GED'EEZ'L
8

ARTES
LIBRARY
1837
SCIENTIA
VERITAS
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
5 1 བཻ པ 3
TUEBOR
QUÆRIS PENINSULAM-AHQ NAM
CIRCUMSPICE
THE GREAT AFRICAN ISLAND.
DT
461
M26
S55
Ballantyne Press
BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. ·
EDINBURGH AND LONDON

Malfron
ROFIA PALM (Sagus ruffia) AND TRAVELLER'S TREE (Urania speciosa).
!
THE GREAT AFRICAN ISLAND.
CHAPTERS ON MADAGASCAR.
A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF RECENT RESEARCHES IN THE
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, AND EXPLORATION OF THE COUNTRY,
AND ITS NATURAL HISTORY AND BOTANY;
AND IN THE ORIGIN AND DIVISIONS, CUSTOMS AND LANGUAGE,
SUPERSTITIONS, FOLK-LORE, AND RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
AND PRACTICES OF THE DIFFERENT TRIBES.

TOGETHER WITH
ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIPTURE AND EARLY CHURCH HISTORY
FROM NATIVE HABITS AND MISSIONARY EXPERIENCE.
BY THE
REV. JAMES SIBREE, JUN., F.R.G.S.
OF THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY;
AUTHOR OF
MADAGASCAR AND ITS PEOPLE. ETC.
WITH PHYSICAL AND ETHNOGRAPHICAL SKETCH-MAPS
AND FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS.
LONDON:
TRÜBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL.
1880.
[All rights reserved.]
:.
PREFACE.
ALTHOUGH many books have been written about Madagascar
during the last twenty years, the majority of these have had
reference chiefly to the religious history of the country, and
to the political and social changes which have followed upon
the acceptance of Christianity by the Government and people
of the central provinces. And while much has been written
about the Hovas, in the interior of Madagascar, little is still
known about the numerous tribes inhabiting other portions
of the island. In writing the following pages my object
has been to supply information of a more general character
than is given in most previous works; and especially to
arrange in a systematic form numerous interesting facts
which have only recently come to light. During the last
nine or ten years many journeys have been made in previously
little known, or entirely unknown, parts of Madagascar, so
that our knowledge of the various tribes inhabiting the island
is greatly increased; and every year continual accessions are
being made to our information as to the physical geography
and geology of the country, its luxuriant flora, its remarkable
and exceptional fauna, and as to the origin and divisions,
language and customs, superstitions and folk-lore, and reli-
gious beliefs and practices of the Malagasy.
For several years past I have been noting down facts of
nue!
vi
PREFACE.
interest on these various subjects; and it will be seen that I
have also made extensive use of the volumes of a yearly
periodical, printed and published in Madagascar, called The
Antananarivo Annual. This was commenced four years ago
at my suggestion, and was designed to be a repository of
information on all the points just mentioned with regard to
the country and people; and as I edited the first three
numbers, and their circulation has been almost entirely con-
fined to Madagascar itself, and to those in England who are
immediately connected with the island, I have not hesitated
to quote largely from it, as well as from other pamphlets and
notes of journeys, also published at Antananarivo, and con-
sequently almost unknown here in England.
It was intended, in the original prospectus of this book, to
have added another chapter, giving specimens of the folk-
tales and legendary lore of the Malagasy, and of native songs
and proverbs, fairy and nursery tales, and traditional history;
but this part of the work has had to be relinquished partly
owing to the exigencies of space,-for more than one chapter
would be required to treat of all these points satisfactorily,-
and partly also from the pressure of other work arising from
my immediate departure from England; indeed the last
sheets of the book have been corrected within a few hours of
sailing.
I have to acknowledge, with many thanks, the courtesy
of Messrs. Macmillan & Co. and of Mr. Alfred Russel
Wallace, in allowing a woodcut from Mr. Wallace's valuable
work on The Geographical Distribution of Animals to be used
as an illustration for this book. It will be seen that I have
derived much help from that work in treating of the animal
life of Madagascar.
PREFACE.
vii
I have also to express my thanks to H. W. Bates, Esq.,
Assistant Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, and
to the Council of that Society, for their readily-accorded
permission to use the physical sketch-map of Madagascar
from their Proceedings. I must also add that this map has
been slightly altered from the original sketch I supplied,
and in one or two points is not perfectly correct, particularly
in the cross-section.
Three or four of the chapters of the book have already
appeared as separate papers in the Proceedings and Transac-
tions of various societies, the Royal Geographical Society,
The Anthropological Institute, The Folk-lore Society, as
well as in Nature.
Remembering with gratitude the kindly reception given to
my former work, Madagascar and its People (R. T. S., 1870),
I trust that much of the information given in this second
book will not be without interest to many in this and in
other countries.
J. S. Jr.
FOREST HILL, November 1879.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
ROFIA PALM AND TRAVELLER'S TREE,
PHYSICAL SKETCH-MAP,
AYE-AYE,
Frontispiece.
To face page 32
THREE SPECIES OF CENTETIDÆ,
CHARACTERISTIC FORMS OF ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE
LIFE IN MADAGASCAR,
ETHNOGRAPHICAL SKETCH-MAP,
42
""
64
""
84
""
144
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
NAMES, DISCOVERY, EARLY ACCOUNTS, AND MAPS OF MADAGASCAR.
The names by which the country was known to the Ancients and to
Medieval writers-Its discovery by Europeans-Accounts given
of it by early voyagers, and first references to it in English litera-
ture, together with notices of the maps of the island, ancient and
modern, and our knowledge of its geography at the present time,
CHAPTER IL
THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY OF MADAGASCAR
Elevated granitic region-Scenery-Rivers and lakes-Lower region
and maritime plains-Mountains-Belt of forest-Volcanic dis-
turbances-Geology of the chief divisions-Secondary fossils-
Recently extinct fauna-Lignite formation-Coral reefs-Metals
and minerals-Fertility of soil,
CHAPTER III.
THE ANIMAL LIFE OF MADAGASCAR.
Peculiar and specialised character of the fauna-One of the most re-
markable geological regions-Lemurs-Aye-aye-Insectivora~-
Carnivora-Ungulata-Fossil hippopotamus-Rodentia-Remote
affinities of the Avi-fauna Raptores-Water-birds- Perching
birds-Cardinal-birds-Sun-birds-Epyornis and its enormous
egg-Reptiles-Scarcity of venomous serpents-Lizards-Gigantic
tortoises Crocodiles Fishes - Insects-Butterflies-Beetles-
Wasps-Fireflies-Mantis-Ants-Locusts-Mosquitoes-Spiders
-Scorpions and centipedes-An armour-plated creature-Minute
and aquatic fauna-Origin and meaning of the specialised fauna
of Madagascar-Opinions of eminent naturalists, .
CHAPTER IV.
NOTES ON THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS OF MADAGASCAR.
Forest scenery-Valuable woods-Coast vegetation-Pandanus-Tan-
géna poison-tree-Palms-Bark cloth-Bamboos: their applica-
PAGE
I-21
22-37
38-68
X
CONTENTS.
PAGE
tions-Baobab-Mosses, creepers, and lianas-Ferns-Beautiful-
leaved plants-Pitcher plants - Vegetation of the interior
Spiny and prickly plants-Grasses-Reeds and rushes-Vegetable
foods-Rice and its culture-Roots-Arums-Coffee-Sugar
Spices-Fruits-Bananas-Traveller's tree-Medicinal Plants-
Gourds-Tobacco-Hemp and cotton-Dyes-Lichens-Flowering
plants and trees-Orchids-Gums-India-rubber-Lace-leaf plant, 69-101
CHAPTER V.
ORIGIN AND DIVISIONS OF THE MALAGASY PEOPLE.
Malayo-Polynesian affinities-Alleged connection with African Races
-European and Arab elements-African influence on West Coast
-Principal divisions of the people-Colour, physique, and lan-
guage-Difficult problems raised by variations in these respects
-Attempted solutions of these-Light afforded by Tradition and·
Philology, .
CHAPTER VI.
•
102-122
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DIFFERENT TRIBES INHABITING MADAGASCAR
IN ANCIENT AND MODERN TIMES.
Hovas-Bétsiléo-Bàra-Tanàla-Tankay-Sihànaka-Bétsimisàraka
and East Coast tribes-Aboriginal peoples before Malay incur-
sion: Vazimba-Kimos or Quimos-Kalio or Behòsy-Population
-Various estimates-Chief towns-Table of principal tribes and
their subdivisions,
•
123-144
CHAPTER VII.
CURIOSITIES OF THE MALAGASY LANGUAGE: WITH NOTES UPON THE
HISTORY, POETRY," AND MORALITY EMBODIED IN NATIVE
(6
WORDS.
"" 66
>>
CC
Malayan, not African affinities—Oneness over the Island—Musically
sounding-Parallelism and rhythmical structure-Curious de-
ficiencies and fulness-Preference for passive-Dialects-Diffe-
rences between Coast and Hova forms-Tabooed or Fàdy"
words-Obsolete words-Additions from French and English
sources Arabic influence Examples of the History,'
"Poetry," and "Morality" in Malagasy words-Words intro-
duced in religious matters-Onomatopoetic words
CHAPTER VIII.
145-164
CURIOSITIES OF MALAGASY NAMES: PERSONAL, TRIBAL, AND
GEOGRAPHICAL.
Length-No family names-Personal prefix-Designation from chil-
dren-Unpleasant names-Tabooed words in Chiefs' names—
Royal names-Sakalàva customs-Christian names
-Tribal ap-
pellations Place-names Foreign Nomenclature in Coast
Geography
•
165-173
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX.
xi
CURIOUS AND NOTEWORTHY CUSTOMS AMONG THE DIFFERENT TRIBES.
Roads and travelling-Canoes and boats-Slavery-Ranks of society
-Hovas or Commoners-Andrians or Nobles-Royalty-Oaths
of allegiance-Royal property-A Malagasy Kabary-Native
oratory—Occupations and modes of living-Handicrafts
PAGE
174-196
CHAPTER X.
CURIOUS AND NOTEWORTHY CUSTOMS AMONG THE DIFFERENT TRIBES
~(continued).
Houses, their structure and arrangement-The house as a compass
and sundial-Towns and villages-Fire by friction-Pottery and
substitutes for it-Kissing or nose-rubbing-Tattooing and other
adornments-Modes of dressing the hair-Clothing-Use of
vegetable fibres for dress-Female adornment-Weapons
•
197-216
CHAPTER XI.
CURIOUS AND NOTEWORTHY CUSTOMS AMONG THE MALAGASY TRIBES
-(concluded).
Circumcision observances-Brotherhood by blood covenant-Royal
ancestor-worship among the Sakalava-Tombs and funeral
rites
CHAPTER XII.
217-242
RELATIONSHIPS, AND THE NAMES USED FOR THEM, AMONG
THE PEOPLES OF MADAGASCAR, CHIEFLY THE HOVAS. 243-257
CHAPTER XIII.
NOTES UPON MALAGASY ART IN DECORATION AND MANUFACTURE.
:
Hova art house decoration-Church adornment-Textile fabrics-
Straw plaiting--Metal work-Pottery-Bétsiléo art: Carving on
burial memorials-Houses and utensils
258-266
xii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIV.
MALAGASY FOLK-LORE AND POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
Animals Birds-Fabulous animals-Trees and plants-Lucky and
unlucky days and times-Ordeals-Folk-lore of home and family
life-Lucky and unlucky numbers, actions, etc.-Sickness and
death-Witchcraft and charms
PAGE
267-296
CHAPTER XV.
MALAGASY IDOLATRY AND RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND OBSERVANCES.
Idols and their worship-Sacrifices-Atonement and expiation-
Altars and sacred stones and places-Divination-Ambròn-
drombé, the Malagasy Hades-New Year's festival
CHAPTER XVI.
•
297-317
NEW LIGHT ON OLD TEXTS: ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIPTURE FROM
MALAGASY CUSTOMS.
Royalty and Government-Family life-Marriage-Benedictions,
curses, and salutations-Dress and food-Weapons-Houses
and towns-Tombs and burial-Roads and paths-Symbolic acts
and figurative language-Agriculture-Slavery-Time.
CHAPTER XVII.
•
318-336
MALAGASY CHURCH LIFE, AS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE HISTORY OF THE
APOSTOLIC AND EARLY CHURCHES.
As regards morals-Rise of superstitious practices and sacramenta-
lism-Church divisions-Customs connected with worship-
Church offices and Government-Relations between the Church
and the State
337-349
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY: ITS PROGRESS AND PRESENT
POSITION, SOCIALLY AND RELIGIOUSLY
INDEX
350-367
368
THE
GREAT AFRICAN ISLAND.
CHAPTER I.
NAMES, DISCOVERY, EARLY ACCOUNTS, AND MAPS OF MADAGASCAR.
THE NAMES BY WHICH THE COUNTRY WAS KNOWN TO THE ANCIENTS AND TO
MEDIEVAL WRITERS-ITS DISCOVERY BY EUROPEANS-ACCOUNTS GIVEN OF
IT BY EARLY VOYAGERS, AND FIRST REFERENCES TO IT IN ENGLISH
LITERATURE, TOGETHER WITH NOTICES OF THE MAPS OF THE ISLAND,
ANCIENT AND MODERN, AND OUR KNOWLEDGE OF ITS GEOGRAPHY AT
THE PRESENT TIME.
ALTHOUGH only seen by Europeans within the last 380 years,
the great African island of Madagascar has been known to
the Arabs for many centuries, probably for at least a thousand
years past; and also, but perhaps not for so long a time, to
the Indian traders of Cutch and Bombay.*. The former,
indeed, have left ineffaceable traces of their influence in the
words they introduced into the Malagasy language, prin-
cipally in the names of the days and months, and in those
connected with divination and astrology, and also in the
various superstitions they engrafted upon the original religious
belief and charm-worship of the inhabitants.†
But even before the Arabian intercourse, it seems probable.
that the Phoenician traders, in some of those long voyages
made by the "ships of Tarshish" (1 Kings x. 22), touched
at Madagascar, or at least obtained information about the
island. For it is mentioned by some of the classical writers
under various names: thus, Ptolemy in his Tabulæ appears
*See Sir Bartle Frere's despatches in Blue-book on the East African Slave
Trade.
+ See Rev. L. Dahle in the Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. pp. 75-91.
A
2
EARLY NAMES.
to refer to it under the name of Menuthias; * and Pliny writes
about an island which, in the opinion of many authors, could
hardly be any other than Madagascar, under the name of
Cerné. And it has been supposed to be obscurely indicated
in the book De Mundo ascribed to Aristotle, under the name
of Phanbalon. Some other names are also given in early
writers; thus, in a quaint old book published in 1609 by
Hieronymus Megiserus, entitled Beschreibung der Mechtigen
und Weitberhümbten Insul Madagascar (Altenbourg in Meis-
sen), it is stated that Arrian calls it Menutheseas, Stephanus
Byzantinus Menuthis, and Diodorus Siculus Iamboli. Tharetus
is also quoted as saying that it was called Pacras on account
of the many tortoises found there; afterwards Albargra,
then Manutia-Alphil, and then Magadascar, a corruption of
the name of Magadoxo, on the mainland of Africa, whose
king is said to have invaded the island. Finally, this word
was changed to Madagascar. So runs the account, some of the
particulars of which are probably not very reliable, although
they may possess a basis of fact.‡
Madagascar is mentioned by several of the Arabian writers,
being known to them also by various names, as Serandah and
Chebona; and by the geographers Edrisi and Abulfeda (twelfth
and thirteenth centuries), under the strangely different titles of
Phelon (or Phenbalon), Quambalon (or Chambalon), Zaledz (also
variously spelt), and Gezirat al-Komr or "Island of the Moon."
* "Huic de processo promontorio hodie Mozambique adjacet ab æstivo ortu
insula nomine Menuthias; cujus positio 85 Austral 12.0" (lib. 4, cap. 9).
(C
+ Contra Sinum Persicum Cerne, nominetur insula adversa Æthiopiæ, cujus
neque magnitudo, neque intervallum a continente constat, Ethiopias tantum
populos habere traditur" (lib. vi. cap. 31). The bishop appointed to Mada-
gascar four years ago has adopted this name Cerné as that of his see on his
official seal.
+
Since writing the above, I have referred to the original texts of some of the
classical authors mentioned by the old German writer, as well as to his own
book; and also to a learned French author, Gossellin, who, in his work entitled
Récherches sur la Géographie Systématique et Positive des Anciens (4 vols. Paris,
1813), disputes the opinion of earlier writers that Madagascar was mentioned by
classical authors under the names of Cerné and Menuthias (see.tom. i. pp. 80,
191-193). With regard to the former of these names, I think his opinion is
correct, but I am not so sure about the second. Gossellin maintains that Menu-
thias was the name of a very small island in the estuary of one of the great
rivers on the East African coast.
MARCO POLO.
3
The country was first made known to (modern) European
nations by the celebrated Venetian traveller Marco Polo, in
the thirteenth century. He, however, did not himself visit the
island, but heard various accounts of it during his travels in
Asia, under the name of Magaster or Madeigascar. A chapter
of his book of travels (33, B. iii. Yule's ed. pp. 345-354)
is devoted to a description of it; but much of what he relates
is evidently confused with accounts of Zanzibar and countries.
on the mainland of Africa, as he says that ivory is one of
the chief productions, and that elephants, giraffes, and other
animals (which never existed in the island), were numerous.
His well-known account of the rukh or gigantic bird, long
thought to be entirely fabulous, has during the last few years
been discovered to have a basis of fact in the existence of the
now-extinct Epyornis, a struthious bird allied to the New
Zealand Moa, and which produced the largest of all known
eggs.
It was not until the commencement of the sixteenth century
that Europeans set foot upon the great island. Towards the
end of the previous century the adventurous Portuguese navi-
gators Bartholomew Diaz and Vasco de Gama reached the
scuthernmost portions of Africa and rounded the Cape of
Good Hope, thus discovering the sea route to India and the
farther East. On the Mozambique coast they found numbers
of Arabs trading with India and well acquainted with Mada-
gascar. But in 1505 King Manoel of Portugal sent out a
great expedition of twenty-two ships to the Indies, under the
command of Don Francisco de Almeida, the first viceroy, with
orders to build fortresses at Sofala and Quiloa for the pro-
tection of the Portuguese commerce in Africa. Juan de Nova,
whose name is preserved in that of a small island in the
Mozambique Channel, sailed in this expedition. Almeida
sent back in the beginning of the following year eight ships
loaded with spices to Portugal, under the command of
Fernando Soares. On their way they discovered, on the 1st
of February 1506, the east coast of Madagascar.* From this
* See The Life of Prince Henry of Portugal, surnamed "The Navigator,"
Major's ed., London, 1868, p. 415.
4
ITS DISCOVERY.
it appears clear that Soares, and not Almeida, as commonly
said in histories, was the real discoverer of the island.
"In that same year João Gomez d'Abreu discovered the
west coast of Madagascar on the 10th of August, St. Law-
rence's Day, from which circumstance [following the usual
custom of the early Spanish and Portuguese navigators] the
island received the name of San Lorenço [which it retained
for more than a hundred years]. He gave the name of Bahia
Formosa, apparently the bay between Point Barrow and
Point Croker" [S.W. coast]. The famous navigator Tristan
da Cunha, who was sent out to India in the same year, also
heard of the island through one of his captains, Rodrigo
Pereira Coutinho. This officer had been obliged to take
refuge in one of the southern ports of Madagascar from a
storm which scattered Da Cunha's squadron off the Cape of
Good Hope. Hearing glowing accounts of the newly-found
country from his subordinate, Da Cunha visited various parts
of the same coast, making with his own hand a chart of what
he discovered, and was accordingly, though of course mis-
takenly, celebrated in song by his countryman Camöens in
the Lusiad (c. x. s. 39) as the discoverer of Madagascar :-
"Green Madagascar's flowery dale shall swell
His echoed fame, till ocean's southmost bound
O'er isles and shores unknown his fame resound."
He reached the northern end of the island on Christmas Day,
and accordingly gave it the name of Cape Natal-a name
which, however, it has not retained, but has been for long
known as Cape Amber or Ambro.
The ship of Gomez d'Abreu doubled the northern cape,
and running along the east coast, reached the mouth of the
river Màtitànana in the south-east, where he landed.
In a
letter dated Mozambique, 8th February 1507, to King Manoel
from the celebrated Alfonso d'Albuquerque, who was with
* Mickle's translation of the Lusiad. See Lyons M'Leod's Madagascar and
its People, p. 6. The original Portuguese runs thus-
"Pelo CUNHA tambem, que nunca extinto
Será seu nome em todo o mar que lava
As Ilhas do Austro, e praias, que se chamam
De SAO LOURENÇO, e en todo o Sul se affam."
NATIVE NAMES.
5
Da Cunha's expedition, he speaks of the discovery of the
island; so that within a short time several of the most in-
trepid Portuguese navigators discovered various portions of
the Madagascar coast while on their voyages to or from the
far East; in fact, they seem to have almost, if not quite,
circumnavigated the island.
During the early times of the French intercourse with
Madagascar (reign of Henri IV.), they called it by the name
of Ile Dauphiné, but this appellation was never accepted by
other nations.
A few words may here be said about the name by which
the island has been known for the last two hundred years.
There is much reason to believe that Madagascar is not a
native name, but one given to the country by foreigners, and
has only in modern times been accepted by the inhabitants.
The spelling of the word in its present form is opposed to
the laws of the native orthography, which do not allow the
joining of two such consonants as s and c (c, moreover, is not
used), and all native words end in a vowel. Nòsin-dàmbo,
or "Isle of Wild Hogs," was a name occasionally given to it;
but when the Malagasy speak of the whole of the island, they
usually call it Izao rehétra izao, "This all," or Izao tontòlo izao,
"This whole," thinking, like many insular people, that their
own country was the most important part of the world, and
that the Arabs and other foreigners who visited their north-
west coast came from some insignificant islands across the
sea. Another term, somewhat poetical in form, and occa-
sionally used by the people, is Ny anivon'ny rìaka, i.e.,
"The (land) in the midst of the moving waters," a term
which might be used of any island, but is only applied to
Madagascar itself, nòsy being the word employed to denote
the small islands off the mainland. This term was engraved
on the huge silver coffin of the first Radàma, who was there
called Tompon' ny anivon'ny riaka, “Lord of the island,"
as above described. The form of the word,* like the name
* By Copland and other writers the island is called Madecassa, which, by
substituting & for c, would be a correct enough native word. In many books
the people are called Madecasse, but the origin of these forms of the name is
obscure.
6
EARLY ACCOUNTS.
of the inhabitants of the country, Màlagasy (also probably not a
native name), seems to indicate an African origin, so that pos-
sibly there may be some foundation of truth in the accounts
given by the German writer already quoted from. Ma, it
is well known, is a frequent prefix to words indicating tribal
names on the African continent, as Makololo, Matabele, &c.
The early accounts given of Madagascar by voyagers and
other writers are full of glowing and extravagant praises of
its fertility and natural wealth. But in all this, of course, it
formed no exception to other newly-found countries, for the
imagination of the people of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries invested with a halo of beauty and mystery all the
strange new lands which were being yearly discovered by the
bold seamen of Portugal and Spain, and of England and Holland.
The luxuriance of the tropical vegetation of the New World
and the far Eastern Archipelago, and the undoubted wealth
in precious metals of some of those regions, made every fresh
addition to their geography a possible El Dorado, with gold and
gems waiting to be collected in every stream, and precious
spices to be gathered from every tree. Even the title-pages
of some of the early books upon Madagascar are eloquent
panegyrics upon the resources and wealth of the island;
while their quaint descriptions, as well as the strong religious
feelings so many of them evince, make them by no means
uninteresting reading.
Although the Portuguese discovered the island, they made
no lengthened occupation of any part of it. Probably they
found that their extensive possessions in South America and
Africa and the Malay Archipelago demanded all their strength
to occupy; and accordingly their colony was soon abandoned.
For a few years towards the close of the sixteenth century
(1595-98), the Dutch had some little intercourse with
Madagascar, but were not much impressed in its favour; for
they lost through sickness so many of their number that an
island where they landed was called "The Dutchmen's Grave-
yard." A book written by Johan Hugen von Lindschot
(1628) describes these voyages, and it is evident that they
paid some considerable attention to the country, for two of
the very earliest books upon Madagascar were published at
HIERONYMUS MEGISERUS.
7
Amsterdam in 1603, both of them giving vocabularies of
Malagasy words (see chapter on the language).
As the Portuguese discovered Madagascar, probably the
earliest descriptions of the country are to be found in Portu-
guese books, notably in the Commentarios do grande Afonso
D'Alboquerque (Lisbon, 1576, fol.), but this book contains
little of interest beyond the mere fact of the discovery of
the island.
Next in date come the two Dutch linguistic works already
mentioned, and then the little German work of Hieronymus
Megiserus, from which quotations have been made as to the
early names of the island. The title-page of this book pro-
mises to give us—
A GENUINE, THOROUGH, AND AMPLE,
as well as
HISTORICAL AND CHRONOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION
of the
EXCEEDINGLY RICH, POWERFUL, and Famous
ISLAND OF MADAGASCAR,
called also
ST. LAWRENCE;
Together with an Account
of all its Qualities, Peculiarities, Inhabitants, Animals, Fruits and Vegetables.
Also
A History of what has happened there
before and since its Discovery.
The title-page, like those of other books we shall have
occasion to mention, leads one therefore to expect much
valuable information; but except some curious particulars
about the names given to the island at that period, there is
little of value about either country or people, while some of
the same mistakes are made as to the productions as are
found in Marco Polo's account. At the end is added A
Dictionary and Dialogues of the Madagascar Language,
collected with special industry from the Portuguese, Italian,
and Latin Histories and Geographies;" and this portion,
more than half of the whole book, has considerable interest, the
greater part of the words being easily recognisable. It has
،،
8
WALTER HAMOND.
a. small map, and seven or eight engravings of the people,
and of the animal and vegetable productions.
The earliest English book upon Madagascar of which I
have any knowledge is by one Walter Hamond, surgeon,
and published in 1640, entitled "A Paradox: Proving the
Inhabitants of the Island called Madagascar, or St. Law-
rence (in Things temporal), to be the happiest People in the
World." "* This work may be almost regarded as a satire
upon the extravagance and luxury of the times, for its gene-
ral purport is to show that the inhabitants of Madagascar,
in their poverty and ignorance, are much better off than
civilised peoples, being not much troubled with clothing or
ornaments, or with the fatigues of commerce, navigation, and
civilisation, the varieties of food and drink, and the evils
arising from the use of gunpowder and the arms of European
nations. All this is argued out in a comically serious style.
Possibly a diligent search in the larger libraries would dis-
cover earlier books, or at least pamphlets or tracts on Mada-
gascar; and doubtless there are many notices of the country
to be found in the narratives of the early English voyagers.
The same author published three years later (1643)
another book, whose title-page may be given in full, as it is
curious from its quaintness, and as showing the great expecta-
tions formed of the island. It is as follows:
MADAGASCAR,
The Richest
and most
Frvitefyll Island
In the World.
Wherein
the Temperature of the Clymate, the
Nature of the Inhabitants, the Commodities of
the Countrie, and the facility and benefit of a Planta-
tion by our People there, are compendiously
and truely described.
* Reprinted in the Harleian Miscellany, a Collection of Scarce, Curious, and
Entertaining Pamphlets and Tracts, as well in Manuscript as in Print. London,
1808.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND.
Dedicated
TO THE HONOURABLE IOHN BOND,
Governour of the Island, whose proceeding is Authorized for
this Expedition, both by the King and Parliament.
BY WALTER HAMOND.
LONDON:
Printed for NICHOLAS BOURNE, and are to bee sold at his
Shop, at the South Entrance of the Royall Exchange.
1643. [4to.]
9
The promise of the title-page (as in the case of the Ger-
man book already described) is hardly borne out by the book
itself, which does not contain much of value, except some
information about the author's experiences with the people,
chiefly those about St. Augustine's Bay on the south-west
coast. He seems to have been greatly impressed by the
honesty and good faith of the inhabitants; again and again
is this mentioned in such words as "in all our trayding with
them we never sustained so much as the losse of one bead."
He even says, "they retaine the first incorrupt innocence of
man," and are "a people approaching in some degree neere
Adam, naked without guilt, and innocent, not by a forc't
vertue, but by ignorance of evill, and the creatures as inno-
cent and serviceable to man as they were before his trans-
gression." (How wofully, according to all accounts, must they
have depreciated since then!) We find, however, in the book,
that among these innocent people wars were going on be-
tween them and the neighbouring tribes, as there still are, and
probably always have been. There is a notice of some of the
valuable trees of the country, ebony, tamarind, and others,
and of a remarkable tree he calls the "flesh-tree," probably a
dragon-tree, yielding a sanguine-coloured sap. The book
contains an urgent appeal to the writer's countrymen to "go
in and possess the land," which "doth here by me friendly
and lovingly invite our nation to take some compassion of
her nakednesse, her poverty, and her simplicity, both corporall
and spirituall, and doth earnestly and affectionately even beg
of us to redeeme her out of her miserable thraldome under
the tyranny of Satan [curiously inconsistent this with the pre-
IO
RICHARD BOOTHBY.
ceding eulogy of the people], to be united with us into the
fellowship of the sons of God by our union in Christ Jesus."
Who this Hon. John Bond, "Governour and Captaine-Generall
of Madagascar," was, I have been unable to discover, or to
find what claim he had to such large powers in the great
island.
In the same decade of the seventeenth century other
books on Madagascar were also published, the next in date
being one with an extremely long title, which is also perhaps
worth quoting nearly in full, not only for its quaint language
but as affording additional evidence of the sanguine expecta-
tions formed respecting the island. It runs thus :-
A BREIFE
DISCOVERY or DESCRIPTION
Of the most Famous Island of
MADAGASCAR or ST. LAWRENCE
in Asia neere unto East India.
With relation of the Healthfulness, Pleasure, Fertility, and Wealth of
that Country, comparable if not transcending all the Easterne parts of the
World, a very Earthly Paradise; a most fitting and desirable place to
settle an English Colony and Plantation there, rather than in any other
parte of the knowne World.
Also the condition of the Natives, there inhabiting, their Affability,
Habit, Weapons, and Manner of living, the plenty and cheapnesse of Food,
Flesh, Fish, and Fowle, Oringes and Lemonds, Amber-Greece, Gold,
Tortle-Shels, and Drugs, and many other Commodities fit for trade and
commerce, to be had and gotten there at cheaper Rates than in India or
elsewhere.
Also trading from Port to Port all India and Asia over, and the great
profit gained thereby ;
The chiefest place in the World to inrich men by Trade, to and from
India, Persia, Moco, Achine, China, and other rich Easterne Kingdoms.
It being the fittest place for a Magazine or Store-house of Trade between
Europe and Asia, farre exceeding all other Plantations in America or
elsewhere.
Also the excellent meanes and accommodation to fit the planters there,
with all things needfull and superfluous for back and belly (out of India
neere adjacent, at one fourth part of the price, and cheaper then it will
cost in England; yea, Fat Bullocks, Sheep, Goats, Swine, Poultry,. Rice,
(and Wheat and Barley reasonable, &c.) exceeding cheape, for the value.
of 12 pence or one shilling English will purchase or buy of the Natives
PROJECTED ENGLISH COLONY.
II
as much as 5, 6, 7 pounds or more in England, in this famous Island at
their first arrivall, which no other country hath afforded.
BY RICHARD BOOTHBY, Merchant.
LONDON: Printed by E. G. for JOHN HARDESTY at the Signe of the Black-
Spread Eagle in Duck Lane, 1646.
It seems from the preface to Boothby's work, which is a
small octavo of seventy-two pages, that two years previous to
the publication of this book there had been a project to found
an English plantation in Madagascar, Prince Rupert having
been named at the Privy Council board as Viceroy for King
Charles I., from whom he was to have had twelve men-of-war
and thirty merchantmen to form the colony. The Governor
and Committee of the East India Company were also ordered
to give all possible assistance to the enterprise. Rupert, how-
ever, going away to the Continent, the Earl of Arundel, Earl
Marshal of England, was appointed; and it appears that
that nobleman had also written a book on the subject, urging
the desirability of forming a magazine or victualling station.
on the island. However, the calling of the parliament im-
mediately preceding the Long Parliament, and the political
troubles which soon ensued, put a stop to this projected
English colony in Madagascar. It is stated in Boothby's book
that the island had been previously visited by other dis-
tinguished Englishmen, viz., the ambassadors from Charles I.
to the King of Persia, who landed there on their way to the
East.
The appointment of Prince Rupert called forth another
book upon the island, but this time in the shape of a poem,
by Sir William Davenant, entitled "Madagascar, with other
Poems, by W. Davenant, Knight " (London, 1648). This pro-
duction occupies only twenty-one pages of print, and gives
no information whatever about Madagascar itself, being simply
a complimentary effusion, "written to the most illustrious
Prince Rupert." Following the strange conceits common to
the literary productions of the time, such as are seen in
Beaumont and Fletcher, Donne, Herbert, and other writers,
the poem is in the form of a dream, in which the country
12
DAVENANT'S POEM.
where the Prince was going is described in an inflated style,
with extravagant laudation of Rupert, so that even the sun
is described as being absorbed in contemplating what the
Prince is supposed to have conquered :-
"The good old planet's business is
Of late only to visit what is his;"
while as to the government of the Prince,
Chronologers pronounce his style
The first true monarch of the golden isle;
An isle so seated for predominance,
Where naval strength its power can so advance."
The supposed riches of the country are next described, the
colonists employing themselves
"In virgin mines, where shining gold they spy,
Some root up coral trees, where mermaids lie
Sighing beneath those precious boughs, and die."
Some from "old oysters" rifle pearls,
Some
"Whose ponderous size sinks weaker divers;
Their weight would yoke a tender lady's neck."
"Search the rocks till each have found
A saphyr, ruby, and a diamond.”
The poem is a poor enough production in itself, but has
a certain interest as showing the extravagant notions then
entertained about the wealth of distant countries. But it
nevertheless met with great commendation from the poet's
contemporaries, Endymion Porter saying that it was a
"Poem in so sweet a style
As never yet was lauded in this isle."
Another of the poet's friends, Sir John Suckling, Comptroller
of the Household to King Charles I., wrote a sonnet entitled,
"To my friend Will Davenant, on his Poem of Madagascar,"
which is perhaps amusing enough to be quoted in full, espe-
cially as he concludes by a sly hit at his friend for having
nothing but words to show in proof of the enormous wealth
he describes :-
SIR JOHN SUCKLING.
"What mighty princes poets are! Those things
The great ones stick at, and our very kings
Lay down, they venture on; and with great ease
Discover, conquer, what and where they please.
Some phlegmatic sea-captain would have staid
For money now, or victuals; not have weigh'd
Anchor without 'em : Thou (Will) dost not stay
So much as for a wind, but go'st away,
Land'st, view'st the country; fight'st, put'st all to rout
Before another could be setting out;
And now the news in town is, 'Davenant's come
From Madagascar, fraught with laurel, home;
And welcome (Will) for the first time, but prithee,
In thy next voyage, bring the gold with thee."
13
The fifth decade of the seventeenth century was thus, it
appears, most prolific in works upon the great African island.
Towards the end of the century an account was written
(but not published until some years later) of the adventures
and extreme hardships suffered by an English sailor upon a
small island off the western coast of Madagascar. This was
entitled
"A Relation of Three Years' Sufferings of Robert Everard upon the
Island of Assada, near Madagascar, in a Voyage to India, in the year 1686,
and of his Wonderful Preservation and Deliverance and arrival at London,
Anno 1693."
)) *
This account, which occupies twenty-three pages of small
folio print, contains several interesting particulars of the
customs of the people, amongst which is the statement that
on one occasion twenty children were circumcised by the
women. The writer had evidently a hard time during his
three years' residence; for, although he made shot for the
king, because he could not also find gun-flints he was turned
out of doors and left to shift for himself. He obtained food
in the shape of fruit and roots, shell-fish and turtles, but he
had to lodge under a tree only, for two years and nine months,
although on one occasion, he says, it rained continuously for
three months. As he was quite naked, he kept a fire burning
* Pages 259-282 in vol. vi. of A Collection of Voyages and Travels, some now
first printed from the Original Manuscripts, &c. London, Churchill, 1732.
14
DRURY'S NARRATIVE.
for warmth, not being allowed to enter the houses. Even-
tually he became (no wonder) very ill, and at his request was
bought by an Arab, and at last taken to India, where he
obtained his liberty. This island of "Assada" is probably
one of those numerous ones off the north-west coast of Mada-
gascar.
•
The last of these early books which can be here noticed
is that by Robert Drury, an English lad, who, at the commence-
ment of the last century, went as a passenger to the East on
board an Indiaman named the Degrave. On their homeward
voyage the vessel was wrecked on the south-west coast of
Madagascar, and owing to imprudent conduct and collisions
with the natives, the whole of the ship's company and pas-
sengers were eventually killed, with the exception of Drury
and another lad, whose lives were spared. He thus became
a slave, and remained as such in the island for fifteen years
(1702-17), meeting with varied experience and many hard-
ships, and occasionally being harshly treated, and narrowly
escaping being killed. At last, however, he obtained his
liberty, and returned to England, afterwards writing the book
describing his adventures, or possibly had it written from his
dictation. Drury being comparatively uneducated, the narra-
tive is in a most artless style, with an evident impress of
truth, and, from its undoubted genuineness, is a very valuable
record of the customs of some of the Malagasy tribes at that
period, and throws important light upon many questions con-
nected with their customs, superstitions, and beliefs.
describes their ancient and patriarchal system of worship in
connection with the òdy, or household gods; and we see the
political state of that part of the island, really unaltered to
the present time, in which the different tribes are constantly
engaged in warfare, making raids on each others' cattle, and
capturing slaves. There is added to the book a pretty full
vocabulary, which is one of the most valuable portions of it,
the great majority of the words being easily recognisable as
identical with those in the Hova dialect, and thus giving
another proof of the substantial unity of the language over
portions of the island far distant from one another. Curi-
ously enough, he gives a decidedly "Cockney" pronunciation
He
MADAGASCAR AND THE FRENCH.
15
and spelling to his list of Malagasy words; héna (meat)
he calls "henar;" vòla, money, "voler;" and andro, day,
hawndro;" &c.
From the year 1651, when a work describing a voyage to
Madagascar by one François Cauche, of Rouen, was issued, a
considerable number of books upon Madagascar have been
published in the French language. A list of between thirty
and forty of these is given by M. Barbié du Bocage in a book
entitled, Madagascar: Possession française depuis 1642, the
title of which work explains the interest taken in the island
by the French. But it is quite an unfounded assumption to
call Madagascar a French possession, and is warranted neither
by conquest or treaty, or by any other claim or right; and
although it is quite true that the French have for two cen-
turies past been attempting to gain power in the country,
their colonies, or rather, military posts, have never been per-
manent, nor have they been able to maintain their hold upon
any portion of the mainland. They have, however, seized the
small island of St. Marie's, off the eastern coast, and they
have also possession of the island of Nòsibé, on the north-
west coast. This latter was ceded to them in 1840 by the
Sàkalàva inhabitants of that portion of Madagascar.
Turning now to the Maps of Madagascar, and our present
knowledge of the geography of the island, it may be affirmed
that a considerable portion of the country is still a terra
incognita to us; and notwithstanding all that has been done
of late years to increase our knowledge of it, there are exten-
sive regions still unknown and unexplored. Among them
may be mentioned the greater part of the triangle formed by
the northern portion of the island, from Antsihànaka to Cape
Amber at the apex of the triangle; almost all the Sàkalàva
country on the western seaboard; large portions of the
eastern side, from the central plateaux to the sea; and, lastly,
an extensive district to the south of the Bétsiléo province,
from the Bàra country to the southern Cape of St. Mary.
The earliest map of Madagascar which I have discovered
is one in the British Museum, and is an extremely curious
specimen of chartography. The outline of the island there
given is so different from the reality, that it would hardly be
16
EARLY MAPS.
recognised but for the name, "S. Lorenzo," which is marked
upon it. The towns shown on the map, six in number, are
true medieval strongholds, with walls and gates, and crowded
with spires and towers, one of them boasting of a grand
cathedral !—while they are all on such a scale that they
would be disproportionately large even if the island were
only two or three miles wide. Similarly gigantic ships, with
banks of oars, are depicted along the coast, and strange sea-
monsters are here and there seen emerging from the waves
around the island. From its very incorrect outline I am
strongly inclined to think that it is of considerably earlier date
than that given in the catalogue, viz., 1570* (Venice), the
more so as another map, also Venetian, and dated three years
earlier (1 567), is far more correct in outline, and the principal
capes, bays, and rivers can be recognised, and are tolerably
accurate, as far as regards the coast-line.
Another very curious old map, to a small scale, is given in
the quaint German work of Megiser's already referred to.
But I find that it is taken from an earlier book, a neat little
atlas of maps, with descriptions of the different countries,
entitled Thresor de Chartes, and dated 1602.
A glance at several of the numerous maps of Madagascar
that have been published since these dates would lead one to
suppose that what is stated above as to the incompleteness of
our knowledge of the country was all a mistake. On many
of these we find the so-called provinces defined with a minute-
ness resembling that of the divisions of the counties on an
Ordnance map of England; the rivers, with their tributaries,
are all unhesitatingly laid down, and mountain chains of sin-
gular regularity and wall-like straightness cross the country
in all directions. Far from imitating the ingenuous confessions.
of ignorance shown on some maps, where-
"Geographers on pathless downs
Put elephants instead of towns,"
S.
many of these early maps of Madagascar are, strange to say,
* I am confirmed in this opinion by a further reference to the catalogue, in
which a note of interrogation is affixed both to the date and the place of pub-
lishing.
