors), burial in family tombs, the famadihana reburial ceremony, and the sanctification of particular stones (tsangambato), land (tany masina), and shrines (doany, tony and jiro).[17] Another major element of this tradition is the role of ambalavelona, believed to be the spirits of the ancestors themselves. Each ancestral practice or tradition has a particular spirit associated with it, and the Sihanaka show respect for these spirits by maintaining ancestral customs and traditions and adhering to fady.[17]
The Sihanaka share the belief common throughout the island that the spirits of ancestors can possess the living, placing them in a trance state called a tromba. The Sihanaka traditionally believe that looking at a cuckoo roller (an indigenous bird) will induce the tromba.[18] Communities look to ombiasy (wise men) for spiritual guidance, to commune with the ancestors, and to determine which days are auspicious for undertaking particular tasks or endeavors.[4] By the 1600s, a uniform religious belief system had grown around a group of sampy (idols) believed to channel the protective spiritual power of 11 deities. The origin of these amulets is said to have been in the western territories under Sakalava control.[5]
The Christian conversion of the Merina royal court in 1869 spurred the arrival of Merina missionaries in Sihanaka country and the conversion of a significant portion of the population. Following the French capture of the Merina capital in 1895, Christianity was largely abandoned in Sihanaka and traditional religious beliefs regained preeminence; at least one major historic church in the area was burned.[9] French Catholic missionaries arrived in the area around 1900 and gradually began converting members of local communities.[19] This was soon followed by a renewed effort on the part of Protestant missionaries, leading to further conversions. Today, traditional beliefs remain strong among the Sihanaka, although a growing number practice orthodox Christianity or a syncretic form that incorporates aspects of traditional respect for ancestors and their norms.[4]
Culture
European visitors in 1667 reported the Sihanaka lived in fortified villages, which they very effectively defended with bows and arrows. They were the only ethnic group encountered by the European party that had built a bridge.[5] Homes were made of plant material; the Sihanaka believed building homes in brick or clay would invite the displeasure of the ancestors.[20] Gendered roles factored into house construction and maintenance: men applied carpentry to build the frame of the house and roof, as well as the windows and doors and their frames, while women wove zozoro reed mats that would serve as walls, flooring and roofing.[21]
The principal food eaten in Sihanaka has long been rice, which they cultivate heavily. The rice based diet was supplemented by a wide range of game and other meats, including lemurs, wild boars, snakes, owls, rats, cats and crocodile, the latter having at one time been protected by a fady that was eventually abandoned.[22] Use of tobacco or marijuana[21] and consumption of pork[23] were commonly forbidden in Sihanaka families.[21] Many believed that transporting swine across Lake Alaotra would bring storms.[24] Their traditional dress consisted of clothing woven of raffia fibers.[25]
The traditional martial art of moraingy, particularly common among Sakalava communities, was historically common among the Sihanaka.[26]
Fady
Sihanaka culture traditionally adhered to a wide variety of fady, some of which are still respected to varying degrees by more traditional families to the present day. Many of their fady in the early 1900s were documented by historian Van Gennep. The most absolute fady and the only one that was seemingly practiced by all Sihanaka was a prohibition against working in a paddy field on Tuesdays; sub-groups among the Sihanaka also practiced other taboos associated with particular days of the week, such as not leaving the house or not cleaning floor mats on certain days.[27] A fady was placed on consumption of any new or foreign products, including Western medicines.[28] Another common fady was a taboo against watching the rising or setting of the sun, staring at anything red, or falling asleep at sunset.[29]
Fady have served to protect certain wildlife in the Sihanaka homeland. The aye-aye is the subject of numerous fady and folk tales among the Sihanaka. It was traditionally believed that a person who fell asleep in the forest might be brought a pillow by an aye-aye. If the pillow was for one's head, he or she would become rich, but if it was for the feet, that person would be subject to evil sorcery.[30] Similarly, the indri is considered sacred and may not be hunted, killed or eaten.[31]
Funeral rites
The Sihanaka traditionally believed that death was always associated with a contagion that could be passed to family members of the deceased. This belief is reflected in traditional funeral rites. A second door to the family home was used uniquely for carrying out the body of the deceased.[32] Before the body was removed, the widow of the deceased would dress in a fine red lamba and put on all her jewelry, then watch the procession from her seat at the main entryway to her house.[33] The villagers carried the body to a house where the village women would gather, and the female family members would weep while the other women would play drums and recite prayers. The men would stay in a separate house (called the tranolahy, or "men's house") where they would prepare a feast of cooked meat and rum, which they would periodically deliver to the women mourners. Occasionally a selected man would circle the house and sing a funeral chant, with the women inside interjecting in call-and-response.[34] After the feast, a community leader would dip his finger in melted fat and touch those who had assisted in the funeral, to protect them against illness and from being followed by malevolent spirits.[35]
