Tribes of Madagascar

Malagasy people consist of 18 ethnical groups, which partially differ widely in appearance, traditions and beliefs from each other. Though statistically 50% of Malgasy people are Christians, most still live in old traditions with their own beliefs and legends. On this site we want to introduce you to the Malagasy people, their origins and lifestyles by and by.
Every tribe is known for its special kind of clothes, its own dialect, different facial features as well as even sometimes skin paintings. At the end of this site, you’ll find a map with roughly sketched habitats of all 18 different Malagasy tribes. Those do not correspond to the 22 regions and 6 provinces of Madagascar.

Merina woman

“Merina” means in English “those, who always come back home”. They originally came from Indonesia, which is still reflected by their facial features. This tribe, which is numerically the biggest Malagasy one, lives in and round the highlands of the capital Antananarivo. Historically, Merina dominated the country already in 16th century until it was declared french colony in 1987. They were mainly involved in slave trade in the early 19th century. What remained from their long history is the splitting of their society in three classes: The Andriana (nobles), Hova (free men) and Andevo (slaves). Andriana are splitted additionally in seven sub-groups hierarchically. Merina men traditionally wear the Malabary, a special usually red clothing; and women wear a special dress, too. Their language is one of three officialeses in Madagascar. Merina boys are circumcised traditionally in a festive ceremony, which takes place every seven years (as it is usual in several other tribes, too).

Betsileo zebu rodeo

“Betsileo” means “the invincible”. These people are specialists for terrace rice field culture and well known for their traditional exhumation of their deads, which is called Famadihana. This tradition is done by Merina living in the highlands, too, which are closely bonded to the Betsileo people. Besides famous burial ceremonies, this tribe is known for their Vatolahy, stony steles. In earlier times, they served to mark the kingdom’s borders, today people also place Vatolahys for certain festivities. Like Merina this people is still splitted in three classes, in which they’re born. But this classification often doesn’t have lots of influence on daily life. Betsileo live around Fianarantsoa in Eastern Madagascar and historically were divided in different smaller kingdoms for a long time, before King Radama I. united them. Lots of people were enslaved and sold to Europe.

Though a big part of the highland people officially are Christians, still today a lot of old beliefs exist and mix up with protestantism and catholicism. Next to their belief in Zanahary, who shall have written Sorabe, they preserve the roles of diviners, astrologists and witch doctors. The Betsileos’ dialect contains a typical pronounciation with lots of “shh”, “gn” and so on. Antoher Betsileo tradition is zebu rodeo, where young man prove their courage by riding bulls. Zafimaniry are a sub-group of Betsileo, which are mainly famous for their great wood carving arts and handcrafts.

Betsimisaraka children

“Betsimisaraka” is the Malagasy word for “inseperably”. This tribe lives along the east coast, most of them make their living from fishing in the Indian ocean and Canal des Pangalanes. Nowadays, their biggest city is Toamasina (Tamatave). They’re one of the biggest tribes of Madagascar and consist of many different smaller sub-groups (similar to Sakalava).

If Betsimisaraka die, their left people use pirogues as coffins and place those not far from the beach under small roofs. Zebu sacrifices play another important role in Betsimisaraka life, which you can still recognize in the villages’ Fisokonas – wooden stakes, embellished with carved patterns and cattle horns. People use the Fisokona to call the ancestors and beg for succour or counsel. In the course of this ceremony, the sacrified zebu’s blood is sprencled all over the Fisokona. Besides ancestor cult, many Betsimisaraka believe in Kalanoro, small, long-haired fabulous creatures of the forest with special magical powers. Another part of tradition is the Basesa, a rhythmic dance, which Betsimisaraka celebrate to any kind of festivity.

The founder of Betsimisaraka kingdom was Ratsimilaho, who was born out of a marriage between an English pirate and an Anteva princess. He united different sub-groups to Betsimisaraka tribe and became their first king. Later, they got under Merina hegemony until french colonialisation.

Sakalava on Baobab alley

“Sakalava” has been the first formed tribe differentiating from the other Malagasy people and descend from African Bantu. Their name means “those, who live in the long ravine” and their home land covers the area from South-west Madagascar up into the North until the island of Nosy Be. Historically, Sakalava were the dominating tribe for a long time, who sold slaves to Europe in exchange for weapons and other articles of value. Still today they’re the second biggest tribe of Madagascar, but slave trade’s some centuries ago, of course. Every seven years, Sakalava families celebrate with their male children circumcision. It’s tradition for grandfathers to eat their grandson’s cut foreskin afterwards.

More heirloomed customs are Doanys, which are used to store the remains of dead Sakalava kings. Periodically, the Sakalava bring the mortal remains into the living’s circle during a ceremony called Fitampoha. They wash the remains in the river and bring them into Doany afterwards. Sakalava still use Trombas nowadays: Those are persons, who get into some kind of trance and thereby experience the ghost of an ancestors, who speaks through them to the others. Even many modern living Sakalava meet Trombas and believe in their linkage to the ancestors.