ROCHON'S MAP.
17
the most minute and exact in their fulness of detail; and
knowing how little certainly was then ascertained as to the
interior of the island, we look at them with a feeling of
wonder as to whence their information could have been
derived.
One of the most curious of these early maps is that
prefixed to an English edition of the Abbé Rochon's book
entitled, A Voyage to Madagascar and the East Indies (Lon-
don, 1793). According to this map, no part of the island
would appear to have been unknown to the map-maker;
the rivers with their tributaries have a picturesque symme-
try resembling that of stately trees, and the mountains a re-
.gular cone-like outline only possessed by mountains seen
on a map. But on examining this map more minutely to
find out well-known places in the interior, we are puzzled to
find that neither the central and most important province of
Imérina, nor the capital city, Antananarivo, are shown; and
it is the same with the important province of Bétsiléo and
its chief towns; while some other places are strangely
transposed. Clearly this map owes more of its filling-in to
a lively imagination than to any exploration of the country,
notwithstanding the somewhat ambiguous assurance in its
title that it is "from the original design, drawn on the spot;
but what and where "the spot" was, is not specified.*
Again, take a very pretentious-looking map published by
Arrowsmith, and purporting to be "Madagascar, from Original
Drawings, Sketches, and Oral Information, by J. A. Lloyd,
F.R.S., &c., &c., Surveyor-General of the Mauritius." The
last edition I have seen is dated 1850. In a journey to the
south-east part of Madagascar in 1876 I consulted this on
many occasions, but found that not the slightest reliance was
to be placed upon it. But subsequently meeting with a
pamphlet read by Colonel Lloyd before the Royal Geogra-
phical Society upon Madagascar (10th December 1849), I
discovered a clue to the reason for all this; for at page 22,
in a few remarks upon the map accompanying his paper (a
* Since writing the above, I find that Rochon's map is little more than a copy
of that given in Flacourt's Histoire de la Grande Isle de Madagascar, published
in 1661, a hundred and thirty years before Rochon's book.
B
18
FRENCH MAPS.
reduced copy of the above-mentioned map), Colonel Lloyd
makes this ingenuous admission: "For the detail of the
interior I cannot claim the slightest pretensions to correctness.
It is only an attempt to form approximately some foundation
for future inquiries and more correct and extensive research."
And yet this map, confessedly so problematical, appears to
have been the source of most subsequent maps of the island
as given in English books or published separately.
The coast-line of Madagascar, with a narrow strip of
country bordering the sea, was accurately surveyed by Cap-
tain W. F. W. Owen, R.N., of H.M.S. Leven and Barracouta,
about forty-seven years ago. This survey was published by
the Admiralty, and Captain Owen described his experiences
in a book entitled Narrative of Voyages to Explore the
Shores of Africa, Arabia, and Madagascar, &c. (London,
1833).
With regard to the later French maps of Madagascar,
they also appear to have been chiefly constructed from
verbal information, with an occasional itinerary of a priest,
or naturalist, or trader; for the interior detail of most of
them prior to 1870 seems little more reliable than that
given in the English maps. (The island has been crossed
in various directions by a good many travellers, as shown
in a valuable list of routes compiled by M. Grandidier, and
given in a paper published in the Bulletin de la Société de
Géographie [Avril 1872, pp. 408-411]; but very few of
these travellers have left any accurate observations or scien-
tific surveys of the line of country they traversed.) How
some of these French maps have been constructed is amusingly
described by M. Grandidier in a paper upon the island before
the Paris Geographical Society. Speaking of a book by a
M. Leguevel de Lacombe, entitled Voyage à Madagascar, he
says: "This writer relates that he has at different periods
traversed the island from north to south, from east to west;
he gives the most precise details of his journeys. M. de
Lacombe has told me, and I am myself well assured of it,
with his book in my hand, that he has never left the east
coast! It is from his imagination that he has drawn the
accounts, to which geographers have attached so much impor-
GRANDIDIER'S MAP.
19
tance that the maps of Madagascar have to the present day
been constructed upon the topographical data taken from his
work."
>> *
To a French traveller, however, we owe the most accurate
general map of the island yet produced. M. Alfred Gran-
didier, who explored the country from 1865 to 1870, pub-
lished in 1871 a sketch-map (Esquisse d'un Carte de l'Ile de
Madagascar). It is somewhat roughly lithographed, and was
merely intended to illustrate the brief summary of his travels
and explorations read before the Paris Geographical Society;
but from the prospectus of his magnificent work on the island
and its natural history, botany, ethnology, &c., now in process
of publication in twenty-eight quarto volumes, a much more
complete map may be expected. Meanwhile, this preliminary
map has already done much to clear away some traditional
mistakes, and to establish two or three facts of great
interest in the physical geography of the country, namely,
the existence in the island of two strongly contrasted
regions: the elevated granitic district, and the low mari-
time plains region to the west and south, of Secondary
and Tertiary formation; † and also the existence of a belt
of forest surrounding the whole island. On this map most
of the Hova military stations and the more important places.
in the interior are laid down; and having had opportunities
of testing its accuracy in more than one direction, I feel
confident that it is by far the most trustworthy map of the
island yet published. Indeed, no previous traveller has been
so thoroughly prepared by scientific knowledge and with full
appliances to make an accurate survey of the country; and
as many hundreds of principal points were fixed astronomi-
cally, a reliable basis has been formed for future work.
It
must, however, be remembered that M. Grandidier has not
traversed the island in every direction, and, as already
remarked, extensive portions of it have still to be explored,
* Bulletin de la Société de Géographie, Aout 1871, p. 82.
+M. Grandidier says: "Je vais maintenant tâcher de tracer en quelques mots
la physionomie générale que présente Madagascar. Cette île comprend deux
parties bien distinctes : la partie nord et est qui est toute montagneuses, et la
partie sud et ouest qui est rélativement plate."-Bull. de la Soc. de Géog., Aout
1871, p 100.
20
DR. MULLENS'S MAP.
so that there is still much to be added to this map of the
French traveller and savant.
Far surpassing everything else previously attempted as a
delineation of the interior must be mentioned the map of The
Central Provinces of Madagascar, by the Rev. Dr. Mullens,*
published, together with his book entitled Twelve Months in
Madagascar, in 1875. Stretching over five degrees of lati-
tude, from the Antsihànaka province in the north to Imaha-
zòny in Southern Bétsiléo, it depicts on a scale of twelve
miles to the inch the physical features of the central portion
of the island and the sites of the chief towns and most impor-
tant villages. The late Mr. James Cameron had previously
fixed astronomically some of the chief points in Imérina, and
measured a base-line from which the triangulation was con-
structed, so that a reliable foundation for the map was pro-
vided, and the series of angles was extended right down into
the Bétsiléo province. This map is a great gain to our know-
ledge of the interior, and is full of detail; it is, however, im-
perfect in many directions, and plenty of room is still left for
additions and improvements.
Since Dr. Mullens's visit several important contributions.
have been made towards a fuller geographical knowledge of
various portions of the island not previously mapped. Among
these are sketch-maps illustrating journeys, made chiefly by
members of the London Missionary Society and the Friends'
Mission Association, into the Sakalàva country, the Bàra
province in the south, to the Southern Tanàla or forest tribes,
and the south-east coast, the north-east coast, and northern
central portions of the island, and to the north-west and
extreme north.† The results of these journeys are embodied
in a map prepared by Mr. W. Johnson of the Friends'
Mission, and lithographed at their press in Antananarivo, the
work being done by native lads. The same gentleman has
* Since the above was written, I deeply regret to add that Dr. Mullens's
name must now be prefixed by the word "late." He died at Mpwapwa on July
10, 1879, having nobly volunteered to head a party to relieve the Central
African Mission of the London Missionary Society. Had his life been spared,
he would doubtless have done something in Africa, as in Madagascar, to add to
our geographical knowledge of the country he traversed.
+ See Proc. Roy. Geog. Soc., January 17, 1877.
RECENT RESULTS.
21
also published a very minute and complete map of the south-
western portions of the central province.
In the year 1877 a journey was made by Rev. J. Richard-
son from the Bétsiléo province to St. Augustine's Bay on the
south-west coast, across new ground, and thus much light
has been thrown upon the northern portion of that extensive
tract of Southern Madagascar, which is still largely an un-
known region.
The results of all these recent additions to our knowledge
of the geography of Madagascar have been embodied in a
very fine general map prepared by Dr. Mullens and published
in May last. This is the largest map of the island yet con-
structed, being on the same scale as those of the central
provinces and Southern Madagascar. These are included in
it without much alteration, but three or four other routes are
also laid down, Grandidier's sketch-map forming the authority
for other parts of the country.
There is still, however, much to be done in all directions
before we can be said to have a tolerably complete general
map of the island, while of course there is ample room for
hundreds of more detailed maps of special portions of the
country. An island nearly a thousand miles long and three
hundred and fifty at its greatest breadth gives "ample space
and verge" for map-making. Still, so far, every journey
lately made appears to confirm the general truth of M. Gran-
didier's sketch-map as to the broad outlines of the elevated.
mountainous and granitic region in the northern and eastern
central portion of the island; but we still need much infor-
mation as to the contour of this in various directions, and the
steps by which it rises from the plains on all sides.
From the usually brilliantly clear and pure atmosphere,
and the large number of prominent and lofty hills all over
the central regions of the island, Madagascar offers especial
facilities for map-making, as some well-known points can
almost always be seen, from which to get good bearings.
What is most wanted is that a few more of these be exactly
fixed by astronomical observations.
( 22 )
CHAPTER II.
THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY OF MADAGASCAR.
ELEVATED GRANITIC REGION-SCENERY-RIVERS AND LAKES-LOWER REGION
AND MARITIME PLAINS-MOUNTAINS-BELT OF FOREST-VOLCANIC DIS-
TURBANCES-GEOLOGY OF THE CHIEF DIVISIONS-SECONDARY FOSSILS—
RECENTLY EXTINCT FAUNA-LIGNITE FORMATION-CORAL REEFS-METALS
AND MINERALS-FERTILITY OF SOIL.
ALTHOUGH Madagascar is known to be the third largest island
in the world, its actual size and extent is not very generally
understood. And it is easy to see how misconception on this
point arises, for in maps the island is usually seen only in
connection with Africa, and that continent is of such immense
extent that it dwarfs by comparison with itself everything in
its near neighbourhood; so that the really large island shel-
tering under its south-eastern side appears but an incon-
siderable appendage to its vast neighbour. If, however, we
take a good-sized map of Madagascar, and put by its side.
the outline, to the same scale, of another country with whose
dimensions we are familiar-such, for instance, as England-
we begin to realise how important an island it is as regards
size, being nearly 1000 miles long* by about 250 in average
breadth, and reaching to 350 miles at its widest part. It
has, therefore, an area of about 230,000 square miles, so that
it is nearly four times as large as England and Wales.
棗
​During the last ten years much light has been thrown
upon the physical geography of Madagascar, principally
through the researches of M. Alfred Grandidier, and the
numerous exploratory journeys made in various parts of the
country by missionaries and others. Until a very recent
period there was no reliable map of the island, and the
physical geography was completely misunderstood. But it is
* More exactly, 975 miles.
MOUNTAINOUS REGION.
23
now quite clear that, instead of a "central mountain chain,"
as described in most histories and gazetteers, there is an
elevated mountainous region, which, however, does not occupy
the centre of the island, but is more to the east and north,
leaving a considerable extent of country to the west, and all
beyond the twenty-third parallel of south latitude, at a much
lower level above the sea. Broadly speaking, therefore, Mada-
gascar consists of two great divisions, viz.—(1) An elevated
interior region raised some 3000 to 5000 feet above the
sea-level, and (2) a comparatively level country surrounding
it, and not much exceeding 400 or 500 feet of elevation, but
most extensive on the west and south.
The elevated region is largely composed of Primary and
crystalline rocks. Lines of hills traverse it in all directions,
but they do not rise to a very great height; the highest points
in the island, the peaks of the Ankàratra group of hills, being
a little under 9000 feet above the sea-level. A very large
extent of this portion of Madagascar is covered with bright
red clay, through which the granite and basaltic rocks pro-
trude. But there are also extensive rice plains, especially in
the neighbourhood of the capital cities of the two chief pro-
vinces, where there is a rich black alluvial soil; and it can
hardly be doubted that some at least of these plains, from
their perfect level, out of which the red clay hills rise like
islands, have formerly been the beds of extensive lakes, sub-
sequently drained, possibly by slight changes in the level
through subterranean action.
A good deal of this portion of Madagascar is bare and
somewhat dreary-looking country. The long rolling moor-
like hills are only covered with a coarse grass, which becomes
very brown and dry towards the end of the seven months'
rainless season; but the hollows and river valleys are often
filled with a luxuriant tropical vegetation, and, wherever there
is population, with the bright green of the rice-fields. There
is, nevertheless, an element of grandeur in the landscape, from
the great extent of country visible from many points in the
clear pure atmosphere, which renders very distant objects
wonderfully sharp and distinct. And many portions of the
central region possess still greater claims to admiration from
24
THE WATERSHED.
the picturesque mountain scenery. In the Southern Bétsiléo
country the grand and varied forms of the mountains filled
me with an exultant kind of delight. To the south was a
crowd of mountain-tops, peak beyond peak, with the greatest
variety of outline: one had the appearance of a colossal trun-
cated spire; another had a jagged saw-like ridge; another
was a pyramid with successive steps; and another an enor-
mous dome. Their summits were never long free from clouds,
and many of the peaks must be at least 3000 feet above
the plain.
Sections taken by the aneroid across this elevated region
from east to west, at the latitude of the capital, show that
it has a depression in the centre, the edges on either side.
being considerably higher than the country between them.
At some points this height of 4000 or 5000 feet is gained
by a series of steps from the maritime plains, each range of
hills rising higher and higher; while at other points it
descends almost at one steep slope for nearly 3000 feet.
The watershed is not near the centre of the island, but is
much more towards the eastern side. Through the eastern
wall many of the rivers cut their way by magnificent gorges,
amidst dense forest, finding their way to the sea by a suc-
cession of rapids and cataracts, and occasionally by stupen-
dous falls, as in the case of the Màtitànana, which descends.
at one plunge 500 or 600 feet. Some of the western rivers
also are said to form grand waterfalls, particularly that of
the Manìa, whose sound is reported to be heard at a distance
of two days' journey, i.e., from forty to fifty miles.
The largest river in Madagascar is probably the Bétsibòka,
which, with its affluent the Ikiopa, is the great drain of the
central province of Imérina, and falls into the Bay of Bem-
batòka. It is about 300 miles long. Many other rivers of
considerable size flow to the west, the Mania and Matsiatra
being almost as large as the Bétsibòka, but few are navigable
for vessels of large size. The Bétsiboka could be ascended
by steamers of light draught for about ninety miles from
its mouth, and perhaps also several others of those which
fall into the Mozambique Channel. The eastern rivers
are almost all blocked at their outlets by a sandy bar
LAGOONS.
25
thrown up by the ever-restless surf driven by the strong
south-east trade winds.
This contest between the fresh and the salt water has
given rise to one of the most curious geographical features of
the east coast, namely, the long chain of lagoons which stretch
for several hundred miles along the shore. Many of these
look like a river following the coast-line, but often they
spread out into extensive sheets of water and form large
lakes. So short is the distance between the detached links,
that by cutting about thirty miles of canal to connect them,
a continuous waterway could be formed for 260 miles
along the eastern coast, a circumstance which will no doubt
at some future day be taken advantage of for commercial
purposes, as it would be a most valuable means of communi-
cation between distant portions of this side of the island.
Except these lagoons, there are few lakes in Madagascar,
although, as already noticed, there were probably some very
extensive ones in a recent geological period. Of one of the
largest of these, the lake Alaòtra in the Sihànaka province
is the relic; this sheet of water is about twenty-five miles
long, and from four to five miles wide, spreading out at the
northern end into a hammer-head shape. The next in size is
Itàsy in Imérina, which is about eight miles long; and there
is another of some extent in the south-western part of the
island.
The lower region of Madagascar consists of extensive
plains only a few hundred feet above the sea-level, but there
are at least three prominent chains of hills traversing it from
north to south, one of which appears nearly continuous in a
very straight line for above 600 miles. The eastern side
of the island is, for the greater part of its extent, without
any bay or indentation; indeed, for 500 miles, from Foule
Pointe to Fort Dauphin, the coast forms almost a straight
line. North of the first-named of these two places there is a
deep inlet forming the Bay of Antongil, and protected by
the mountainous peninsula of Maròa. Close to the northern
point of the island is one of the finest harbours in the world,
that of Diego Suarez or British Sound; and the north-
western side is deeply indented with large bays, into which
26
ROCK FORTRESS.
some of the chief rivers fall.
All this part of the coast is
bold and mountainous; and some of the finest scenery in
Madagascar is to be found here, as the northern extremity
of the volcanic region forms several very grand mountains,
particularly the one called Amber or Ambòhitra. This is said
to be about 6000 feet high, and, from its isolated position in
the low country surrounding it, is a remarkably majestic hill
as seen from every direction, as well as from far out to sea.
It has three summits, and its sides are clothed with impene-
trable woods.
*
South-west of this mountain is a remarkable rock fortress
of the tribe inhabiting this part of the country, who are
called Antankàrana, that is, “the people of the rocks." It is
an enormous lofty and precipitous rock, having an eleva-
tion of nearly 1000 feet, and covering an area of about
eight square miles. Its sides are so precipitous that they
cannot be climbed unless artificial means are used, and it is
thickly wooded wherever trees can possibly grow.
The only
entrance into the interior of the rock, which is full of caves,
is by means of a subterranean passage, a portion of which is
extremely narrow, allowing only a single person to pass along
it at a time, and has on each side of it deep water.
The other principal group of mountains in Madagascar is
the great mass of elevated peaks called Ankàratra, in the
central province. This has hardly the grand appearance of
Mount Amber (although it considerably exceeds the latter in
absolute height), since it rises from the elevated region of
Imérina, which is at the capital about 4000 feet above the
sea-level. Ankaratra is, nevertheless, a noble group of hills,
and is the most conspicuous feature of the landscape over
a considerable portion of the central regions of the island.
There are five or six principal peaks, and these are in two
ranges, lying in the form of a cross. They vary from 8000
to 9000 feet in height, the most lofty one, a peak called
Tsiàfajàvona (“that which the mists cannot climb "), being
8950 feet above the sea-level, and so is the highest point
in the whole country.
According to a French engineer's estimate, it considerably exceeds the
above-given altitude, being-so he says-2700 metres high.
VIRGIN FOREST.
27
Another interesting physical feature of Madagascar, which
has only been made clear very recently, is the existence of an
almost continuous belt of virgin forest all round the island,
This forest divides
and generally following the coast-line.
into two belts on the eastern side of the country, leaving a
long narrow valley about 250 miles long between the two
lines. The uppermost of these clothes the slopes which form
the edge of the upper plateau of the island. North of this
valley the two lines unite, and here is the widest portion of
The average
the forest, it being about forty miles across.
breadth is from fifteen to twenty miles. On the north-west side
the two lines overlap each other nearly 100 miles, leaving an
opening about seventy miles wide. The total length of this
forest must be about 2300 miles, and much of this is yet un-
explored, so that there is doubtless still much of interest in
botanical science awaiting research. Besides the forest belt, a
good deal of the country to the west and south is well wooded.
A third fact of interest in the physical geography of Mada-
gascar is the extensive evidence of recent volcanic action
throughout a great part of the country. It has been known
for several years that there were signs of this on the north-
west coast, and that in the island of Nòsibé and the adja-
cent mainland there are numerous extinct craters and much
igneous rock. A few years ago the Rev. T. Campbell, of the
Church Missionary Society, pointed out evident traces of
volcanic agency in the district near the Ankàratra hills. He
says: "It seemed as if the whole place were once a great
smeltery, from the enormous number of clinkers lying about.
There were altogether five mountains, all near to each other,
which have been active volcanoes at some remote period;
each has one of its sides melted down, and the inside hollowed
out. The flow of lava looks as if it had been some immense
reservoir bursting its banks, and the water dashing and foam-
ing through, bearing everything away with it, or covering the
plain beneath."
In a journey I took to the lake Itàsy in 1866, I was
struck with the number of truncated cones in the hills sur-
rounding the lake. But extensive journeys made more.
recently in various directions have revealed the existence of
28
EXTINCT VOLCANOES.
a very widespread and powerful subterranean action through-
out a great part of the island, probably extending almost
unbroken from the south-east to the north-west and extreme
north. There seems reason to believe that this volcanic belt
is part of a line which has its eastern extremity in the island
of Réunion, where there is a volcano still showing occasional
signs of activity; while the other (north-western) extremity
passes through the Comoro group (the islands of which consist
of grand masses of lofty volcanic mountains), and terminates
in the island of Great Comoro, where also, as in Réunion, is
a still active volcano. It would seem as if the subterranean
forces had expended their energy in the intermediate space,
for there is no active volcano in Madagascar, while at each
end of the line their presence is still occasionally felt.
are, however, signs of not altogether extinct forces in the
slight earthquake-shocks which are felt almost every year,
and in the hot springs of various kinds which occur in many
parts of the country.
A large number of extinct volcanoes are found west of
Lake Itasy. These are thus described by Dr. Mullens :
"When we ascended the lofty hill overhanging the western
end of the lake, crater after crater met cur astonished gaze.
Some were of enormous size, some were small; some were
cones, others were hollow, or were horseshoe in shape, and
had long ridges of lava running out from the open side.
There were forty craters in all, of which we were sure; we think
there were others beyond to the north."
"Fifty miles farther
We climbed a lofty
south we came on the volcanoes again.
rounded hill called Ivòko, and then found that we were on
the crater wall. The inner hollow was a quarter of a mile
wide, the height of the wall above the level country outside
was 1000 feet. Two lava streams went out towards the
south and west; three small craters were at the foot, and
others, large and conspicuous, were around us on every side.
Close by, another huge crater, Iatsìfitra, had its opening to-
wards the north, and the lava that had issued from it was
fresh, black, and sharp, as if broken yesterday. But stranger
still, at its eastern side was a plain a mile square, covered
with heaps of lava like stone cottages, fortresses, ruined
VOLCANIC ACTION.
29
palaces. I counted thirty greater piles and noted numberless
smaller ones; it was clear that at one time the entire plain
had been on fire, that a hundred jets of fire and flame and
molten lava had spouted from its surface. The heaps were
now old and moss-grown, but we were informed of a vague
tradition among the people that their ancestors had seen
these flames bursting forth. Altogether, in that important
journey, we saw and counted a hundred extinct craters, ex-
tending over an arc of ninety miles, not reckoning the central
mass of Ankaratra, round one side of which that arc bends.”*
In a journey to the south-east of Madagascar I discovered
traces of volcanic action in many places, in some parts shown
in the deposits of rolled pebbles of lava, and in others in the
streams of lava rock running into the sea and forming reefs
which are being gradually broken up by the surf. And in
the very opposite part of the island, on the extreme north-
west coast, opposite the Minnow group of islets, Bishop Kestell-
Cornish observes: "This coast is the most distinctly volcanic
that I have seen in Madagascar; at one point the lava must
have run down to be quenched in the sea, and it looked as if
this had taken place only last year.” †
In the Antsihànaka province also the same plutonic agency
is distinctly visible. A great part of this region consists of an
immense marshy plain, about thirty-five miles long by fifteen
wide, with the lake Alaòtra at its north-east corner and sur-
rounded by hills; and it has evidently been the seat of some
powerful subterranean force by which this depression was
caused. This is clear from the fact that the lines of hills
which are seen on both sides of the Antsihànaka plain do not
run in the same direction as the main valley or depression of
the country, but cut it at an angle of about 45°; so that
while the general direction of the valley is N.N.E. and S.S.W.,
the lines of hills on either side have a bearing of N.N.W. and
S.S.E. Many of the ridges seem to be broken off more or
less abruptly by the level ground for several miles, and then
are continued on the other side of the plain. It was impos-
sible to avoid the conclusion that by some great convulsion
* Proc. Roy. Geog. Soc., January 25, 1875.
+ Antananarivo Annual, No. iii. p. 22.
30
A PLUTONIC VALLEY.
a vast rent and depression had been made across the lines of
hills in a diagonal direction; while the water-worn and wasted
remains of some few of these towards the south, forming a
line of low detached hills, suggested that probably the action
of water, either as an arm of the sea or a great river, had
completed what was commenced by more violent agencies.
The evidence of former volcanic action in the presence of
extinct craters and lava streams to the west, north, and
north-east of the plain, gives considerable support to this
supposition.
About a hundred miles north of the Antsihànaka pro-
vince there seem to be further traces of volcanic action. The
Rev. J. A. Houlder thus describes a remarkable valley called
Màndritsàra, which, until he saw it in 1876, was unknown
to Europeans even by name, and not marked upon any map:
"It is a great basin, or rather a mighty elongated pit, sunk
deep down among the surrounding heights. It is about thirty
miles long, and nearly 2000 feet below the level of the
country east and west of it. Dante would have imagined
it, not a 'circle' certainly, but a remnant of some region of
the horrible pit itself, which for a wise and gracious purpose
had been gently touched by the cooling breath of heaven.
There had evidently been a great commotion going on there
in the ages gone by, for all the long valley was dotted with
rounded hills, giving it the look of boiling water or bubbling
pitch, which by some strange process had suddenly become
congealed."
It will therefore be seen that igneous agency has been a
powerful factor in shaping the physical geography of many
portions of Madagascar, and that in few places could that
agency have been present on a grander scale than in the great
volcanic region of which Madagascar is the centre, and the
Comoro and Mascarene groups the extreme points in either
direction.
An attempt has been made in the accompanying sketch-
map to show the prominent features in the physical geography
of the island already noted. Probably closer examination
would show that the detached groups of extinct craters are
all connected by intermediate links, so as to form a continuous
GEOLOGICAL FORMATION.
31
line of igneous disturbance from the extreme northern point
of Madagascar to at least as far south as the twenty-third
parallel; and from the appearance of a line of hills seen at a
distance south of this latitude, I am strongly inclined to
believe that there has been subterranean agency at work even
beyond the upper granitic plateaux, but no examination has yet
been made of this southernmost region.
With regard to the geology of Madagascar, but little is at
present known with any exactness, for no competent geolo-
gist has yet made a systematic examination of the country.
There are, however, a few facts of a general character which
have been noted by various observers, and these may be here
collected together as a slight contribution to a knowledge of
this subject, pending a more complete and scientific treatment
of it.
As already mentioned, the elevated region which forms so
large a part of the central, northern, and eastern portions of
the island is largely composed of Primary and igneous rocks.
Granite, gneiss, and basalt are present almost all through
this high region, and generally form the loftiest points in the
country. In a single hill there is often a considerable variety
of rock both in colour and texture-granite of various shades
of grey, red, and rose-colour, with the constituent parts both
fine and coarse. Veins of quartz, running both through these
and the clays by which they are overlaid, are often met with,
and very fine specimens of rock-crystal are frequently found.
A hard, whitish, and durable stone, which has some resem-
blance to the Yorkshire stone called Bramley Fall, is used
in Antananarivo for public buildings, as well as for the
native tombs.
The lower hills, as well as the high moors, are usually com-
posed of a bright red clay, but below the surface this often
seems to pass into a light pink or white earth, resembling
kaolin or china clay. This frequent change of colour would
lead one to infer that atmospheric influences had something
to do with the difference between the surface clay and that
exposed in the numerous precipitous clefts which the rains
excavate on the hillsides. In many places the material
found amongst the rock seems exactly like granite in its con-
32
LIME AND SLATE.
stituent parts, but without the cementing element, so that it
can be cut quite easily by a spade. The red clay is some-
times varied by a light brown clay on the hills, while the
plains and valleys are filled with rich alluvial clays, blue and
black in colour. In all these clays there is an apparently
total absence of all organic remains, either animal or vege-
table, so that it is not an easy task to determine their geolo-
gical age; and there is little sign of stratification, although
I have detected some appearance of this in the rocks, with
tilting of the strata.
In this elevated region there seem to be few, if any,
sedimentary rocks of a more recent age than the Primary
ones which are so prominent a feature of it. A soft dark-
red stone is found in some places, but this appears to be only
a hardened clay. Columnar basalt has been noticed at some
points, as well as extensive beds of volcanic ash, decomposed
lava, scoria, and lava rock of all varieties of hardness, in
some of which crystals of olivine are found in abundance.
At one point, however, in the upper region of the island, a
limestone deposit occurs. This is at Sirabé, to the south-west
of the Ankaratra mountains; and from the pits dug here
most of the lime used for building in the central province is
procured. It has not yet been examined by any one with
competent scientific knowledge, but it appears to be a
sulphate of lime, and is probably only a local deposit and
not a stratified rock, and most likely is connected with the
subterranean action so visible all around the district. Jets.
of carbonic acid gas are found in the plain among the lime,
and from one of the springs which rise up to the surface a
rock has been deposited with stalactite caves in its sides.
Clay-slate is met with in the southern part of this elevated
region, and in the Bétsiléo country a valuable slate, suitable
both for building and for writing upon, is found, although it
has not yet been worked to any extent. The royal chapel at
Antananarìvo is roofed with this native slate. According to
some accounts, greywacke or whinstone, silex, and chert, with
chalcedony, are also met with in the southern highlands.
From certain of the facts above given, as well as from
other considerations, it appears highly probable that this
FOSSILS.
33
extensive elevated region of Madagascar is very ancient land,
and has probably remained for many ages above the waters
of the Indian Ocean; otherwise some trace of marine deposits
would surely be found in portions of this great extent of
country. I may, however, here note the fact that there are
in some places such rounded boulder-like masses of blue
basalt rock, sometimes on the surface, and sometimes partially
embedded in the soil, that did these occur in the temperate
region one would certainly ascribe them to glacial action;
but the point requires fuller investigation, and possibly some
other solution may be given to the rather puzzling inquiry
suggested. But in travelling to the north-west coast, as we
got near the sea-level on the banks of the Bétsibòka, we met
with rounded boulders composed of rock which certainly does
not exist in situ anywhere near the spot where these boulders
occur, but has come from far away in the interior.
With regard to the lower region of Madagascar-the
extensive plains to the west and south of the island, as well
as the narrower extent of country on the east coast-we have
a little more definite information as to the geology of some
portions of it. This division of the country is at a much less
elevation above the sea, being only as many hundreds of feet
above it as the granitic region is thousands of feet. Here
we find not only deposits of the later Tertiary epochs, con-
taining fossils of animals but recently extinct, but also fossils
of the Secondary age. This fact was first pointed out by
M. Grandidier, who, in speaking of the south and west
portions of the country, says: "Nerinea and other charac-
teristic fossils of the Jurassic formation which I have there
collected prove the existence of Secondary strata which cover
a vast extent of this island" (Bull. de la Soc. de Géog., Août
1871, p. 88). In a later number of the same publication
(Avril 1872) he also speaks of an extensive "terrain num-
mulitique parfaitement charactérisé par des Neritina schmi-
deliana, et pétri de foraminifères appartenant aux genres
Alveolina, Orbitoïdes, Triloculina," &c. This is confirmed by
the fossils discovered in the south-west of Madagascar, in the
upper part of the valley of the St. Augustine River, by the
Rev. J. Richardson in 1877. These occur in vast numbers,
C
34
SANDSTONE.
and from a drawing he gives of them appear to belong to the
Neocomian formation, and are species of the genera Ammonites,
Terebratula, Nerinea or Turritella, Einoceramus, and Rhyn-
conella, together with an Echinoderm.
It is evident, also, that there are deposits of a much later
date than the above, for in the south-west of Madagascar M.
Grandidier discovered the fossil remains of a hippopotamus (a
pachyderm not now found living in the island), of gigantic
tortoises (which are now only found in the little island of
Aldebra to the north of Madagascar), and of the probably
very recently-extinct struthious bird, the Epyornis maximus,
whose egg (12 in. x 9 in.) so far exceeds that of any other
known bird. It seems highly probable, therefore, that a
systematic examination of these less elevated portions of
Madagascar would reveal the existence of much that is in-
teresting and valuable both in paleontology and geology, and
so light would be thrown upon many problems connected
with the anomalous animal life of the country and of neigh-
bouring islands in the Indian Ocean. It is evident that
these maritime plains were under water during portions at
least of the Secondary period, at which epoch the high grani-
tic region alone formed the island of Madagascar, then a
country probably only a third of its present extent.
*
Dr. Auguste Vinson speaks of seeing yellow sandstone on
the eastern coast, and he also describes the plain between
the two eastern lines of forest as being composed of beds
of sedimentary formations, "rich in fossil remains." Unfor-
tunately he gives no particulars as to these alleged extinct
organisms, so we are still in the dark as to the geological
age of these formations. In sailing down the river Bétsiboka
to the north-west coast, I noticed at one point that for a con-
siderable distance the river bank was formed by layers of
yellowish sandstone closely resembling a wall of masonry.
Some of the courses appeared much weathered, while others.
had a smooth face, as if of much harder material.
* This is confirmed by what is said in a "Notice sur une Exploration Géolo-
gique de Madagascar, par M. Ed. Guillemin," in Annales des Mines, 6me série,
t. x., 1806, pp. 277-319, who speaks of fragments of basalt being found far
from the sea, at the foot of the mountains and many metres above the sea-level,
with sea-shells, apparently of a recent date, attached.
LIGNITE.
35
From the account given by an intelligent native of some
rocks in the western part of Madagascar, and a little to the
south of the centre, a conglomerate seems to be found there,
for he describes hard rocks of great size as being filled as
thickly as possible with rolled pebbles of all dimensions and
shapes. He also mentions that near the sea he found a hard
black stone which rang like iron when struck. This occurred
in large, flat masses, scattered over the plain, and was full of
shells in good preservation. But here, again, no specimens
were brought for examination.
*
A little more information as to the geology of Madagascar
is found in papers contributed to scientific periodicals in
England and France several years ago. The earliest of these
is by the late Dr. Buckland, who, in a "Notice on the Geolo-
gical Structure of a Part of the Island of Madagascar" (Port
Louquez, near the northern extremity), describes a sandstone
without fossils, which he compares to the New Red Sandstone,
and in which are intercalated trap rocks similar to those of
Antrim in Ireland.
In
As to the north-west side of Madagascar, in the Annales
des Mines (1854, 5me série, t. vi. pp. 570-576) there is an
account of the discovery of beds of lignite, both in the island
of Nòsibé and at two points on the neighbouring coast.
the opinion of the officers who made the exploration, the beds
of this combustible are more ancient than the Tertiary forma-
tion. It is contained in layers of sandstone and clay schists,
is fibrous and shining, and burns readily with a long and
white flame, leaving little ash. If beds of this lignite should
be discovered in greater thickness, it would therefore be valu-
able both as steam coal and for use in the industrial arts.
In the same French publication of a little later date (5me
série, t. viii., 1856) there is an "Essai sur la Géologie de
Nòsibé," in which the soil of that island is described as con-
sisting of three different groups of strata: (1) Granitic rock,
gneiss, mica schist, slaty schist, and plastic clay; (2) red and
yellow sandstones, traversed by veins of gneiss and quartz;
while (3) is essentially volcanic, consisting of basaltic and
trap lavas, overlaid in some places by beds of sandy material,
* Trans. Geol. Soc., London, vol. v. p. 478.
36
CORAL AND MINERALS.
tuffs, and volcanic rappilis. This essay is accompanied by a
complete geological map of Nòsibé.
Since the date of this last paper some further attention has
been paid to this part of the country, in connection with the
French company promoted by M. Lambert (see Annales des
Mincs, 6me série, t. x. pp. 277-319), but hardly anything
more has been done towards a scientific examination of other
portions of Madagascar, except a notice of the peninsula en-
closing Antongil Bay on the north-east coast (Bull. de la Soc.
de Géog., Sept. et Oct. 1867), although probably M. Grandidier
will have some fuller information in his great work now in
progress.
It may be here observed that a (barrier?) reef of coral
extends from 200 to 300 miles along the south-east coast of
Madagascar, varying in its distance from the land from a
quarter of a mile to three or four miles; while fringing reefs
surround the northern end of the island, extending for 250
miles along its western side, and for 400 miles down its
eastern side, and are also found on the south-west coast. Mr.
Darwin gives in his work on "The Structure and Distribu-
tion of Coral Reefs" (pp. 104, 105) some facts showing the
wonderfully rapid growth of various species of coral on the
east coast of Madagascar. The northern extremity of the
country is said by Captain Owen to be formed of madre-
poritic rock.
With regard to minerals, Madagascar is tolerably rich in
some of the most useful metals. Iron is found in great
abundance in Imérina, sometimes almost in a pure state. In
some of the hills it is so plentiful that it is difficult to get a
bearing with a compass from the deflection caused by the iron
in the ground. Copper and silver have also been discovered,
and from the geological structure of the country it is highly
probable that gold would also be found in some of the ravines
of the granitic highlands; but as it is at present a serious
offence against the native laws to search for the precious
metals, hardly anything has been done in this direction.
Rock-salt is found near the coast, and nitre is also met with.
Iron pyrites, from which sulphur is extracted, is also found
in abundance; and in the northern part of the island
RAINFALL.
37
antimony seems to be plentiful; and oxide of manganese
has been found about fifty miles south of the capital. A
substance resembling plumbago exists in great abundance,
and is used by the Malagasy to colour and glaze some of the
articles of pottery. A considerable variety of ochres and
coloured earths are met with, and are used not only for
colouring the native houses, but also in dyeing some of the
woven cloths made by the people.
In conclusion, it may be remarked that there is a vast
extent of country on the coast plains where the soil is most
fertile, but which is only thinly peopled, or has no popula-
tion at all. Many parts of the island which separate the
territory of one tribe from another are well watered and
wooded, and seem to invite occupation. Madagascar could
well sustain a population from ten to twenty times its
present amount, for hardly any portion of it is rainless or
desert, except a small section of the extreme south-western
coast. Surrounded by the ocean, it enjoys an abundant
rainfall, so that the droughts which constantly afflict large
portions of Southern Africa never occur in Madagascar, while
its insular position gives it a more equable climate, freer
from extremes of temperature, than is enjoyed in most tropical
countries.
( 38 )
CHAPTER III.
THE ANIMAL LIFE OF MADAGASCAR.
PECULIAR AND SPECIALISED CHARACTER OF THE FAUNA-ONE OF THE MOST
REMARKABLE GEOLOGICAL REGIONS-LEMURS-AYE-AYE-INSECTIVORA-
–
·
CARNIVORA-UNGULATA FOSSIL HIPPOPOTAMUS RODENTIA· REMOTE
AFFINITIES OF THE AVI-FAUNA — RAPTORES - WATER-BIRDS-PERCHING
BIRDS--CARDINAL-BIRD-SUN-BIRDS-ÆPYORNIS AND ITS ENORMOUS EGG—
REPTILES-SCARCITY OF VENOMOUS SERPENTS-LIZARDS-GIGANTIC TOR-
TOISES-CROCODILES-FISHES-INSECTS- BUTTERFLIES-BEETLES-WASPS
-FIREFLIES-MANTIS-ANTS-LOCUSTS-MOSQUITOES
SPIDERS-SCOR-
PIONS AND CENTIPEDES-AN ARMOUR-PLATED CREATURE-MINUTE AND
AQUATIC FAUNA-ORIGIN AND MEANING OF THE SPECIALISED FAUNA OF
MADAGASCAR-OPINIONS OF EMINENT NATURALISTS.
As already pointed out in the preceding chapter, a large
extent of country in Madagascar is covered with forest, a
broad belt of which surrounds the island in an almost un-
broken line; while there is in addition to this a considerable
tract of country, less densely wooded, occupying much of the
western and southern plains. Here, then, there appears to
be a congenial habitat for a vast number of living creatures
-birds, reptiles, and arboreal mammals-in the thousands
of square miles of woods, which cover not only a great
portion of the warmer coast region, but also the slopes of the
elevated interior plateaux.
From these physical conditions of the country, it might
therefore be supposed that Madagascar, situated as it is almost
entirely within the tropics, would be profusely filled with
animal life. But it is not so, at least not nearly to such an
extent as one would expect; and a stranger crossing the
forest for the first time is always struck with the general
stillness of the woods and the apparent scarcity of birds
seen on the route. The fauna of the country does, it is true,
contain some most interesting and exceptional forms of life,
FAUNA.
39
but it is almost as remarkable for what is omitted in it as
for what it contains. Not only so, but from the position of
the island with regard to Africa-being separated from it by
a sea only 230 miles wide at its narrowest part, a distance
further reduced by a bank of soundings to only 160 miles--
one would also suppose that the fauna of the island would
largely resemble that of the continent. But it is remarkably
different: whole families of the larger mammalia are entirely
absent; there are no representatives of the larger felines, no
lions, leopards, or hyænas; and none of the ungulate order,
except a single species of river-hog, sole relative of the
hippopotamus, rhinoceros, and buffalo; and there is no zebra,
quagga, or giraffe, or any of the numerous families of ante-
lope which scour the African plains. There is no elephant
browsing in the wooded regions of Madagascar, and, stranger
still, there are no apes or monkeys living in its trees. The
few horses and asses found in the island are of recent intro-
duction by Europeans; even the humped cattle, which exist in
immense herds, are probably not indigenous, but have been
brought at a somewhat remote period from Africa; and the
hairy fat-tailed sheep and the few goats found in Madagas-
car are also of foreign introduction.