Family members of the deceased would then reunite in the family home where they would drink more rum and carry out a ritual of purification (faly ranom-bohangy). Lemon or lime leaves and two other herbs were soaked in a bowl of water, and a family member whose parents were still living would be chosen to sprinkle it on the deceased's possessions, enabling them to be redistributed and reused.[35] The door by which the corpse had been removed was then locked for eight days, during which time the family was required to fast. After completion of this fasting period, the family underwent a purification ritual (afana) and the second door was unlocked.[32] Another feast was observed to formally end the period of community purification.[36] The home of the deceased was then allowed to fall into ruin.[32]
The villagers would afterward return to the house of the widow, pull off her lamba and jewelry, uncomb her hair (a sign of mourning), dress her in an old lamba, require her to eat only using a broken spoon and plate they provided, and cover her in a rotting mat which she was forbidden to remove until nightfall. She was required to maintain this mourning state for at least eight months, during which time she was forbidden to wash or speak to others during daylight hours. After this period she could abandon the mourning ritual and was considered "divorced" (i.e. free to remarry and visit her own parents and family members, previously forbidden); however, if the parents of her deceased husband were still living, only they could declare her divorced, and she was indefinitely required to remain unmarried and forbidden from visiting family if this status was not granted by them. This practice of declaring divorce, without the mourning ritual, was also applied in the event of separation from a living spouse.[33]
By the mid-1600s, the Sihanaka had already established themselves as one of the island's most important trading groups. Their location on the main trade route between the coast and the Merina capital of Antananarivo enabled them to become important trading partners beginning in the 18th century; slave trading was a major source of income until outlawed under Radama I in the 1810s.[5] The Sihanaka women also produced pottery, which was baked using wood collected by men in the surrounding forests.[38]
Since the end of slave trading, the Sihanaka largely derived their livelihoods from rice farming. Their region is among the most productive on the island.[39] Wealth is unequally distributed, with the wealthy owning the majority of the fertile land, which is either rented to the poor or worked by them for low wages.[13]
Members of this community also herd zebu and catch fish in Lake Alaotra.[39] The work of fishing was traditionally subdivided by gender: men were only allowed to fish for eels, while women were tasked to use nets to catch small fish, and children were the only ones allowed to fish using poles. Men and children would traditionally leave their catch on the shore for women to pick up and take back to the village.[38]
The Sihanaka are one of the few Malagasy groups who historically branded their cattle.[40] This was done by clipping the ear of the cow and was a religious act conducted once annually on a dedicated day of feasting.[41] Cattle generally belonged to the community as a whole and were used principally to assist with farming.[42]
↑ Mutschler, T. (1999). "Folivory in a Small-Bodied Lemur". In Berthe Rakotosamimanana; Hanta Rasamimanana; Jörg U. Ganzhorn; Steven M. Goodman (eds.). New Directions in Lemur Studies. pp.221–239. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-4705-1_13. ISBN978-1-4613-7131-1.
The history of Madagascar is distinguished clearly by the early isolation of the landmass from the ancient supercontinent of Pangaea, containing amongst others the African continent and the Indian subcontinent, and by the island's late colonization by human settlers from the Sunda islands and from East Africa. These two factors facilitated the evolution and survival of thousands of endemic plant and animal species, some of which have gone extinct or are currently threatened with extinction. Trade in the Indian Ocean at the time of first colonization of Madagascar was dominated by Indonesian ships, probably of Borobudur ship and K'un-lun po types.
The Merina people are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar. They are the "highlander" Malagasy ethnic group of the African island and one of the country's eighteen official ethnic groups. Their origins are mixed, predominantly with Austronesians arriving before the 5th century AD, then many centuries later with mostly Bantu Africans, but also some other ethnic groups. They speak the Merina dialect of the official Malagasy language of Madagascar.
Andrianampoinimerina (1745–1810) ruled the Kingdom of Imerina on Madagascar from 1787 until his death. His reign was marked by the reunification of Imerina following 77 years of civil war, and the subsequent expansion of his kingdom into neighboring territories, thereby initiating the unification of Madagascar under Merina rule. Andrianampoinimerina is a cultural hero and holds near mythic status among the Merina people, and is considered one of the greatest military and political leaders in the history of Madagascar.