“Masikoro” are famous for their mystery legend, most Malagasy myths were actually told by their ancestors. Today they live from agriculture. They normally are ranked among the tribe of Sakalava, which makes them the “19th tribe” on our site. Legend tells that Masikoro have the same forbear as Bara and originally come from the same region. Today, Masikoro share their space to live with Vezo people.

“Antandroy” means in English “people who live in the spiny forests”. As Madagascar’s spiny forests only exist in the deep South, this is where this tribe usually lives, around Fort Dauphin and Berenty. Antandroy are nomads, whose staple food isn’t rice instead most other Malagasy people, cause their surrounding’s too dry to grow it. Still many Antandroy live in old conventions, e.g. protective amulets have have big impacts on everyday life. Antandroy music, Beko, is well known due to its celebration with drums, spears and flutes. During Antandroy funerals, the guests and family eats all the cattle the deceased owned before. Then they burn down his or her house to prevent the spirits from haunting it. The grave of the deceased himself has to be build depending on special rules, which can take a lot of time.

Mahafaly grave

The “Mahafaly” once created the famous “fady” in Madagascar, which means forbidden or taboo. They’re well known for curved wood totems, Aloalos, which stay on the top of their tombs to tell every visitor the stories of the defunct andhonour kings and other important village’s members. The graves are decorated with innumerable zebu horns and small wood carvings. Many families go in debt to be able to build a pompous grave for their relatives. Mahafaly live in South-western Madagascar.

Vezo girl

“Vezo” originally came from East Africa and nowadays live as half nomadic fishermen in Southern Madagascar, in the area between Toliara (Tuléar), Intampolo, Morondava and Mahajanga. With their self-made small pirogues out of mangrove wood they conquer the angry sea even during hard swells to earn fish and other sea food. They still hunt with nets, spears and traps, because most people don’t have money for motorboats or further equipment. Rumour has it that Vezo people are such a proud tribe that they never sleep on the ground. If a Vezo child is born, the attendant afterbirth is put into a bottle and sunken in the sea – yet from now the child itself is a Vezo. The circumcision of male children is an old tradition, which is celebrated every seven years (similar to Sakalava and other groups) during a festival. The shaman of Vezo is called Hazomanga, he communicates with livings and ancestors, which means he’s one of the most important positions of a village. Funerals of Vezo people take place on courtyards inside the forests, far away from the village.

Bara man

“Bara” are an important tribe of cattle farmers around the city of Ihosy, South Madagascar. They decease originally from African Bantu and look very similar to these. Their most famous tradition is that boys who want to marry have to steal a Zebu before to prove the girl’s parents their courage and pay the cattle as price for their future wife. This nowadays still leads to several conflicts between the people of the South – and often it also leads to the death of the cattle thieves (dahalo). But before any marriage proposal, young men and women meet. Women wear a comb in their hair to show they’re up for grabs, and bestow oil for hair care to their beloved. Traditionally, Bara wear certain braided hairdos.

Additionally to old traditions, most Bara still live polygamously, which tightens the problems of cattle thievery. Like Betsileo, young Bara men do zebu rodeos, in which they have to stay as long as possible on an angry bull’s back. If a Bara dies, he’s buried in natural caves. The bereaved cut their hair to express their mourning and remember the deceased. Bara see the spirits of dead people as danger, so it can happen that a whole village moves to a new locality to save people’s lifes.

Antankarana man

“Antakarana” is the Malagasy expression for “people who lives in the spiny rocks”. This tribe mostly lives from wild life hunting. Their home is the area in the North from Ambilobe up to Antsiranana (Diego Suarez). According to history, they fled in earlier times into the cave systems of Tsingys d’Ankarana when attacked by Merina. Still the remains of their ancestors lay inside the caves, so Antakarana nowadays make it fady for Merina people to enter any caves in Ankarana national park. Every five to seven years, Antakarana celebrate the king’s festival, Tsangatsaina. Thereby the potentially king has to rear the Malagasy flag – if he can’t, he looses his eligibility to rule his tribe.

“Antemoro” once came from Arabia and nowadays live in South-eastern Madagascar around Manakara and Farafangana. Legend says their founder was Ramakarao, a sultan of Mecca.The brought in islamic belief still plays an important role among Antemoro people. Thus pigs are uncleanly for this tribe, they’re not allowed to keep dogs and the old caste system of nobles (Anteony), clerisy and clericals (Antalaotra) as well as the underclass (former slaves) still exists. Antemoro are known as the “paper tribe”. They formerly produced Antaimoro paper to rewrite the Koran and the Sorabe, but still hand on their knowledge to their children. Likewise famous were Antemoro astrologers in times of Malagasy kingdoms, from whom probably the ombiasy culture of Malagasy villages (every village tends to have its own astrologier) spread around the whole island.