But for all that, the sub-region-speaking zoologically—
of which Madagascar is the largest and most important por-
tion is pronounced by every zoologist who has studied it to
be one of the most remarkable districts on the globe, bearing,
says Mr. Alfred Wallace, "a similar relation to Africa as the
Antilles to tropical America, or New Zealand to Australia,
but possessing a much richer fauna than either of these, and
in some respects a more remarkable one even than New
Zealand." The Madagascar fauna is very deficient in the
number of the orders and families of mammalia, but some
of these, especially the Lemuridæ among the Primates, the
Viverridæ among the Carnivora, and the Centetida among the
Insectivora, are well represented in genera and species.
I will notice the mammalia in the order now generally
followed by zoologists in classifying this great division of
the vertebrate animals; premising, however, that in the
following pages no pretension is made to exact or minute
40
THE LEMURIDE.
scientific knowledge or research. I have, however, taken a
great interest in what has been done by others in investi-
gating the fauna of Madagascar. I have kept my eyes open
during long journeys made in different parts of the country;
and I have been at some pains to study the papers con-
tributed by naturalists to our scientific journals upon the
fauna of the country. While, therefore, of little value to the
scientific student, the following resume of what is known as
to the animal life of Madagascar may not be without inte-
rest to the general reader.
Lemurida. The Primates are represented in Madagascar
only by a portion of the eight families into which this
order of mammals is divided; the anthropoid and other
apes, the baboons and the numerous families of monkeys,
being altogether absent. But their place is taken by a much
more attractive and beautiful division of quadrumana, the
Lemurida, which are found in great variety of form and
colour all through the encircling ring of forest. In travel-
ling from the coast to the elevated plateaux of the interior,
one is sure to frequently hear their loud wailing cries, which
sometimes make the woods resound for some minutes together,
and have a most startling effect when heard for the first
time. For a moment one supposes that there is a company
of people not far distant in deep distress; but after dis-
covering the source of the sounds, I always found a curious
pleasure in listening to the long-drawn-out melancholy cries,
which are doubtless rather signs of the little creatures' enjoy-
ment of their forest life than any expression of pain or fear.
The lemurs have all the agility of monkeys, but with none of
their comic half-human expression, the head being more like
that of a dog or a fox, with sharp muzzle and large expressive
eyes; the fur is thick and soft, and the tail often long and
bushy. There is a good deal of variety in size and colour
among the lemurs and the allied genera, the largest species
(Indris) being equal to a good-sized monkey, from, three to
four feet long, while the smallest (Lepilemur) is no larger
than a rat or a small squirrel. One species, found abun-
dantly in a spur of forest crossing the centre of the island, is
entirely of a glossy black; others are of various shades of
RING-TAILED LEMUR.
4I
brown and of warm dark red; others are a silvery white;
one species has a curious development of hair round the face,
giving it the apppearance of having a pair of very bushy
white whiskers; while another has a thick bushy tail banded
with black and white, which, when the creature is in repose,
is usually coiled, like a comforter, round its neck. Lemurs
are gentle and affectionate animals and easily tamed, and are
frequently kept as pets in Madagascar, being secured by a
long cord to a post of the verandah. Their agility is mar-
vellous, for they leap to considerable distances from branch
to branch; so that a wood frequented by a company of them
is all alive with their rapid movements, and resounds with
their cries as they dart from tree to tree.
The true lemurs are mostly fruit-eaters, but they are said
occasionally to feed also on the smaller animals found in the
woods lizards, small birds, and insects. Most of them are
diurnal in their habits, but there are some species which are
chiefly nocturnal.
One species, at least, of lemur, the Ring-tailed variety (L.
catta), does not live in the forests, but among the rocks,
where it is impossible to follow them. Mr. G. A. Shaw de-
scribes their hands as having long, smooth, level, and leather-
like palms, so that the animal can find a firm footing on wet
slippery rocks; while the thumbs on the hinder hands are
very much smaller in proportion than those of the forest
lemurs, who depend upon their grasping power for their means
of progression. These lemurs are, therefore, an exception to
the general habits of the Lemuridæ in that they are not
arboreal. Their chief winter food consists of the fruit of the
prickly-pear; and they are said not to drink water. They
defend themselves with great spirit if attacked. Another
species, the Broad-nosed lemur (Hapalemur simus), is said
to subsist on the young shoots of the bamboo and upon
grass. One of the smallest species, the Brown-mouse lemur
(Chirogaleus milii), hibernates, making for itself a nest of leaves
or dry grass in hollow trees for its winter sleep. It is an
exceedingly pretty animal, brown in colour, but white below,
with large and brilliant eyes, and legs nearly equal in length,
so that it does not leap, like the majority of the lemurs. The
42
SUB-FAMILIES OF LEMURS.
most diminutive of all these active little animals is the Dwarf
lemur (Microcebus Smithii); this lives on the tops of the
highest trees, making a nest very much like that of a bird.
Its food consists of fruit and insects, and probably also honey.
It is exceedingly pugnacious. For these particulars I am
indebted to Mr. Shaw's "Notes on Four Species of Lemurs,
specimens of which were brought alive to England in 1878."
(Proc. Zool. Soc., February 4, 1879.)
Madagascar may be called the head-quarters of the Lemu-
rida; and of the four sub-families into which the family
is divided (embracing the true lemurs, the typical animals
of Professor St. George Mivart's sub-order Lemuroidea), two
-by far the largest-belong exclusively to the island, and
contain six genera and thirty-four species; but there are two
other sub-families of allied forms which are found in other
countries. One of these (Nycticebida) comprises some small
short-tailed animals, called slow lemurs, found in India and
China, Borneo and Java; another similar animal, the loris, in-
habits South-East India and Ceylon; another, the potto, is found
in West Africa, at Sierra Leone; and another, the angwantibo,
is also found in West Africa, at Old Calabar. The meaning of
the extraordinary fact that animals so nearly allied to the
lemur are found in such remote regions both east and west of
Madagascar, we shall discuss further on in connection with
the other strange anomalies in geographical distribution, which
are shown both by the relations of other mammals found in
the island, and also by many of the birds, reptiles, and in-
sects. There is a fourth sub-family of Lemuridae, the galagos,
not however so nearly allied to the true lemurs as those just
mentioned, which is found all over the central portions of the
African continent, from Senegal and Fernando Po to Zanzibar
and Natal.
M. Grandidier has pointed out with regard to several
genera of the lemurs, that they have embryological features
which render them very distinct from the other quadrumana,
the placenta being altogether different from the discoid
form common to other members of the order. This fact,
together with a number of other anatomical differences,
induces him to think that they require to be placed in a

AYE-AYE (Cheiromys Madagascariensis).
THE AYE-AYE.
43
distinct order from the rest of the quadrumanous animals.
M. Grandidier also thinks that the number of species of
lemur is much less than has been supposed, many specimens.
formerly reckoned as distinct species being only local varieties
(Bull. Soc. Géog., Avril 1872, p. 373).
But there is another quadrumanous animal allied to the
Lemurs, and classed as one of the three families in Professor
Mivart's sub-order Lemuroidea, which is one of the most
remarkable forms of mammalia to be found in any part of
the world. This is the Aye-aye, or Cheiromys Madagas-
cariensis. This animal is the sole representative of the
family with which it is classed, and is peculiar to Mada-
gascar. From the few specimens available for examination,
it is only lately that it has been thoroughly known to
naturalists. It was at first supposed to belong to the
Rodentia, with which it was classed both by Cuvier and
Buffon, but it is now determined to be "an exceedingly
specialised form of the lemuroid type." Its organisation
presents perhaps one of the most interesting examples of
typical forms modified to serve special ends that animal
structure can furnish us with. Its food consists of a wood-
boring larva, which tunnels beneath the bark of certain
hard-wooded trees. To obtain these, the animal is furnished
with most powerful chisel-shaped teeth, with which it cuts
away the outer bark. As, however, the caterpillar retreats to
the end of its hole, one of the fingers of the Aye-aye's fore-
hands is slightly lengthened, but considerably diminished in
thickness, and is furnished with a hook-like claw. Thus
provided, the finger is used as a probe, inserted in the tunnel,
and the dainty morsel drawn from its hiding-place. There
are also other modifications, all tending to the more perfect
accomplishment of the purposes it fulfils in nature; the eyes
being very large to see by night; the ears expanded widely,
and of most delicate membrane, to catch the faint sound of
the caterpillar at work; and the thumbs of the hinder feet, or
rather hands, being largely developed to enable the animal to
take a firm hold of the tree when at work. It has also been
observed that this claw-like middle finger is used as a scoop
when the creature drinks; being bent so as to separate it
44
THE INSECTIVORA.
from the other fingers, it is carried so rapidly from the water
to the mouth, passing sideways through the lips, that the
liquid seems to pass in a continual stream. The natives of
Madagascar have a superstitious dread of the animal, believ-
ing that the person who kills an Aye-aye will certainly die
within a year.
This fear, added to the nocturnal habits of
the creature, has made it difficult to obtain specimens.
The Bats may be dismissed in a word or two. The six
known species all belong to families which are widely ex-
tended over the world; and they have no special peculiarity
of appearance or habit which marks them from the familiar
forms found in every tropical country.
Insectivora.-Coming, however, to the next order of mam-
malia, the Insectivora, we find them represented in Mada-
gascar by two families, one of which, the shrews, is well known
and widely spread, and contains but a single species; but
the other family, that of the Centetidæ, is, with the exception
of one genus, peculiar to the island. It contains five genera
in Madagascar, and nine species. These are all small
animals, allied to our European hedgehogs, some of them
having a covering of strong spines, while in others it consists
rather of firm prickly hairs, which however do not cover the
whole of the body. They are used as food, having very
much the taste of pork, and are called tràndraka or tenrec.
They are found in the woods, and especially in the low
scattered brushwood and fern-overgrown land in the vicinity
of the forests, from which the trees have been removed.
During our usual yearly holiday at our sanatorium on the
outskirts of the inner line of forest, we frequently met with
three or four varieties of these harmless creatures while
rambling in the outskirts of the woods. Our dog often
chased them, but she generally came back with her mouth
and nostrils stuck as full of prickles as a pincushion is of
pins. Some of the species are prettily banded transversely with
alternate shades of dark and light brown, or brown and yellow.
One day a female tenrec was brought to us for sale, with
eight or nine tiny young ones only a few days old. These
were yellow and brown in colour, their hair being still soft;
they were about the size of a large egg, and a most amusing
THE CARNIVORA.
family of creatures they looked.
45
The various genera of
these Centetidæ do not roll themselves into a ball like the
hedgehogs, but place the head between the fore-paws, and
their spines and prickly hairs probably serve them equally
well as a protection from their enemies.
One
Small as the insectivorous animals of Madagascar are,
they are remarkable from the fact that "in no equally con-
fined area are they represented by so many peculiar types as
in Madagascar." But it is still more remarkable that the
only other known genus of Centetidæ is found in the West
India Islands. The animal representing this genus, the
Solenodon, is more slender in form than the Madagascar
Centetidæ, and more active in its habits. It has a long rat-
like tail, and a tapering snout, like that of a shrew.
species is found in Cuba, and the other in Hayti, and they
are among the very few mammals which are known to be
indigenous to the West India Islands. "Although," says
Mr. Wallace, "presenting many points of difference in detail,
the essential characters of this curious animal are, according
to Professors Peters and Mivart, identical with the rest of the
Centetida. We have thus a most remarkable and well-
established case of discontinuous distribution, two portions of
the same family being now separated from each other by an
extensive continent, as well as by a deep ocean."
Carnivora. The carnivorous animals of Madagascar are
small compared with those of Africa. They belong chiefly
to the Viverride or Civets, a family now chiefly found in
Africa and South-east Asia, but which, during the Miocene
period, also flourished in Europe. The typical animal of
this family, called by the natives fòsa (which is also its
generic name), is a long-bodied animal, with short legs and
long bushy tail, and with longitudinal stripes of dark-brown
spots on a ground of light-greyish brown. It is between two
and three feet long, and very destructive to birds and small
quadrupeds. There are only two species of it yet known.
The true viverra has not yet been found in Madagascar, but
it inhabits the Comoro Islands, which are doubtless part of
the ancient land of which Madagascar is the most considerable
* Wallace, The Geographical Distribution of Animals, vol. ii. p. 188.
46
THE CRYPTOPROCTA.
remaining portion. As will be seen from drawings, it is a
handsome creature, beautifully banded with lines of spots on
a light-brown ground, which shades into black on the back
and the neck.
Another carnivorous animal is an ichneumon (Eupleres
goudotii), which is a bulkier animal than the fosa, but with
small head and fine muzzle; it is about two feet long, and
has long claws. The smaller species of carnivora (of two
genera, galidia and galidictis) are called vontsira, and some-
what resemble the weasels and ferrets of Europe, but they are
not so long and slender in body. They are also much less
ferocious, and are not exclusively flesh-feeders. They are all
striped longitudinally with shades of grey and brown.
The only other family in this order consists of a single
genus and species named Cryptoprocta (ferox). It is a planti-
grade animal, and is the largest of the Madagascar carnivora
being about three feet long, with tail of equal, or slightly
greater, length. It is like a small leopard in shape, but with
thick warm-brown fur of a uniform colour. It is "peculiar
to Madagascar, and was formerly classed among the Viverridæ,
but is now considered by Professor Flower to constitute a dis-
tinct family between the cats and the civets." * A very fine
specimen of this animal may be seen in the British Museum,
as well as examples of most of the other carnivora. It appears
to be chiefly found in the western portion of the island, where
it is known under the names of pintsàla or kintsàla. It is
greatly dreaded by the people for its ferocity and destructive-
ness; and, from its mode of attack, appears to be like an
immense weasel, but preying upon the largest animals, wild
hogs, and even buffaloes.
A wild cat is very plentiful in many parts of the island.
This is a handsomely striped animal, and very destructive to
domestic fowls; but, in the opinion of most naturalists, it is
not to be included in the indigenous fauna of Madagascar.
I am, however, inclined to think that this is a mistake.
Ungulata.—As already remarked, the very large and im-
portant order of hoofed animals is all but entirely absent
from Madagascar. There is, however, a single species of
Wallace, op. cit., vol. ii. p. 194.
*
THE UNGULATA,
47
potamochoerus or river-hog, closely allied to an African species.
It is described by a French writer as an ugly animal, with
It has an enormous
high withers, low back, and little hair.
tubercle, supported by a bony prominence in the jaw, which
renders the face of the animal extremely disagreeable. The
specimen in the British Museum hardly bears out this not
very flattering portrait; but I fancy it is a young one, in
which the adult ugliness above described has not been de-
veloped. I have never seen this hog in Madagascar, but have
frequently met with its tracks in the forest, where it digs up
the ground in search of roots, and often does much damage
to plantations situated near the woods. The presence in
Madagascar of this single peculiar species of river-hog, with
so near a relative in Africa, may, in the opinion of Mr.
Wallace, "be perhaps explained by the unusual swimming
powers of swine, and the semi-aquatic habits of this genus
leading to an immigration at a later period than in the case
of the other mammalia.
" *
But although the larger pachydermata are now absent from
Madagascar, it is an interesting fact that they have not all of
them been so in former times; for M. Grandidier has dis-
covered the bones of a small species of hippopotamus (H.
lemerlii) in the south-west provinces in a sub-fossil state,
indicating that this quadruped was an inhabitant of the island
at a not very remote period. A large proportion of the mari-
time plains of Madagascar has extensive reaches of river and
lagoon, which would seem to be just the sort of country best
suited to the habits of the hippopotamus; so that it is diffi-
cult to account for the fact of its having become extinct.
But this is only one of those numerous yet unsolved problems
with which the subject of the geographical distribution of
animals abounds.
Rodentia. The only remaining order of mammalia found
in Madagascar is that of the Rodentia, represented by three
genera, each with a single species of Murido, about which
there is nothing of special interest to remark. Although
poor in genera and species, however, this family is very rich
indeed in individuals; for the whole inhabited parts of the
* Wallace, op. cit., vol. i. p. 273.
48
BIRDS.
(C
country swarm with rats and mice; and every traveller has
stories to relate of his adventures with these creatures. 'A
night with the rats" is one of the never-failing Madagascar
"traveller's tales."
Birds. We now turn to the birds, in which the island is
much richer than in mammals, although here, again, there
are none of the largest forms, and many of the most brilliantly
coloured and striking tropical genera are absent. There is
no living representative of the Struthidæ, either ostrich, casso-
wary, or emu; neither are there any of the trogons, golden-
pheasants, or birds-of-paradise of the Eastern hemisphere, or
the toucans or humming-birds of the Western. But there is
a large variety of the order Passeres, or perching birds, and
many of these, although of moderate size, are beautifully
coloured; and many of them, in common with birds of other
orders the Raptores, the Waders, and the Gallina—are of
remarkable forms. No fewer than 88 genera and III species
of land-birds are already known, and the number is being
added to every year.
But "the number of peculiar genera
in Madagascar constitutes one of the main features of its
ornithology, and many of these are so isolated that it is very
difficult to classify them, and they remain to this day a puzzle
to ornithologists." * Of the III known species, 50 belong
to 33 genera which are peculiar to the island, and 56 to
peculiar species, the genera of which are found also in Africa
and South-eastern Asia; and thus, says Mr. Wallace, "there
is an amount of specialty hardly to be found in the birds of
any other part of the globe. Out of III land-birds in
Madagascar, only 12 are identical with species inhabiting the
adjacent continents, and most of these belong to powerful-
winged or wide-ranging forms." What is most astonishing
is that many of the birds are much more nearly allied to
South Asian or Malayan forms than to those of Africa, while
many are of such doubtful affinities that it is yet quite unde-
cided what family they belong to, several requiring a distinct
family to be formed for their reception; and the nearest
affinities of others are found in South America, and even in
the Pacific Islands. So many perfectly isolated forms are
Wallace, op. cit., vol. i. p. 274.
BIRDS OF PREY.
certainly nowhere else to be found.
49
The explanation of this
may be deferred for a little to consider it on the widest avail-
able data.
omen, and are
On the other
Raptores.-The rapacious birds are well represented in
Madagascar by a number of species of hawks, kites, and
falcons, but there is only one known eagle (Halietes vocife-
These latter are
roides), while the owls are also numerous.
considered by the Malagasy as birds of evil
consequently persecuted by the natives.
hand, one of the hawks (the voromahéry, i.e., "strong bird")
has been adopted as a sort of crest or national emblem by
the Hova Government. It gives a name to the tribe inhabit-
ing the capital and its neighbourhood, and an immense figure
of the bird crowns the lofty high-pitched roof of the two
chief royal palaces in Antananarivo. In the neighbourhood
of the ancient capital of Imérina I have occasionally seen
flocks of several hundred hawks hovering in the air at an
immense height, and have wondered how such numbers
could obtain food.
In the same place the crows are equally numerous and
almost as bold. The Madagascar crow is not quite so much
like an undertaker in appearance as is his English relative.
He is as large as a raven, and has a more clerical air about
him, having a white tie or collar round his neck, and a white
breast that may easily be imagined to be a very large pair of
bands. He is probably nearly related to Corvus capella, the
chaplain crow."
ર
Water-Birds.—Many parts of Madagascar are exceedingly
attractive to sportsmen from the variety of species and great
numbers of the water-birds-wild ducks, divers, teal, muscovy
ducks, waterhens, sandpipers, herons, storks, and ibis-found
in the marshes, lakes, and rivers. One of the finest countries
that a sportsman could desire is the province of Antsihànaka,
which is situated at the northern termination of the long
narrow valley between the two eastern lines of forest. It
consists of an almost perfectly flat plain, about thirty-five
miles long by fifteen broad, the greater part of which is marsh,
and at the north-east corner deepens into an extensive lake.
As the villages are few, and are mostly situated at the foot of
D
:
50
WATERFOWL.
the rising grounds surrounding these marshes, it may be
easily supposed that the whole district is a favourite resort
of waterfowl. During a tour of a fortnight round this
marshy country, in 1874, I was greatly struck with the
abundance and variety of bird-life found there. One day
especially, on a wet and drizzly morning, long lines of wild
ducks and other waterfowl flew over our heads and seemed
to fill the air, while the marshes and shallow expanses of
water swarmed with divers, teal, and black geese. Very
similar in its abundance of bird-life is the lake of Itàsy, some
forty miles to the west of the capital, upon which I once spent
a long day in a canoe shooting waterfowl, herons, and divers.
And from what I have seen in other parts of the island,
especially on the banks of the principal rivers on the eastern
coast of Madagascar, as well as from accounts given by other
travellers in the northern part, the whole island seems to
abound in this class of birds. A pretty little diving duck
(Nettopus auritus), a large brown duck with exquisite blend-
ing of brown, fawn, and slate-coloured plumage, and a duck-like
widgeon with a rose-coloured beak, afford good sport. The
purple or Sultana waterhen is a very beautiful bird, with its
bluish-purple body, red patch on the head, and coral feet
adorned with a tuft of white feathers. A species of Jacana,
a bird of the waterhen family, is found in Madagascar.
Mounted on long legs, it has also very long feet, with which
it walks upon the broad flat leaves of water-lilies and other
plants in search of its food. One of the strangest-looking
birds is a grebe (Podiceps polzelni), in which the massive legs
and immense broad-webbed feet seem curiously dispropor-
tioned to the size of the body. Species of snipe are plentiful,
but they have a different flight from the European bird: one
is known as the painted snipe (Rhynchoa capensis) from its
beautiful markings. Guinea-fowl are tolerably abundant, and
also three species of quail, one (Margaroperdix striata) a
little smaller than the English partridge, and the smallest no
bigger than a sparrow, with a flight like that of a landrail.
•
There are several species of heron. "The sacred ibis of
Egypt is found in large flocks, as well as the green variety
of Europe. The crested ibis is peculiar to the country; it is
PARROTS.
51
a bright red, with yellow beak and claws; a green head, from
which the long plume of white and green feathers lies back."
The white egret, called by the people vòrompòtsy, a small bird
of pure white, with long legs, neck, and beak, is very common
On the
on the coast and in the marshes of the interior.
coast large flocks may be seen following the herds of cattle
for the sake of the ticks and flies, being often perched on
the backs or necks of the oxen. When living at Ambòhi-
mànga, we used to be interested every evening during the
cold seasons in watching the arrival of a large flock of these
birds, about four hundred in number. During the day they
were feeding in the marshes a few miles south, but at sunset
they came altogether and settled for a few minutes in a wide
open space of ground about a quarter of a mile distant in
front of our house. Having apparently rested from their
flight, the leader rose, then the whole flock, and flew steadily
round to the north-west side of the lofty hill on which
Ambòhimànga is built, where they roosted in the trees on the
In
lee side, sheltered from the cold south-east trade-wind.
summer they seemed to remain day and night in their feed-
ing-grounds.
Perching Birds.-In the forests a slaty-black parrot and
also a dark-green species (Coracopsis obscura and nigra) are
often seen. The former is very intelligent and easily taught
to talk. In the more open country, in the warmer parts of
the island, flocks of small bright-green parroquets are
frequently met with. They are about the size, and not
much unlike, the love-birds so common in cages in England.
The family of the cuckoos is well represented in Madagascar;
the most conspicuous is a large bird of dark blue, with a long
tail (Coua cærulea ?); it has a slow, heavy flight, and is
frequently seen in the woods. Another bird (Dicrurus Wal-
deni) is of a blackish glossy green, with extremely long tail,
bifurcated at the extremity.
<<
Some of the smaller birds found plentifully in the open
moory hills of the interior are interesting examples of the
survival of the fittest" by protective resemblance to the
surrounding vegetation. As there is no rain for six or seven
months during the dry season, the grass, as may be readily
52
CARDINAL-BIRDS.
supposed, becomes dull-greenish grey or brown in colour for
the last three or four months. Now the smaller birds so
exactly resemble the dry grass in colour that I have frequently
been startled to see a bird start up from a spot only a few
yards in front of me, upon which I had had my eyes fixed
for some seconds and had not detected the slightest sign of a
living creature. There is, however, a small bird about the
size of a lark which is extremely conspicuous during the
warm season from its livery of brilliant scarlet. In a grove
of mango-trees close to our house at Antananarìvo, these
little cardinal-birds were very plentiful during the breeding
season, darting from tree to tree like living flames, often
engaged in fierce conflict with each other for the favour of
the females. These latter are quite a contrast to the males,
being clad in as sober a suit of brown as an English sparrow.
I have occasionally seen the male birds in flocks of from
thirty to forty together in the rice-fields. The male bird is
in the habit of choosing the very tip of the highest branch
of the trees, where he sits for a few seconds, but speedily
darts off. There are several species found in Madagascar
and the Mascarene Islands, some having scarlet only on the
breast. The typical bird of the genus (called fòdy by the
natives) is entirely scarlet except the wings; but the colour
becomes much less brilliant after the breeding season is over.
The bird belongs to the family of the Ploceidae or weaver-
finches.
There are few streams or sheets of water in Madagascar
where one will not see species of a bird not quite so
conspicuous as the scarlet fòdy, but as large and quite as
beautiful—the kingfisher. The most conspicuous species in
the interior is a bird with most lovely purplish-blue body
and wings, with yellow breast and scarlet throat (Alcedo
vintsoides). Its food appears to be chiefly aquatic insects, and
not fish.
In some accounts of the natural history of Madagascar it
is said that humming-birds have been discovered there.
But this is no doubt a mistake, as the Trochilidæ are believed
to be confined to the New World. There are, however,
several species of Nectarinidæ, or sun-birds, as they are
AVI-FAUNA.
53
commonly called, but more correctly, sugar-birds; and these,
although not very nearly allied to the humming-birds, are
sufficiently like them in general appearance to deceive any
but a practised naturalist. They have the same brilliant
metallic hues, one of them being very beautiful, "with its
bright-green body shaded with violet, the large feathers of
the wings brown edged with green, a violet band on the
breast, succeeded by one of brown and yellow beneath."
But I must not dwell longer on the avi-fauna of the
island. There are numbers of beautifully-coloured birds which
are shown in exquisitely tinted lithography in the work of
Messrs. Pollen and Van Dam, Dutch naturalists, and in M.
Grandidier's magnificent work, of which only four volumes.
of the promised twenty-eight are yet published. It must suffice
here to say, in brief, that, in addition to the birds already
noticed, the thrushes, warblers, bulbuls, orioles, cuckoo and
other shrikes, fly-catchers, hoopoes, pigeons, goat-suckers,
flower-peckers, weaver-finches, wagtails, rollers, bee-eaters,
pittas, swallows, and swifts are all represented among the
Passeres and Picariæ, inhabiting chiefly the woods; and that
grouse, partridges, quails, peafowl, snipes and curlew, herons
and bitterns, flamingoes, storks, and spoonbills are all among
the birds inhabiting the open country, and living in the water
and by the seashore.
But, as already remarked, the ornithology of Madagascar
is more remarkable for the specialty of many of its forms,
and for the remote affinities of several of the birds, than for
the beauty or strangeness of appearance of many individual
members of the avi-fauna; and it is also most curious that
several families which are peculiar to Africa and well re-
presented there are entirely absent from Madagascar.
The Epyornis maximus.—Before, however, referring to the
inferences which have been drawn from the anomalous fauna
of Madagascar, there is one other bird which must be
mentioned, not indeed one of its present inhabitants, but so
recently extinct that it cannot be overlooked in considering
the animal life of the country and its neighbouring islands.
Of course I refer to that gigantic struthious bird the
Æpyornis, which, if not the largest of all birds, certainly laid
54
THE EPYORNIS MAXIMUS.
the largest of known eggs. It is only within the last thirty
years that a few of the eggs have been discovered in the
southern portions of the island. These have the capacity or
contents of six or seven ostrich eggs, or of one hundred and
forty-eight eggs of the common fowl. At first nothing but
some fragments of bone were discovered together with the
eggs, and many were the speculations of naturalists as to the
size and nature of the bird laying such an egg. One learned
professor supposed it to be that of a gigantic penguin;
another, that of an enormous bird of prey, surpassing the
condor in size, and representing the roc of Arabian romance,
and the rukh of Marco Polo's description. Professor Owen,
however, with M. St. Hilaire, refers the egg to a three-toed
species of terrestrial or struthious bird, allied to the Dinornis
of New Zealand, and probably somewhat less in height and
size. About ten years ago, M. Grandidier discovered leg-
bones and some vertebræ of the bird, from which it seems
clear that the Epyornis was about the height of an ostrich,
but more robust and massive in the legs and feet. Since
then, remains of two other and smaller species have been
discovered one the height of a cassowary, and the other
that of a bustard; so that it appears probable that Mada-
gascar was formerly tenanted by as numerous and varied a
family of rukhs as New Zealand was of moas. A diagram
will show more clearly than any description the size of the
egg as compared with those of other well-known birds. The
larger axis of the egg is 124 inches, the shorter 9 inches. Mr.
Wallace says, but I do not know on what authority, that
"there is reason to believe that the Epyornis may have
lived less than two hundred years ago;" unless indeed he
considers that Marco Polo's account may be granted as
founded on fact, when he writes: "The people of Madagascar
report that at certain seasons of the year an extraordinary
kind of bird, which they call a 'rukh,' makes its appearance
from the southern region." It seems quite possible that the
bird was living at that time; while in the earlier ages the
immense egg may easily have given rise to the Arabian
stories of a bird of such gigantic size that it could carry an
elephant in its talons, and had wings stretching over thirty
REPTILES.
55
paces, together with other equally marvellous details. Apart
from its scientific interest, therefore, this enormous Eastern
egg has another interest, as showing that some of the medi-
æval stories, long thought to be wholly mythical, had an
actual basis of fact. Colonel Yule, in his beautiful edition
of Marco Polo's travels, has suggested that the enormous
quill feathers of the rukh, said to have been brought from
Madagascar, were really leaf-stalks of the traveller's-tree
(see vol. ii. p. 354); but it is much more likely that they
were the immensely long mid-ribs of the leaves of the rofia
palm. These are from twenty to thirty feet long, and are
not at all unlike an enormous quill stripped of the feathery
portion.
It will be unnecessary to say much upon the remaining
classes of vertebrata, or upon the other divisions of animal
life found in Madagascar, not only because, with two or three
notable exceptions, they are less remarkable than the mammals
and birds, but also because several groups are yet imperfectly
known and their affinities still undetermined.
Reptilia. With regard to the Reptiles, "these present some
very curious features, comparatively few of the African groups
being represented, while there are a considerable number of
Eastern, and even of American, forms." * In the desert-
snakes, tree - snakes, and whip - snakes there are peculiar
genera, and the pythons or boas are also represented by a
genus peculiar to the island. But the most remarkable fact
in connection with this order of reptiles, so deadly in all the
great continents, is that, with two or three exceptions, the
serpents of Madagascar are harmless. No venomous snake is
known in the interior of the island or in the upper forests,
and it is not quite certain that the larger species found in
the warmer southern and western plains and on the coast
generally are deadly, although some are undoubtedly venomous.
In the open country and forests of the upper plateau the
snakes are all small and innocuous. A pretty kind of water-
snake may be often seen in the forest streams and pools,
swimming over the surface with its head gracefully held up
out of the water. One of my missionary brethren, the Rev.
* Wallace, op. cit.
56
LIZARDS.
*J. A. Houlder, met with some examples of the larger species
on a journey to the north-east coast in 1876. One of these
which he shot is called akoma, and although about nine feet
long, and as thick round the middle as the calf of a man's
leg, he calls a medium-sized specimen. "On each side of its
body was a long, yellow, black, and reddish chain on a
brownish ground, and near the extremity of the tail were
two abortive claws like the anal hooks of the boa." Some of
these serpents are brilliantly green in colour, this being
doubtless a protective resemblance to the surrounding
vegetation. This akoma "is nocturnal in its habits, and
appears to be more often on the ground and in the water
than in the trees." Another serpent, which seems un-
doubtedly a species of boa, is described as living in the
Sakalava country. Hanging from the branches of trees,
it pounces suddenly on its victim, and, enveloping it in its
folds, speedily squeezes it to death. It is even said to kill
oxen and occasionally man. Some of the natives say that it
strikes with a spur in its tail, then sucks the blood which
flows from the wound thus made."
(C
The Lizards are no less remarkable than the snakes from
their Oriental and American, and, in some cases, Australian
relationships. But, as in the case of the Ophidia, the species
of Lacertidæ found in the interior of Madagascar are all
small; they are delicately striped and spotted, and are most
rapid in their movements. Several species of beautifully-
marked chameleons are found in the open country of the
interior, and others, larger, and of bright-green and golden
tints, in the upper forest of the eastern side of the island.
In passing through the woods a day or two after a destructive
cyclone in February 1876, which had prostrated thousands
of great trees, we found a number of new forms of lizards,
chameleons, and tree-frogs among the upper branches of those
which had fallen across the paths. Had a naturalist been
then in the interior, he would have found a harvest of arbo-
real reptiles usually inaccessible from living at a height above
the ground; while a botanist would have had an unusually
good opportunity of examining flowers and fruits which are
generally elevated one hundred feet or more overhead, in the
TORTOISES.
57
struggle for light and air amongst the dense vegetation of the
forest. The tree-frogs are very numerous in the southern
interior provinces, and with their webbed feet cling by scores
to the verandahs of houses, as well as to the trees, looking
like a small patch of bright-green jelly.
There are several
The other groups are of less interest.
species of tortoises allied to African genera; one (Pyxis), the
geometric or box-tortoise, having the carapace divided into
large hexagons beautifully marked. These may be seen
basking in the sun on small spits of sand rising just above
the surface of the rivers. In a very recent geological era
Madagascar was also the home of at least two very large
species of tortoise (Testudo abrupta and Emys gigantea), the
remains of which have been found by M. Grandidier in the
south of the island. These are probably extinct on the
mainland of Madagascar, but they seem to have inhabited the
Mascarene group of Mauritius, Bourbon, and Rodriguez up to
the arrival of man in these islands. But having been reck-
lessly destroyed, they now survive only in the small and
uninhabited Aldebra islands, near the Seychelles group.
There is a fine specimen of this gigantic tortoise in the
British Museum, and two living examples in the Regent's
Park Gardens. The male tortoise, which is much the larger
of the two, is 5 feet 5 inches in length, and 5 feet 9 inches
in breadth-broader, in fact, than it is long. It weighs about
eight hundred pounds, and is believed to be able to carry a
ton weight on its back. It is now seventy years old, but is
still young, and likely to grow to a much greater size. From
its geometric-shaped plates it seems to be allied to the small
living geometric tortoise of Madagascar, and probably still
more closely to the elephantine tortoise of the Seychelles and
Comoro Islands.
The smaller amphibia are not very well known; but the
crocodiles are familiar to every traveller in the island.
These unpleasant-looking reptiles swarm in every river and
lake, and even in many small pools. During a journey down
the Bétsibòka river we saw as many as a hundred in a day,
a dozen together being often seen basking in the sun on a
sandbank; while other travellers have seen as many as a
*
53
CROCODILES.
thousand in as short a space of time. They are mostly
yellowish-green in colour, but some are slaty, and others
spotted with black. The back is serrated like a coarse pit-
saw, and the head seems small in proportion to the body.
They are often attended by a small bird which feeds upon
the crocodile's parasites, and in return is said to warn it of
any danger. They are regarded with a superstitious dread
by many of the Malagasy tribes, and are so dangerous in some
parts of the island that at every village on the banks of the
rivers a space is carefully fenced off with strong stakes, so
that the women and girls can draw water without the risk of
being seized by the jaws or swept off by the tail of these
disgusting-looking creatures. This I saw all along the banks
of the Màtitànana, one of the largest rivers of the south-east
coast. Amongst the tribes dwelling on either side of this
same river, there used to be, and perhaps still is, practised a
kind of ordeal for those who are suspected of certain crimes,
in which the crocodile has an important part to play. (See
chapter on Folk-lore and Popular Superstitions.) Cattle are
frequently carried off by crocodiles when a herd of them ford
or swim across a river, and one of my friends told me that
in the Mangòro he saw an ox suddenly disappear, and in less
than half an hour he noticed an empty skin floating on the
water a little lower down the stream, having been completely
divested of what it covered. I was somewhat inclined to
think he was drawing on his imagination or my credulity;
but he assured me it was a simple statement of fact. The
eggs of the crocodile are collected and sold for food in the
markets, but I never brought myself to test the merits of
these delicacies. They are about the size of a turkey's egg,
with a very thick and rough white shell.
Fishes. The fresh-water fish of Madagascar are not yet
well known; and in the interior provinces of elevated land
they are few in species, and, except of small fish, there are
not many edible varieties. Large quantities of brilliantly-
coloured fish, much resembling the gold and silver fish of our
ornamental ponds, are, however, found in the rice-fields, and
sold in the markets for food, but are only eaten by the
poorer people. The eels are of large size and great thickness;
INSECTS.
59
Although
they are plentiful, and are excellent in quality.
fish is somewhat scarce in the waters of the interior, the
beautiful drawings in Pollen and Van Dam's work on the
Madagascar fauna show that in the north-western rivers of
the island there is a considerable variety of bright-coloured
and grotesquely-shaped fish. These are striped with wavy
bands of bright blue from the head to the tail, these bands
looking as if they were painted over the ground-colour of the
fish, which is golden-red or brown. As soon as the fresh-
water fish have been carefully collected all over the island,
they will doubtless furnish some important facts, throwing
light upon the derivation of the fauna.
Insects. The insects of Madagascar present much that is
remarkable as regards their relationship, and a great deal that
is interesting and beautiful in the shape and colouring of the
various orders.
Many parts of the island are rich in butterflies, some of
the finest being found in the bare interior plateaux, amongst
them the magnificent diurnal moth, Urania riphæus. This
was frequently brought to me, and is certainly one of the
most beautiful of lepidopterous insects; its gorgeous wings of
green and gold, ending in several tails like a papilio, are edged
with a delicate fringe of purest white feathery scales. It is
also one of the most interesting of the Madagascar lepidoptera,
from the fact that all the other species of the genus inhabit
tropical America and the West India Islands. In a journey
to the south-east of Madagascar, in 1876, I was greatly struck
with the numbers of individuals and variety of species of
butterfly seen on the banks of the Màtitànana; and in coming
up
the eastern forest on the Tamatave route, I have seen some
of the streams covered with a cloud of green and black and
blue and black butterflies. Some of the nocturnal moths are
very large, the wings spreading over six or seven inches, and
with lovely shading and spots of brown and fawn colour.
There seems, however, to be only one genus peculiar to
Madagascar, and this belongs to the family of Satyrida.
There are two species of caterpillar from which silk is ob-
tained; from one of these the silk is of so strong a quality,
although not brilliant, that it is asserted that pieces of it,
60.
BEETLES.
when exhumed from the graves, where they have been for
centuries enveloping the dead, have lost none of their firmness.
There is a caterpillar found in the interior which is so large
and brightly coloured that the bushes on which it feeds are
quite conspicuous from some distance. It is from five to
six inches long, in a gorgeous livery of yellow, black, and
scarlet.
The Coleoptera are more remarkable than the Lepidop-
tera for their widely-spread affinities, and they have been
better collected. The tiger-beetles, stag-beetles, carnivorous.
beetles, and also the Cerambycidae and Lamiidæ, are all well
represented, and the rosechafers have twenty genera peculiar
to Madagascar, while the metallic beetles have one genus
(Polybothris) containing a large number of peculiar species;
and the longicorn beetles are numerous and interesting, con-
taining no less than twenty-four genera peculiar to the island.
Most of these insects are found in the lower and warmer
portions of the country, so that only a few of them are met
with in the upper forest, although there are many species even
there of great beauty and interest. A small beetle of most
vivid colouring of metallic green, blue, and scarlet is ex-
tremely plentiful, and may be caught by scores on a particular
kind of bush; and many beautiful Buprestidæ and carnivorous
beetles may also be obtained in the forest-clearings. But the
beetle which most interested me was one with a long, tapir-
like proboscis-a large weevil, I believe. This creature is
about one and a half inches long, black in colour, with tufts.
of yellow hairs. Examining with a hand lens one at work on
the bark of young trees, I observed that the long proboscis.
was toothed at the extremity, and was used to detach the
fibres of the wood; these were cut across, seized by the
minute pincers, and then drawn up, a day's work of the in-
sect producing a considerable hole in the tree, the object being
apparently either to feed on the flowing sap, or to prepare a
nest for the eggs. Insects allied to our English ladybirds,
but larger, are very common; one of these has a transparent,
glass-like covering, more like the carapace of a minute tor-
toise than the wing-cover of a beetle, and this is ornamented
with gold spots, just like burnished gilding.
FIREFLIES.
61
One of the mason-wasps found in the central province
builds a pocket-like nest of clay. These are often constructed
within dwelling-houses, the busy little worker coming in with
a loud hum, bearing a pellet of clay in its jaws; this is de-
posited on the edge of the work already finished, the wasp
getting inside the little chamber and finishing it off smoothly
with her antennæ and fore-limbs, the loud triumphant note
changing to a lower one of apparent satisfaction during the
process of working. These nests are about two inches deep,
and wide enough to admit a little finger, and I frequently
found several of them securely fixed to the underside of the
unceiled rafters of my study. I believe they are filled with
insects as food for the young of the wasp.