The Malagasy are an Austronesian-speaking ethnic group indigenous to the island country of Madagascar. Traditionally, the population have been divided by subgroups. Examples include "Highlander" groups such as the Merina and Betsileo of the central highlands around Antananarivo, Alaotra (Ambatondrazaka) and Fianarantsoa, and the "coastal dwellers" with tribes like the Sakalava, Bara, Vezo, Betsimisaraka, Mahafaly, etc. The Merina are also further divided into two subgroups. The “Merina A” are the Hova and Andriana, and have an average of 30–40% Bantu ancestry. The second subgroup is the “Merina B”, the Andevo, who have an average of 40–50% Bantu ancestry. They make up less than 1/3 of Merina society. The Malagasy population was 2,242,000 in the first census in 1900. Their population experienced a massive growth in the next hundred years, especially under French Madagascar.
The Sakalava are an ethnic group of Madagascar. They are found on the western and northwest region of the island, in a band along the coast. The Sakalava are one of the smallest ethnic groups, constituting about 6.2 percent of the total population, that is over 1,210,000 in 2014. Their name means "people of the long valleys." They occupy the western edge of the island from Toliara in the south to the Sambirano River in the north.
Malagasy mythology is rooted in oral history and has been transmitted by storytelling, notably the Andriambahoaka epic, including the Ibonia cycle. At least 52-59% of Madagascar are adherants of the religion, which is known as Fomba Gasy. Adherence to Fomba Gasy is high amongst the Sakalava people, as they are reluctant to convert to faiths of foreign origin.
Andriana was both the noble class and a title of nobility in Madagascar. Historically, many Malagasy ethnic groups lived in highly stratified caste-based social orders in which the andriana were the highest strata. They were above the Hova and Andevo (slaves). The Andriana and the Hova were a part of Fotsy, while the Andevo were Mainty in local terminology.
The Merina Kingdom, or Kingdom of Madagascar, officially the Kingdom of Imerina, was a pre-colonial state off the coast of Southeast Africa that, by the 18th century, dominated most of what is now Madagascar. It spread outward from Imerina, the Central Highlands region primarily inhabited by the Merina ethnic group with a spiritual capital at Ambohimanga and a political capital 24 km (15 mi) west at Antananarivo, currently the seat of government for the modern state of Madagascar. The Merina kings and queens who ruled over greater Madagascar in the 19th century were the descendants of a long line of hereditary Merina royalty originating with Andriamanelo, who is traditionally credited with founding Imerina in 1540.
The Betsimisaraka are the second largest ethnic group in Madagascar after the Merina and make up approximately fifteen percent of the Malagasy people. They occupy a large stretch of the eastern coastal region of Madagascar, from Mananjary in the south to Antalaha in the north. The Betsimisaraka have a long history of extensive interaction with European seafarers, pirates and bourgeois traders, which produced a significant subset with mixed European-Malagasy origins, termed the zana-malata. European influence is evident in the local valse (waltz) and basesa musical genres, which are typically performed on the accordion. Tromba ceremonies feature strongly in Betsimisaraka culture.
The Antesaka, also known as Tesaka, or Tesaki, are an ethnic group of Madagascar traditionally concentrated south of Farafangana along the south-eastern coast. They have since spread more widely throughout the island. The Antesaka form about 5% of the population of Madagascar. They have mixed African, Arab and Malayo-Indonesian ancestry, like the western coastal Sakalava people of Madagascar from whom the clan derives. They traditionally have strong marriage taboos and complex funeral rites. The Antesaka typically cultivate coffee, bananas and rice, and those along the coast engage in fishing. A large portion of the population has emigrated to other parts of the island for work, with an estimated 40% of emigrants between 1948 and 1958 permanently settling outside the Antesaka homeland.
The architecture of Madagascar is unique in Africa, bearing strong resemblance to the construction norms and methods of Southern Borneo from which the earliest inhabitants of Madagascar are believed to have immigrated. Throughout Madagascar, the Kalimantan region of Borneo and Oceania, most traditional houses follow a rectangular rather than round form, and feature a steeply sloped, peaked roof supported by a central pillar.
The Antemoro are an ethnic group of Madagascar living on the southeastern coast, mostly between Manakara and Farafangana. Numbering around 500,000, this ethnic group mostly traces its origins back to East African Bantu and Indonesian Austronesian speakers like most other Malagasy. A minority of them belonging to the Anteony (aristocrats), Antalaotra or Anakara clans claim being descendants of settlers who arrived from Arabia, Persia but more likely Somalia from Dir part of the human Haplogroup T-M184; the religion was soon abandoned in favor of traditional beliefs and practices associated with respect for the ancestors, although remnants of Islam remain in fady such as the prohibition against consuming pork. In the 16th century an Antemoro kingdom was established, supplanting the power of the earlier Zafiraminia, who descended from seafarers of Sumatran origin.