“Antesaka” are a very shy and quiet tribe, living at the east coast of Madagascar around Vangaindrano. They were founded around 1650 by Andriamandresy, a Sakalava prince. He was banned out of Menabe together with some of his warriors after he killed his uncle due to cupidity and was jealous of his brother, which his people prefered to have as king. In the beginning of 17th century, Antesaka kingdom was one of the biggest in Madagascar. From 1820 until french colonialisation the country was dominated by Merina, who killed captured Antesaka men and enslaved women and children. Today, Antesaka people mostly live from rice, coffee and bananas, partially even from fishing. As done by the people of Antambahoake, twins of Antesaka are killed after birth or left in forest to die, because fady traditions demands this behaviour. If an Antesaka dies, his body is brought out an eastern door, which is specially built in each house for only this purpose. Outside the corpse dries for several years, at which end his family and friends celebrate “Tranondonokay”, which lasts until the next morning. Not until then, the dried out, oiled corpse of the dead person is brought to a fady forest only men may enter. A “Kibory” called house inside this forest serves as funeral for the deads.

Merina man

“Antefasy” means in English “people who live on the sand”. This in fact describes where they live: In the area around Farafangana, in South-eastern Madagascar. They’re closely bonded to Antesaka. The founder of this tribe is Ndretsileo, who came from Africa and whose grandson Ndrembolanony’s son Marofela called his clan “Antefasy” finally. His people should become as much as the desert counts grain of sand. During occupation by Merina in 19th century, Antefasy people fled to the island of Anosinandriamba. But Merina catched them even there, killed every men and enslaved the others. Today Antefasy traditionally live in three tribes with each having its own king. They make their living from growing rice as well as fishing in lakes and rivers. Like Antesaka people, Antefasy use a Kibory to bury their deads.

“Antambahoaka” is a tribe living in the South-East of Madagascar. It’s the smallest tribe in the country. They believe in their ancestor Raminia Rabevahoaka, who came from Mecca around 14th century, and still respect the monarchy. Nowadays they win notoriety by the old custom to abandon or even kill new born twins. Legend tells that hundreds of years ago, a fire raged in the village of Antambahoaka. A mother of twins could save the life on one of her babies, but then wanted to save the other, too. While trying to do so, she sadly died in the flames. Therefore Antambahoaka believe in twins bringing bad luck over families. Kanamba (twins) are fady. If a mother doesn’t want to kill or abandon her newborn twins, she’s outcast. Meanhwile, there are orphanages around Mananjary who take care of those outcast – but not orphaned – children. Another faith, but much less tragically, is the circumcision of boys, celebrated every seven years during a ceremony called Sambatra.

Ethincal groups of Madagascar, CC BY-SA 3.0 Lemurbaby

“Tsimihety” come from North-Western Madagascar and inhabit the cities of Antsohihy, Port Berger and Bealanana. Their name means “those who don’t cut their hair”, which resembles to their still living tradition to let hair grow during some memorial years after a burial of beloved persons. Originally, the growing hair shall have been a symbol of resistance against King Radama I., who wanted to force Tsihimety to use Merina ancient customs instead of their own ones. Tsihimety mainly live from growing tobacco, cotton, fruits and other farm products.

“Tanala” means in English “people who live inside the forest”. Their home land is southeastern of Fianarantsoa, and decades ago they spent their time living in the rainforests. Tanala are the secret keepers of all traditional plants and well known for their tradition to take only from the forest what they need to survive. Nowadays, with national parks and protected areas, it has become diffcult for Tanala people to keep old traditions.

“Bezanozano” are well known from history as slave sellers in 11^th century. Nowadays the tribe produces charcoal. After legends Bezanozano people were one of the first ethnical groups of Madagascar. Their name, which probably means something like “those with lots of small plaits” belongs to their typical hairdos. They live around Moramanga at the east coast.

“Sihanaka” is a tribe living in the fertile area around Ambatondrazaka and lake Alaotra. They usually live from rice culture (the region is called Madagascar’s rice pantry) and Tilapia fish farming. A famous custom of Sihanaka is Ambalavelona, which means  a man can win the heart of a beloved woman by magical powers. There’s also a sacred village, Andrebabae, whose inhabitants allegedly wear shirts buttoned at the back. These and many other ancent beliefs mainly characterize Sihanaka tribe.

Antanosy

“Antanosy” live in the area of Anosy in Southeastern Madagascar. Some of them nowadays also inhabit the area around Bezaha western of Onilahy river, where their ancestors fled to after Merina conquered Antanosy in 19th century. Today Antanosy are one of the smallest ethnical groups on the big island, and earn their living from rice, manioc, fruits etc. First proves of their existence reach into 9th century yet. Since this time, Anosy had a moving history of wars, occupation, rebellion and changing sovereigns. A still existing tradition are stony memorials to remember the ancestors and zebus as  dowry for brides. Most Antanosy men have several wifes.