In the warmer parts of Madagascar the nights are lighted
up by numbers of fireflies. On the south-east coast I was
once lost in the woods for some time during a dark evening,
and was extremely interested with the numbers of minute
lamps which danced through the air and amongst the trees.
So brightly did a particular one shine out now and then, that
we were several times deceived by them, and felt sure that
we saw the lights of a village a few hundred yards ahead of
The light of these insects is of a greenish hue; it is
not continuous, but is quenched every second or two; as in
some lighthouses, the interval of darkness is a little longer
than the time when the light is visible. When caught and
held in the hand, the insect gives a continuous glow, and not
the series of flashes seen when it is flying.
us.
This crea-
In some other orders of insects there are most interest-
ing forms. A mantis, closely allied to those of Africa and
America, goes through his seemingly devotional, but really
bloodthirsty, attitudes; folding his saw-like arms, as if in
prayer, but in reality to strike an unwary insect.
ture is called by the natives famákilòha, i.e., "headsman,"
literally "head-breaker." It has a peculiarly weird, "un-
canny" look, from the large green head turning round on
the neck, and staring at one in a way no other insect seems
able to do.
Over many portions of the central provinces great numbers.
of ant-hills occur. These are conical mounds of a yard or
62
LOCUSTS.
so high, and are made by a white or yellowish ant called
vitsikambo. If a piece of one of these mounds is broken off,
the ants are seen in a state of great excitement, running in
and out of the circular galleries which traverse their city in
every direction.
There are vast numbers in one nest, and
they have a queen, who is nearly an inch long, while the
workers are about three-eighths of an inch in length. A
serpent is said to live in many of these ant-hills.
Several insects found in the upper plateaux have a marvel-
lous resemblance, in their long bodies, legs, and wings, to the
green stalks and blades of grass, while others are equally like
the dry brown grass of the rainless months.
There are many species of locust in Madagascar, one kind
being a very large brilliantly-coloured insect; the body is
green, yellow, and blue, and the under-wings a bright crimson,
making it a very conspicuous object when flying. But it has
such an unpleasant odour when handled that the Malagasy
have a proverb, " Valalan' amboa: ny tompony aza tsy tia azy,"
i.e., “The dog-locust: even its owner dislikes it." It may be
remarked in passing that the native language is exceedingly
rich in proverbs; and a very interesting paper might be
written on those proverbs which refer to animals, as illus-
trating not only native habits of thought and observation, but
giving also many particulars as to the living creatures in-
habiting the country. Some of the smaller species of locust
are used for food by the people. Divested of wings and
limbs, they are dried, and exposed for sale in great heaps in
the markets. They are generally fried in fat, and are not
unpleasant in taste; I must confess, however, to getting this
information at secondhand. Although locusts occasionally
appear in vast numbers in Madagascar, they do not often cause
much destruction to the vegetation. They are sometimes
seen filling the air as thick as snowflakes, to which they bear
no slight resemblance when the sun catches the glittering
surface of the wings. In the year 1869 an immense cloud
of these insects passed over the capital, darkening the air,
and being an hour or more in their passage above the city.
Among the Hemipterous insects there is none more con-
spicuous by its noise than a species of cicada called joréry.
MOSQUITOES AND SPIDERS.
63
This little creature is only about an inch long, but by the
friction of the wings on a pair of minute roughened tubes, it
produces a shrill stridulous sound which causes the woods to
resound with the vibration, and when very near to it seems
to make the ears tingle.
There is another insect common to every part of the
tropics, and to many temperate countries also, which is far
In the
too numerous in Madagascar-I mean the mosquito.
interior we are comparatively free from this minute plague
in the cold season, but in many parts of the warmer mari-
time plains it is a terrible pest all the year round, and is
said to often cause the death of young animals left exposed
to its attacks. This I can well believe from what I have
seen in several places-seen, but also heard, and unmistak-
ably felt. But in travelling to the north-west coast we fell
in with another insect pest in addition to the mosquito.
This was a stinging fly called alòy. It is about a third the
size of a house-fly, but with the wings less divergent. It
attacks with a sharp prick, sometimes drawing blood. The
flies are found in swarms along a belt of beautifully-wooded.
country with clear streams of bright sparkling water. They
fly by day, but retire as soon as the sun sets, when their place
is taken by the mosquitoes, who roam by night; so that the
unfortunate traveller has little respite either by night or day.
Many of the spiders of Madagascar are very large and
brilliantly coloured. The legs of some of the largest spread
over a circle of six or seven inches in diameter. They spin
immense geometric webs, which span the beds of considerable
streams or wide paths; and these are anchored to the sur-
rounding vegetation by such strong silken cords that it
requires an effort to break them. Some years ago I spent a
long afternoon on a hill to the south of the capital with two
friends, catching spiders. We obtained a great number, in-
cluding from thirty to forty different species; some of these
were like small crabs rather than spiders. Only recently,
however, did I meet with one of the venomous spiders of the
island. This insect is about the size of a small marble,
almost perfectly globular in shape, of a shining glossy black,
and with black legs, but it has a small red spot on the
64
CENTIPEDES AND MILLIPEDES.
abdomen. Its bite is said by the natives to be fatal, and it
probably is so unless speedy measures are taken to cauterise
the wound. Dr. Vinson, a French naturalist, ascertained that
this spider is closely allied to the malignant Latrodectus of
Elba and Corsica, whose bite is believed to be mortal, and
also to another species found in Martinique, which is equally
dangerous. He proposed for it the name of Latrodectus mena-
vody. One of the crab-like spiders just alluded to is also
said to be deadly in its bite; it probably requires a new
genus to be formed for its reception.
While speaking of venomous creatures, it may be observed
that small scorpions are not uncommon in the warmer parts
of Madagascar, and that centipedes are numerous. These
latter have an unpleasant habit of getting into any small
hole or crevice in the woodwork of houses, often choosing the
hollows for the bolts of shutters and windows. One morn-
ing, just before getting up, I was startled to see a large
centipede six or seven inches long crawling over the mats of
our bedroom. Their bite is extremely painful, resembling-so
I have been told the touch of a red-hot iron, but it is not
dangerous if some simple remedies are applied.
Besides the venomous centipedes there are in the forest
great numbers of a perfectly harmless millipede, a series of
shining black rings, eight or nine inches long, with an infinity
of legs, which move like successive waves. And the mention
another of the
of this ringed creature brings me to notice
Annulosa which is frequent in the forests. This animal is
called by the natives Tainkintana, lit., “star-droppings," and
is completely covered with a wonderfully beautiful coat of
mail, each segment folding upon the other, and finished at
the head by a helmet, and at the tail by another rounded and
hollow plate. These are so shaped that when the creature
is alarmed it rolls itself into a ball, every plate fitting into
the other, and forming an almost perfect sphere, from which
no force, save that of tearing it asunder, can induce it to un-
coil. There are two, if not more, species; one, about six
inches long and one and a half inches wide, is of a beautifully
grained bronze, like Russia leather; the other is about half
that size, and is of a japanned black.
But both present

THREE SPECIES OF TANDRAKA OR TENREC (Conletida),
ORIGIN OF THE MALAGASY FAUNA.
65
beautiful examples of protective armour, and of exquisite con-
trivance and creative skill.
Not only the woods of Madagascar, but the waters also are
full of interest from their abundant animal life. Crossing
the river Mananjàra one day, I noticed that, at a point where
the river was wide and with a powerful current, the stones
in the stream were thickly covered with a graceful plant,
which in the water looked like a fern, from one to two feet
On
long, but with very thick and fleshy stem and fronds.
examining one of these, I found it to be the home of a
variety of minute animals: some of them caterpillars, which
were burrowing into the stalk; others, small green creatures
like caddis-worms, but with a transparent shell; others,
minute leeches; others, again, a tiny lump of clear jelly with
a double nucleus; others, like a fresh-water hydra; with
several other kinds, all finding house and provision on one
frond in the rushing waters.
Origin and Meaning of the Specialised Fauna of Madagascar.
-We may now inquire the meaning of the strangely excep-
tional character of the Madagascar fauna. What are we to
infer from the remarkable deficiencies in the mammals and in
some families of birds, as compared with the African fauna,
from the presence of such groups as the Lemuridæ and
Centetidæ, hardly represented in other countries, and those
countries far-distant ones? What is the key to the existence of
such isolated and specialised forms as the Aye-aye, the Æpyor-
nis, and several others of the birds? And why are so many
of the living creatures of the island allied, not to African forms,
but rather to those of Southern Asia or Malaya? Answers
to these questions have been given by two or three natural-
ists; amongst others, by Dr. Philip L. Sclater, who, in an
article in the Quarterly Journal of Science (April 1864),
says the following deductions may perhaps be arrived at
from what we have before us :-
ર
"1. Madagascar has never been connected with Africa,
as it at present exists. This would seem probable from the
absence of certain all-pervading Ethiopian types in Madagas-
car, such as antelope, hippopotamus, felis, &c. But, on the
other hand, the presence of lemurs in Africa renders it certain
E
66
MAMMAL ANOMALIES.
that Africa, as it at present exists, contains land that once
.formed part of Madagascar.
“2. Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands (which are
universally acknowledged to belong to the same category)
must have remained for a long epoch separated from every
other part of the globe, in order to have acquired the many
peculiarities now exhibited in their mammal fauna-e.g.,
lemur, chiromys, eupleres, centetes, &c.—to be elaborated by
*he gradual modification of pre-existing forms.
((
3. Some land-connection must have existed in former
ages between Madagascar and India, whereon the original
stock—whence the present Lemuridæ of Africa, Madagascar,
and India are descended-flourished."
He concludes by saying that "the anomalies of the mammal
fauna of Madagascar can be best explained by supposing that
anterior to the existence of Africa in its present shape a
large continent occupied parts of the Atlantic and Indian
Oceans, stretching out towards (what is now) America to the
west, and to India and its islands on the east; that this con-
tinent was broken up into islands, of which some have become
amalgamated with the present continent of Africa, and some,
possibly, with what is now Asia; and that in Madagascar
and the Mascarene Islands we have existing relics of this
great continent, for which, as the original focus of the stirps
lemurum, I should propose the name Lemuria!"
Dr. Hartlaub, who has described minutely the birds of
Madagascar, lays great stress upon their Indian affinities, as
if these were equal in number and value to the African re-
lationships; an extreme view, which is apparently not borne
out by the facts of the case.
The most careful study of the subject is, however, to be
found in Mr. Alfred Wallace's recent work on The Geogra-
phical Distribution of Animals, to which I have already
repeatedly referred, and to which I am greatly indebted for
exact and minute information with regard to the classification
of the animals of Madagascar.
I can only indicate in a very few words the main points
which I think are established by this valuable work. Mr.
Wallace agrees to a great extent with Dr. Sclater in deeming
FORMER CONTINENT.
67
it probable that in the Tertiary period the Indian Ocean
was occupied in part by a continent or archipelago, of
which we have relics in Madagascar and the Mascarene
Islands, the Seychelles, Amirante, and Chagos groups, and,
nearer to India, the Maldive and Laccadive groups, all of
which have encircling reefs, a fact which has not been much
noticed, but which, from Mr. Darwin's researches on the
subject of the formation of coral, indicates that these islands
are still sinking land. But he also contends that both
Madagascar and the Mascarene and Comoro Islands must
have been connected with Africa in some Tertiary geological
epoch, probably while the Sahara was still a shallow sea-
bottom, and before the incursion of the numerous ungulate
animals and the larger felines from the Asiatic continent.
A bank of soundings now existing in the Mozambique
Channel reduces the width of that strait from 230 miles, its
present narrowest width, to 160 miles, clearly indicating a
former closer connection between the island and the continent.
The Mascarene Islands probably represent the portion of land
which was separated earliest, before any carnivora had reached
the country. The lemuride type of animals evidently existed
in Africa at that period, but has since become almost extinct,
excepting the Galagos, a family of the Lemurida which are
not very nearly allied to the lemuride forms now found in
Madagascar, These latter, probably from long isolation, have
become modified into many exceptional and peculiar species,
especially as they have been free from the attacks of all
large carnivora. The small insectivora are probably relics
of a much more extensive fauna of that order of mammals,
which was greatly developed in the early Tertiary epochs. To
the fact of the long isolation of Southern Africa from the
Oriental region and fauna is probably also due the develop-
ment of the struthious or ostrich type of birds in the southern
continents of South Africa, South America, and Australia, as
well as of birds of other families also incapable of flight.
Free from the incursions of destructive felines, the dodo and
other birds flourished in Mauritius and Rodriguez, and the
huge pyornis in Madagascar, while the gigantic tortoises,
now only left in Aldebra, an uninhabited island, were also
68
SURVIVALS.
free to develop in size and numbers, isolated from any enemy.
The nearest allied gigantic tortoises, those of the Galapagos,
are no doubt survivals in the same manner, on the opposite
side of the southern hemisphere, of a group which probably,
from the evidence of fossil remains, once had a wide range.
over the whole globe. The existence in widely-separated
countries of species nearly allied to Madagascar animals, such
as the solenodon amongst the Centetida in the West India
Islands, species of the urania amongst the Lepidoptera found
also in the West Indies and in Madagascar, and the South
American, and even Pacific, relations of some of the birds,
may be explained, not on the hypothesis of any former closer
connection between these now far-separated lands, but by
supposing that each are survivals of once widely-extended
groups, which have become exterminated through various
causes in the intermediate regions.
It will be seen from the particulars already given that
Madagascar is a country which presents a most interesting
field for a naturalist. I only wish that some one with com-
petent scientific knowledge, as well as literary and artistic
ability, would describe its fauna and flora in such a delightful
way as Mr. Bates has done that of the Amazons, Mr. Wallace
that of the Malay Archipelago, and Mr. Belt that of Nicar-
agua. The materials for such a work are abundant; and
volumes quite as interesting as those just named might
easily be written upon the natural history and botany of the
great African island.
( 69 )
CHAPTER IV.
NOTES ON THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS OF MADAGASCAR.
·
FOREST SCENERY-VALUABLE WOODS-COAST VEGETATION-PANDANUS-TAN-
GÉNA POISON-TREE-PALMS-BARK CLOTH-BAMBOOS : THEIR APPLICA-
TIONS-BAOBAB-MOSSES, CREEPERS, AND LIANAS-FERNS - BEAUTIFUL-
LEAVED PLANTS-PITCHER PLANTS-VEGETATION OF THE INTERIOR-SPINY
AND PRICKLY PLANTS-GRASSES-REEDS AND RUSHES-VEGETABLE FOODS
-RICE AND ITS CULTURE-ROOTS-ARUMS-COFFEE-SUGAR-SPICES-
FRUITS-BANANAS—TRAVELLER'S TREE-MEDICINAL PLANTS—GOURDS—
TOBACCO-HEMP AND COTTON-DYES-LICHENS-FLOWERING PLANTS AND
TREES-ORCHIDS-GUMS-INDIA-RUBBER-LACE-LEAF PLANT.
IN the preceding chapter on the animal life of Madagascar,
it was premised that the writer made no pretensions to exact
scientific knowledge of zoology. So also the present notes
upon the vegetable productions of the island must be pre-
faced by saying that I know still less of scientific botany,
being but imperfectly acquainted even with much of the
nomenclature of the science. All I can here attempt is to
describe in a very familiar and unsystematic way some of
those more prominent features in the flora of Madagascar
which would strike any intelligent traveller in passing through
the country; to note how largely the vegetable productions.
of the island are connected with the civilisation and handi-
crafts of the inhabitants; and to say something about a few
of those remarkable trees and plants which are acknowledged.
by botanists to be among the most curious and interesting of
nature's productions.
The main features of the physical geography of Madagascar
will be remembered by those who have read the first chapters of
this book, viz., the interior highlands of granitic rocks and
red clay, the secondary coast plains, and the almost unbroken
ring of forest surrounding the island. As already pointed
out, these geographical features have necessarily a very great
70
FOREST SCENERY.
influence upon the distribution of animal life; while in con-
sidering the botany, it is of course obvious that they do not
merely influence this latter, but that the Madagascar flora to
a large extent consists of this circling girdle of woods. Be-
sides, however, this forest region, which extends for so many
hundreds of miles round the island, a considerable portion of
the lower southern and western plains is also covered with a
less dense vegetation; and as the forest is found at all eleva-
tions, from the level of the sea up to 6000 feet of altitude,
there is a great variety of temperature, and consequently of
vegetable products, from those which are strictly tropical to
those characteristic of the temperate zones. The elevated
plateaux of the interior are generally destitute of trees, but in
the sheltered river-valleys a luxuriant tropical flora is often
found.
Forest Scenery.-Some of the most picturesque scenery in
the island, and perhaps, of its kind, hardly to be surpassed in
any other part of the world, is to be found on the eastern
coast. This being the windward side of Madagascar, receives
the greatest amount of rainfall: the vapour-laden south-
eastern trades being condensed into rain by the steep forest-
covered slopes of the hills, which rise line after line from the
coast up to the level of the interior table-land. These hills
are scored into deep gorges by many of the rivers, and through
these they find their way to the sea by a succession of rapids.
and cataracts. Such are the valleys of the Mangòro, the
Mànanjara, the Mâtitànana, and many others; and in these
there are endless combinations of luxuriant and dense vegeta-
tion with rocks and waterfalls, presenting a thousand scencs.
in which a landscape-painter might find an exhaustless field
for his pencil.
The most frequented routes from the coast to the capital
necessarily pass through this girdle of woods, and four or
five days is usually spent in traversing the double line of
forest. Here, although few trees of great size or bulk have
been left in the immediate neighbourhood of the rough paths.
which form the only roads through the country, one is always
impressed with the luxuriance of the vegetation. There is a
vigorous struggle for light and air as each tree strives to
VALUABLE WOODS.
71
overtop its neighbour and reach the upper region above the
crowd of its competitors. Amongst this throng of vegetable
life are seen numbers of palms, the feathery crowns often
overtopping the other trees. Most of the exogenous trees are
of hard-wooded species, allied to mahogany, satin-wood, teak,
and ebony. A great variety of beautifully-veined and durable
woods, suitable for all kinds of building and of cabinet-work,
are found in the Madagascar forests, and are already used to
a considerable extent for furniture and the parquetrie floors
of the houses of the upper classes in the capital city and its
neighbourhood. Of these woods a kind called vòambòana is
the most plentiful, and has a great variety of colour and vein-
ing. Another wood, the varòngy (Calophyllum inophyllum) is
largely used for rafters and joists, and for the native canoes.
The height of some of these forest trees may be imagined from
the fact that the three central posts of the chief royal palace
at Antananarivo are each formed of a single trunk, and are
120 feet high above the ground, besides a considerable depth
below.
In the south-eastern forests a large proportion of the trees
are of considerable girth, owing to their being buttressed round
the trunk with aerial roots, which seem to ascend with the
growth of the tree to give the additional support required by
the increasing height. The hollows between these buttresses
form a number of small chambers large enough to enclose
several people. In these woods the growth of the trees is so
dense that it is difficult to get a palanquin through in many
places, and there is a deep gloom below even at mid-day.
It may be here remarked that a Hova house of the old style
and of the better class is entirely constructed of vegetable
materials. So also are the dwellings of the people in almost
every other part of the island; they are so made that no metal
whatever is needed; all fastenings are either of wood or of
tough fibrous plants, which tie the whole firmly together.
Coast Vegetation. For several hundred miles along the
eastern coast of Madagascar there runs a chain of lagoons
into which the rivers flow, leaving an irregular strip of land
between them and the sea. This level belt is covered with
the richest greensward, and dotted over with masses of
72
COAST VEGETATION.
shrubs and clumps of trees.
On one side are the ever-rest-
less waves of the Indian Ocean, and on the other the broad
reaches of the lagoon, bordered by dense vegetation, and the
blue line of the distant mountains of the interior in the
background.
Amongst the trees of this eastern coast are several species
of pandanus, which form a very marked feature in the flora
of the shores of Madagascar, both on this and on the western
side of the island. The most common kind, one with a
branching head and aerial roots rising high above the ground,
occurs in dense masses all along the eastern coast.
Its long
tough leaves with serrated prickly edges serve many useful
purposes. They are made into bags for the transport of
sugar from Mauritius; they are used to protect all kinds of
goods in their transit from the coast to the interior, making a
perfectly watertight covering for the most perishable articles;
and amongst the tribes of the south-east they are the only
plates and dishes used by the poorer people, fresh leaves
being procured without any trouble for every meal. The
fruit of this pandanus is a hard yellow cone, with a number
of hexagonal facets, something like a pine-apple in shape,
but quite woody in texture. Another species of pandanus
(P. obeliscus ?) has a lofty pyramidal outline, not unlike a
low poplar or a larch, but with a tuft of sword-shaped leaves
at the head, and frequently from forty to fifty feet high. The
stem is as straight as that of a fir, and the branches, which
grow in spiral lines round the trunk, are horizontal, with
feathery tips of ribbon-shaped leaves.
A very common tree along this coast is the vòavontaka, a
tree belonging to the Strychnos family of plants. It grows to
the size of a small apple-tree, and bears a fruit resembling in
size and shape a cricket-ball, and yellow in colour when ripe.
On breaking the hard shell, which is about a fifth of an inch
in thickness, a soft yellowish-grey pulp is seen, containing a
number of black seeds. This pulp has a pleasant acid flavour,
very refreshing when travelling on a sultry day.
A prominent feature in the vegetation of this coast is pre-
sented by numbers of dense but low and spreading box-like
trees, which cover a large extent of ground. Two species of
PALMS AND BAMBOOS.
73
Barringtonia are also found on this seaboard, and also certain
kinds of Hibiscus, from the bark of which twine and cordage
are manufactured, and the Aleurites or candle-nut also occurs.
(See Proc. Linn. Soc., Bot., vol. vii. May 13, 1863.)
While passing through the woods bordering the sea, one
frequently comes across the celebrated tangèna, the tree produc-
ing a poisonous nut which was long used in Madagascar as an
ordeal for the detection of certain crimes. The tangèna is
about the size of a cherry-tree, and with its glossy green
leaves, somewhat resembling those of a horse-chestnut in
shape, would be a handsome addition to our ornamental
shrubs, could it be acclimatised in England. But the tree
was valued because of the power supposed to be inherent in
the fruit, in which a kind of divine influence was believed to
be embodied. The customs connected with this poison ordeal
will, moreover, be more appropriately described in the chapter
on Folk-lore and Popular Superstitions.
Another tree which frequently occurs along the eastern
coast is the filao (Casuarina equisetifolia) or beef-wood tree.
It is a tall graceful tree, with fine wire-like leaves, resembling
the fir. Its wood, however, is quite distinct from that of the
fir, and it belongs to another botanical order, that of the
Amentaceæ. It is indigenous to Madagascar, but it is also
found in the Malayo-Polynesian and Australian regions. It
is never, I believe, found far from the sea.
Palms and Bamboos.—The sago-palm is rather common on
the maritime plains, but sago is not used for food by the
people. Among the palms, both on the eastern and western
sides of the island, the fan-palm (Borassus flabelliformis?)
is found very plentifully. Surely among the thousand of
beautiful objects in this beautiful world these graceful palms,
with their spreading crowns of enormous fans, are not the
least worthy of admiration. They are not met with in con-
siderable numbers on the east coast, but are more plentiful.
in the warmer plains of the western side of Madagascar. In
sailing down the river Bétsibòka we passed for several hours
along groves of these palms. As we swept down the stream
with the rapid current, the tall trunks seemed to pass by us
as in a panorama, rising from the water's edge like columnar
74
THE COCOA-NUT.
shafts, and with the lovely crown of green fans in sharp con-
trast against the deep blue of the sky. These large leaves
are used for roofing on the north-west coast, and make a very
impervious thatch, beautifully neat in appearance from the
under side.
Many still undescribed species of palm are found in the
eastern woods. I was much interested in the southern
parts of the island to see to what a height some palms attain
in the universal striving for light and air amongst the other
trees. The anivona palm (I believe allied to, if not a
species of, areca) often grows side by side with the traveller's
tree, both soaring up to eighty, ninety, and even a hundred
feet in height. The former has its trunk banded with
narrow lines of green and brown. The bark is one of the
toughest known vegetable substances, and is used not only
in building houses, but also in making the remarkable native
boats used along the south-east coast (see Chapter ix.) Num-
bers of the delicate and graceful bamboo-palm are to be seen
in the upper forests; the stem of this palm is only the size
of a fine bamboo, about one and a half inch in diameter.
That most useful of palms, the cocoa-nut, is found sparingly
both on the eastern and western coasts of Madagascar. It
is said by some writers not to be indigenous, but to have
been introduced accidentally some 200 years ago through
some nuts having been washed ashore. From what I have
seen, however, I am strongly inclined to doubt this, as I
very much question whether any natural causes could have
spread the nut over a large extent of the island in such a
space of time; and, until a very recent period, there has not
been sufficient intercourse between the different tribes to
render it probable that it has spread by being planted. The
native name (vòanìo) is identical with that given to the cocoa-
nut by many of the Polynesian islanders.
Before leaving the palms, there is another of this graceful
family of trees which must be described, not only for its
beauty and abundance, but also for the numerous uses to
which it is applied. This is the rofia palm (Sagus ruffia).
It is not found on the coast, but on ascending from the plains
to the height of a few hundred feet above the level of the
THE ROFIA PALM.
75
sea, it is found in profusion in every valley, until one reaches
the upper plateaux of the interior, where it also grows, but
more sparingly, in sheltered positions. The rofia has a
trunk of from thirty to fifty feet in height, and at the head
divides into seven or eight immensely long leaves. The
midrib of these leaves is a very strong but extremely light
and straight pole, being at the base about the size of the
calf of a man's leg, and tapering to half those dimensions at
the extremity. These poles are often twenty feet or more in
length, and the leaves proper consist of a great number of fine.
and long pinnate leaflets, set at right angles to the midrib,
from eighteen inches to two feet long, and about one and a
half inch broad. From the way in which the leaf-stalks break
off, leaving an irregular patch attached to the trunk, this latter
has a rough appearance, very different from the smooth
circular shaft of most of the palms. From the extreme
strength and lightness of the midribs of the rofia leaves they
are used for a variety of purposes. They form the frame-
work of the roof of the houses on the eastern coast, and are
also used for rafters and joists. They are most useful for
ladders, being so very light and easily carried, and they are
also fixed to ladies' palanquins as carrying-poles. But the
fine pinnate leaves are yet more serviceable to the people.
From the inner fibre the women weave a variety of strong
cloths; the majority of these are coarse, for the use of the
slaves and the lower class of the people; but a very fine and
beautiful fabric, mixed with cotton, and of a light straw
colour, is also manufactured to be worn by the more wealthy
classes. The coarser cloths, under the name of rabànnas,
form an important article of export from the eastern ports.
During a journey made in 1876 in the south-eastern
provinces of Madagascar, I was much interested to find that
the people of that part of the island, make a kind of cloth
from the inner bark of certain trees. This cloth is reddish
brown in colour and of no great strength; it is made by the
women, who beat it out with a mallet, the head of which is
lined and grooved in a particular way. Almost every one
wears a girdle of this coarse cloth, by which the sack of rush.
matting which forms their only clothing is kept in its place.
76
BAMBOOS.
Among the larger trees on the south-east coast one called
atafa is prominent by its peculiar manner of growth and its
colour. In many specimens the branches strike directly at
right angles from the trunk, and then spread away horizon-
tally for a considerable distance. The leaves are from eight
to ten inches long, and are spatula-shaped; a large propor-
tion of them are always ruddy brown or scarlet in colour.
As in almost every tropical country the bamboo is one
of the most beautiful and useful of plants, so it also is in
Madagascar. On many parts of the eastern coast, at the
foot of the forest-covered ranges of hills, the bamboo forms.
the most striking feature in the vegetation. Extensive tracts
of country are almost covered with the long graceful stems,
curving over the paths like enormous whips. The thickly-
set pinnate leaves are of the brightest green, forming a
delightful contrast to the darker colour of the woods on the
higher slopes. One of the strangest as well as most beautiful
sights that can meet the eye is when passing through a
thicket of these bamboos. All around rise the smooth,
shining, and many-jointed stems, like the slenderest shafts,
while the dense leafage overhead makes a green twilight
below. Another species of bamboo has a climbing habit,
and covers the sturdier trees with a dense mantle of green
drapery. In this species "the cane is almost as small as a
quill, with a circle of fine small leaves around the joints,
which are not more than five or six inches apart. These
long slender canes hang pendent from the branches of the
trees, or stretch in graceful curves from tree to tree along the
sides of the road."
"> *
The economic uses of the bamboo are numerous in Madagas-
car, although not so extensive as in many Asiatic countries. It
is universally employed for the small rafters of houses, and
the larger stems form the usual bao or carrying-pole, by
which every kind of merchandise and produce is conveyed on
the shoulders of the bearers from one part of the country to
the other. A piece of bamboo forms a very popular musical
instrument; portions of the strong outer fibre are detached
and strained over bows of hard wood to form the strings.
* Ellis: Three Visits to Madagascar, p. 321.
BAMBOO RAFT.
77
These are played by the fingers, and from this apparently
rude instrument a very pleasing music can be obtained, re-
sembling the tones of a guitar. Many of the people are very
skilful in performing upon it.
On the eastern coast, long
pieces of bamboo form the only waterpots of the people.
The soil is not suitable for making earthen vessels, and
accordingly in every house half-a-dozen bamboos stand in
one corner, from which the water for domestic use is obtained.
All but one of the diaphragms at the joints are broken
through, and the upper end is stopped by a handful of grass.
In many parts of the interior and on the eastern coast, long
pieces of the finer bamboo are used by the boys as blow-guns,
with which they kill small birds and animals, in the same
way as is customary among the Indians of the Brazils.
Pieces of a fine kind of bamboo called volotàra are used by
the people as a snuff-box. These are fitted with a stopper,
and beautifully polished, and are sometimes ornamented with
designs burnt in on the smooth shining surface. Fifes and
flutes are also made of bamboo, so that it is useful both for
wind and string instruments.
On some of the rivers of the south-eastern coast there are
no canoes, but a kind of raft made of bamboo, and called a
zàhitra, is the only means of crossing them. And of all the
rude and primitive contrivances ever invented for water-
carriage, commend me to a zàhitra; at any rate, to the first of
which I had experience when crossing the Màtitànana. This
one consisted of about thirty or forty pieces of bamboo, from
ten to twelve feet long, lashed together at the head by bands
of some tough creeper, and spreading out like a fan at the
stern, these bamboos constantly slipping out of their places
and needing trimming at every trip across the river. When
loaded, the zàhitra was from a third to a half under water,
and although my companion and I crossed safely, he took an
involuntary foot-bath, and I a sitz-bath, during our voyage
across. But subsequently the whole concern came to pieces,
and several of our bearers had to swim ashore from the
scattered bamboos composing the crazy craft.
In the interior and on the western coast a small species of
prickly bamboo called bàraràta is very plentiful. The leaves
78
BAOBABS AND TAMARINDS.
being pointed with sharp needle-like prickles, it is no pleasant
task for the bare-legged bearers to pass through a thicket of
these canes. They grow profusely along the banks of the
Ikiòpa and Bétsibòka rivers, the long, feathery, grey heads of
flower giving a distinct character to the scenery of this part.
of the country. Divested of their prickly leaves, these small
bamboos are very largely used for building purposes.
One of the most common and striking plants seen along
the rivers of the eastern coast is the via, a gigantic arum
(A. costatum or A. colocasia), growing in dense masses along
the bank in the water. On the shores of the river Màtità-
nana I found this arum seven or eight feet high, and it has
been seen as high as ten or twelve feet. It has thick fleshy
stems and leaf-stalks, and lily-like leaves two or three feet
long. The fruit and root are edible when cooked.
On the western side of Madagascar the baobab tree
(Adansonia) is somewhat plentiful. It is called bontona, and
also mòfom-bàrika, or "monkey's bread," from its small fruit
being eaten by the lemurs. This tree is immediately dis-
tinguished from others by its enormous bulk of trunk and
small spread of branches, which are bare of foliage during
several months of the year, and also by its shining dark-
brown bark. It is frequently seen from twenty to thirty feet
in diameter.
On the same side of Madagascar, the tamarind tree is one
of the finest and most plentiful of the many beautiful trees
found in that wooded region. It attains a great size on the
banks of the chief rivers. During a canoe voyage down the
Ikiòpa we encamped one day under the shadow of a magni-
ficent tamarind tree, one of a grove of these trees. The
branches, which swept the ground, covered a circle of nearly
100 feet; but the foliage was very thin, as it consisted of
minute miniosa-like leaves, millions of which strewed the
ground, as well as hundreds of the dried fruits.
These con-
sist of a long pod, containing several shining black seeds,
imbedded in a reddish-brown acid pulp.
Mosses, Lianas, and Ferns. In travelling through the
forests on the eastern side of Madagascar, I was struck with
the venerable aspect given to the trees in many places by
LIANAS.
79
the masses of fine whitish-grey moss (or lichen, I am not sure
which) hanging from its branches in long thread-like filaments.
This grey moss or lichen occurs chiefly in the upper and
colder portions of the woods. In a spur of forest which
crosses the road from Imérina to Bétsiléo, at a height of
nearly 6000 feet above the sea, almost every tree bears long
festoons of this venerable-looking appendage hanging from
its branches. I believe it is allied to, if not identical with,
Rocella fuciformis of Eastern Africa.
A more usual feature of tropical woods is the way in which,
in the Madagascar forests, the trees are bound together in all
directions by countless creepers and lianas, which cross and
intertwine in an inextricable tangle, like the disordered cordage
of a hundred ships. Some of these stretch from the topmost
boughs to the ground like the backstays of a lofty ship's
mast, and others cross at every conceivable angle. These
lianas form without any preparation a very strong tough
cordage, and in carrying goods from the coast to the interior
they are largely used for securing all kinds of packages.
Great quantities of the fibrous bark of certain trees (especially
that of Astrapoa cannabina, which has long oval leaves and
white pendent flowers) are brought up to the capital every
year by the woodmen, and are there manufactured at the
Government workshops into rough-looking but strong ropes.
In the dim twilight of the Madagascar woods, the ground
is generally covered with a dense undergrowth of shrubs and
young trees, the latter shooting up wherever an opening
appears in the leafy canopy overhead. A great variety of
ferns are found in every damp hollow or shady bank; great
masses of hart's-tongue or stag's-horn fern are seen in every
crevice in the tree trunks or fork of the branches; and tree-
ferns spread their graceful fronds wherever there is any mois-
ture. Large collections of ferns have been made by some of the
English ladies, and these have been described in the Journal
of the Linnæan Society by Mr. J. G. Baker, F.L.S., of the
Kew Herbarium. Many of these are new and peculiar to the
country. Mr. Baker says, in reference to one of these collec-
tions, that it contains altogether 112 species, of which 28
prove to be novelties. That such should be the case in an
"
80
FERNS.
order where the diffusion of the species is so wide as in the
ferns is calculated to raise our expectation of what we may
expect when the flowering plants of the same region are
gathered; and it is interesting to notice that some of the
species, such as Asplenium trichomanes, Nephrodium filix-
mas, and Aspidium aculateum, are thoroughly temperate
types. The development of lamina in the species known
elsewhere, and the strong tendency shown by many of them
to become viviparous, indicates a damp humid climate, with
localities excellently suited for the development of fern-
growth."*
The genera Asplenium and Pteris are largely
represented, and Ophioglossum and Adiantum are also found,
but more sparingly. Dr. Charles Meller describes a pendent
ribbon-like fern (Ophioglossum pendulum) hanging from a part of
the fork of a tree on the east coast, with its roots fixed in a mass
of earth and leaves collected in the hollow. Each ribbon fell
to a distance of from three to five feet, then bifurcated, send-
ing down a spore-case, some of the bands of which measured
twelve feet long. Fine specimens of the Mascarene gold
and silver ferns (Gymnogramme argenta and G. aurea) are
found in the outskirts of the Madagascar woods; and also
several Lycopodiums, one of which (L. complanatum), although
widely spread, was not known before either in Continental
Africa or any of the islands of the Mascarene archipelago.
Some of the finest ferns are found in the deep and damp
fosses which surround the old towns in the central provinces.
Although the tree-ferns are fine and plentiful in every place.
where there is shade and moisture, they hardly attain the
size of the New Zealand species, of which there is such a
grand specimen to be seen in the tropical department of the
Crystal Palace.
On my first journey through the eastern forests of Mada-
gascar, I found several species of those plants with variegated-
coloured leaves, which have since become so popular in
England in our drawing-rooms and hothouses. Some of
these are veined with gold and resemble the Echites, though
not so shrubby. They were to be seen along the roadsides,
but I doubt not that researches in the denser recesses of the
* Linn. Soc. Jour., Bot., xv. p. 422; xvi. pp. 197–206.
VEGETATION OF THE INTERIOR.
8r
Of this
forests would reveal many others new to science.
class of plants Dr. Meller also says: "In the shady and moist
parts of the woods I found several plants with variegated
leaves a Coleus with bright pink markings along the mid-rib
and veins, and a Sonerila with silvery intra-marginal mark-
ings; another with white spots in a row, another with pink
dotting and lines. There were four herbs in these woods
with beautiful leaves of variegated tints."
Species of the pitcher-plant (Nepenthes) are said to be
found in southern portions of the island; and a story is
related of a naval officer who was saved, if not actually from
death by thirst, at least from extreme exhaustion, by finding a
number of the natural vessels filled with water.
Vegetation of the Interior Upland Region.—But I must not
linger longer in these attractive woods, with their delightful
recollections, but proceed to say something about the vegeta-
tion of the upper portions of Madagascar.
These extensive plateaux of elevated land are very bare
of wood, except in the sheltered hollows and valleys of the
rivers; but the hills on which many of the ancient towns
are built are often crowned with a number of old trees, which
show out conspicuous amongst the red clay hills and the bare
granite and basalt-capped mountains of Imérina. The most
beautiful and picturesque of these old towns is the former
capital, Ambòhimànga. This old city is about twelve miles.
north of the present capital; it is on a triangular hill, some
400 feet high, and covered with wood from base to summit,
so that from time immemorial "the woods of Ambohimanga,
bending down in their growth," have been celebrated in the
songs of the native poets.
The trees which crown the ancient towns are chiefly
áviávy, a species of Ficus. They have much the shape and
appearance of elms; they shed their leaves in the cold season,
and bear a small insipid fig. A finer tree than the aviavy is
the amòntana, a magnificent tree with wide-spread gnarled
branches like an oak, but with large glossy leaves like those
of the India-rubber tree now so common in English houses,
to which tree it is closely allied. Numbers of the villages
are marked out by a couple or more of these fine trees, which
F
82
SPINY AND PRICKLY PLANTS.
stand out conspicuous above the houses and are visible far
over the plains. Perhaps the finest specimen in Imérina is
to be found at the ancient town of Ambohidratrìmo, where it
rises like a great dome of foliage above the other trees, and
has a trunk about eighteen feet in girth. The amòntana is
remarkable for its vitality, a dry and apparently lifeless stick
of the tree rapidly taking root if stuck in the ground.
Perhaps the most conspicuous tree now to be seen in and
around the capital is the Cape lilac, which was introduced by
missionaries from the Cape of Good Hope about fifty years
ago.
Of this tree the Rev. R. Baron says: "I believe it to
be the Melia Azedcrach, and not a lilac. Its strong scent is
similar to that of the lilacs, and hence, probably, it has been
supposed to be one of them. All its parts contain bitter and
purgative properties." It has been extensively planted in
Imérina, and grows very rapidly.
Growing among these hard-wooded trees is often found
the tall straight stem of the amiana (Urtica furialis), a tree
bearing a large velvety leaf which stings like a nettle when
touched. The leaf, although so unpleasant to one of the
senses, is beautiful in outline, being deeply cut and indented,
and would in an artist's hand serve admirably for decorative
purposes. The largest leaves are found on the youngest and
lowest trees, one specimen I found measuring about thirty
inches each way. The wood is soft and spongy, and of no
şervice at all in building.
Another attractive tree is the záhana (Bignonia articu-
lata), which grows to a considerable size in some places, and,
as its name implies, has a curiously-articulated leaf, look-
ing as if two or three leaves were joined together, base to
point. Examples have been found with eight divisions of the
leaf.
Spiny and Prickly Plants.-Like most tropical countries,
Madagascar is tolerably prolific in spiny and prickly plants.
One of these, a dwarf mimosa-like tree, of straggling creeping
habit, and full of hook-like thorns, is called tsiàfakòmby, i.e.,
"not passable by oxen," from its being extensively used to
form fences and folds for the numerous herds of humped
cattle. It belongs to the Leguminosae, and has yellow
SPINY AND PRICKLY PLANTS.
83
flowers. Another tree of the same order is called fàno,
and is frequently found growing over the ancient tombs of
the Vazimba, the supposed aboriginal inhabitants of the
central provinces. The seeds resemble in size those of a
small french-bean, and grow in large pods or legumes, from
fifteen to eighteen inches long, and about three broad, which
look most conspicuous on the trees after the leaves have
fallen. The seeds were used until very lately in the working
of the sikidy or divination, a practice closely interwoven with
the idolatry and superstition of the people. They are also
used medicinally.