The Bara people are a Malagasy ethnic group living in the southern part of the central plateaus of Madagascar, in the Toliara Province, concentrated around their historic capital at Ihosy. The Bara are the largest of the island's zebu-herding peoples and have historically lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle, although an increasing proportion are practicing agriculture. Bara society is highly patriarchal and endogamy and polygamy are practiced among some Bara tribes. Young men practice cattle rustling to prove their manhood before marriage, and the kilalaky musical and dance tradition associated with cattle rustlers has gained popularity across the island.
The Mahafaly are an ethnic group of Madagascar that inhabit the plains of the Betioky-Ampanihy area. Their name means either "those who make holy" or "those who make happy", although the former is considered more likely by linguists. In 2013 there were an estimated 150,000 Mahafaly in Madagascar. The Mahafaly are believed to have arrived in Madagascar from southeastern Africa around the 12th century. They became known for the large tombs they built to honor dead chiefs and kings. Mainly involved in farming and cattle raising, they speak a dialect of the Malagasy language, which is a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language group.
The Antambahoaka are the least numerous ethnic group in Madagascar, numbering around 50,000 in 2013. They inhabit a small region along the southeastern coast of Madagascar near Mananjary and share their origins with the partially Arab Antaimoro people, from whom the group split in the 15th century under a leader named Ravalarivo. Very little is known about the history of this group after its founding. The Antambahoaka speak a dialect of the Malagasy language, which is a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language group derived from the Barito languages, spoken in southern Borneo.
The Tandroy are a traditionally nomadic ethnic group of Madagascar inhabiting the arid southern part of the island called Androy, tracing their origins back to the East Africa mainland. In the 17th century however, the Tandroy emerged as a confederation of two groups ruled by the Zafimanara dynasty until flooding caused the kingdom to disband around 1790. The difficult terrain and climate of Tandroy protected and isolated the population, sparing them from subjugation by the Kingdom of Imerina in the 19th century; later, the French colonial authority also struggled to exert its influence over this population. Since independence the Tandroy have suffered prejudice and economic marginalization, prompting widespread migration and intermarriage with other ethnic groups, and leading them to play a key role in protests that sparked the end of President Philibert Tsiranana's administration in 1972.
The Antankarana are an ethnic group of Madagascar inhabiting the northern tip of Madagascar, around Antsiranana. Their name means "the people of the tsingy," the limestone rock formations that distinguish their traditional territory. The tsingy of the Antankarana may be visited at the Ankarana Reserve. There are over 50,000 Antakarana in Madagascar as of 2013.
The Bezanozano are believed to be one of the earliest Malagasy ethnic groups to establish themselves in Madagascar, where they inhabit an inland area between the Betsimisaraka lowlands and the Merina highlands. They are associated with the vazimba, the earliest inhabitants of Madagascar, and the many vazimba tombs throughout Bezanozano territory are sites of pilgrimage, ritual and sacrifice, although the Bezanozano believe the descendants among them of these most ancient of ancestors cannot be identified or known. Their name means "those of many small plaits" in reference to their traditional hairstyle, and like the Merina they practice the famadihana reburial ceremony. There were around 100,000 Bezanozano living in Madagascar in 2013.
The Makoa are an ethnic group in Madagascar descended from enslaved people from mainland Africa that were traded through the major slave trading ports of northern Mozambique in an area mainly populated by the Makua people. They are among the last African diaspora communities in the world to issue from the slave trade. They are sometimes classified as a subgroup of the fishing peoples known as the Vezo, although the Makoa maintain a distinct identity, one reinforced by their larger physical stature and historic employment as police officers by the French colonial administration.
The Tanala are a Malagasy ethnic group that inhabit a forested inland region of south-east Madagascar near Manakara. Their name means "people of the forest." Tanala people identify with one of two sub-groups: the southern Ikongo group, who managed to remain independent in the face of the expanding Kingdom of Imerina in the 19th century, or the northern Menabe group, who submitted to Merina rule. Both groups trace their origin back to a noble ancestor named Ralambo, who is believed to be of Arab descent. They were historically known to be great warriors, having led a successful conquest of the neighboring Antemoro people in the 18th century. They are also reputed to have particular talent in divination through reading seeds or through astrology, which was brought to Madagascar with the Arabs.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Madagascar 