A more unapproachable plant, however, than the tsiàfa-
komby is the widely-spread prickly-pear (Opuntia) or raikétra,
which forms the chief fortification of the Malagasy towns
and villages. A dense thicket of this surrounds every village
and homestead in many parts of the country, and a more
formidable obstacle to the attack of an enemy can hardly be
imagined. The trees attain a considerable thickness, and
every portion of them, trunk, leaves, flowers, and fruit, is
fully armed with clusters of sharp needle-like thorns, be-
tween two and three inches long; these, if carelessly
handled, inflict painful wounds which inflame and are often
difficult to heal. To an
almost naked and barefooted
soldiery, and without artillery, it forms an impenetrable
barrier, which only rounds of chain and bar shot could clear
out of the way. The prickly-pear is also of some service for
food, the pears being a palatable fruit when carefully divested
of their spiny covering. The larger thorns were formerly
used as needles, and are still the ordinary pins of the
Malagasy. It is perhaps not superfluous to remark that,
except in old trees, there are no proper branches in the
prickly-pear; all the thick fleshy leaves grow from the edge
of the others, and the flowers and fruit also grow in the same
position. They possess great vitality, so that a single leaf
laid on the ground soon develops a number of tendril roots,
takes hold of the earth, and rapidly increases.
Another prickly plant also very conspicuous in Imérina,
and one of the most beautiful, is a species of Euphorbia
(E. splendens and E. Bojeri), which is planted on the top of the
84
GRASSES.
low earthen walls dividing plantations from the roads.
There are two varieties; one with a brilliant scarlet flower,
and the other with a pale flesh-coloured flower. Its native
name is songosongo. It resembles some of the Cacti in its
prickly stem.
Among the trees found sparingly in the upper regions of
the island is one called hásina, a species of pandanus, but
also much like a dracaena, with long sword-like leaves. This
sometimes attains a considerable size, growing not with a
single cluster of leaves, as is its habit when young, but
branching out into a wide-spreading tree. The young trees,
with their single head of foliage, are singularly graceful and
ornamental. The hasina was formerly considered as sacred
by the people, being connected with idolatrous worship.
Grasses. Although the central provinces of Madagascar
are very bare of wood, there are a great number of grasses,
some of which are very beautiful, and many others are of
value in the useful arts. In some marshy districts masses of
crimson grass are found, giving quite a peculiar appearance
to the landscape. It may be remarked in passing, that the
Malagasy word for "glory "is voninahitra, a word whose literal
meaning is "the flower of the grass." In some districts the
grass grows to the height of seven or eight feet, so that
travellers are quite hidden from view in the dense jungle.
In many places prickly grass (tsévoka) is found, preventing
the bare-footed bearers from straying an inch beyond the
narrow footpaths; and in others, a curiously barbed and
pointed grass called léfon-dambo, or "wild-hog's-spear," is also
a great annoyance to travellers, being strong enough to pierce
the skin. This léfon-dambo has the appearance of a handful
of grass tied in a bundle by two or three of the long wiry
blades. In some of the warmer districts of Madagascar
certain of the grasses have a very distinct and powerful
fragrance; and I have often felt that the scents, not less
than the sights and sounds, are among the surest signs of
one's being in a tropical country. But the grasses of Mada-
gascar are very important to the people, as affording an
exhaustless supply of material for their household require-
ments. Fine straw mats, often beautifully woven in patterns,

CHARACTERISTIC FORMS OF ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE LIFE IN MADAGASGAR,
(From Wallace's "Geographical Distribution of Animals.")
REEDS AND RUSHES.
85
are part of the furniture of every Malagasy house; these
cover the floor, and often line the walls; and on the entrance
of a visitor, a clean one is always taken from the rolled-up
mats overhead and spread for him to sit down upon. This
straw is also platted into very neat hats and caps, which
vary in shape and pattern in different parts of the country,
and into a great variety of beautiful and durable bas-
kets. In the Bétsiléo province the clothing of the lower
classes consists solely of a straw mat; and on the south-
eastern coast, similar mats, but made of a fine rush, are sewn
into a kind of sack, and thus worn by the coast tribes.
Small squares of mat are also used in these regions instead
of plates and dishes; and a variety of brushes are also made
from grass stalks. Several kinds of grass are used in many
parts of the country for thatching the native houses, the
long and tough stalks forming an excellent covering. Still
another purpose is served by grass in Madagascar. Owing
to the scarcity of wood in the central provinces, grass forms
the only fuel of the majority of the people. During the rainy
season it grows long and rank from the abundant moisture,
and then gets brown and dry during the six rainless months
of the cold weather. It is the work of the old slave-women
to go out and collect bundles of this fuel; and what is left
is generally set fire to towards the approach of the rainy
season, so that during the months of August, September,
and October the sky is lighted up at night with the glare
of burning grass in all directions, and visible at immense
distances all over the central provinces.
Reeds and Rushes.-Hardly less important than the grasses
are the reeds and rushes which grow in the marshes of Mada-
gascar. Of these the zozòro, a species of papyrus, is the most.
prominent and beautiful. This plant has a firm triangular
stem, with smooth shining skin and a pithy interior. It is
about an inch and a quarter each way, and grows to a height
of five or six feet in Imérina, with a head of long filaments
forming the flower. In the warmer parts of the country, es-
pecially in the Antsihànaka province, the zozòro grows to more
than double the height and size found in the colder regions,
and covers thousands of square acres of marshy land, growing
86
VEGETABLE FOODS.
in water a foot or two deep. It is used for a variety of
purposes: a number of the triangular stems are strung to-
gether by several strong tough twigs being passed through
them, forming thus a kind of light door, which is used for
the filling-in of the framework of houses, for doors and
window-shutters, partitions, beds, and mattresses. The tough
outer skin is used for making the stronger and coarser mats
used for flooring, and is also platted into capital baskets.
When the sovereign goes on a journey, the rivers are crossed
not by canoes, but by rafts formed of great quantities of
zozòro stems, this being the orthodox ancient custom. The
paintings and carvings on the tombs and temples in Egypt
indicate that the ancient Egyptians made rafts of the same
materials, using the papyrus, which formerly grew plentifully
in the Nile. The pith of the zozòro forms a good stuffing for
pillows and mattresses, &c.
Another very useful rush is the hérana, a much smaller
plant than the zozòro, and irregularly triangular in shape.
It is extensively grown in the marshes to supply roofing
material, as the great majority of the houses in the capital
and its neighbourhood are thatched with hérana. The rushes
are doubled over a stout twig, fifty or sixty of them forming
one ràvin-kérana, as it is called. Bundles of twenty or thirty
of these are sold in the markets; and when laid properly on
a roof of good pitch, hérana forms a very neat and durable
roof-covering. The roofs of the oldest style of native houses
are very lofty and extremely high pitched, and in some of
these the hérana rush roofs have lasted well for nearly a
century. It is rough-looking when first done, but after hav-
ing a shower or two of rain upon it, the ragged ends are all
cut to a uniform surface, giving it a very neat appearance.
Vegetable Foods. It is time to say something about those
vegetable products of Madagascar which are used for food.
Standing at the head of these is rice, which is the staff of
life to the great majority of the Malagasy tribes. Mihìnam-bàry,
"to eat rice," is the native equivalent for the Eastern phrase
"to eat bread," and for our English expression “to have a
meal;" and all other food is only considered as laoka, that is,
as an accompaniment to rice. The culture of the rice-fields
RICE-CULTURE.
87
accordingly occupies a large portion of the time of the people;
and in the preparation of the ground, the bringing of water
to irrigate the fields, and other necessary operations, a great
amount of skill and ingenuity is displayed.
The rice-fields are of two kinds: first, those on which the
rice is sown, and then those to which it is transplanted, and
where it grows until it is reaped. The former are only narrow
strips of ground along the banks of the rivers, or terraces on
the sloping sides of the deep valleys; and to them water is
conveyed from the nearest springs by means of aqueducts,
often carried in a most ingenious fashion for a considerable
This is neces-
distance along the curving sides of the hills.
sary from the fact that the rice is sown in the dry season,
when there is no rain to afford the requisite moisture; for rice
must be sown in water, and grown in water until it is ripe.
Great skill is shown in the construction of these terraces;
and there are few more beautiful sights than the hill-sides
and valleys terraced from base to summit, often with nearly
a hundred green steps.
The Hovas are very ingenious in rice culture, but they are
far surpassed by the Bétsiléo in the southern central provinces.
Not only are the valleys and hollows terraced, as in Imérina-
the concave portions of the low hills and lower slopes of the
high hills-but the convex portions also are stepped up like a
gigantic staircase. These works display not only industry,
but also some knowledge of hydrostatics, for I could not
discover how the water was brought to some of the low hills
which were surrounded by lower ground. Many of these
were terraced up to their highest point, the lines of rice-field
running round them in concentric circles, so that there was
not a square yard of ground unproductive.
As soon as the rice-plants have reached a height of six or
eight inches, they are all taken up and transplanted, plant by
plant, into the rice-fields proper. These are much larger and
more extensive pieces of ground, covering the surfaces of the
broader valleys and alluvial plains. After being dug over,
water is let into the fields, and after further working by the
spade, and also by cattle being driven to and fro over the
ground, the plants are stuck into the soft mud by the female
88
ROOTS.
slaves. The work is done with great rapidity, and yet it
is difficult to understand how the enormous quantity of rice
•required for the consumption of a great population can be
transplanted, every plant being placed separately in the
ground. The Hovas maintain that the rice would not come
to perfection unless thus transplanted. Some of the other
tribes, however, do not take this trouble, but sow their seed
sparingly on ground which has been merely trampled over by
oxen while wet. And the forest tribes cut down and burn
fresh portions of the woods year by year, and sow the rice in
the ashes on the sloping hill-sides. West of the capital city
of Antananarivo stretches a magnificent rice-plain, extending
with its ramifications nearly twenty miles north and south,
and more than ten miles east and west. When the rice is
freshly planted, and again when it is harvest-time, it presents
a beautiful spectacle: the villages on the low red-clay hills
rising like islands from a green or a golden sea.
•
There are said to be eleven different kinds of rice known
in Madagascar, and one or more of the fine large-grained
varieties are reported to have been brought from South Caro-
lina by a vessel accidentally touching at one of the ports of
the island.
After rice, perhaps the next most important vegetable food
of the Malagasy is màngahàzo, the common manioc or cassava,
which is largely cultivated. The root consists almost entirely
of a starchy flour, and forms an insipid food when boiled.
Sweet potatoes, several kinds of beans, tomatoes, earth-nuts,
onions, and the green leaves of a great variety of small vege-
tables, are also eaten by the people.
In the warmer parts of Madagascar a great variety of
yams are found, some kinds growing wild. One species of
edible root attains the size and thickness of a man's leg.
The inside is white, and has a milky juice; it is soft as a
water-melon, but without seeds, and is eaten raw. From the
description given by Drury of this plant, which he calls
faungidge, it appears to be allied to that numerous class of
juicy roots found so plentifully in Southern Africa, and with-
out which many desert parts could not possibly be inhabited
by the tribes which are found there.
SUGAR.
$9
A kind of millet (ampèmby) is grown to some extent; and
of late years attempts have been made to cultivate wheat, but
these have not as yet been very successful.
Several kinds of arum are cultivated for food, one of the
most common being called horirika, the large green lily-like
leaves of which may be seen in the fosses surrounding all
the ancient villages in Imérina. Another arum (A. esculentum),
called by the people sàonjo, has a hairy root much resembling
the artichoke in taste. It is always eaten at a Malagasy
housewarming, as well as at other times.
The coffee plant grows well in most parts of Madagascar,
and in recent years large coffee plantations have been formed
along the banks of the rivers on the eastern side of the island.
These are chiefly managed by Creole traders, who, through
their native wives, manage to get hold of land, and also em-
ploy slave labour, thus evading both their own country's laws
and those of the Malagasy. Coffee promises already to become
a very important article of export, and a source of wealth to
the country.
The sugar-cane is another plant which also grows luxuri-
antly in Madagascar, especially in the Antsihànaka province,
where it attains a height of twelve or fourteen feet. It is
largely used as a sweetmeat, the cane being cut into short
pieces for chewing; and in the central districts a considerable
quantity is also made into a coarse brown sugar. Some few
years ago European machinery was set up near Tamatave,
and a very good sugar was produced. But the principal use
to which the sugar-cane is applied in most places away from
Imérina is in the manufacture of tòaka, a coarse spirit. In
almost every village on the eastern coast a rude press for
extracting the juice may be seen (and smelt). These presses
consist of a long hollow trough, one end being solid for a foot
or two, so as to form a slightly convex surface, with a
channel cut on either side for the expressed juice to run into
the trough. Over this is placed at right angles a rounded
tree-trunk, seven or eight feet long, with two or three short
handles fixed into it; this is turned backwards and forwards
over pieces of cane laid on the convex surface, the juice being
expressed by the mere weight of the round trunk.
The
90
SPICES AND FRUITS.
freshly-expressed juice makes a pleasant drink; after a day
or two it ferments, and is then still more agreeable, much
like fresh cider; but it rapidly becomes too heady. The
native still is as rude a contrivance as the press: an earthen
pot with its cover fixed on with a luting of clay for boiling
the juice, from which a piece of iron piping conveys the
vapour through an old rum cask filled with cold water. In
the central province there is, happily, a very stringent law
against the manufacture or importation of spirits; but drink-
ing habits have a fearful hold upon the ignorant coast tribes,
further aggravated by the quantity of foreign rum imported
by Mauritius merchants. There are said to be fourteen
varieties of sugar-cane known in Madagascar.
Spirits are also made from a plant which grows plentifully
in the country, the séva or Buddleia Madagascariensis (order
Solanaceae), which has long spikes of orange-coloured flowers;
these are made use of in dyeing the coarser rofia fibre-cloths.
Of condiments there are quite sufficient to supply the needs
of the Malagasy, who, however, do not use hot spices so
largely as do many of the inhabitants of the tropics. Chillies.
(sakày) grow abundantly in many places, and their small
brilliant scarlet pods contrasting with the glossy green leaves
make them quite an ornamental shrub. Ginger (sakamalão)
is also cultivated to some extent. In the warmer parts of
the island a spice, which is said to combine the virtues of
nutmegs, cloves, and cinnamon, is procured from a tree called
ràvintsàra ("excellent leaf"). The leaves, as well as the
fruits and seeds, are fragrant, and are the produce of a
magnificent tree.
In the interior of Madagascar a good variety of fruit is
procurable, although many of them have been introduced into
the island at a very recent period. Of the juicy sub-acid
fruits we have oranges, citrons, lemons, and limes. These
last grow wild and abundantly in the warmer parts of the
country, and are most refreshing and wholesome. Mangoes
are among the finest Malagasy fruits, and the tree on which
they grow is one of the most ornamental. The mango-tree
attains a great size on the north-western coast, some of the
finest specimens being found at Mojangà. Besides these we
THE TRAVELLER'S TREE.
91
have peaches, guavas, Chinese guavas, bibasy or loquat, pine-
apples, mulberries, pomegranates, grapes, and Cape gooseberries.
Bananas are most plentiful, and of several varieties; the
largest are called ontsy, and are more than a foot long.
The trees attain a great size on the coast, and there are few
more beautiful sights than a grove of these, with their smooth
shining green stems eight or ten inches in diameter, and the
canopy of graceful leaves twenty or thirty feet overhead. In
some provinces a fine cloth is made from the fibres of the
banana; the green succulent stems are also used as food for
cattle, and from their containing a great deal of water they
are used to put out fires. Figs and quinces have been grown to
some small extent, and in the neighbourhood of the woods wild
raspberries, very large and fine, are found in great abundance.
Besides the foregoing, there is a considerable variety of wild
berries and other fruits, which are esteemed by the people,
although most of them are not much cared for by Europeans.
The most striking and characteristic tree of Madagascar is
doubtless the traveller's tree (Urania speciosa), which is so
plentiful in the island, and gives quite a unique character to
the scenery of the maritime plains and the lower slopes of
the outer belt of forest.
This tree belongs to the order Musacea, although in some
points its structure resembles the palms rather than the plan-
tains. It is immediately recognised as strikingly distinct
from all other trees, even from the elegant palms, by its graceful
crown of broad and light-green banana-like leaves, arranged,
not as in almost every other tree and plant, around the
stem, but at the top of its trunk, in the shape of a fan. The
leaves are from twenty to thirty in number, and from eight
to ten feet long by a foot and a half broad. They very
closely resemble those of the banana, and when unbroken by
the wind have a very striking and beautiful appearance. The
trunk varies very much in height, according to the situation
of the tree. On the coast plains, where, with the pandanus,
it is the dominant form of vegetation and has plenty of room,
its average height is from fifteen to twenty feet to the base
of the leaf-stalks; but in the forest, where it has a crowd of
rivals in obtaining light and air, it shoots up to heights of
92
THE TRAVELLER'S TREE.
eighty or ninety feet. The trunk is from twelve to eighteen
inches in diameter; but it is of a soft spongy texture, and
not of much service as timber. It grows at all heights from
the sea-level to an elevation of about 2000 feet, but is never
found in the higher plateaux of the island.
While travelling through the Taimòro country I noticed
that the fruit is seen on almost every tree, forming three or
four clusters of sheaths, about a dozen in each, much resem-
bling in shape and size the horns of a short-horned ox. These
project from between the leaf-stalks, two in full bloom and
the other two generally dying off, or shedding the seeds, or
rather the seed-pods. These are oval in shape, about two
inches long, and yellow in colour, something like very large
dates, but with a hard woody fibrous covering. When ripe
they open and show each pod dividing into three parts, each
of which is double, thus containing six rows of seeds about
the size of a small bean. Each seed is wrapped in a covering
looking exactly like a small piece of light-blue silk with
scalloped edges.
In proceeding along the coast we had an opportunity of
testing the accuracy of the accounts given of the water pro-
curable from the traveller's tree, about which I had always
felt rather sceptical, as somewhat of a "traveller's tale." In
fact, I had never before seen the tree where plenty of good
water was not procurable; but here there was none for several
miles except the stagnant water of the lagoons. We found
that on piercing with a spear or pointed stick the lower part
of one of the leaf-stalks, where they all clasp one over the
other, a small stream of water spurted out, from which one
could drink to the full of good cool sweet water. If one of
the leaf-stalks was forcibly drawn down, a quantity of water
gushed out, so that we afterwards readily filled a large cup
with as much as we needed. On examining a section of one
of the stalks, a hollow channel about a quarter of an inch in
diameter is seen running all down the inner side of the stalk
from the base of the leaf. This appears to collect the water
condensed from the atmosphere by the large cool surface of
the leaf, and conducts it downwards. The leaf-stalks are all
full of cells like those of the banana. After three hours'
THE TRAVELLER'S TREE.
93
walking along the shore in the heavy sand, with a hot sun
overhead, we were glad to draw from these numberless vege-
table springs, and thanked the Giver of these living fountains
in that thirsty land. We afterwards found that in some
villages the people supply themselves constantly from this
source.
But a supply of water is only one of the many benefits the
coast tribes derive from this beautiful tree. All along the
east coast the houses are made of a slight framework, and filled
in with the mid-rib of the leaf of the traveller's tree in the same
way that the zozòro (papyrus) is used in Imérina, and looking
exactly like the zozòro. The leaf-stalks are fixed together on
long fine twigs, so as to make a kind of stiff mat. One of
these forms the door on either side of the house, being shifted
backwards and forwards, and kept from falling by sliding
within a light pole hung from the framework. The flooring,
which is always raised above the ground, is made of the bark
of the traveller's tree, pressed flat so as to form a rough kind
of boarding. And the thatch of every house is the leaf of
the same tree, which forms a very neat as well as durable
covering. The traveller's tree might therefore, with equal
or greater propriety, be called "the builder's tree." The
green leaves also are the ordinary plates and dishes of the
coast people.
It has been generally believed that the traveller's tree was
peculiar to Madagascar, but I find that it also grows in the
Malay Peninsula. In a book entitled The Land of the White
Elephant: Sights and Scenes in South-Eastern Asia, by Frank
Vincent, jun., an American traveller (London: 1873), at p.
109, in speaking of the neighbourhood of Singapore, the
writer says: "The road [leading from the town into the in-
terior of the island] is very pretty, being lined by tall bamboo
hedges and trees which, uniting above, form a complete shade;
the beautiful fan-palm, or 'traveller's fountain,' as it is
sometimes called, will deserve especial notice, with its immense
spread of feathery leaves, constituting an exact semicircle."
The tree is not again mentioned by the writer, but a
beautiful engraving is given of this "traveller's fountain,"
which seems identical with our Madagascar "traveller's tree,"
94
MEDICINAL PLANTS.
except that it has a larger number of leaves than is seen in
the latter tree. There are forty-eight in the engraving, which
is evidently from a photograph.
As far as I am aware, this fact has not been noticed by
any other traveller, but it is another link of connection between
Madagascar and the Malay Peninsula.
Plants used as Medicines and in the Arts.-The Malagasy
have from time immemorial been acquainted with numerous
roots, herbs, and trees which they believe to be efficacious in
medicine and surgery. These are largely connected with that
belief in charms which is the groundwork of their idola-
trous worship; but many of them have real curative powers,
and many others would probably prove on examination to be
valuable additions to our materia medica. The castor-oil
plant, with its beautifully-indented leaves and green fruit
covered with minute papillæ, is very common in the native
gardens, and also grows wild. The fruit or berry is pounded,
and a thick green oil extracted for use by boiling. Aloes of
great size are among the most ornamental vegetable produc-
tions of the interior. The great fleshy leaves considerably
exceed in height the stature of a man; and when the plant
blossoms, a great flower-stalk, straight and tapering as a
mast, shoots up from the centre of the plant to a height
of between twenty and thirty feet, with a crown of flowers,
many hundreds in number. The juice is used medicinally,
and a fine strong silky thread is prepared from the fibres
of the leaves and flower-stalk. A much smaller variety of
aloe (called vahana) is found plentifully on the bare summits
of the hills. The leaves are edged with red, and it bears a
tall spike of red and yellow flowers.
The
In travelling through the skirts of the great forest on the
eastern coast, one passes continually through dense thickets
of a plant called longòzy. This is a species of cardamom
(Amomum cardamomum); the stem is a tall tapering rod, five
or six feet high, with a number of long simple leaves.
fruit is a kind of scarlet pod, found near the base of the stem,
and contains a sweetish acid pulp of a silky white appearance;
but if one of the small purplish black seeds is accidentally
crushed by the teeth, a most unpleasant burning sensation is
USEFUL PLANTS.
95
felt for some minutes at the back of the mouth and in the
throat.
Among the plants which are useful in Madagascar for other
purposes besides food must be reckoned the gourds. These
are found in great variety of shape and size, and are used
A
instead of bottles, and for storing all kinds of liquids.
rude kind of guitar or banjo, called lokanga, is also made with
a gourd; a long piece of wood with three or four strings is
fixed to a gourd of a flat shape so as to give the resonance
required; but the music produced is not of a very high
order.
Tobacco is grown in considerable quantities by the Mala-
gasy. It has not, however, been used for smoking until very
recently, the native use of the fragrant weed being to take it
in the form of snuff; and this again is not applied, as in
most countries, to the nostrils, but is tossed by a dexterous
jerk of the hand into the mouth, where it is retained for
a few minutes under the tongue. This snuff is carried
about in a beautifully polished piece of hollow cane or
bamboo. Hemp (rongòny) is also occasionally smoked by
some of the more dissolute portion of the people, but its use
is illegal.
--
For its more legitimate uses, however, hemp is grown to
some extent, and is woven by the women into a coarse strong
cloth for lambas, the national article of dress. Cotton is
also cultivated, and a great variety of beautiful cloths are
manufactured from it. The most favourite kinds are made
in stripes with richly ornamented borders, in which silk is
introduced.
Many of the dyes are procured from vegetable substances,
the reddish brown used as the groundwork of many lambas
being obtained from the bark of a large forest tree called
nato. Another vegetable dye, which is of some commercial
importance, is the orseille, a lichen which forms the principal
product of the sterile country at the south-west corner of the
island, and grows in abundance on the bark of the spiny
shrubs which are the characteristic vegetation of that region.
Indigo, called in the native language aika, is cultivated by
the Malagasy, and might probably, by the application of
96
FLOWERING PLANTS AND TREES.
European skill and capital, be so largely grown as to become
one of the most valuable exports.
For the sustenance of the different species of silkworms
the leaves of the mulberry-tree are used to some extent; but
in the central portions of the island another tree is largely
used for this purpose. This is the tapia, a small tree of
which there are extensive plantations. The fruit, which is
edible, is a long green pod containing a sweetish pulp.
The lichens growing on the bare rocks and hills of the
treeless central provinces have not yet been collected in any
complete manner, but from a few specimens obtained by the
late Mrs. Pool, the Rev. J. M. Crombie remarks: "Judging
from its climate and situation, there can be no doubt that
Madagascar possesses a very rich and extensive lichen flora.
Unfortunately, however, it is still in this respect almost
entirely a terra incognita, nor does the present small collec-
tion throw much light upon its lichen treasures, though it
affords some indications that these are both valuable and
varied."
» *
Flowering Plants and Trees.-In speaking of Madagascar,
as well as of most tropical countries, it is frequently re-
marked, "Of course there are very magnificent flowers there."
It is a common mistake to suppose that in the matter of
wild flowers the tropics are much richer than the temperate
zones. But, as has been well shown by Mr. Alfred Wallace
in his work on The Malay Archipelago (vol. i. 127, 128; ii.
294-298), the reverse is the case; and although there are, it
is true, many beautiful flowers, they do not occur in great
numbers, nor are they found in such masses as to give a
character to the scenery. There is, for instance, nothing
comparable to the effect of gorse, or heather, or clover, or
even of the buttercups and daisies of an English meadow.
It should be observed, however, that this remark applies
chiefly to flowers growing on the ground; for in the forest
* Jour. Linn. Soc., Bot., vol. xv. No. 86, pp. 409, 410. A list of the fifteen
species is given, from which it appears that the lichens belong to the following
six genera :-Thærophoron (1), Usnea (3, a species of Usnea, U. xanthophaga, is
found in the Campbell Islands), Parmelia (1), Stictina (7), Ricasolia (this has
special interest as being hitherto only known as inhabiting equinoctial America),
and Physcia (2).
FLOWERING PLANTS.
97
; ܪ
there are many trees which, when in flower, present grand
masses of colour, being covered with scarlet, yellow, crimson,
or purple bloom. No recent traveller has given more atten-
tion to the floral wealth of Madagascar, or described it with
so much enthusiasm, as the late Rev. W. Ellis, who was an
accomplished botanist, as well as an earnest missionary.
Among the flowering plants Mr. Ellis mentions as seen on
the eastern coast are species of acacia, solanum, vinca or
Catharanthus roseus, gardenia, and many kinds of hibiscus
one of these latter (H. tiliaceus) grows to a great size,
straggling over a considerable space, and covered with large
yellow and claret-coloured blossoms. The aleurites or candle-
nut, common in Polynesia, is also seen on that coast, and
also trees of large and shining foliage, like the magnolia,
and large-leaved betonicas. Amongst Madagascar trees
which have become naturalised in Mauritius, and "con-
spicuous beyond all the rest, is the stately and gorgeous
Poinciana regia, compact-growing and regular in form, but
retaining something of the acacia habit, rising sometimes to
the height of forty or fifty feet, and between the months
of December and April presenting amidst its delicate pea-
green pinnated leaves one vast pyramid of bunches of bright,
dazzling scarlet flowers. Seen sometimes over the tops of
the houses, and at others in an open space standing forth
in truly regal splendour, this is certainly one of the most
magnificent of trees. Its common name is 'mille fleurs,' or
'flamboyant.' The Poinciana, and the large beautifully yellow-
flowering Colvillia, as well as some fine and fragrant species
of Dombeya, and other kinds, were introduced from Mada-
gascar by M. Bojer, a German naturalist, in 1824." A
magnificent creeping-plant (Crypta stygia), with masses of
purple flowers, has been introduced into the capital, as well
as into Mauritius. Other flowering plants noticed by Mr.
Ellis are heaths, species of petunias, gentians (Tachiademus
carinatus, and T. medinilla), and others resembling Stephanotis,
vanilla (Dendrobium), and Indian shot (Canna indica).
X
Another tree conspicuous for its beauty when in flower is
the Astrapca Wallichii or viscosa. The Malagasy name for it
* Three Visits to Madagascar, PP. 41, 57.
G
98
ORCHIDS.
» *
is derived from a word meaning "lightning," on account of the
brilliancy of its flowers. Sir Joseph Paxton and Dr. Lindley
have thus spoken of A. Wallichii: "One of the finest plants
ever introduced, and when loaded with its magnificent
flowers we think nothing can exceed its grandeur.” Mr.
Ellis says of it: "I had seen a good-sized plant growing
freely at Mauritius, but here it was in its native home,
luxuriating on the banks of the stream, its trunk a foot in
diameter, its broad-leaved branches stretching over the water,
and its large, pink, globular, composite flowers, three or four
inches in diameter, suspended at the end of a fine down-
covered stalk, nine inches or a foot in length. These, hang-
ing by hundreds along the course of the stream, surpassed
anything of the kind I had seen, or could possibly have
imagined." t
There are many fine orchids in the Madagascar woods:
among these two species of Angræcum were brought into
notice by Mr. Ellis, who was the first to bring specimens of
them to England. One of these, the A. sesquipedale, has an
extraordinarily long spur; some of those measured by Mr.
Ellis being fourteen inches in length, thus nearly approaching
the foot and a half to which it owes its name first given
by Du Petit Thouars. This spur points to the existence of
an insect with an extremely long trunk or sucking-tube for
the fertilisation of the flower. The exquisitely white waxy
flowers of these orchids are seen very frequently in the
forests, masses of the thick fleshy leaves occupying the forks
of the branches or any projecting part of the trunk, places
which they share with the hart's-tongue and stag's-horn ferns.
Mr. Ellis says he "found the trunk of a tree lying quite
rotten on the ground, and Angraecum sesquipedale growing at
intervals along its whole length, the roots having penetrated
into the decayed vegetable fibre of the tree." In specimens
which have been brought to England the pure waxy white
flowers preserve all their delicate beauty for more than five
weeks. Of another orchid brought to England by Mr. Ellis
(Epiphora pubescens) Dr. Lindley says, "This little-known
* Paxton's Botanical Dictionary, p. 33.
+ Three Visits to Madagascar, Pr. 283, 286, 290.
VEGETABLE EXPORTS.
99
orchid is one that all lovers of what is beautiful and fragrant
will eagerly welcome. Its scent equals the sweetest lilies of
the valley, and its flowers are of the deepest golden yellow,
most richly striped with crimson."*
One of the finest displays of flowers I ever saw in Mada-
gascar was on the sea-shore near the mouth of the river
Màtitànana. A considerable space of ground was covered
with bushes of what I suppose were orchis plants, although
the flowers exactly resembled those of an orchid growing on
Each bush had a
trees higher up the source of the river.
score or two of branches, and each branch bore a number of
large waxy white flowers, all in bloom, the whole forming a
magnificent sight.
Vegetable Exports.-Many of the vegetable productions of
Madagascar are of considerable commercial value. Of late
years large quantities of gum-copal have been exported. This
is obtained from more than one species of tree growing chiefly
on the eastern coast. The forests are rich in gum-producing
trees, and long lists of such are given in the works of early
writers on Madagascar. The gum of certain trees has been
used from time immemorial as incense, for in the worship of
the charms or ody venerated by the Malagasy tribes, these
were always invoked together with the fumes of fragrant gums;
and some have supposed that the most frequent name for the
Supreme Being, Andriamanitra-that is, "The Fragrant One"
-is derived from the use of incense in the ancient religious
worship of the people.
Large quantities of indiarubber have also been exported
from Madagascar during the past few years. Some of this is
obtained from a liana or creeper (Vahea gummifera), but the
greater portion comes from trees of a considerable size. But
such a wanton destruction of the trees has taken place that
unless some restrictions are placed upon the production, the
trade will be wholly at an end at no very distant period.
From what has been already said it will be seen that
the vegetable productions of Madagascar are very varied and
abundant, and were European capital and skill to be intro-
duced, large quantities of almost every kind of tropical pro-
* Gardener's Chronicle, May 28, 1858.
100
THE LACE-LEAF PLANT.
duce might be grown for export, and prove a source of
immense wealth. Rice is already exported in some quantity,
and coffee is being grown to a considerable extent, and its
production is yearly increasing; but sugar, indigo, tobacco,
and spices might also be produced in quantities practically
inexhaustible. The valuable timber of the immense forests
is also certain at some future time to form an important item
in the exports of the country, and a careful scientific explo-
ration of the woods would doubtless bring to light other
vegetable products of commercial value. No such complete
investigation, however, has yet been made. Many years ago,
Sonnerat, a French naturalist, called Madagascar the land of
promise for the botanist, and Du Petit Thouars said that ten
years would not suffice to gain an adequate idea of the vege-
table treasures of the island; but the jealousy of the native
government up to a very recent period, and the unhealthi-
ness of many parts of the country, have hitherto prevented
scientific botanists from attempting a thorough exploration
of the interminable woods. About forty or fifty years ago
Messrs. Bojer and Hilsenberg explored parts of the island, but
no complete or accessible record of their researches has been
published. M. Grandidier's great work on Madagascar, now
in progress, will probably do something to fill up the gap.
The Lace-leaf Plant.—This chapter may be concluded by
a description of a very interesting plant peculiar to Mada-
gascar, and which is called by Sir W. J. Hooker "one of the
most curious of nature's productions." This is the Lace-leaf
plant, or water-yam; in scientific phraseology, Ouvirandra
fenestralis. This curious plant has an edible root, and grows
under water a foot or more deep; from this spring a number
of graceful leaves, which spread out just under the surface.
These leaves are nine or ten inches long and a couple of
inches wide, and their structure is most remarkable, for the
whole leaf is like a living fibrous skeleton rather than an ordi-
nary leaf. The portions of the leaf between the veining are not
filled up, as in every other plant, but are open, so that the
whole is composed of fine tendrils in a regular pattern, so as
to resemble a piece of bright green lace or open needlework.
Mr. Ellis says, "It is scarcely possible to imagine any object
THE LACE-LEAF PLANT.
ΙΟΙ
of the kind more attractive and beautiful than a full-grown
specimen of this plant, with its dark-green leaves forming
the limit of a circle two or three feet in diameter, and in the
transparent water within that circle presenting leaves of every
The flower
stage of development, both as to colour and size."
is a curious forked tuft, pink in colour, and rises above the
surface of the water during the fructification. The ouvirandra
grows in the streams along the eastern coast, but it is also
found abundantly in the colder interior provinces in running
water not many miles west of the capital. Mr. Ellis was the
first to bring plants of the lace-leaf to England, and from
these specimens have been obtained for the principal botanic
gardens of London and its neighbourhood. For a long time
this plant was supposed to be unique, but a few years ago
another species was discovered in West Africa by a French
botanist, and a third has since been found in Senegal, but
these are said to be much less singular in appearance, the
spaces which are open in the Madagascar species being
partially or entirely filled up in the African ones.
The facts now given will be sufficient to show that Mada-
gascar is a country of great interest to the botanist as well as
to the zoologist; and it may be hoped that many more years
will not elapse before its still unexplored vegetable riches
shall have been thoroughly investigated by scientific travellers.
There are probably many wonders and beauties of vegetable
life still awaiting discovery, and yet hidden in the depths.
of those vast forests which form a green girdle round the
island.
•
( 102 )
CHAPTER V.
ORIGIN AND DIVISIONS OF THE MALAGASY PEOPLE.
•
MALAYO-POLYNESIAN AFFINITIES-ALLEGED CONNECTION WITH AFRICAN RACES
-EUROPEAN AND ARAB ELEMENTS-AFRICAN INFLUENCE ON WEST COAST
-PRINCIPAL DIVISIONS OF THE PEOPLE-COLOUR, PHYSIQUE, AND LAN-
GUAGE-DIFFICULT PROBLEMS RAISED BY VARIATIONS IN THESE RESPECTS
-ATTEMPTED SOLUTIONS OF THESE-LIGHT AFFORDED BY TRADITION AND
PHILOLOGY.
IT has already been pointed out, in treating of the animal
life of Madagascar, that there are numerous most interesting
questions raised by the very exceptional character of the fauna
of the island, and that a considerable proportion of the living
creatures inhabiting the country have very remote affinities,
their nearest allies being found not in Africa, but in the
Malay Peninsula and Archipelago, and even in still more
distant regions. The same fact of dissimilarity between
island and continent meets us when considering the Eth-
nology of Madagascar. For it may be confidently said that
a considerable proportion of its inhabitants are not of African
origin, but are unmistakably connected with the races which
inhabit the Polynesian and Malayan Archipelagoes, and are
thus the most western representatives of that very widely-
extended division of mankind.
This fact, although denied by one or two writers whose
opinion is entitled to respect, is now generally admitted by
ethnologists. The grounds for this belief are found in the
close connection between the languages of Madagascar and
those of the Malayo-Polynesian races, and in the similarity of
the customs, handicrafts, and mental and physical character-
istics of these now widely-separated peoples. These resem-
blances will be noticed more in detail in succeeding chapters
upon the language, customs, superstitions, art, and relationships
MALAYO
MALAYO-POLYNESIAN AFFINITIES.
103
of the Malagasy, and form a chain of evidence which is
exceedingly strong, and which is confirmed by every recent
accession to our information about the various tribes inhabit-
ing Madagascar.
The Malay relationships of the Malagasy have, however,
been disputed by Mr. Crawfurd, who, in A Dissertation on
the Affinities of the Malayan Languages, maintained that
the connection between them was very slight indeed, and
endeavoured to account for the presence of the undoubted
resemblances between them by the arrival of a few piratical
proas driven by a hurricane from the Malay Archipelago, and
bringing with them a few of the most necessary articles of food.
The words for these, together with others, of an admittedly
very important character, he thinks maintained their ground,
while the immigrants themselves were absorbed in the mass
of the population. But Mr. Crawfurd has largely under-
rated the connection between the two languages, as has been
conclusively shown by the Rev. W. E. Cousins; and those
who know the Malagasy will be disposed to place little
reliance upon his opinion on this point where he says
that they "do not bear any resemblance to" the Malays,
and that "they are in fact negroes, but negroes of a particular
description."
Another writer, Mr. C. Staniland Wake, in a paper read
before the Anthropological Society (Dec. 14, 1869) on "The
Race Elements of the Madecasses," has endeavoured to show
that there is a much closer connection between the peoples
of Madagascar and those of South and East Africa than had
hitherto been supposed. This opinion he tries to prove by
pointing out a number of resemblances between them in
physical structure, hair, craniology, pastoral habits, political
arrangements, and in religious notions and superstitions. No
doubt some of these are entitled to be considered as of
weight; and the quotations he gives of descriptions of a Hova
and a Bétsimisaraka skull are very important confirmations of
his opinion, if they are indeed fair specimens of the craniology
of these tribes respectively. But as it is very difficult to obtain
a Hova cranium, it appears to me that it is quite possible that
the specimen described by Dr. Carter Blake and adduced by
104
AFRICAN AFFINITIES.
Mr. Wake, although possibly obtained in Imérina, may have
been that of a slave, either from one of the tribes distant
from the Hovas, or even from an individual with a distinctly
African admixture.
Those who have lived among the Malagasy in the central
province know how carefully and religiously they preserve
and bury the bones of their dead, so that it is one of the
most difficult matters possible to obtain a skull of one of the
free people; while violation of a grave is looked upon as the
most heinous of crimes. Unless, therefore, there was most
unmistakable evidence that the skull in question was really
that of a pure Hova, little stress can be laid upon the
evidence of a single so-called Hova skull. Could a series
of crania be procured from all the principal divisions of the
inhabitants of Madagascar, some most valuable information
as to the affinities of the Malagasy would doubtless be
obtained; but owing to the superstitions and habits of the
people there seems little hope at present of getting light on
this question from such a source.
Mr. Wake has, I think, laid too little stress upon some
other points which tell against the supposed African affinities,
such as the Malagasy non-use of skins for clothing, a material
so universally employed in South Africa; their use of woven
and beaten-out vegetable fibres, which connects them so
closely with the Polynesian tribes; the use of the feather-
bellows found among the Malays; their ancient knowledge
of iron-smelting; the employment of the brotherhood-by-
blood covenant, &c., &c. And the affinities which he be-
lieves he finds between the languages of South Africa and
of Madagascar seem, in the greater number of the examples
he adduces, to be of so obscure and doubtful a character that
they have very little value as establishing any relationship.
Mr. Wake takes his illustrations from Dumont D'Urville's
Vocabulary, but in dictionaries of the Hova dialect, either
French or English, or even the Vocabulaire Sakalava et
Betsimisara of the Abbé Dalmond-much fuller and more
correct works than D'Urville's-some of the supposed resem-
blances disappear entirely, while some of the words cited as
connected with South African tongues-Kafir and Namaqua
PHILOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS.
PHILOLOGI
105
-are found unaltered from the Malagasy form of them in one
or other of the Malayo-Polynesian languages.
It must be said here that Mr. Wake does not deny some
Malayan affinities in the Malagasy (indeed he devotes a long
paragraph of his paper to an examination of the points of
agreement between the Hovas and the Siamese, saying that
"it is among the more civilised people of the Malayan Archi-
pelago that we must seek for special Hova affinities"), but he
thinks the African relationships as strong; so much so that
he is inclined to suppose that many of the African races went
from Madagascar to the continent, and that Madagascar, or
some spot farther eastward, and now submerged, was the seat
of man's primitive civilisation.
If, however, we take such a work as Mr. Alfred Wallace's
Malay Archipelago, and examine the vocabularies given at
the end of the second volume, we shall find that in the list
of "Nine Words in Fifty-nine Languages" of that region,
the Malagasy words are discovered in every one of the nine
columns; and not only so, but in most of these nine.
examples words exactly like, or most closely identical with,
the Malagasy are found in a great number of the fifty-nine
languages. Thus, the Malagasy afo (fire) is found in twenty
languages; léla (tongue) also in twenty; fòtsy (white), in
thirty; and so on. Again, in the list of "One Hundred and
Seventeen Words in Thirty-three Languages of the Malay
Archipelago," the Malagasy words are found in more than
eighty, or five-sevenths of the whole number; and also, as in
the other list, often in not one only, but in many of these
thirty-three languages. This remark applies to the Hova form
of Malagasy, but it is highly probable that were the coast
dialects more fully known many other similarities would be
discovered. And it is also a fact that in the Polynesian
languages, and in those of New Guinea, there are also
numerous correspondences with Malagasy; so that the argu-
ment for the Malayo-Polynesian affinities with the Mada-
gascar language is very strong indeed, and there is nothing
yet produced on the African side which can be at all com-
pared with it.
It will, however, be desirable to state in as brief a form
106
EUROPEAN AND ARABIAN ELEMENTS.
as is possible what we know positively about the Malagasy
people ethnologically considered. But it must be premised that
our information is still very defective, for no careful and syste-
matic examination of the differences between the various tribes
found in the island has yet been made; and in addition to
the want of cranial observations we much need a series of
photographs, both in full face and profile, of typical specimens
of the different races, together with particulars as to their
colour, hair, height, &c., &c.
From the long intercourse Europeans have now had with
the people of the eastern coast and of Imérina, these are the
best known of the various tribes; but there are in both
cases certain extraneous elements intermingled, so that it is
not quite easy to determine how far these have modified the
original stock. On the eastern coast there is an undoubted
European mixture in the population, arising partly from
the intercourse which the pirates of the early part of the
eighteenth century had with the people, and also from the
Creole settlers and planters, who take native wives, and
whose children become absorbed in the native population.
There is also a certain amount of foreign blood derived from
sailors and others who touch at the ports. When coming
down to the east coast in 1867, after nearly four years'
familiarity with the Hovas only, I was much struck with the
lighter colour of the Bétsimisaraka women as compared with
the Hova women.
In addition to this European mixture there is also an
Arabian element in the eastern tribes, derived from the
ancient Arab settlements, both in the province of Màtitànana
on the south-east coast, and in the island of St. Marie's and
the mainland opposite to it, farther north. It is possible,
however, that this did not materially affect the mass of the
people (although it has left ineffaceable traces of its influence
on the language), since the white settlers became the princes
and nobles of some districts, and kept themselves apart from
the rest of the people. In some tribes these white chiefs
are said to have been exterminated by the French, to whose
settlement in the country they were strongly opposed; but,
on the other hand, the chiefs of some of the Tanàla or forest
STONE ELEPHANT.
107
tribes, living many miles inland, in the heart of the dense
woods of the eastern side of the island, are said to derive
In the Antananarivo
their origin from the Arab settlers.
Annual for 1877 (No. ii.) there is some information derived
from the Tanàla people of Ivòhitròsa, a village situated at
the edge of the high table-land of south-eastern Bétsiléo. In
this paper it is said that the chiefs of Ivòhitròsa, together with
those of other places in this same forest region north and
south of them, are descended from those who " came from
across the ocean, they were not natives of Madagascar." Then
follow the names of the ancestors of the different tribes,
Firambo being the father of the chiefs called Zàfiràmbo, &c.
(Zafy, be it remembered, is the native word for "descen-
dant," and also for "grandchild.")
This account is confirmed by a short paper in the same
publication for 1878 (p. 115), in which the Rev. W. D.
Cowan describes a stone elephant which still exists at a
village called Ambòhisàry on the east coast. This figure is
made of soap-stone, and is in a good state of preservation; it is
about seven feet long and four feet high. It is hollow, and
evidently formed a receptacle for gifts and offerings. Accord-
ing to tradition this stone elephant was brought from Imàka
(Mecca ?) by Ramania, the ancestor of the tribe called Zafira-
manìa, who inhabit the district about Mànanjàra. This man
is said to have been an uncle of Mohammed, and there are
numerous details of his history preserved in Arabic books
kept by his descendants, some of which were translated by
order of Flacourt, the French Commandant at Fort Dauphin
(1648-1655), and others by order of Benyowski (1774-
1786). From other Arabs who arrived at about the same
time as Ramanìa are said to be descended other ruling
clans (or andrians) along the east coast of Madagascar. And
of these clans Mr. Cowan says: "Having now met with
representative chiefs of several of these divisions, I speak
with confidence of their remarkable resemblance and distinc-
tive character, which separates them widely from the people
over whom they rule, and goes far to verify their traditions."
I must, however, remark here that my own knowledge of
these people, derived from a journey through the southern
108
ARAB ELEMENT.
Tanàla country and the south-eastern coast, does not confirm
what Mr. Cowan here states. I could see no difference be-
tween the clans he names and the mass of the people. But
as Mr. Cowan has had fuller and more frequent oppor-
tunities of observation than I have had, his opinion is
entitled to considerable weight. At Ambòhipéno, near the
mouth of the Màtitànana, some of the people, who call them-
selves Zafy Ibrahim (“ descendants of Abraham"), said to me
in conversation, "We are altogether Jews;" but I could not
detect any difference in colour, features, or dialect between
them and the other people of the eastern coast. At the same
time the Arab influence in this region is undoubted. At
this very place M. Grandidier obtained in 1870 copies of
Arabic books on various subjects. And here also a son of
one of the former òmbiàsy, or diviners, gave me a paper with
a number of Arabic words, equivalents for as many Malagasy
ones; showing that, in some families at least, a knowledge of
the language of their ancestors had not yet died out.
Farther north also, at the Isle of St. Marie's, and the
adjacent mainland, the people call themselves Zàfy Ibrahim.
If the traditions and written documents referred to above are
correct in the main, this Arab element must have come into
Madagascar about 1200 years ago (the Hegira or Moham-
medan era was A.D. 662), and as the immigrants seem chiefly
to have been men, for some are expressly mentioned as taking
native women as wives, it is not remarkable that the foreign
influence is so little prominent in the features and colour of
the people. During all these hundreds of years the mixture
with native blood has been assimilating it more and more
every succeeding generation with that of the majority of the
population, and climatic and other influences have also been
working in the same direction.*
Besides this Arab influence exerted many hundred years ago
It is perhaps not unworthy of remark, that the names of the Arab
ancestors of the noble clans in the south-east of Madagascar seem derived from
purely Malagasy roots, for Ramania, Isàmbo, Imahazo, Imanély, and Iràmbo
are all good Malagasy words. Possibly, however, they have been somewhat
altered from their original form to those more exactly resembling native words,
a change of which there are numerous examples in the names of things of foreign
introduction.
FOREIGN INTERMIXTURE.
109
on the south-east coast, it is also found in operation to this
very day on the opposite side of the island, the north-west,
as will be noticed presently when speaking of the Sàkalàva
tribes.
Among the Hovas, in the central province of Imérina, there
is probably only a slight foreign (i.e., extra-Malagasy) mixture
of blood, although the whitest and most European-like natives
are to be found among the upper and well-to-do classes; and
in looking at some of these I have felt strongly inclined to
believe that some not very remote ancestor of theirs was not
a native Malagasy. Taking the population of Imérina as a
whole, there can be no doubt that it is of a more mixed char-
acter than is the case in many provinces. For during the
first half of the present century, when the Hovas were pur-
suing their career of conquest through the central and eastern
portions of Madagascar, great numbers of the women and
children of the conquered tribes were brought back to the
capital and its neighbourhood, where their descendants now
form a large proportion of the slave population. It is at the
same time quite true that the free people do not intermarry
with the slaves, and those free people who may become slaves
for debt or other causes (záza-Hòva) marry among themselves,
and not with the slaves proper (andévo). And the Andrians
or noble clans (with some strictly defined exceptions) marry
from those of their own rank. So that there is a tendency
from the habits of the people to keep the original stock of
any tribe free from much foreign intermixture, for tribes and
families, as a rule, marry among themselves in order to keep
landed property together, as well as from a strong clannish
feeling.
The people of the western and northern portions of Mada-
gascar, loosely called Sàkalàvas, have three decided foreign
elements mingled with them, or, at least, found among them.
First, there are the Arab immigrants just referred to.* The
Arabs have probably had intercourse with the country, and
numbers of them have settled in it, for many hundred years
past, although they seem to have kept themselves distinct to
* These people are called Salama by the Malagasy; is this name derived from
the salutation salama = Hcb. shalom?
110
INDIAN AND AFRICAN ELEMENTS.
a great extent from the native population, and do not inter-
marry much with them, except they can get hold of an
heiress or a woman of high rank. Then there is an Indian
element, there being a considerable number of Banyan
traders from Kutch and Bombay at some of the large towns
on the north-west coast, so that Indian dress, ornaments,
utensils, music, and customs meet one at every turn in these
places. And as both Arabs and Indians are Mohammedans,
the towns of Màrovoày, Mojangà, Mòrontsànga, and some of
the islands, are much more like Arab or Hindoo places than
Malagasy ones. The houses in these places are of stone,
with flat roofs and deep shady recesses; there are mosques
for worship, and the cry of the muezzin is heard at the
appointed times of the day for Mohammedan prayers.
Then there is an African element, derived from the
numbers of slaves from the mainland who have been brought
into the country from time immemorial by the Arab slaving
dhows. The emancipation of the African slaves two years
ago by the Hova government will doubtless do much to stop
this traffic, although, from the character of the north-west
coast of Madagascar,-full of bays and inlets, where a dhow
can easily evade the English cruisers, it will probably go
on to some extent wherever the Hova authority is slight.
According to Sir Bartle Frere and other authorities, hundreds
of slaves were, until a short time ago, brought into the
country every year. This infusion from the neighbouring
continent has doubtless had some effect on the language of
the western tribes, and probably added a darker strain to
their colour.
Having now looked at the foreign influences which have
been at work in various parts of Madagascar to modify the
original Malagasy stock, something may be said about the
chief differences to be remarked among the various tribes as
regards colour and physique.
Every traveller in Madagascar is aware that there are
very considerable differences in the colour, outline (as viewed
in front) and profile of the face, and stature of the people he
meets with in passing through the country. He finds almost
every shade of colour, from a very light olive, not darker
EVIDENCE FROM HAIR.
III
than is seen in the peoples of southern Europe, down through
all gradations of brown to a tint which, although not black,
is certainly very dark. In the quality of the hair, too, there
is a good deal of difference; the lighter-coloured people having
usually long, black, and straight hair, while the darker tribes.
have, as a rule, shorter and more frizzly hair, although it is
rarely, if ever, of the true negro woolly or tufted kind of
head-covering. This correspondence of colour of skin with a
certain kind of hair is, however, by no means invariable,
curling and frizzly hair being sometimes found with light-
coloured skin, and straight hair with dark skin.
And even
where the hair is frizzly it is often long enough to be braided
in various fashions, so that the Sàkalàva and others of the
darkest-hued people have their hair arranged in a number
of long tails consisting of minute plaits, a kind of hair-
dressing hardly possible where the hair is rather a kind of
wool.*
In the contour of face and head also there is considerable
variety, many individuals approaching in this particular to a
European type; others having the high-cheek-bone Malayan
form of face; others again have some approximation to what
are considered as typical African features-broad nostrils,
somewhat prognathous in profile, and thicker lips, although
I do not remember to have seen any true Malagasy with
decidedly negro features.
Speaking broadly, the Malagasy may be divided into three
main groups: the Eastern, the Central, and the Western
tribes. Of these the Hovas (north central), and perhaps the
Bétsimisaraka (east coast) and some neighbouring tribes, are
the lightest in colour (although there are some Hovas as dark
as any of the more swarthy races); then come the Bétsiléo
(south central), Tanàla (forest tribes of the east side), other
eastern tribes, and perhaps the Bàra (southernmost central,
although our information as to these is not very exact);
while the Sakalava, all along the west side of the island, and
* Since writing the above, I am reminded by my wife (for ladies are closer
observers in such matters than men) that the Malagasy are accustomed to add
other hair than their own to these long braids. Still, I think the darker-
coloured races have long hair, as a rule, although it may be a little frizzly.
112
EVIDENCE FROM HEADS.
overlapping its north-east corner, are the darkest, together
with some of the east coast and southern tribes.
As regards stature, the lighter races are probably a little
below the average English height, with well-proportioned
limbs and graceful and agile movements. I think, however,
I have detected in some families of Andrians or nobles a
superior stature to the majority of the people, a fact which
may probably have arisen from the chiefs being able in
former times to procure more abundant and nutritious food,
from which circumstance also it is well known that the
chiefs of many of the Polynesian islands are of much superior
stature to their subjects. Some of, if not all, the darker-
coloured people are somewhat taller and more robust than
their lighter-tinted neighbours, with a fuller chest and more
massive limbs.
The Hovas are noticeable for their well-shaped heads,
with high foreheads, and often European cast of counte-
nance. Their appearance gives one the idea of considerable
intellectual capacity. In some I have noticed the slightly
oblique position of the eyes, and a somewhat Chinese ex-
pression. Mr. Ellis's description of them in his Three Visits
to Madagascar may be accepted as generally correct, when he
says: "The foreheads were always well shaped, even when
the space between the eyebrows and hair, as in some few
instances, was comparatively narrow. The eyes were never
large and projecting, but clear and bright, and the eyebrows
well defined without being heavy. The nose was frequently
aquiline and firm; it was, however, more frequently straight,
and sometimes short and broad, without fulness at the end.
Their lips were occasionally thick and slightly projecting;
though seldom round and large, but often thin, and the lower
one gently projecting (possibly from snuff-taking), with short
curling upper lip. Their eyes are dark brown and hair jet
black. Style of feature seems to mark the Hovas much
more distinctly than colour and hair." The portraits given
in the works cited in the footnote will fully confirm the
*
* See The History of Madagascar, vol. i. pp. 116, 117; Three Visits to
Madagascar, pp. 129, 137, 138, 413, 417; Madagascar Revisited, PP. 74, 220;
Tour du Monde, 247e liv. pp. 211, 217, 219.
APPEARANCE OF THE SAKALAVA.
113
above description. The men have not much beard, but they
wear moustachios, often growing rather thick, and clipped
close.
Except that most of the other races of the central and
eastern side of the island are darker in colour than the Hovas,
much of the above description would apply to the finer ex-
amples of some of the other tribes as well. The children of
the Tanàla people in the heart of the dense forest, of the
Bétsiléo, the Bétsimisàraka, and the Sihànaka, are equally quick,
bright, and intelligent with those of the Hovas, and, judging
from the appearance of the few Sakalàva I have met with, I
should judge that they are not below the other tribes in mental
qualities. I was always struck with the bold, free, martial
appearance of parties of this tribe, who are occasionally seen
at the capital. As is remarked in The History of Madagascar
(vol. i. p. 129): "There is something in the very appearance
of the Sakalàva in his favour. His manly air and gait, his
full countenance and penetrating look, declare him destined
to something higher and nobler than he has yet attained."
If I am not mistaken in my recollection of many of them,
they have often an almost Roman shape of nose, thin at the
upper part, although rather broad at the base. Captain J.
C. Wilson, R.N., in some "Notes on the West Coast of
Madagascar," * says the Sakalàva are the finest race of savages
he ever saw; strong, tall, and independent, somewhat like
Africans, but better looking. He describes them as being
good shots, of pastoral habits, and having clean and comfort-
able houses.
Mr. G. A. Shaw, who has resided amongst the Bétsiléo for
seven years, says of them: "As compared with the Hovas,
the Bétsiléo have a greater proportion of big men, and the
average size both of men and of women is greater than in the
north. The average height is not less than six feet for the
men, and a few inches less for the women. They are large-
boned and muscular, and their colour is several degrees
darker than that of the Hovas, approaching in many cases
very close to a black. The forehead is low and broad, the
nose flatter and the lips thicker than those of their con-
* Jour. Roy. Geog. Soc., vol. xxxvi., 1866.
H
114
LIGHT AND DARK-COLOURED RACES.
querors, whilst their hair is invariably crisp and woolly. No
pure Bétsiléo is to be met with having the smooth long hair of
the Hovas. In this, as in other points, there is a very clear
departure from the Malayan type."
"'*
It has been said by some writers that there is a strongly-
marked division between the light and the dark coloured races
of Madagascar. As far as my own observation goes, I doubt
the accuracy of this statement, and should rather say that
the one type shades into the other by gradations almost im-
possible to be marked off in any exact manner either by
tribal or geographical divisions. For instance, by some writers
the Sihànaka are classed with the Sàkalàva, probably on
account of their dark colour; but judging from their way of
building their houses, and other habits, and from their dialect,
they are a division of the Bétsimisàraka or Bézànozàno, who
have come up from the coast and eastern districts. With
them have become mingled a number of Hovas, but this
mixed race is darker than either of the peoples composing it;
and it seems probable that the great heat and moisture of
their country, shut in as it is on almost all sides by forest,
have tended to darken the colour of their skin. I fancied
I could trace a distinctly different type of feature from the
Hovas, but observations made during a single hasty visit are
not very reliable.
There can, however, be no doubt that while from one point
of view a three-fold division of the Malagasy tribes can be
roughly made, taking another standpoint, that of language,
they separate into two very distinctly-marked groups: the
Hovas, or northern central tribes, forming one division; and
the other comprising all the rest of the people, both of the
east and west coasts and in the northern and southern interior
provinces. We do not yet know with great minuteness the
peculiarities of all the dialects other than the Hova, but we
know sufficient to affirm that they all seem more related to
one another than they are to the Hova. Most if not all of
them appear to have a more nasal n sound than the Hova
gives to have a broader and more open sound in some vowels,
and to cut off many of the terminals of trisyllabic roots (ka,
* Antananarivo Annual, No. iii. p. 79.
TRIBAL DIFFERENCES.
115
tra, and na), while many words obsolete, or only used in
special senses, in the central provinces, are still in common
use among the outer tribes.
From this fact, and also from other circumstances, as well
as tradition, there seems much reason to believe that the
Hovas (and perhaps some of the lighter-coloured eastern
tribes also) are the latest immigrants into the country, and
that the other tribes have been inhabitants of Madagascar for
a longer period. It seems certain that the Hovas have come
into Imérina within a time to which tradition points back,
and that they displaced an aboriginal race, the Vazìmba (of
whom more presently).
Here, however, come in two or three perplexing inquiries:
First, Although there are considerable differences between
the various tribes in colour, physique, &c., yet does not
the substantial unity of language point, if not to a common
origin, at least to a common region, from which they all came,
although perhaps at somewhat widely-separated intervals of
time? Is it possible that if they are of a radically distinct
stock, there would not be very clear indications of at least
two different languages in Madagascar? Yet we do not find
such different languages; for although the dialects of some
tribes are puzzling enough at first both to natives and
Europeans from a distant part of the country, this arises
chiefly from various pronunciations, the employment of words
either obsolete or used in another sense elsewhere, and other
minor differences, and certainly not because a distinctly dif
ferent language is employed by such tribes. A glance at
the personal names employed among the Sakalàva, in whose
dialect probably the greatest differences from Hova exist,
shows that most of them are essentially from roots common
both to them and to the Hovas. So it is also with the
names of places; the structure of the language is the same;
and although there is a small proportion of words in the
Sakalàva vocabulary which are not employed by the Hovas,
it has not yet been shown that this is of African origin. At
the same time there may very likely be some African infu-
sion in the west-coast dialects, and possibly extending from
thence into the interior. Remembering the proximity to
116
EFFECTS OF MOISTURE AND HEAT.
Africa, and the constant intercourse that has been going on
from time immemorial, it would be strange if there was not
some little connection between the languages of island and
continent, and perhaps a few roots commencing with the
consonants ng and nj are from a different stock to the great
mass of the language.
Then again, if all the different tribes of Madagascar are
from a common region, as one seems forced to conclude from
the unity of their language, how is it that such differences
exist in colour and physique, &c. ? Possibly, as seems sug-
gested by what has been already remarked with regard to the
Sihanaka, the colder climate of the highlands of the interior
has to some extent modified the Hovas as regards colour,
while moisture and heat combined have tended to darken the
other tribes living in the lower and warmer regions of the
country. But although this may explain some of the varia-
tions in colour and physical conditions, it cannot be con-
sidered adequate to explain the many other differences found
among the inhabitants of Madagascar. How are these to be
accounted for? and where did they originate?
May it not be that we have in Madagascar, as in the Mala-
yan and Polynesian Archipelagoes, two races represented-
one, an olive or light-brown people closely connected with the
inhabitants of Eastern Polynesia (from the Sandwich Islands
through the Samoan, Marquesan, Society, Paumotu, and other
groups, down to New Zealand); and also a darker race, allied
to the Melanesian tribes inhabiting Western Polynesia, from
Fiji to New Guinea? The mixed character of the words.
comprised in the Malagasy vocabulary seems to favour this
suggested mixed origin. Taking Mr. Wallace's "List of One
Hundred and Seventeen Words in Thirty-three Languages
of the Malay Archipelago," we find that vorona (bird) is from
the Malay and South Celebes languages; anaka (child), besides
being found in Malay, Javanese, and Celebes, is also used in
Ceram, Sanguir (Philippines), and by the Sea Gypsies; nio
(cocoa-nut) is found in Bouru, Amboyna, Ceram, and all
over the Polynesian groups inhabited by the lighter-coloured
races; atody (egg) is used in Mysol, Gilolo, and Ceram; and
so on. And an examination of Polynesian vocabularies would
•
EXISTENCE OF DISTINCT DIALECTS.
117
doubtless furnish fresh facts in the same direction. There is
still, however, a residuum of a few important words whose
origin has not yet been discovered.
Some of the facts pointed out by Mr. Wallace as to the
limited area of some of these Malayan languages, such as the
existence of very distinct dialects, and sometimes altogether
different tongues, in neighbouring villages (see Mal. Arch. pp.
473-475, vol. ii.), seem very remarkable when compared with
the substantial unity of language over so large an island as
Madagascar, which has an area of more than 200,000 square
miles. The same condition of things as exists in Malaysia
is found also on the south-east coast of New Guinea, where
the Rev. W. G. Lawes says there are from twenty to thirty
distinct languages on a coast-line of only two to three hundred
miles in length.
In Madagascar, on the other hand, we find a number of
tribes scattered over a large area, many of them with con-
siderable tracts of uninhabited country separating them from
other tribes, and yet strangely alike in language and in
customs, and to a certain extent also in physical qualities.*
Considerations of language would lead one to infer that the
ancestors of the Malagasy came from a rather wide area of
the Malayan Archipelago; that then they remained together
long enough in one part of Madagascar for their various lan-
guages to unite so as to become one tongue; and that subse-
quently they separated into the different tribes now inhabiting
the country, their varying dialects as at present existing
becoming gradually differentiated from the original stock,
partly through the custom of fady or tabooing the words and
particles occurring in the names of their chiefs (see chapter
on Language), and also by other well-known influences
which are constantly affecting and slowly changing human
speech.
Then there is a third question which meets us: How did
the ancestors of the Malagasy come from their distant homes
* These are: a somewhat flatter physiognomy than is found among Euro-
peans, the men being usually better formed than the women, among whom
there is a tendency to corpulency; having weak beards, generally plucked out
when young; and somewhat colder blood and general temperature of body than
Europeans have. See History of Madagascar, vol. i. p. 115.
118
SAILORS OF THE COAST TRIBES.
and the islands where their ancestors dwelt? How did they
contrive to cross the 3000 miles of ocean which separate
them from the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago? This is
certainly a difficult problem to solve. Still there are facts
which may suggest a solution of the question. In the first
place, it is well known that the lighter races of the Malayo-
Polynesian region are adventurous sailors, and often make
voyages of several hundred miles in their canoes. There
seems little doubt that to this fact is owing the wide distri-
bution of these peoples, north and south, from the Sandwich
Islands to New Zealand (a distance of above 4500 miles), to
say nothing of the 10,000 miles east and west from Easter
Island to Sumatra. It is well known, both from tradition,
language, and reliable native accounts, that some groups of
islands in the Pacific have been peopled from others at great
distances in somewhat modern times, and that considerable
distances have been traversed by canoes, the occupants of
which have sometimes made long voyages through being over-
taken by hurricanes, and occasionally, although less frequently,
through a spirit of adventure.
It is evident also that the coast tribes of Madagascar still
possess much skill as sailors. Until the early part of the
present century the people of the north-west coast used to
make an annual piratical expedition to the Comoro Islands,
and one of the articles in the first English treaty with
Radama I. provided that these raids should be discontinued.
Such expeditions, of course, required a considerable number
of canoes of large size to take a sufficient force of fighting
men; indeed, we know that these expeditions, which were
carried on for forty years, became at length so formidable
that the Portuguese authorities at Mozambique sent, in 1805,
a corvette of fourteen guns to attack the piratical fleet.
But the ship was becalmed and overpowered, and carried into
a Malagasy port; and in the next year but one, another
expedition of from 7000 to 8000 men seized a French
slaver, which was also taken and destroyed. The last of
these daring attacks was made in 1816, but it was repulsed
with much loss, and afterwards met with storms, so that out
of 6250 men in 250 canoes, not one is believed to have
*
INTERMEDIATE STAGES.
119
survived. Later writers also speak of the adventurous way
in which the people of the north-western islands put out to
sea in their outrigger canoes. And on the south-east coast
the writer found that most ingeniously constructed boats
were in common use among the people, for going through the
heavy surf to the foreign vessels. (See chapter on Malagasy
Customs.)
When, therefore, we consider both the great distances.
occasionally traversed in the Pacific, and the nautical skill
still evinced by the Malagasy, it seems less incredible than
it might at first sight appear, that even the 3000 miles
between the Malay Archipelago and Madagascar should be
crossed by canoes bringing the ancestors of the Malagasy
people.
It will perhaps be objected that in the Pacific there are
numerous groups of islands which would serve as intermediate
stages in the passage between such widely-separated lands—
as, for instance, New Zealand and the Sandwich Islands-and
that crossing the Indian Ocean in one voyage would be a
very different undertaking. This is perfectly true, but it is
not necessary to conclude that the passage across was made
in one voyage.
If we examine a chart of the Indian Ocean,
we shall find that there are numerous groups of small islands
scattered over its area, -the Maldive, Chagos, Amirante,
Seychelles, Mascarene, and others which would serve as
resting-places between the Malayan region and Madagascar.
And if we examine the chart more minutely, we find that
many of these islands have circling reefs, a pretty sure sign
(according to Darwin and other authorities) that they are
sinking land, and so are no doubt of much less extent now
than at an earlier period in human history. It seems highly
probable, therefore, that in past ages not only were these
islands of much greater size than they are at present, but
that there was also land where now a wide ocean rolls its
waves. As already mentioned in speaking of the fauna of
Madagascar, it has been supposed by many naturalists.
of eminence (Wallace, Sclater, Bates, and others), that in
* See Guillain, op. cit., pp. 199, 200; Owen's Narrative, vol. ii. p. 12.
+ Antananarivo Annual, No. iii. pp. 23, 24.
120
RELICS OF SUBMERGED ISLANDS.
recent geological periods the area of the Indian Ocean was,
in part at least, occupied by a considerable extent of land, of
which Madagascar, and the Mascarene, and other groups are
the relics, the strange relationships of the animal life of these
islands appearing to require some such link between Mada-
gascar and the more easterly regions of the world. This
supposition is borne out to a great extent by the deep-sea
soundings recently made (although certainly not to the full
extent of the supposed requirements), for an examination of
the chart shows that there was probably a large island to
the north-east of Madagascar, nearly as large as Madagascar
itself, but of a longer shape, curving round to the north-west,
something like a boomerang in outline, and with its north-
western end about as far from the northern point of Mada-
gascar as the latter is from the African coast (about 260
miles). Of this former island the Amirante and Seychelles
groups form the relics of the northern portion, and the Car-
gados Garayos shoals and islets of the southern end. Then
there would seem to have been an island considerably larger
than Ceylon, about half-way between the boomerang-shaped
island just described and India, whose position is indicated
by the Chagos group; while the soundings indicate probably
another long island about the size of Sumatra, lying in much
the same contiguity to south-west India as Sumatra does
to the Malay Peninsula. Of this island, the Maldive and
Laccadive islets alone now lift their heads above the waves.
South-east of these, a very deep sea, 1 5,000 feet deep, probably
indicates a very ancient physical feature of this part of the
globe, and shows that in all the more recent geological
epochs at least, an ocean of profound depth has separated the
region occupied by the islands just described from the Malayan
and Australian regions. It appears to me that these former
physical conditions of portions of the area of the Indian
Ocean, give some probable clue as to the path along which
Madagascar received from the far eastern archipelagoes the
ancestors of its present population.
Still another question occurs, as to which again we can
only put forward some slight hints towards a solution, viz.,
the question of date: At what period did these immigrants
LIGHT AFFORDED BY TRADITION.
121
-dark and light in colour-cross the space between the
Malayan region and Madagascar ?
The absence of any ancient writings and monuments leaves
us little besides tradition and language to fall back upon.
The former of these is vague and uncertain, but one or two
probabilities may be gleaned from it, as well as from language.
We know little as yet about the traditions of the coast
tribes, but Hova tradition points very clearly to their ances-
tors having come into the central province from the east
coast. In a native history which was published at the
capital in 1873, a list of Hova chieftains and kings is given.
The present sovereign makes the thirty-sixth on this list, but
it is distinctly said that the first-named of these thirty-six
was not actually the first, but that "the beginnings of the
sovereigns who reigned here from the very first is still a
matter veiled in obscurity," the accounts "being so mixed up
with fabulous legends that the whole of them cannot be con-
sidered as reliable." Then follows a story deriving the origin
of some of these chiefs from a son whom Andriamanitra (God)
cast down to the earth to play with the Vazìmba (the early
inhabitants of the central province). Now this list seems to
give us some slight indications of a date, after which it is not
probable that the Hovas arrived in the centre of the island,
and it is most likely that it was considerably earlier.
if we look at a list of English sovereigns, we see that from
William the Conqueror to our present Queen, their number
is (curiously enough) exactly the same as that of these Hova
chieftains. It is not quite certain that all these Malagasy
princes reigned successively, but most of them no doubt did
so; and therefore, supposing that the average length of reign
was about the same in Madagascar as in England, probably
the Hova incursion was not much, if at all, later than our
Norman Conquest, and perhaps was much earlier than that
event; while the date at which they arrived in Madagascar
itself is lost in obscurity, as well as the probably much
earlier invasion of the island by the other races.
For
Philology gives us a little additional light here, but only
a little.
The Rev. L. Dahle has pointed out, in a valuable
article on "The Influence of the Arabs on the Malagasy
122
LIGHT AFFORDED BY PHILOLOGY.
Language," that the presence of Arabic names for the months.
and days taken from the constellations of the zodiac and the
principal stars in these constellations, gives "some conclusions
as to the time when the Arabic influence began to work its
way here," and along with it the introduction of the terms
in question, "at least as to the terminus ante quem it could not
have taken place." Mr. Dahle adds that "about the end of
the eighth century the Arabs already began studying astronomy,
and translating Greek works on that subject, and consequently
they can scarcely have introduced their astrology here earlier
than the ninth century; probably it took place much later."
It will be seen, however, that this refers not to the arrival of
the Malagasy in the island, but only to the introduction of
a certain element into the already-existing population.
As to the Malagasy language as a whole, the Rev. W. E.
Cousins says:† "The fact that resemblances to the Malagasy,
both in its vocabulary and in its grammar, are found in such
widely-separated regions [the Malayan and Polynesian Archi-
pelagoes], sometimes where they are wanting in the Malay
itself, makes it probable, I think, that the Malagasy emigra-
tion must be placed far back at some period before the more
cultivated languages took their present forms. We should
also give due importance (1) to the absence of Mohammedan
traditions in Madagascar, (2) to the presence of a few Sanscrit
words, and (3) I think, too, to the richness of the Malagasy
in derivative forms, as I judge that the Malagasy has a far
greater variety of such forms than the Malay." Mr. Cousins also
says that, from the examples he adduces of the affinities between
Malagasy and the Malayan and Polynesian languages, he is
"disposed to believe that the Malagasy represents an older
stage in the common language now so widely spread over the
Indian and Pacific Oceans, and has not been derived from
what is at present known as Malay."
Thus, so far as philology goes, it seems to indicate that the
emigration of the Malagasy tribes from the east occurred at
a somewhat remote era in the history of the human race.
* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 82.
"The Malagasy Language; " Philol. Soc. Trans., 1878.
( 123 )
CHAPTER VI.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DIFFERENT TRIBES INHABITING
MADAGASCAR IN ANCIENT AND MODERN TIMES.
HOVAS — BÉTSILÉO — BÀRA-TANÀLA-TANKAY—SIHÀNAKA-BÉTSIMISÀRAKA
AND EAST-COAST TRIBES-ABORIGINAL PEOPLES BEFORE MALAY INCUR-
SION: VAZIMBA-KIMOS OR QUIMOS-KALIO OR BEHÒSY-POPULATION—
VARIOUS ESTIMATES-CHIEF TOWNS-TABLE OF PRINCIPAL TRIBES AND
THEIR SUBDIVISIONS.
THE varieties in colour and physique found among the peoples
inhabiting the different provinces of Madagascar have already
been noticed in the preceding chapter; but as there are many
other particulars which should be remembered in order to
form a tolerably accurate notion of the people in their
numerous divisions, we shall here note down some of the
more important of them. Some information may then be
given as to the traces found of earlier races in Madagascar
before the arrival of the ancestors of the bulk of the present
inhabitants; and also as to the probable amount of the
existing population of the island.
1. The Hovas.-At the head of the Malagasy tribes stand
the Hovas, who are now by far the most advanced of them
all in civilisation, enlightenment, and intelligence, as well as
in their political position. They occupy the central province
of Imérina, and from this vantage-ground they now dominate.
a great part of the interior of Madagascar, all the eastern
portions of the island, and parts of the north-west. For many
centuries, however, the Hovas were only one among the many
tribes inhabiting the country, and their power did not extend
beyond their own central region; for in Imérina itself there
were numerous petty independent sovereignties up to a com-
paratively modern period, and even within the present century
124
HOVAS.
they were tributary to the Sakalàva chieftains.
But during
the latter portion of their time of subjection to the western
tribes, the kings from whom the present Hova royal family
are descended were gradually consolidating their power by
uniting the petty states of Imérina into one kingdom, so that
an aggressive policy was begun by Andrianimpòina, father of
Radama I., and carried on by Radàma himself (1810-28).
The Bétsiléo people in the south were obliged to submit; the
neighbouring peoples in Imamo and Vònizòngo were over-
powered; then the Sihànaka to the north, and some of the
east-coast tribes. A treaty made by Radàma with the
English gave him additional power, through his obtaining
European drilling and organisation for his troops, as well
as firearms and ammunition. With these powerful aids to
success he threw off all allegiance to the Sakalava, invaded
their country again and again, and by a mixture of force and
diplomacy obliged them to submit, so that Radàma from that
time assumed the right of sovereignty over the whole of
Madagascar, a claim which his successors have always insisted
on. The same aggressive policy was carried on, often with
great cruelty, in the south-eastern parts of the island by
Rànavàlona I., who succeeded Radàma in 1828. But the
Hovas have never been really masters of the whole of Mada-
gascar, and probably a third part of the island to the west and
south is independent, and their authority is only slight over
many other distant parts of the country. It is most fully
acknowledged in the central and eastern provinces.
There is no doubt that the Hovas have a greater ability than
the other tribes for taking a leading position. They can rule
because they can obey, and to this faculty of obedience to
authority, organising power, and united action, they owe their
present position in the country, as well as to their having had
kings of such remarkable energy and intelligence as Radàma
I. and his father.
For twenty-five years, during the reign of Rànavàlona I., the
country was as much as possible isolated from all foreign
influence; trade was shut out, and Christianity cruelly per-
secuted. But since the death of that queen in 1861, great
advances have been made by the Hovas, especially under the
HOVAS—BÉTSILÉO.
125
government of the present benevolent sovereign, Rànaválona
II., and her sagacious and powerful prime minister: educa-
tion and civilisation have greatly progressed, and enlightened
views on morals, humanity, and religion have, through the
teaching of English missionaries, chiefly of the London
Missionary Society, made wonderful advances, and are quietly
revolutionising society in the central provinces, as will be
detailed more fully in a concluding chapter.
It may be remarked also that the cooler, bracing climate of
the country where the Hovas dwell has doubtless exerted
considerable influence in making them what they now are.
Imérina is the most elevated region of the interior of Mada-
gascar, averaging about 4000 feet in height above the sea-
level. The soil being generally far less fertile than it is in
the warmer coast-plains, more energy and continuous labour
are needed to procure the necessaries of life than is the case
among most of the other tribes; and all this has produced
a more robust and self-reliant spirit among the Hovas, who
have at length become, what was evidently their destined
position, the dominant tribe of the island. Now that Chris-
tianity is beneficially influencing the political conduct of the
Hovas, an extension of their authority over the whole of
Madagascar would probably be very beneficial to the country.
The district which they inhabit is perhaps about eighty
miles long from north to south, and about sixty miles from
east to west.
2. The Bétsiléo.-Next to the Hovas should be mentioned
the Bétsiléo, who inhabit the central portion of Madagascar
south of Imérina. In industry, skill in agriculture and in
manufactures, they are not behind the Hovas; and although
conquered by Radàma I., they are a brave and warlike people,
the various divisions of the Bétsiléo being constantly fighting
with each other in former times. They are divided into four
principal tribes with numerous subdivisions (see Appendix).
and their ancient towns and villages were built on the sum-
mits of very lofty hills. Morally, the Bétsiléo are said to be
in advance of the Hovas, although lying and cheating are as
rife among them as in other parts of Madagascar. They are
extremely quarrelsome and litigious, often spending a great
126
BÉTSILÉO—BÀRA.
amount of property in law-suits about some trifling matter.
Of this propensity Mr. G. A. Shaw gives some extraordinary
instances.* Drunkenness is also prevalent, but the people are
more simple and unsuspicious than the Hovas; the clannish
feeling is very strong among them, and they show much
family affection and hospitality. In former times their
government was very despotic, and there is still much
reverence paid to their chiefs, although these are shorn of
most of their former power. Curiously enough, the Bétsiléo
kings used to be called "the Hova," as if some feeling of
Hova superiority had impressed them even before being con-
quered by their northern neighbours. Their superstitions,
burial-customs, &c., will be noticed in other chapters.
The Hova authority being very firm among the Bétsiléo,
idolatry has been abolished, and a considerable number of
the population are under instruction, for the people have no
lack of intelligence. Indeed, next to the Hovas, no tribe has
made greater advances during the last ten years than have
these "many unconquered" of the southern highlands of
Madagascar.
3. The Bara.-Proceeding farther south, through the
centre of the island, we come next to the Bàra people, about
whom, until very recently, hardly anything definite was
known. But a Hova army having passed through part of
the country in 1873, some information was obtained from
the native officers about them.† In 1876 two English mis-
sionaries made a journey through the eastern part of the pro-
vince; and in the following year a journey across the Bàra
country to the south-west coast (St. Augustine's Bay), and
attended with considerable peril while among a west-coast
tribe called Vézo, was made by the Rev. J. Richardson, who
has contributed some valuable information about the Bàra
and their country in his pamphlet, entitled "Lights and
Shadows; or, Chequered Experiences among some of the
Heathen Tribes of Madagascar." These people inhabit a
series of undulating plains divided by lofty ranges of hills,
* See Antananarivo Annual, Nos. iii., iv., "The Bétsiléo: Country and
People."
Antananarivo Annual, No. ii., pp. 45-50.
A BARA WARRIOR.
127
forming the most southerly central portion of Madagascar.
The area of their country is perhaps about 20,000 square
miles. They appear to be in a much more uncivilised con-
dition than most of the Malagasy tribes; they are divided
into a number of petty states which are perpetually at war
with each other, and the Hovas have hardly any authority over
them. They are distrustful, suspicious, and churlish, and not
very hospitable or friendly to strangers; they are also very
superstitious and immoral, purity and chastity being un-
known, and in speech and manner they are rough and filthy
in the extreme. They have far less dexterity in manu-
factures than either the Hovas or the Bétsiléo, and they are
mostly ignorant of the use of money.
Mr. Richardson gives the following graphic picture of a
Bàra warrior:-"His hair is done up into knobs of fat, wax,
and whitening, numbering from ten to one hundred and
twenty; and on the crown is a chignon of the same
materials, about the size of, or larger than, a cricket-ball;
each knob is impacted against the other, and all have the
ring of a hard wax ball. On his forehead or temples he
carries his large charm or round shell, about the size of a
crown-piece, called a félana. Round his neck he carries a
number of beads of various sizes, and a few small wooden
charms. In his ears he will have rings or pieces of wood,
sometimes sticking in the lobe of the ear, and sometimes
hanging down like ear-drops. Hanging round his neck and
resting on his breast, he carries a circular charm about six
inches long, covered with innumerable small beads with two
or more long ones at the end. The stock of his gun, a
flint-lock, obtained from the traders on the coast, is covered
with brass-headed nails, varying in number from forty to
two hundred and twenty. His spear-heads-for he generally
carries two or more-are very bright and well-tempered; and
in the shaft, or where the shaft is inserted in the head, rings
of brass are worked in. His belt-which is sometimes six
inches broad-and powder-horn, his cartridge-box and tinder-
flask, are decorated with brass-headed nails to the number of
a hundred and twenty, and each one the size of a shilling, or
even a florin. Hanging from the shoulder, and resting on his
128
TANÀLA.
right side, he carries his scarf of charms. Round his loins he
wears a few yards of cloth, coloured or plain. Slung on his
gun are a pair of sandals, and thus equipped he stands ready
for any fight."
"What he thinks: Give me my gun, my powder and ball,
my spear; leave me my rum, my wives, my oxen, and my
king; let me rob, plunder, kill, and destroy anything or any-
body I please. Let me despoil every man, and carry away
any man's cattle, his wives, his children, his slaves, to my
heart's content. Let no man molest me; and then, who
cares who governs the country!" (pp. vii. viii.)
Neither education nor Christianity has yet obtained much
influence among this degraded people, but something is now
being done to enlighten the easternmost portion of the Bàra.
4. The Tanala. To the east of the two last-mentioned
tribes runs a line of dense forest, dividing the interior high-
lands from the lower maritime plains, and separating the
Bétsiléo and Bàra from the east-coast tribes. Here, amongst
these almost impenetrable woods, live the Tanàla, or forest
people, as their name implies (àla, forest). They stretch
over an extent of forest region about 200 miles long, but
only a few miles in width, many of their villages being
perched upon lofty hills amidst the trees. The northernmost
of the people acknowledge the Hova supremacy, and are
ruled by an energetic old chieftainess named Iòvana, who
lives at Ambohimanga. Many of the southern Tanàla are
independent, especially those of the district called Ikòngo.
The people here have never been conquered by the Hovas,
having bravely and successfully resisted them more than
once; their chief town, of the same name, is situated on a
lofty and almost inaccessible mountain, about five miles long,
and more than a thousand feet high. As there are springs
of water at the top of this hill, and also rice-grounds, the
inhabitants cannot be overcome by famine; and the sides
of the hill are mostly precipitous, the only ascent being so
narrow and difficult that a very few men could secure it
against a considerable assaulting force. Another almost
equally inaccessible position is Ivòhibé, a detached and very
lofty conical mountain-fastness. These forest people are
BEZANOZANO.
129
very superstitious and addicted to charms and ordeals, but
they are also most hospitable. Education and Christianity
are making some way among Iòvana's people, and even in
unconquered Ikòngo teachers have lately been allowed by
the Tanàla king to settle among his subjects. The Tanàla
people are probably closely allied with the neighbouring
Bétsiléo and the coast tribes east of them.
5. The Tankay or Bezánozáno.—If we follow on the map
the line of eastern forest and trace it northwards, we find
that it divides into two, leaving a long narrow valley
between the separated belts of wood. This open space is
known as Ankày (from hay, a clearing), and the inhabitants
are variously known as Tankày (or Takày) and Bezánozàno
(probably from zánozáno, small trees, brushwood). The
climate of their territory is hot and unhealthy, as it is
enclosed by dense forest on each side, but the soil is very
fertile. A considerable number of the men of this tribe act
as bearers of goods from the coast to the interior, being
extremely hardy and capable of enduring continuous labour.
This work is chiefly carried on in the cooler season of the
year. In many of their customs, and in their dexterity in
weaving rushes and grass for mats, a material which is also
used for clothing, the Tankày resemble the forest and east-
coast tribes. They are very hospitable, a trait of character
which seems common to all the peoples on this side of the
island, as well as to the Hovas and Bétsiléo. In their mar-
riage and funeral customs, dialect, and other particulars, the
Tankày have many points of similarity with their Sihànakà
neighbours farther north. They are darker in colour than
the Hovas or the Bétsimisàraka, but more robust and strong
in body. A very full and interesting monograph on this
tribe and their country is given by the Rev. P. G. Peake in
No. iv. of the Antananarivo Annual, pp. 31-43.
6. The Sihanaka.-Proceeding farther northward, still
between the two lines of forest, we come to the country of
the Sihànaka tribe, or "lake people," as their name implies,
the largest lake in Madagascar, the Alaòtra, being in the
district, and in former times was probably much larger than
at present. About two-fifths of Antsihànaka is marsh, while
I
130
SIHANAKA.
the rest is called hay, a word denoting that which is not
forest or marsh, but the low rising-grounds between the two
which are free from wood. There is some reason for suppos-
ing that these people are allied to the Bétsimisaraka tribes
of the eastern coast, and that they advanced from the coast
to the interior up the valley of the river Maningòry (by
which the Alàotra communicates with the sea), and then
settled on the edges of the plain, as their villages are most
numerous around the north-eastern bays of the lake, while
there is a large tract of fertile country to the south of them
which is almost entirely uninhabited. In the early part of
this century the Sihànaka were conquered by the Hovas,
after a severe struggle, but for many years they have quietly
submitted to Hova authority, and their two chief towns
are garrisoned by officers and soldiers from the central
province.
As may be imagined from its marshy character and its
warm climate, Antsihànaka is a very unhealthy part of
Madagascar, but it is exceedingly fertile, and most kinds of
vegetable produce grow most luxuriantly, sugar-cane and the
papyrus (zozoro) growing to double the height and size they
attain in Imérina. The people are largely employed in tend-
ing cattle, immense numbers of which find rich pasture in
the moist levels. Many of these herds belong to the wealthy
people of Antananarivo: one noble is said to have nearly
ten thousand cattle; there are others who have five thou-
sand, many own a thousand, and the majority of the people
have at least one hundred. Many of the Sihànaka also get
wealth by catching and selling the abundant fish of the lake
and other waters of the district. Until very recently all
selling was done by barter, but now money is coming into
use. In their rice-culture they do not dig the soil or trans-
plant the young rice-plants, as do the other tribes, but drive
their oxen over ground upon which water has been allowed
to flow, and sow in the soft mud produced by the trampling
of the animals. The rice is not stored in pits, as in Imérina,
but in immense circular baskets, twenty to thirty feet in
diameter, and about eight feet high. These are kept in their
compounds or in the fields, and are roofed over. The people
SIHANAKA-BETSIMISARAKA.
131
reckon their rice by the number of these stores, of which the
richer Sihànaka have seven and eight.
In one of the villages in the dense papyrus thickets
among the marshes to the south of the lake live a strange
tribe of people, who seem quite isolated from the other Sihà-
naka, and more barbarous in their habits, and have a distinctly
different dialect. In the rainy season, when the water rises,
it enters into the houses of these people; and they put
together several layers of zozòro so as to make a kind of raft,
so that as the water rises this raft rises with it. Upon these
zozòro they make their hearth and beds; and there they live,
rising and falling with the water, until the rainy season is
over and they can live on the ground again. There are some
curious stories about the simplicity of these people and their
ancestors; for they have no intercourse with any one outside
their village, except on a certain day, when they go out to
sell the fish they have caught.
The Sihanaka are marked by their superstition, love of
ornament, intemperance, and laziness. They think it shows
a want of respect to visitors if they have no tòaka (rum) to
give them. Nothing can be done, either at funerals or
festivities, without drinking tòaka. But for four years past,
the Rev. J. Pearse, with several Hova evangelists, has been
living among them, and some progress has been made in
education and in the knowledge of Christianity.
7. The Bétsimisàraka and other East-Coast Tribes.—If we
cross from Antsihànaka over the lower line of forest, we come
to the peoples inhabiting the plains of the east coast.
These are often all loosely called by Europeans Bétsimisàraka,
probably because the chief ports with which foreign vessels
trade are in the territory of that tribe. But the Bétsimisà-
raka, although one of the most important of these eastern
peoples, and formerly perhaps the most numerous and power-
ful of them, are only one of the many tribes found along the
eastern coast. From the northern point of Madagascar down
to the Bay of Antongil the people appear to be allied to the
Sakalàva, but south of that bay come in succession the Bét-
simisaraka (of whom there are two chief divisions called
respectively Antéva and Vorimo), the Bétàniména (a little
132
BETSIMISARAKA—SAKALAVA.
more inland), the Taimòro, the Taifusy, the Taisaka, the Tanòsy,
and the Tandroy, who reach down towards Cape St. Mary,
the southernmost point of Madagascar. There are numerous.
subdivisions of these tribes, as shown in the tabular state-
ment appended to this chapter, and possibly there are others
not properly included in any of the above-mentioned peoples.
Of the east coast inhabitants the Bétsimisaraka are the
lightest in colour, with straight hair, and have most affinity
with the Hovas; the Taimòro are much darker and have
frizzly hair; the Taifàsy again are lighter coloured than the
preceding; and then the more southerly tribes are mostly
dark, like the Taimòro. These coast tribes are, on the whole,
gentle and docile people, although some of them made a
strenuous resistance to the Hova invasion of their country;
but since their conquest they have submitted quietly to the
central government. Among some of these tribes, as the
Taifàsy and Taisàka, there exists a much higher state of
morals than is found among the Malagasy generally. The
Arab influence in this part of the country has already been.
spoken of in the preceding chapter. Among the Bétsimisà-
raka there has been some little educational and Christian
work going on; but among the more southern tribes hardly
anything has been yet done for the people in this direction,
the only advance being found in the neighbourhood of the
Hova military posts at the chief towns and ports.
8. The Sakalàva or Western Tribes.-The people who
inhabit the whole of the western side of Madagascar, and
who also overlap the northern and southern ends of the
island, are commonly termed Sakalava, and are often sup-
posed to be a single tribe of people. This is, however, a
popular error, for the inhabitants of this extensive region
consist of a number of separate tribes, all having their own.
name, and, until about 200 years ago, each having its own
government. For more than two centuries the people of the
west coast have been divided into two great sections or distinct
nations, called respectively the Sakalàva of Ménabé, or of
the south, and the Sakalàva of Ibòina, or of the north.
But these two nations derive the name they bear in common
from a small tribe coming originally from the south-west,
SAKALAVA CONQUESTS.
133
and living on the banks of a small river called Sakalàva,
from which they took their name. This tribe being endued
with a warlike spirit, and led by chiefs of superior ability,
invaded the neighbouring territory, and incorporated by suc-
cessive conquests the different populations inhabiting the
whole western portion of the island. The southern kingdom
of Ménabé was first formed, and very soon afterwards the
northern one of Ibòina, both by members of the same family
of chiefs, so that the name Sakalàva came to be loosely
applied to all the peoples in the west of Madagascar.
For more than 170 years these western people were the
most powerful in the island. Not only were the coast tribes
subdued, but also some of the more inland races; the Sihànaka,
the Bézánozáno, and even the Hovas, who then had little
power beyond their own immediate territory. The Sakalava
kings procured European arms and ammunition from foreign
traders at the north-western ports; and there seems ground
for believing that the chiefs who commenced the aggressions
on the other tribes had European blood in their veins, a fact
which has always given some supremacy in Madagascar.
Their government was absolute, and the monarchy hereditary;
and there was a class of feudal chiefs holding their land from
the sovereign, and forming an order of nobles.
But towards the commencement of the present century,
the supreme power in both the Sakalàva kingdoms fell into
hands much less vigorous and capable than were those by
whom they were founded. Meanwhile the Hovas in the centre
were rising into power, led by Andrianimpòina and then by
his son Radàma I. The yoke of the Sakalàva was soon thrown
off, and pretexts for the invasion of their territory were found
before long. Although his army met with severe loss again
and again, as much through disease and famine as in actual
fighting, Radama never for a moment abandoned his purpose.
Some of the chief positions were captured, and then policy
came to the aid of the Hova king. By marrying the
daughter of the Sàkalàva king of Ménabé, he induced him to
acknowledge the Hova supremacy; and as each of the two
western kingdoms left their neighbours to fight alone they
were conquered in detail; so that in 1824 the greater part
134
SAKALAVA.
of the western side of the island was reduced to Radama's
authority.
During the reign of his successor, the cruelty of the Hovas
caused a portion of the northern Sàkalàva to place themselves
under French protection, and to cede some of their territory
to France. The Bourbon Government accordingly took posses-
sion of the Island of Nòsibé, and in virtue of their treaty
with the Queen of Ibòina still lay claim to territory on the
mainland.
For some years past the Sàkalàva appear to have quietly
acquiesced in Hova domination, although once or twice
disturbances have occurred. The Hova authority, however,
is slight over a great portion of the western coast, except in
the neighbourhood of their chief military posts; and the tribes
in the south-west are virtually independent.
Owing partly to this fact, and also to their country being
farther removed than that of other tribes from contact with
Europeans, we know very little yet about the Sakalàva, and
much of their country is still unexplored. They have less.
settled habits than most of the other tribes in the island,
being more a pastoral than an agricultural people; and they
do not use rice for food to anything like the extent common
with the people of the central and eastern portions of Mada-
gascar, but live on the manioc and other roots. They are
extremely superstitious, and have numerous curious customs
and beliefs, as will be found detailed in succeeding chapters.
Although, as noticed in the preceding chapter, there has been
much Arab and Indian intercourse with the people of the
north-west coast, the western tribes generally are the least
advanced of almost all the Malagasy races. They have as yet
been hardly touched by European civilisation, nor has educa-
tion or Christianity made any progress among them; but as a
mission station has lately been formed at Mojangà, it may be
hoped that some advance will soon take place. The Nor-
wegian missionaries have also a station in the south-west, at
a town called Mànja.
The Sakalàva country is much warmer than the central
and eastern portions of the island, and it largely consists of
extensive plains at only a moderate height above the sea-
VAZIMBA.
135
level. These are, however, intersected by two or three chains
of mountains which run in a very straight line north and
south; and there is a good deal of land covered by forest.*
Traces of Aboriginal Peoples before the Malayan Incursion.
-While considering the subject of the ethnology of Mada-
gascar there is still one more point of considerable interest.
in connection with it, about which a few words may here be
said. It is frequently asked whether there are any indica-
tions of the presence of an aboriginal race, an autochthonous
people, inhabiting the country before the arrival of the
Malayo-Polynesian tribes-dark and light-who have for so
long formed the mass of the population of the island.
lieve there are traces of the existence of such earlier inhabi-
tants, although our information is scanty, and with regard to
some of them, mixed up with something of the marvellous,
so that it is rather difficult to disentangle fact from fable.
I be-
First, with regard to the central province of Imérina, for
many hundred years inhabited by the Hovas,-there are
numerous indications of the previous occupation of this part
of the island by an earlier people called Vazimba. The
graves of these people (or what are believed to be such) are
scattered over the bare downs of many parts of Imérina;
these are small shapeless heaps of stone, and are regarded
with superstitious fear by the people. It would be a valu-
able help in ascertaining something more definite about these
Vazìmba could we open the graves, as we do the "barrows
of the Wiltshire downs and the Yorkshire wolds, and
examine the contents; but such a test is at present quite
impossible owing to the superstition of the people.
Tradition, however, supplies some little information about
them, and there seems no reason to doubt that it contains a
considerable element of truth. There are so many minute
particulars preserved, together with the names of several of
their ancient chieftains, and details of their sayings, &c., that
it seems likely we have a substantial basis of fact on many
points. According to the accounts handed down, the Vazìmba
* For fuller particulars of the Sakalava history, see an article by the writer
of the above in the Antananarivo Annual, No. iv., pp. 53-65; and also Guillain's
Documents sur la Partie Occidentale de Madugascar.
136
VAZIMBA.
were a race of low stature; they had heads somewhat narrow
and elongated; they were ignorant of the use of iron; and
from their inferiority to the incursive Hovas in this respect
they were obliged to flee before the superior weapons of their
enemies. A remnant of this tribe is said by some French
writers to be still existing in the Sakalàva country on the
west coast, between the rivers Mànambòlo and Tsìribìhina.*
With all the other people of that side of the island they were
conquered by the chiefs who founded the northern Sàkalàva
kingdom of Ibòina. It is much to be wished that some com-
petent traveller would visit this part of Madagascar to inquire.
into the habits, dialect, and traditions of the people living
there. The names of six of the Vazìmba kings are preserved,
and the last of these is said to have been driven westwards
out of Imérina by the Hova king Andriamanélo. The
natives say that the lake Itàsy, forty to fifty miles west of the
capital, was formed by a Vazìmba chieftain, named Rapéto,
damming up a river in the vicinity, and so the rice-fields of
a neighbouring chief with whom he was at variance were
flooded and have ever since remained under water.
From these accounts, together with the asserted different
physique of these Vazìmba, their ignorance of the working of
metal, &c., it seems highly probable that there was a race of
different origin to the bulk of the present inhabitants, and
occupying at least a portion of the centre of the island.
Since writing the foregoing I see, from an article on "The
Bétsiléo Country and People," by Mr. G. A. Shaw, in the
Antananarivo Annual, No. iv. p. 5, that Vazìmba graves are
known also among the people of the southern province. These,
however, are not, as in Imérina, heaps of stone, but circles in
the grass, where offerings are made to procure the removal of
sickness. The same superstitious dread is felt at inadver-
tently treading on these graves or circles; this, it is believed,
produces illness which is only to be cured by an offering
made at the same grave where the offence had been com-
mitted.
Then there are also accounts (less casy to be credited) in
some of the earlier French writers of another race of people
* See Guillain, op. cit. p. 18.
KIMOS.
137
in the interior of Madagascar, who were called Kimos or
Quimos, and who were said to be of very short stature, averag-
ing only three feet six inches in height. Of these people
there are no such traces accessible to us as there are of the
Vazìmba; but the accounts given by Commerson, who was
a scientific traveller and botanist, and Count de Modave
(Governor at Fort Dauphin, 1768-70), are so circumstantial
that it is difficult to believe there could be no residuum of
fact on which they were founded.
These dwarfish people are said to have been lighter in
colour than the majority of the inhabitants of Madagascar,
they had woolly hair, very long arms, while the breasts of the
women had hardly any prominence except when nursing their
children. They are said to have been very bold in defending
their own territory against an invader, using the spear and
bow; they excelled in certain handicrafts, and were of in-
genious and active disposition, with pastoral habits. A woman
of this tribe was in the possession of de Modave, and is de-
scribed both by him and by Commerson, in different accounts,
as being about three feet seven inches in height, with the
physical characteristics enumerated above.
The country of this pigmy race is described as being toward
the southern centre of the island, on the twenty-second paral-
lel of south latitude, and about 180 miles north-west from
Fort Dauphin. This is a part of the island never yet ex-
plored by Europeans, and on the confines of the Bàra country.
On the whole, one is disposed to conclude that we have here
indications of the existence of an aboriginal race of people.
Possibly these Kimos were a race somewhat like the Bush-
men of South Africa, who are also short of stature, and of a
lighter colour than the tribes surrounding them.
Besides the foregoing, we hear vague accounts of another
strange race of people in the western part of Madagascar.
The Rev. W. E. Cousins gives the following particulars of
these in the Antananarivo Annual (1875, p. 106):-"About
a week's journey west of the capital is a tribe called the
Kaliò or Béhòsy. They live in a wooded country extending
from Mojanga to Mahabo. Their food is honey, eels, and
lemurs. The lemurs are caught in traps and fattened. They
138
BEHOSY.
are black, and in appearance are much like the Sakalàva.
They make network of cords, hence the name Béhòsy. They
jump from tree to tree like monkeys, and cannot easily be
followed, as the country is rocky. They are extremely timid,
and if captured, die of fright."
From another paper in the same Annual (p. 76) it appears
that these people live in the hills called Bémaràha, on the
farther side of the great depression which bounds the high
region of the central part of the island to the west, and about
the nineteenth parallel of south latitude. These Béhòsy seem.
to resemble in some of their habits the "monkey-men" of
Dourga Strait, New Guinea (see Wood's Natural History of
Man, vol. ii. p. 224). It is much to be wished that some
fuller information could be obtained about these singular
people, for they appear to be lower in the scale of humanity
than any other of the Malagasy tribes; and if what we hear
is correct, are probably of a different stock to the rest of the
inhabitants of Madagascar.
It may be remarked, in conclusion, that it unfortunately
happens that those portions of the island where these abnormal
races-Vazìmba, Kìmos, and Béhòsy-are said to be found,
are those which are at present least known to Europeans.
But we may hope that as we are becoming better acquainted
with the country every year, no very long period will now
elapse before these parts of it are explored, and that so fur-
ther light will be thrown upon its ethnology.
A few remarks may be here made upon the subject of the
amount and distribution of the Population of Madagascar.
It may be said at the outset that no very accurate in-
formation can be obtained on this point. The population is
scattered over a great extent of country, large regions of
which have never been even crossed by foreigners, much
less carefully and minutely examined; and as the authority
of the central Hova Government is but slight over a large
part of the island, no reliable information as to the popula-
tion of the island generally can be procured from this source.
Besides this, no census of the kind employed in European
countries has been taken, even in the central province where
the Hova influence is most powerful; and the Government
SMALL POPULATION.
139
has shown some sensitiveness to anything approaching a
collection by foreigners of statistics as to population, the
birth and death rate, &c.
There are, however, some few facts and statistics available
from other sources, such as the rough numbering of villages
and houses in certain districts, and the observations of
travellers in passing through different parts of the island,
&c., from which some approximate estimate might be formed;
although, with regard to some tribes, even these aids do
not exist, and it becomes more a matter of guess than of
calculation.
Madagascar as a whole is very thinly peopled, and large
tracts of fertile country are wholly uninhabited. Many
reasons may be assigned why the population is not large,
and, apparently, has not increased since it was known to
Europeans. Among these are the too-early marriages which
are so common, the licentious habits of both sexes, and pro-
bably the intermarriage of near relatives, all tending to lessen
the fertility of the women, so that large families are rare.
Until the treaty made with England by Radàma I. (1820),
great numbers of the Malagasy were sold as slaves, and
carried away to Mauritius, Bourbon, and other foreign colonies.
Then the superstition of the people, causing them to put their
children to death if born on certain unlucky days, was a
means of keeping down the population in all parts of the
island, and still causes the destruction of a fourth of all the
children new-born in some of the tribes. Then the tangéna
poison ordeal used to cause great waste of life; and the
people resort to charms for the cure of disease, instead of
using the most simple medicines. For some five or six years
past the small-pox has ravaged the coast, passing round from
the north-west by the north to the south-east of the island,
and has lately caused considerable mortality in some of the
central southern provinces. Last year an unusual epidemic.
of malarial fever passed over the central parts of Madagascar,
and occasioned great loss of life. To these causes may be
added the frequent wars between the different tribes, and
especially the great destruction of human life during the
long-continued wars carried on by the Hovas during the
140
OPPOSING INFLUENCES.
first half of this century, to subdue the other peoples of the
island, by which both conquerors and conquered suffered
severe loss.
Besides all these things, there is the unhealthy
climate of a good deal of the coast and plain country, and
the poor and insufficiently-nourishing food used by the
poorer classes, so that their constitution is not fortified to
resist disease; while in the colder parts of the island the
want of warm clothing for the children adds considerably to
the mortality of the young during the cooler months.
When all these opposing influences are considered, it is
not wonderful that in some parts of Madagascar the popula-
tion should be apparently decreasing, although, perhaps, this
is not true of the country as a whole. But it is certainly
not increasing to any extent, and in some provinces is evi-
dently considerably less than it was a century ago. In read-·
ing Benyowski's Travels, it appears as if much larger bodies.
of men were called out for war in his time than could be
mustered at the present day. But it may be hoped that, as
in many of the Polynesian islands, the introduction of Chris-
tianity has proved to be the salvation of the inhabitants as
peoples (as well as in other ways), and has put a stop to the
rapid decrease which in some cases threatened their total
extinction at no very remote period-so it will prove to be
in Madagascar. In a large part of the island the destruc-
tion of life by the tangéna ordeal, and through the belief in
unlucky days, has been put an end to, and the increase of
intelligence and civilisation, as well as improved morals, will
do much to check other causes of mortality.
Various estimates of the population have been made at
different times. In Ellis's History of Madagascar, published
forty years ago, we find the following table :-
The Hovas [north central]
The Sakalavas [west coast], including the Bezanozano
and the Sihànaka [east and north-east]
The Bétsiléo [south central]
750,000
Bezánozáno?
1,200,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
4,450,000
The Betàniména and Bétsimisaraka [east coast]
Total
It is also stated that it had been ascertained that there
were in the country nearly a million of houses, a little under
VARIOUS ESTIMATES.
141
five per house being adopted as the average inmates of each
(vol. i. pp. 113, 114). But as the Hovas never conquered a
considerable portion of the south and west of Madagascar,
there could be little reliable information to be obtained about
those parts of the country. It is also said that "the amount
of the population is evidently less than the island has contained
at former and not remote periods of its history."
Some French writers have given a considerably lower esti-
mate of the population, and from the intercourse which some
of these have had with the western coast, some reliance may
be placed upon their opinion as regards that portion of the
island. M. Barbié du Bocage reckons the entire population
at only three millions.*
CC
In a paper read before the Anthropological Society of
London (March 1868), by Lieut. Oliver, R.A., on The
Hovas and other Characteristic Tribes of Madagascar," he
gives a number, but says also, "of which it is impossible to
obtain accurate information."
I. Hoyas
1. Malay origin? 2. Bétàniména
3. Bétsimisàraka
4. Bétsiléo.
5. Antsihanaka
Fair.
So0,000
Light Brown 1,500,000
Brown
6. Bezánozáno
2. Aboriginal?
·
7. Southern tribes and
8. Såkalàvas
Deep Brown
•
1,500,000
300,000
Black
•
1,200,000
Total
•
5,300,000
This estimate is evidently largely in excess of the facts, as
may be seen from an examination of one item. From statis-
ties I obtained in the Antsihànaka province, I reckoned that the
people there do not probably exceed in number from 40,000 to
45,000, while the Rev. P. G. Peake, whose district comprises
part of the territory of the Bezànozàno tribe, gives 45,900 as
their number, an estimate formed on the basis of the Govern-
ment taxes on freeholds. Giving a few more to allow for the
strangers in the district, these two tribes together amount to
less than 100,000, or only a third of Oliver's estimate as
given above. It may be added that his division of the
different tribes, as regards origin and colour, is very arbitrary,
* Madagascar: Possession Française depuis 1642, p. 63.
142
ESTIMATE BY DR. MULLENS.
and not borne out by facts, as will be gathered from the
statements in the previous chapter.
Later still another estimate has been made by the Rev.
Dr. Mullens, who made several journeys through the central
parts of the island in 1874 and 1875.
1. Bétsimisaraka, including Sihanaka, Tanȧla, Tankay,}
and Ikongo
2. Sakalava, North and South
3. Hovas and cognate tribes, including Bétsiléo
(300,000) and Bàra (200,000)
Total
300,000
500,000
1,700,000
2,500,000
Probably the truth lies somewhere between this and the
three previously-given calculations; so that until fuller in-
formation can be obtained perhaps we may conclude that
the population of Madagascar is between three and a half
and four millions.*
It is no doubt true that large districts have been almost
depopulated within this century by war: on the north-west
coast the people having in some parts retired in a body to the
neighbouring islands, or gone away to the Comoro group.
On the other hand, in some parts of the country there seems
a denser population than had been supposed. Thus, in a
journey through the south-east provinces in 1876, I found
that in the valleys of some of the rivers were a great
number of populous villages placed very closely together.
And in notes of a journey taken by Mr. Richardson in the
following year, he says, "I am inclined to think that the
population of the Bàra province has been considerably under-
estimated. The two evangelists, who have travelled much
in Madagascar, north, east, and west, and Rabé, repeatedly
asserted that what they saw gave evidence that there were as
* Since writing the foregoing, I find my opinion confirmed in the main by an
estimate made by M. Grandidier (Bull. de la Soc. de Géog., Avr. 1872, p. 378).
He says:
:-"It is impossible to obtain any exact account of the amount of
the population of Madagascar. At the same time, I believe that one cannot
reckon it at under four millions. The province of Imérina contains nearly a
million Hovas, and in the country of their neighbours and allies, the Bétsiléo,
there must be 600,000 inhabitants; nearly two millions inhabit the east of the
island; as for the Sàkalàva, Màhafàly, Tandroy, and Bàra, they certainly do
not reach, altogether, to the number of 500,000 souls." Against this last item,
sce Mr. Richardson's estimate of the Bàra only, as given above.
POPULOUS DISTRICTS.
143
I feel
many people in the Bara province as in Imérina.
confident that there are far more people there than in the
Bétsiléo; and I think that half a million is the lowest figure
at which the population of the Bàra could be estimated. It
may be more.
Of four of the Sakalàva tribes occupying the south and
south-west of the island, M. Grandidier reckons their
numbers unitedly as 150,000.
This district is, however,
one of the least fertile portions of the western coast, and
therefore probably thinly peopled compared with the pro-
vinces to the north of them. The small province of
Angontsy (north-east coast) is given by another French
authority as having a population of 9000.
The most populous districts in Madagascar are doubtless
the central province of Imérina-especially within a circle
of about twelve miles round the capital-and some portions
of the Bétsiléo province to the south. In these parts of the
country the extensive and fertile rice-plains provide food for
the large number of populous villages, as well as for the
chief towns of the two provinces.
There are few large towns in Madagascar. The capital,
Antananarivo, is by far the most important place in the
country, and has a population of above 100,000 people.
Fìanàrantsòa, the capital of the Bétsiléo, has about 5000
people. Then comes Tamatave, the chief port of the eastern
coast, with 6000 or 7000 inhabitants; and then Mojangà,
holding the same position on the north-west coast, with about
14,000 people. There are very few towns besides with a popu-
lation of as many as 5000, and the majority of the villages
are small. Taking the places we saw in Antsihànaka, and
omitting the two chief towns, we found that they averaged
about forty-four houses each, but in many parts of the
country the number is much smaller than this. In the
Bétsiléo province great numbers of the houses are not
gathered together into villages, but are scattered over the
plains in groups of from three to six, and forming numberless
little homesteads near the rice-fields.
144
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI.
DIAGRAMMATIC TABLE SHOWING THE DIVISIONS OF THE
MALAGASY PEOPLE.
(FROM NORTH TO SOUTH.)
Western Tribes.
All loosely termed
SÀKALAVA.
Tankarana (extreme north).
MAINTY.
Manisotra.
Tàndrona.
Manéndy.
Tsiérandahy.
Béhisotra.
Central Tribes.
NORTHERN TANKÀY.
Zana-tSihanaka.
SIHANAKA.
Eastern Tribes.
NORTHERN SÀKALÀVA.
BÉTSIMISARAKA.
Northern Bétsim.
Bétsim. proper.
Zafin'Ibrahima
(on I. of S. Marie's).
HOVAS.
Tsimihéty.
Vònizòngo.
BÉZANOZÀNO
Bétàniména (a little inland).
Tiboina.
Imamo.
Antàiva
or
Márovátana.
or
Tsimshafòtsy.
TANKAY.
Antéva.
Tsimilanja.
Mandiàvàto.
Tsimiamboholàhy.
Taisàha.
Vorimo.
Vòromahéry.t
Timiraha.
Béhòsy *
Vakinankaratra.
Tambahdaka.
Timahilaka.
or
Kaliò.
Vazimba (?).*
BÉTSILÉO.
Mànandriana.
Isandra.
Tiména.
Ilalangina.
Mandranozémina. Vòhitròsa.
Antanandro.
Ilafarivo.
Ilalanginàivo.
Avàradràno.
Zàfimaniry.
Itongoarivoláva.
Antaráva.
Itsitiaròa.
Tatsimatra.
Tsimànambòndro.
Sòtrohazo.
TAIFASY.
Taivondro.
Zafisòro.
TANÀLA
(forest tribes).
Ménabé.
TAIMÒRO.
Antaray.
Tapasana.
Zafin'Ibrahima
or
Tifiherénana
Andòharáno.
Iàrindràno.
or
Zàfimanély.
Andraivòla.
BÀRA.
Tsiénim balala.
Vézo or
Másikòra.
Mahafaly (emigrants from
Tanòsy
S. E. coast).
Karambola.
(Many subdivisions,
often called after
the names of their
chiefs).
Tatsimo.
Safina.
Tsimanòmpo.
Màrohála.
Taivònona.
Taisonjo.
Kimos (?).
Zázalȧva.
Mahazoarivo (Sak. colony).
TAISÀKA.
Zanafàniliana.
Taizato.
Tonilaza.
Zaramanòmpo.
Rànovào.
Zázaména.
Lohavòhitra.
Zàfintsira.
Zázavao.
Màsianaka,
* Supposed aboriginal tribes.
(In many maps a
tribe so called is
placed S. of the
Bara, but nothing
is known of them).
TANDROY
(extreme point south).
TANOSY.
† People of the capital and its neighbourhood. Besides the divisions given above, there are six ranks
of Andrians or noble clans among the Hovas.
[18]
16
14
1
1

ᏎᏎ .
25
COMORO ISLES
50
18
24.
Mahafaly
Dézo
Tifihereana
Tanandro
Zadimanely
Tanosy
Tsienynbalala
Kimos
Tanosy
BAR A
201
Isandra
LA A
Dazimbat
Manandriang
Ilalangina....
BETSILÉ
Larindrano
Taisaka Taifasy
Farmoro
B
Timiraha
Timahilaka
Bebosy
H
Imamo
Vakanankaratra
Vonizongo
VAS
Timilanja
46
48
Tibdina
Behigotrd
ট
Isimihety
Zanatsihanaka
Iandrona
T
KA
NA
Mainty
TANK AY
Taisaha
HIS
--Béta nimena
SIMIS ARAKA
Tankay...
Zaty Ibrahim,
Betsimisa
76
s à ka là r
14
44.
Tandroy
22
ETHNOGRAPHICAL
SKETCH MAP
OF
MADAGASCAR
by Rev. Jas. Sibree, Jr.
Supposed Aboriginal Tribes shewn
in Old English type: as Bŕhòsy.
Limits of Elevated Interior Plateaue
shown by dotted lines, thus.
Forest Belts
21
46
48
50
Vincent Brocks Das & Ser Lik
20
145)
CHAPTER VII.
(C
""
CURIOSITIES OF THE MALAGASY LANGUAGE: WITH NOTES UPON
THE HISTORY," "POETRY," AND MORALITY EMBODIED
IN NATIVE WORDS.
MALAYAN, NOT AFRICAN AFFINITIES-ONENESS OVER THE
OVER THE ISLAND-MUSI-
CALLY SOUNDING PARALLELISM AND RHYTHMICAL STRUCTURE
CURIOUS DEFICIENCIES AND FULNESS PREFERENCE FOR
FOR PASSIVE-
. DIALECTS-DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COAST AND HOVA FORMS-TABOOED
OR "FADY" WORDS-OBSOLETE WORDS-ADDITIONS FROM FRENCH AND
ENGLISH SOURCES-ARABIC INFLUENCE-EXAMPLES OF THE HISTORY,"
POETRY," AND MORALITY IN MALAGASY WORDS-WORDS INTRODUCED
66
IN RELIGIOUS MATTERS-ONOMATOPOETIC WORDS.
66
THE preceding chapters upon the origin, divisions, and char-
acteristics of the different tribes inhabiting Madagascar may
now be followed by some account of their language, noting a
few of those curious features which distinguish it from our
western tongues, and especially showing (to borrow terms.
from Archbishop Trench) how much "history," "poetry," and
"morality" is embodied in native words. (Some few parti-
culars it will have been observed-have already been
noticed in discussing the origin of the Malagasy people.)
At the outset we have the remarkable fact that although
Madagascar is, comparatively, so near Africa, the speech of
its people is not allied to that of any African tribe, and has
very few points of connection with the languages of the con-
tinent. Malagasy is, therefore, not of African stock, but is a
member of the great Malayo-Polynesian family of languages,
being, in fact, its most westerly representative. In Easter
Island, in the Pacific, we have its farthest eastern limit, so
that at the Equator these nearly allied tongues are spoken over
an area embracing more than half the circumference of the
globe. It seems very extraordinary that the peoples speak-
K
146
MALAYAN AFFINITIES.
ing languages most nearly allied to Malagasy should be sepa-
rated from Madagascar by a wide ocean more than 3000
miles across; yet such is undoubtedly the fact, for Java,
Borneo, Celebes, and the Philippines (in the Tagala tribes),
are the islands whose speech is most like that of the Mala-
gasy. And a glance at a comparative table of the most
commonly-used words in the Malay Archipelago and in Poly-
nesia, shows that there is hardly a dialect which does not con-
tain many words common to it and to the language spoken
in Madagascar. (See pages 105 and 116.)
The Malay affinities of the Malagasy tongue have been
recognised by linguists for more than 2-50 years past; for
the second and fifth books published in Europe about Mada-
gascar (only about a hundred years after its discovery) were
vocabularies of these two languages. * And more minute
investigation of this subject by subsequent writers, from the
learned Reland, two centuries ago, down to Marsden, Baron
W. von Humboldt, J. J. Freeman, Latham, Van der Tuuk,
and Marre de Marin, has confirmed the early opinion of
Dutch and German authors, and made it certain that very
close relationships exist between the speech of the Malagasy
and those of the Malayan and Polynesian regions.t
Last, but far from least in importance in giving minute
information upon this point, comes one of the missionaries
of the London Missionary Society, the Rev. W. E. Cousins,
who, in a paper read before the Philological Society (Trans.
1878), has shown by a careful comparison of Malayan and
Malagasy that not only are a large number of words (at least
300) common to both, but that these words are of a very
important character, being those which are the most simple
and universally-needed words in all languages. Among
them are the numerals, those for the parts of the body, for
the nearest blood relations, for times and seasons and the
aspects of nature, for many animals, birds, and plants, and for
*
Spraak ende woord boek in de Maleische en de Madagaskarsche talen; Fred.
de Houtman; Amsterdam: 1603; and Colloquia latino-maleyica et madagas-
carica; Goth. Arthusius; Francfort: 1613.
+ See Humboldt's Kawi Sprache; Dritt. Th. 8, 326; and H. N. Van der
Tuuk's Outlines of a Grammar of the Malagasy Language; Roy. Asiat. Soc.
"
SIMILARITY WITH MALAYAN ROOTS.
147
many of the useful arts, the most common actions, and the
most necessary articles of daily use. He thus shows that
the theory by which Crawfurd sought to account for the pre-
sence of the Malay element in Malagasy is utterly inadequate,
and that sailors from a small fleet of piratical proas, driven
by a storm across the Indian Ocean, could never have so
radically influenced the language of the country to which
they came as strangers. Not only are there numbers of
words in Malagasy derived from Malayan roots, but in the
grammar and structure of both there is remarkable similarity,
and also in the particles, pronouns, and adverbs, &c.
Another curious circumstance connected with the language
of Madagascar is its substantial oneness all over the island.
It is well known that in many parts of Africa, in New
Guinea, and in other regions, the people of neighbouring
villages sometimes speak not merely varying dialects, but
even totally distinct languages. This fact makes it all the
more remarkable that in a vast island, nearly a thousand
miles long, a number of different tribes, often widely sepa-
rated from each other, should speak only one language. This,
however, is the case; there are, it is true, a number of
dialects, but there are no traces of two or more different
languages of distinctly separate stock.
Compared with many languages, Malagasy is certainly an
easily-learnt tongue. This arises partly from the simplicity
of its grammar, and the absence of those inflections which
are so perplexing in many languages, there being no changes
for number, gender, or person. And it is also due partly to
there being no fresh character to learn, as there is in almost
all Asiatic tongues. The Malagasy had no written language
before Europeans taught them the use of letters, so, of course,
the Roman alphabet is used. Although some slight attempts
had been made by early Jesuit missionaries to prepare books,
to the missionaries of the London Missionary Society "belongs
the honour of having introduced the use of letters among the
Malagasy people," and of having given "the written form
of the language in use among them to the present day. The
two men who laid the foundation of this work were David
Jones and David Griffiths."
148
MUSICALLY-SOUNDING LANGUAGE.
Like the majority of Malayo-Polynesian tongues, Malagasy
is a very soft and musically - sounding language, and has
been called by some the "Italian of the Southern Hemi-
sphere." It has no harsh or guttural sounds, but abounds in.
vowels and liquids. It is most pleasant therefore to listen
to a native orator, especially as in the more formal Malagasy
speeches the parts of every sentence are regularly balanced in
construction, forming a kind of rhythm very closely resem-
bling the parallelism of Hebrew poetry. The arrangement of
the sentences in the poetical books of Scripture is, therefore,
quite in accordance with Malagasy usage in public speaking.
A large number of hymns for Christian worship have been
written during the last eight or ten years, and in these both
rhythm and rhyme have been successfully attained, so that
many of the classical hymns of England (such as "Rock of
Ages," "Hail to the Lord's Anointed," "There is a Land of
Pure Delight," &c.) have passed into Malagasy.
On first making acquaintance with the Malagasy tongue, one
is struck by some singular deficiencies in it; and chief of these
is its having no plural form, either in nouns or verbs, just as
if the plural of all our nouns was, as in the word "sheep,"
the same as the singular. But in other parts of speech it is
much fuller than English, as in some of the pronouns, and
especially in the adverbs of place, where there is such a
series of fine gradations of distance, from the speaker's point
of view, together with other minute distinctions, that it is
doubtful whether any but a native ever acquires an absolutely
correct use of them. And again, in certain subjects there is
great fulness, so that there are a number of words to express
the different ways in which a bullock's horns are curved, and
at least a score to denote the various modes of dressing the
hair.
On one point at least Malagasy is in great advance of
other allied tongues, viz., in the fulness of its numeral system.
It is a well-known fact that many peoples have no words for
any numbers exceeding those of the fingers of both hands,
and some do not even count more than the fingers of one
hand; but in Malagasy we have a complete numeral system
up to a million. This is certainly one proof (among many
COAST AND HOVA FORMS.
149
others) of the mental capabilities of the people using it.
The word for million is tàpitrisa, literally "the finishing of
counting;" the word for ten thousand is the same as that
for night, àlina.
The preference for the passive instead of the active form of
verb is also a marked feature in Malagasy; so that instead of
saying, “I see it," a native would, nine times out of ten, say,
"Seen by me it" (hitako izy). There is thus, as in Hebrew,
the constant use of the suffix pronoun, both with nouns and
participles; and in the terseness and elliptical character of
the language it has also several points of analogy with that
ancient tongue.
Only two or three of the dialects spoken among the
numerous tribes of Madagascar have as yet been carefully
investigated, but collections of words are now being made
and materials gathered for comparison. But there are quite
enough differences both in vocabulary and pronunciation to
make it difficult for natives from distant portions of the island
to understand one another at first, for not only are many of
the words themselves different in different places, but the
style of speaking and pronunciation also varies very much,
the vowel sounds being much more open and broad on the
coast than amongst the Hovas. While there appears at first
sight to be at least three clearly-marked groups of dialect,
viz., the Hova, or speech of the central province; the Sàka-
làva, or dialect of the western side of the island; and that of
the Bétsimisaraka and allied tribes on its eastern side, closer
examination seems to reduce their number to two, as the
two latter have many points of similarity with each other and
common differences from the Hova. As the Hova people
are the ruling tribe of Madagascar, and all native literature
is printed in their dialect, it may be regarded as the normal
form of the language, and probably will eventually become
the standard of the Malagasy tongue, especially as the Hovas
are scattered over a great many military posts in the island,
as well as at the ports, and, of course, take with them their
books as well as their own style of speaking.
It is very interesting to observe that all the coast dialects,
in other words, those spoken in the warmer regions of Mada-
150
DIALECTIC DIFFERENCES.
gascar, are much more like the Polynesian languages than
is the Hova, spoken in the colder highlands of the interior.
Many of the coast words consist entirely of vowels, as in the
Pacific Islands, and these doubtless represent the most ancient
forms of the words. But the Hovas seem to have a feeling
after firmer and stronger sounds than these soft vowel-formed
words contain, and so they insert an z in the middle of many,
and add the syllables na, ka, or tra to the end of numbers
of the two-syllabled words spoken on the coast. Thus, the
coast words iàho, iahày, àia, ìa, become izàho, izahày, àiza, and
ìza in the Hova dialect; and vòla, fàsy, and éla on the coast,
become vòlana, fàsika, and élatra in the interior. These
phonetic changes are doubtless connected with climate, in
accordance with some still obscure laws of correlation between
temperature and laryngal structure. So much do the Hovas
like a firm closing syllable that they add some of the ter-
minals abovementioned to English words and names. Thus,
"sabre" becomes sàbatra, and two of my missionary brethren,
named respectively Briggs and Jukes, are always transformed
by the ordinary people into Birìngitra and Jukitra !
Another case of dialectic difference among the Malagasy
tribes is the strange custom, common to all the Polynesian
languages, of considering the words forming the names of
their chiefs as fady, or tabooed for common use. Now in all
this great group of tongues, proper names consist largely
of names of common objects-animals, birds, insects, plants,
trees, &c.
But if any of these happen to form the name, or
part of the name, of the chief of the tribe, it becomes sacred,
and must no longer be used for the name of that animal, bird,
or tree, &c. To this latter another name is given, often being
a descriptive epithet, or a periphrasis for the ordinary name.
Thus, the late Queen Ràsohérina was known before her acces-
sion to the throne in 1868 by the name of Rabòdo,* but on
becoming queen she took the name of Ràsolérina. Now
* It may be well to remark that in pronouncing Malagasy words the ɑ,
if
accented, is sounded like a in “father," unaccented, as in "at;” the e always
like e in “fête"; the i, if accented, like the 1 in "marine," unaccented, as in
"in"; and the o is always like o in "move," except in the exclamation. Gis
always hard, and the other letters have one invariable sound, s being always s,
and not like z. The letters c, q, u, w, and x are not employed.
TABOOED OR "FADY" WORDS.
151
>>
sohérina was the word used for the silkworm moth, but as
soon as it was assumed as the name of the sovereign it could
no longer be applied to the insect, which since then has been
called zàna-dàndy, "offspring of the silk." So also with a
chief in the western part of Imérina who was called Andria-
màmba; mamba is one of the names of the crocodile, but in
their chief's territory his dependants could not call the reptile
by that name, but were always scrupulous to use the other word,
vody. It is just as if in England we were unable to use all
words in which the syllables of the names Victoria, William,
or George occurred, and were forbidden to say "victory,"
"victim," "vixen," or "will," "willing," "wilful," or "geology,"
"geometry," "geography," &c., &c. What an endless annoyance.
should we not consider it; yet this is precisely the case in
most parts of the Malayo-Polynesian countries and islands.
It is easy, therefore, to see how very great an influence such
a curious and inconvenient custom must have in altering the
speech of different parts of Madagascar, and how changes
must be continually going on to further separate one dialect
from the other. It is doubtless a very important factor in
the dialectic differences which occur in the country.
In the Journal of Mr. Hastie, formerly British Resident at
the court of Radama I., it is remarked that "the chieftains
of the Sakalavas are averse that any name or term should
approach in sound either the name of themselves or any part
of their family. For similar causes the names of rivers,
places, and things have suffered so many changes on the
western coast that frequent confusion occurs; for, after being
prohibited by their chieftains from applying any particular
terms to the accustomed signification, the natives will not
acknowledge to have ever known them in their former sense.
This practice very much resembles the jealous monopoly of
names by the kings and great chiefs of the Pacific Islands.”*
In glancing over the pages of the Malagasy-English Dic-
tionary (printed 1835), one meets with a great number of
words which are now obsolete. Many of these were connected
with the sikidy or divination, and denoted certain arrange-
ments of numbers in that curious superstitious practice, which
* Tyerman and Bennet's Voyages Round the World, 2nd edit., p. 276.
152
FRENCH ADDITIONS.
was worked something like a game at draughts. Others
belonged to idol-worship, and are accordingly, like the idols
themselves in the central provinces, a thing of the past, and
will soon become, to the younger people at least, as much
unknown as if they were foreign words. The dictionary of
the first missionaries will thus be to succeeding generations
a kind of museum, where alone they will find relics of the
superstitions of their fathers; just as the people of many
Polynesian groups can now only find in European museums.
the idols which their ancestors worshipped.
But while the language loses in some directions, it is con-
stantly gaining in others, from its contact with Europeans,
chiefly of the French and English nations. For the last 200
years the French have had considerable influence in Mada-
gascar, and during the last sixty years the English have also
powerfully affected the language, so that now scores of words
derived from these two sources are naturalised in Malagasy,
and form an integral part of the common speech. So that if
through some strange catastrophe all other knowledge of the
Malagasy people were lost, a complete vocabulary of the pre-
sent day would give a large amount of information as to the
influence exerted upon them by the two European nations.
The existence of a large class of words connected with the
arts and appliances of civilised life would be an honourable
testimony to what the French had done for civilisation in
Madagascar; for we find in Malagasy the words chaise, la
table, la bougie, l'armoire, and la clef, cheval, la selle, and la
bride, bas, pantalon, épingle, and la mode, du thé, café, la bière,
du vin, and la cuisine, la fenêtre, la cloche, la case, la sac, la
soie, la vente, and cachet, with many others."
*
But English influence would be no less marked in several
directions. In government the Malagasy have adopted our
words Prime Minister, Commander-in-Chief, and Secretary of
State; while almost all the terms denoting grades of rank in
the army and words of command are English, showing that
* These words are all altered in spelling, and in many the French article is
also retained as an integral part of the word, as shown in the above list by the
article being added to many of them; thus, la tablo becomes in Malagasy
spelling lutùbatra, la clef is lakilé, while épingle is paingotra.
ENGLISH ADDITIONS.
153
they received from us all they know of military tactics and
training. And the presence of such words as brick, square,
rule, and many others used in building, and those for various
tools, would also show that to English teaching the Malagasy
owe the introduction of improved houses by the use of sun-
dried brick, as well as instruction in building generally. But
the influence of England would be most honourably shown by
the fact that almost all the foreign words connected with
education and literature are from us, such as school, class,
and lesson, pen, copy-book, slate (and even black-board,, book,
gazette, press, print, and proof, capital, period, and names for
all the stops, &c., grammar, geography, and addition, with
many others, showing how much they owe to us for their
intellectual advancement. And numerous words connected
with religious belief and practices would also be lasting
memorials that from England they have derived the greatest
of all blessings, the knowledge of revealed religion; for we
find naturalised in Malagasy such words as baptism, Bible
and Testament, psalm and epistle, angel and apostle, martyr
and virgin, patriarch and deacon, evangelist and missionary,
demon and devil, and tabernacle, temple, and synagogue; while
the English pronunciation of the name of our blessed Lord
(written Jesosy Kraisty) is firmly fixed in the language.
All these words will form enduring records of the powerful
influence that two western nations have exerted in civilising,
enlightening, and Christianising this branch of the Malayo-
Polynesian family of peoples.
A few ecclesiastical terms are also being introduced by
the Roman Catholic and Anglican missions, but it is doubtful
whether many of them will become naturalised like those
already noted. And so also with a considerable number of
words of Latin and Greek origin which are being taught in
connection with the various sciences; from the difficulty of
pronouncing most of these, few of them are likely to come
into common use by the mass of the people.
While, however, history is now being embodied in the
additions made to the language of Madagascar by two far-off
European peoples, the language testifies to a very powerful
influence exerted upon it many hundred years ago by one of
154
ARABIC INFLUENCE.
the most western Asiatic nations, the Arabs. It is well
known that during the Middle Ages these people were great
travellers and colonists, spreading far down the eastern coast
of Africa and into the interior; and before the tenth century
they also sailed across the Mozambique Channel to the Comoro
Islands, and then on the shores of Madagascar, both east as
well as west. From the time of Flacourt, one of the ablest
French commandants in Madagascar (1648-1655), it has
been known that the Malagasy words for the days and months
are of Arabic origin; this is obvious even to those unac-
quainted with the language, from many of them commencing
with the Arabic article Al; as Alatsinàiny, Monday; Ala-
robìa, Wednesday; Alàhamàdy, the first month; Alàhasàty,
the fifth month, &c.
The subject has lately received minute investigation by
the Rev. L. Dahle, a learned member of the Norwegian
Mission, and his researches have brought out many interest-
ing facts connected with the language, and thus thrown
light upon a remote period as to which no record or tradition
gives any information. The number of Arabic words in
Malagasy is not very numerous, being, as Mr. Dahle remarks,
more significant by their quality than their quantity," and
so forming "instructive historical documents of the Arabic
contribution to Malagasy civilisation and superstition."
(C
>> *
In chronological, astronomical, and cognate terms, Mr.
Dahle shows that the Malagasy words for the days of the
week are closely identical with the Arabic words for those
days, being, in fact, just the numerals for the first five, while
Zomà, Friday, is Dschuma', i.e., “congregation day," the sacred
day of the Mohammedans, while Asabòtsy, Saturday, is
simply the Hebrew Subbath, slightly altered in its trans-
mission through the Arabic. But in the month-names, a
still more interesting fact is shown by Mr. Dahle, viz., that
the Malagasy words for these are the Arabic names, not
for the months, but for the constellations of the Zodiac.
These were doubtless introduced because of their use in divina-
tion, for the words for this practice, as well as those for witch-
craft, fate, &c., are also shown to be of Arabic origin. Besides
* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii., 1876, pp. 75-91.
HISTORY EMBODIED IN WORDS.
155
this, it is the custom in some parts of the country to reckon
the days of the month, which are all lunar, not by sevens,
but to give them separate names from the first to the twenty-
eighth. Many of these Mr. Dahle discovered to be the Arabic
names, slightly altered, of some of the principal stars in the
different constellations of the Zodiac.
But it need only be further added here that some terms
of salutation, many words for dress, woven fabrics, and bed-
ding, the words for money and trading, terms referring to
books and writing, and some sixty miscellaneous words, have
also been identified as most probably of Arabic introduction.
So that to the Arabs the Malagasy owe a considerable
element in their language connected with civilisation, and by
which they have been raised much above the semi-barbarous
condition of many other branches of the Malayo-Polynesian
race; while they have also received from the Arabs certain
superstitions which they have engrafted upon their original
charm-worship.
But besides the history now being embodied in the lan-
guage generally by contact with Europeans, and that powerful
influence exerted upon it many centuries ago by the Arabs,
there are numerous separate words, in most cases of purely
Malagasy origin, in which old customs and states of society
are, as it were, fossilised and preserved unaltered up to the
present time.
A few examples of these may not be uninter-
esting.
The word for "gateway" is vàvahady, a compound of vàva,
mouth, and hady, fosse; it is now applied to any gateway,
whether there is an enclosing ditch or not, but the word is
a memorial of a period, happily now passed away, when every
considerable village in Imérina was an independent state,
and when every Malagasy house was its owner's castle,
enclosed in a deep fosse dug in the hard red clay, and with
a rampart of earth inside that, through which a narrow open-
ing or mouth, closed in time of war by a huge circular stone,
alone gave access to the courtyard.
Another common word is also a memorial of the unsettled
state of society before there was one central government, the
word for “mountain," téndrombòhitra. This means literally
156
CURIOUS CUSTOM.
"point of the town," and recalls the time when every elevated
point was chosen for a village for security against an enemy.
And so throughout the central provinces towns may be seen
perched on hills several hundred feet high; in many cases,
although there are no dwellings remaining, the deep fosses in
the hard clay, often double and treble and even more in
number, show where an ancient fortified town formerly stood.
This state of society, when height meant security, is also
recalled in a common polite phrase always used by a Mala-
gasy when you are approaching his house. A native always
says, Miakara, Tompokoé! meaning, "Pray, walk in," but
literally, "Ascend, sir," although the house or village where
he lives may be on level ground. But the old form of salu-
tation remains although the circumstances have so much
altered.
Another word also points back to a more primitive state
of society than exists at present. A few years ago, a con-
siderable number of stone bridges with circular arches were
constructed over the chief streams in the neighbourhood of
Antananarivo; these are all called tetézana, a word mean-
ing literally stepping-places" or stones, which, as in other
countries, was doubtless the earliest and most primitive form
of Malagasy bridge.
CC
A memorial of a by-gone custom is preserved in the phrase
miléla-pûladìa, i.e., "to lick the sole" (of the foot). This is
often used as an expression of extreme humility, and is not
unfrequently employed in native prayers in public, especially
by old men, accustomed to antique forms of the language.
It is now only a figure of speech, but upon referring to the
Adventures of Robert Drury," who was a slave in Mada-
gascar for fifteen years (1702-1717), we find him continu-
ally having to perform this act of homage to his master, and
seeing it performed by others.
66
The names of some of the domestic animals and the most
useful plants and fruits now found in Madagascar are proofs
of their foreign origin. Thus, the domestic cat is called
saka, probably from the French chat, with the strengthening
suffix ka; it is certainly quite a modern word. But the
wild cat, possibly indigenous, is kary. So also the domesti-
FOREIGN ELEMENT IN DOMESTIC NAMES.
157
cated swine is kisòa, probably a corruption of the French
cochon; while the wild hog, closely allied to an African spe-
cies of potamochoerus or river-hog, is called àmbo. The fine
humped cattle of the island were probably introduced many
centuries ago from Africa, for they are called òmby (or òmbé),
doubtless the same word as the Swahili word for ox, ngombe.
One of the most amusing words used as a name for a bird is
that for turkey, vòron-tsi-lòza, which means "the not terrible
bird." This name has doubtless arisen in this way: when first
seen it excited some fear from its formidable-looking crest and
wattles and its gobbling noise; but it was soon perceived that
there was nothing to be afraid of, and so the apprehensions
it at first caused being found to be groundless it was called
voron-tsi-loza, "a bird not to be afraid of" after all.
So also, the peach, guava, and many other fruits, retain
their foreign names, being unknown until the French intro-
duced them; while, on the other hand, the word for the
cocoa-nut, voa-nio, is the same as that used in the Pacific
Islands, and points back to a very remote period, when the
ancestors of the present inhabitants of Madagascar either
brought it with them from over the sea, or found it growing
in the country, and gave it the name by which they had
known it in the far eastern Malayan or Polynesian islands.
One of the few words which has been retained in Mala
gasy very nearly in its original form is the widely-spread
salām, the beautiful shalom (peace) of the Hebrew.
It is,
however, chiefly used in the sense of being in health.
Turning from the "history" to the
to the "poetry" embodied in
Malagasy words, we find many beautiful examples of this
element in language.
And first of all, is the native name for the sun, which
shines with such unclouded brilliance in Madagascar almost
all the year round. It is called másoàndro, the "eye of day,"
surely a most poetical term for the glorious orb which is
"Not as in northern climes, obscurely bright,
But one unclouded blaze of living light."
During more than half the year the sun rises in undimmed
splendour, pursuing his course towards the zenith, and then to
158
POETRY EMBODIED IN WORDS.
his setting, often in a cloudless sky, and so continually looks
down upon the world like the eye of every day. From the
absence up to a recent period of any clock or watch many
native expressions for time are very vague, and it strikes a
foreigner as very strange to hear a Malagasy say, even in the
forenoon, if one is late, that "evening is the day" (hariva
ny àndro), and even "night is the day" (àlina ny àndro),
a figure of speech common in many eastern countries.
Then, a river is rénirano, "mother of waters," while a
capital is rénivòhitra, “mother of towns." When the people
in the nearly treeless highlands of the interior speak of the
inhabitants of the more wooded coast plains, they call them
'ny ambani-ràvina, i.e., "the (people) under the leaves." And
when the whole people are spoken of they are termed ny
ambàni-lànìtra, "the (people) under the heaven;" but when
the royal family are excepted, they are termed ny ambàni-
andro, "the (people) under the day." In another figurative
expression the people at large are termed bòzak-aman-àhitra,
"hay and grass," although it is not quite clear whether the
comparison refers to their numbers, or to the light estimation
in which "the masses" were held by former sovereigns.
A less ambiguous and very poetical term is the word for
glory or honour; this is voninahitra, that is, "the flower of
the grass." Many of the grasses in Madagascar are very
fine, and it seems possible that their beauty suggested the
idea, and perhaps also their transitory character, honour
being so dependent in a despotic state of society upon the
caprice of the sovereign. In some passages of Scripture,
such, for instance, as I Pet. i. 24, where all the glory of man
is compared to the flower of the grass, the exact similarity
(in the Malagasy version) of the things compared has a
curious effect on the ear.
From the aspect of the interior country during the dry
rainless months, when "the beauty of the grass is as a fading
flower," it being brown and parched, and all the rice-fields.
are bare, comes another descriptive word, the season being
called ririnana, that is, the time of being swept off or cleared.
away.
I have often thought, as I have gazed with intense delight
FLATTERING TITLES.
159
on the great fronds of the fan-palm standing out in bright
green against the sky, that the native mind has caught a very
striking feature of the beautiful tree in calling it be-féla-
tànana, "many palms of the hand," comparing its green fans.
to enormous hands spread against the blue heavens.
As might be supposed, the complimentary terms and
The com-
phrases in Malagasy are full of poetical figures.
parisons used by the sovereign and addressed to the army,
calling them "horns of the kingdom," &c., are mentioned in
another chapter; but another phrase used of the people is
also very common, and strikes our English ears as very
strange. They are frequently styled the mainty moldly, "the
black soot," the idea being taken from the long strings of soot
which hang from inside the lofty high-pitched roofs of the old-
fashioned Hova houses. These were never cleared away, for
they were considered as a proof of an old and long-established
family having inhabited that house, a kind of patent of
respectability; and thus the word has become equivalent to
what is ancient and venerable from age.
In the exaggerated and inflated Oriental style of address-
ing Malagasy sovereigns they were termed the "defence," the
giory," the "sun," and even the "God," of their subjects;
while these latter were addressed by flattering titles, as the
"walls of the rice fields," the "great lake" supplying water,
the "
cloth without difference back or front," "the water
level, neither high or low," "the lip (or rim) of a vessel, one
all round," and "the guinea-fowl all one colour," &c. The
Borizano, or civilians, are complimented as "the spades with
long handles to manure well (literally, apply soot to) the
earth and the kingdom," "the hoofs to stand firm" (against
an enemy), the "stones filling the hands of the people," aud
as being "the grass called tsirìry to remain upon the land,
and not the bird called tsirìry to fly away from it," &c.
While the "Ten ten-thousand men" or Folo-alin-dàhy, the
army, are styled "sharp spears and thick shields," "needles
of the kingdom, and wetted thread to bind it together,'
"horns of the kingdom," and "bolts and covering of the land
to keep together what Radama gathered," &c. The sovereign
styles the people, and they also call her, rai-aman-drény, i.e.
160
MORALITY EMBODIED IN WORDS.
"father-and-mother," an expression continually applied to any
friend or protector or superior.
Some of the salutations are very poetical. A frequent
word of welcome is arahaba, probably derived from the
Arabic, and equivalent to the Hebrew rachab, "to be
enlarged," a phrase of which we have many examples in
Scripture; as, "Thou hast enlarged me when I was in dis-
tress" (Ps. iv. 1); see also Gen. ix. 27; Ps. cxix. 32; Isa.
ix. 5; &c. Then the common farewell is Velòma, "May you
live," while to a superior it is proper to say Traràntitra,
"May you reach old age.”
Something may now be said about the "morality" which
is embodied in many Malagasy words, a feature of the lan-
guage of which there are many striking examples.
One of the most curious of these is the word for hypocrisy,
fihatsàrambélatsihy, which means literally "the becoming
good by spreading a mat." The meaning of this, at first
sight obscure phrase, is seen by remembering that the clay
floors of the ordinary Hova houses are covered by the strong
and neat mats made by the women. But as the Malagasy
are, when untouched by Christianity, by no means as cleanly
a people as might be desired, when a mat becomes dirty it is
not usually removed, but merely covered over by a cleaner
one; and so the process goes on until often there is a layer
of four or five mats rotting on the floor, each one being
dirtier than the one next above it. The habit of using
the native snuff in the mouth, and rejecting it again in
any convenient corner, the underside of the mat being often
the most bandy place, is an additional contribution to un-
cleanliness. When a stranger enters the house fresh mats
are spread for him to sit down upon, and all looks nice and
clean, but, let no one look underneath, for all sorts of filth
may be hidden below! The house has merely become clean
by "spreading a mat.” And so the custom has suggested an
ethical use of the phrase for conduct which is all clean and
proper outside, but is merely a cloak for evil and impurity
beneath.
Then there are two words connected with the marriage
relation, which also are witnesses against some of the evils
"THANKING A WIFE."
161
of native society. One of these is the word for polygamy-
fàmporafésana, from the root rafy, an adversary. So invari-
ably has the taking of more wives than one shown itself to
be a fruitful cause of enmity and strife in a household, that
this word, which means "the making an adversary," is the
term always applied to it; and the root-word rafy is just
that by which, in the Malagasy Scriptures, Peninnah, Hannah's
co-wife, is described (1 Sam. i. 6). The different wives are
always trying to get an advantage over each other, and to
wheedle their husband out of his property; constant quarrels
and jealousy are the result, and polygamy becomes inevitably
the causing of strife, "the making an adversary."
The other word, that for divorce, is an example of that
tendency in human nature to gloss over an evil by calling it
by a fine name. When a Malagasy wishes to divorce his wife
he has no need to apply to a law tribunal, like the Court of
Probate, or indeed to a court of any kind. He simply takes
a piece of money, sends it to his wife before certain wit-
nesses with the words, " Misaotra anao aho, Tompokovàvy” (“I
thank you, madam "), and the thing is done! The wife has
no appeal, and yet this unjust and often cruel act he calls
by the fine-sounding name fisàoram-bàdy, which is literally
thanking a wife," thanking her, in short, for the past, and
dismissing her as if he were doing her a kindness instead of
an injustice.
Among words which are like a covert satire upon the
effusive wordy loyalty so common in Madagascar is the
term manantsafa Andriana, which really means "to inquire,
implying ignorance" (pretended), an expression which is
applied to those long inquiries about the sovereign and her
family, and the chief officers of state, which are used upon
every possible occasion by military officers of the Hova
Government, and by those having business to do with these
officials. These complimentary inquiries are amusing at
first, but become somewhat tedious when repeated over and
over again in the course of a journey upon meeting with
every petty official. They run somewhat in this way:
"Since you our friends are arrived, we ask of you, How is
Queen Rànavàlona, Sovereign of the land? How is Raini-
L
162
EXPRESSIVE WORDS.
laiàrivòny, Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief?
How
is Rainimàharavo, Chief Secretary of State? How is Rala-
itsiròfo, Chief of the Judges? How are the Queen's relatives
and the Twelve Wives? How is the kingdom of Ambòhi-
manga and Antananarivo? How are the cannon? How
are the muskets? How are the Christians in Imérina? &c.,
&c. Finally, How are you our friends after your journey?
and how is your fatigue?" &c., &c. And so the inquiry
drags its wearisome length along; but it is all mànantsàfa,
pretended ignorance, and pretended interest too!
Although slavery in Madagascar seems, and actually is,
mild compared with that of many countries, yet, after all,
the common word used in speaking of it is an unmistakable
proof of the feeling with which it was regarded, at least in
former times, when probably it was much more to be dreaded
than now. To become a slave is in Malagasy to be véry,
that is, to be “lost," a terrible phrase, which is still retained
in ordinary use.
Another expressive word, throwing light upon the way in
which buying and selling is carried on in Madagascar, is that
for “bargain,” àdivàrotra, literally, "a fought-out sale;” for, as
in the East generally, a bargain is a long and tedious busi-
ness, the seller beginning by asking many times the sum he
is really willing to take, and the buyer offering as little in
proportion, until, after an immense amount of haggling and
talk, an approximation is gradually made and the purchase
effected. The word for "paying" is mandòa, exactly the
same word as is used for the act of vomiting!
A remark or two upon some of the words used in religious
matters may conclude this part of the subject.
And first of these is the word employed in speaking of
religion itself. Throughout Madagascar Christianity is uni-
versally known as the fivavahana, "the praying;" so com-
pletely has the true religion become identified with prayer
that when any one becomes a Christian they say of him,
much in the same way as was said of one of old when he
became a believer in Christ, "Behold, he prayeth !"
And then it is interesting to remark how in Malagasy, as
in other languages, the Greek, for example, words which
WORDS USED IN RELIGION.
163
formerly had a wide and vague signification become specia-
lised and limited. Thus the word for church and congrega-
tion is fiangonana, which originally meant simply an assembly
for any purpose, but is now entirely confined to assemblies
for religious worship. So also with the word for pastor,
mpitandrina, which is literally "one taking care of" or
superintending, a word formerly applied to any superin-
tendent, but now being gradually limited to denote the
overseer or pastor of a Christian congregation; much, in
fact, in the same way as the word episcopos was gradually
specialised to mean an ecclesiastical overseer, a primitive
bishop. And, still in the same line of things, just as by the
influence of Christianity and by their use in the New Testa-
ment, many Greek words were purified and raised to a higher
level, so it has been with many Malagasy words, such as
those employed as equivalents for "grace," "faith," "justifica-
tion," "righteousness," &c. These have now a fulness and
meaning which they never conveyed to the Malagasy in their
heathen condition. It is also, perhaps, worthy of remark
that many native words have acquired the same double
meaning that they have in our own language, one simply
referring to physical qualities, and the other having an
ethical significance. As with us, méloka, crooked, means
also morally crooked, ie., wicked; mahitsy, upright, means
also upright in conduct; marina, level, is also right and
true; and madio, clean, is also used for moral purity and
innocence.
Although in such widely-separated countries as England
and Madagascar a great deal of difference of course exists in
the modes of thinking, it is curious to observe how close a
resemblance there often is between the idioms used in each.
For instance, we speak of "stealing a march" on any one;
the Malagasy say "stealing a step" (mangàla-dia). We
speak of "stealing a look," the Malagasy idiom is precisely
the same (mangàla-pijéry). When overtaken by heavy
calamity we say we are "overwhelmed by sorrow," and
the Malagasy say they are "flooded in sorrow" (difotr❜
alahélo). While we speak of youthful people being "in the
flower of their age," the Malagasy say they are in "the cream
164
ONOMATOPOETIC WORDS.
of it” (hérotrérony), just our own expression for the best of
a thing. We speak of "high-handed" conduct, while the
Malagasy say, Such an one "uses his arm" (manao 'sandry).
We speak of "going with the stream," and they say 'follow-
ing the flow of water." The language is indeed very full of
examples of short terse phrases and adages, proverbial in
form, which give great force and point to native speaking;
and an interesting chapter might be written upon Malagasy
proverbs as illustrating native habits of thought, and the
moral and religious notions of the people.
There is a large class of words of the kind called onomato-
poetic, like our " whizz," "bang," "crack," &c., where the word
is a close imitation of the sound it describes. Thus we find
héhy, for laughing; mibitsibitsika, for whisper; mitsiky, for a
giggling smile; dóndòna, for knocking; éfonéfona, for hard
breathing; dabodaboka, for splash, together with many others
too numerous for further mention.
Enough has probably been here said to show that the
language of Madagascar offers many features of great interest
to the philologist, and that a careful study of its peculiarities
throws much light upon the history and character of the .
people whose mother-tongue it is, and who can employ its
musical sounds and poetical idioms with such effect. It has
now received a further addition to its capabilities by em-
bodying Christian truths, and by being used for the noblest
purpose to which human speech can be applied, in the
diffusion among the tribes of the great African island of that
filàzantsàra, or “glad tidings," which is for every nation and
people and tongue.
}
( 165 )
CHAPTER VIII.
CURIOSITIES OF MALAGASY NAMES: PERSONAL, TRIBAL, AND
GEOGRAPHICAL.
LENGTH-NO FAMILY NAMES
PERSONAL PREFIX-DESIGNATION FROM CHIL-
DREN-UNPLEASANT NAMES-TABOOED WORDS IN CHIEFS' NAMES-ROYAL
NAMES SAKALÀVA CUSTOMS CHRISTIAN NAMES TRIBAL APPELLA-
TIONS-PLACE-NAMES-FOREIGN NOMENCLATURE IN COAST GEOGRAPHY.
M
as
ALMOST every one unacquainted with the Malagasy language
is struck by the length of many of the names, both of places
and people, but especially of the latter. Thus, to a European,
there seems an unconscionable length in such names
Ravoninahitriniarivo, Rainivoninahitriniony, and Rabodonan-
drian-ampoinimerina! The last but one of these was the
name of the former Prime Minister; the last was the sacred
name of the persecuting Queen Ranavàlona. But such
names are of course compound words, being quite a little
sentence in themselves; and when analysed are seen to con-
sist of a number of simple roots of two or three syllables, with
a good deal of meaning in them, and often with no little.
poetry of expression as well. Thus, Ra-vònin'àhitri-ni-arìvo
is (omitting the Ra, to be explained presently) "the glory of
a thousand," the word for "glory" being, as was shown in the
previous chapter, literally "the flower of the grass." Then,
Rai-ni-vònin'àhitrì-ni-òny is "the father of the glory of (or,
the flower of the grass of) the river," or, in other words, the
father of a son named Ravòninàhitrìniòny. And Ra-bòdon'-
andrìan-am-pòin-imérina is "the simple one (or child) of
Andrian-am-pòin-imérina," which latter name means "the
prince in the heart of Imérina" (the central province).
166
NO FAMILY NAMES.
There are, however, a great many Malagasy names which
are much shorter and simpler than those given above,
such as Rasòa, Ravélo, Raivo, Rabòdo, Ranòro, Ravòny,
Razafy, Razay, Ravao, &c.; and these are also combined in
every conceivable way, as Rasòavélo, Rabòdosòa, Rasòanòro,
&c.
As among the Eastern nations generally, there are no family
names in Madagascar, although there are tribal ones, some-
thing in the same way as among the Scottish and Irish clans.
And so, as names are comparatively few, it is often puzzling
to know "who is who;
"who is who;" there are so many Rakotos and
Ranaivos, Raivos, and Rasòas, as well as Rainisòas, Raini-
kòtos, &c., that continually some other appellation has to be
added to distinguish persons from others of the same name,
such as describing them as son, or brother, of such an one,
who is better known, or giving their rank, as Government
officials, or their position as deacon, or pastor, or preacher in
the church. It is perhaps, after all, not much more puzzling
than it is with us to discriminate the various Smiths,
Browns, and Joneses of our acquaintance; nor so much so as
in some parts of Wales, where every other person is a Davies
or a Griffiths; or in portions of Scotland, where every one is
a Campbell or a Macdonald.
It will have been noticed that all the above-given Malagasy
names commence with the syllables Ra- or Raini-. The former
is a particle which, added to any word, makes it a proper name.
It is also prefixed to other words as a respectful way of
addressing people: thus, children, ankizy, are addressed Ran-
kìzy; ùnabàvy, sister (of a brother), becomes Rànabavy, &c.
The word Andriana, which is literally "prince," is also pre-
fixed to other words in the same way to make a proper name,
Ravèlo becoming Andriambélo, &c.; while a less respectful
mode is by prefixing the particle I, as Ikòto, Inaivo, &c., a
form also used for affectionate familiarity.
•
The names of animals, birds, insects, plants, and trees, or
the words for any action or object, may be used as a proper
name with these prefixes. Thus, two of the lads of noble.
family who were sent to England by Radama I. for instruc-
tion were Vòalàvo and Totòzy, i.e., Rat and Mouse; while the
DESIGNATION FROM CHILDREN.
167
words for crocodile (mamba), wild-hog (làmbo), goat (òsy), dog
(ambòa and alika), &c., are all to be met with as personal
names.
The other common prefix, Raini-, " father of," is commonly
taken by men when they have a child born to them. Thus,
for instance, a man may have been called all his life Rakòto,
but if he has a child, say a girl, who perhaps is named Rasòa,
he abandons his old name, and is henceforth known as Raini-
soa, or "Father of Soa." Frequently also, although not quite
so commonly, the mother of the child takes the name of
Rénisoa, "Mother of Soa." There seems to be among the
Malagasy a desire to be remembered rather by their children
than by their parents; something indeed of the feeling of the
old Romans as shown in the saying of the noble matron
Cornelia, "Call me not Scipio's daughter, call me the mother
of the Gracchi." Occasionally people who are not parents
will change their name in this way, especially if they adopt
other relatives' children, which is very frequently done. The
Malagasy have strong family affections, and consider their
brothers' and sisters' children as almost the same as their own,
and their uncles and aunts as fathers and mothers, indeed,
they call them so constantly, there being no single word
equivalent to ours for those relationships. In one tribe of
the Andrians, or people of noble birth, the ordinary rule of
fathers calling themselves after their children is not followed;
the clan of Andriamàsinavàlona forming in this point an
exception to the practice of the Malagasy generally.
I had often been surprised in considering that there were
in Malagasy many offensive names, such as Rafirìnga, "dung-
hill," Rabézézika and Rabétay, "much dung," &c. The first
of these is an extremely common name, and is that of the
present governor of Tamatave, an officer of high rank. On
inquiring, however, the reason of this, I was told that it is
done from a superstitious idea which some have that a pleasant-
sounding name may cause envy; just indeed from the same
feeling that makes the people dislike that any one should
praise their children for good looks. If you do this, remark-
ing that an infant is pretty, or a fine child, they will reply,
"No, it is ugly, or nasty," believing that they thus avert the
168
RESPECT FOR ROYAL NAMES.
consequences of the evil eye, which is, as is well known, a
widely-spread superstition in the East. The idea seems to
be that the envy of the evil powers is excited by any openly-
expressed praise of human beauty or goodness, and that they
will consequently attempt to injure those so praised.
In the preceding chapter on the Malagasy language, atten-
tion was called to the curious custom which the people of
Madagascar have of considering as tabooed the words and
syllables which form the names of their chiefs and sovereigns,
and to the dialectic changes which this custom produces
on the language. This sacred character of the sovereign's
name accordingly makes it an offence to utter it lightly or
carelessly. Instances have occurred at dinners and entertain-
ments given to Europeans by Malagasy that the queen's name
has been mentioned freely in conversation by the former; but
they have soon been politely requested by their hosts to
refrain from its frequent use as highly disrespectful to their
sovereign. It is also considered indecorous to use the names
of the royal palaces as a comparison of size or height, &c.
It should also be added that this respect for a royal name
is also extended in a certain degree to the name of every one
of any position in society; for in public speeches and kabàrys
a Malagasy will not mention the name of any one without
first making an elaborate apology for doing so; and so also
they do in speaking of the dead, avoiding, if possible, mention-
ing their exact name, and giving instead a complimentary
periphrasis. So that the name stands for the person it re-
presents and is held to be as worthy of respect, much indeed
the name" of Jehovah and of the Lord Jesus Christ are
in Scripture frequently put for the persons of the Divine
Beings, numerous instances of which will occur to every
Biblical student.
as
(6
The word "name" is also used by the Malagasy as an equi-
valent for position, influence, and fame. Thus, they say of
a person who has done nothing to distinguish himself, Tsy
manan'anàrana izy, "He has no name," nearly equivalent in
fact to our phrase, “He has made no name for himself."
It has been the custom among the Hovas at least, if not
with the other tribes in Madagascar, for the sovereign to take
SAKALAVA CUSTOMS.
169
a new name on his or her accession. Thus, the late queen,
who was named Rabòdo, became Rasohérina, and the present
sovereign, who was known as Ramòma, was called Rànavàlona
II. To these names is added the word manjaka, i.e., "reign-
ing," so as to become almost an integral part of the name;
thus, Rasohéri-manjaka, Ranavàlo-manjaka, the last syllable
of the first name being omitted for euphony.
The sacredness attached to the royal names among the
Hovas is extended, after the death of the sovereign, to every-
thing connected with their tombs and funeral ceremonies.
Thus, they do not say of a king that he has died, but has
"retired," niamboho, literally, "turned his back" upon his
subjects, or, has "gone home to lie down," nòdimandry. His
corpse is not called fàty, the usual word for that of a subject,
but ny masina,." the sacred" (thing); and it is not "buried
(alévina), but "hidden" (afénina); and his tomb is not a
fàsana, but trano masina, the sacred house," in which is
hidden the silver coffin, which is termed làkambòla, "the
silver canoe." Everything, in short, is specialised by a name
different from that applied to the same thing in connection
with the people generally, whether nobles or otherwise.
(6
""
The Sakalàvas along the west coast of Madagascar have
a different and very curious custom with regard to the names
of their kings. After their death they give them a new
name, by which from that time they are always known, it
being considered as sacrilegious to speak of them by the name
by which they were known while living. Thus, Andriandà-
hifòtsy, a king of Ménabé, was afterwards called Andrianàni-
narivo, and Ravahìny, a queen of Ibòina, was known after
her death only as Andriamamélonarìvo. The posthumous
names of Sakalàva chieftains almost all ended in the word
arivo, “thousand," and with the other portions of the name
signified that the deceased monarch was loved by, feared
by, or desired by, thousands (of his subjects). This custom
appears to have been general among all the tribes of the
west and south-west of Madagascar.
Since the wide acceptance of Christianity in central Mada-
gascar many Scriptural names have been introduced, and
some have become quite naturalised among the Malagasy,
170
CHRISTIAN NAMES.
especially the names John and Jonah, slightly altered to
follow the phonetic character of the orthography; the former
becoming Rajaonina, and the latter Rajonà. So also we find
Samuel, Daniel, Joseph, Boanerges (!), Japhet, Zechariah, and
many others; and in all these the accent is carried forward
a syllable, so that with the name-prefix the words become
Rasamioéla, Radaniéla, Rajoséfa, &c. Women's names taken
from Scripture are not so common; but the Latin form of
Mary, Maria, is also a native word, so that it enters into
the composition of many names, as Ramarìavélo, &c. A few
natives, chiefly elderly people, have had English names given
to them at their baptism, which they use prefixed to their
native names; and so we find such combinations as John
Rainisòa, David Johns Andrianàdo, Joseph Andrianàivoravé-
lona. But in recent times it has not been considered desir-
able to alter native names by any foreign element, at least
among the Protestant missions. The Romish missionaries
have given European names to their converts when baptized
so that numbers of the saints of the Roman calendar are
represented by their Malagasy protégées.
Some of the compound names sound curiously enough:
thus, one may find amongst school children, Ramoséjoféra, i.c.,
Ra, native prefix; mose, corruption of the French monsieur;
and jofera, again a native name; and also Ramosévazàha, which
might be translated, "Mr-monsieur-white-man" (or foreigner)!
Many of the tribal names are very poetical, and remind
one of those borne by some of the North American Indian
tribes. Thus, we have in the southern-central province, the
Bétsiléo, "the many unconquered;" along the eastern coast
are the Betsimisaraka, "the many unseparated," standing
shoulder to shoulder against an enemy; in the north-east-
central district are the Sihanaka, "the lake people," from the
nature of the country they inhabit; through the dense woods.
of the south-eastern side of the island are the Tanala, “the
forest people;" while in the extreme north are the Antankar-
ana, "the rock dwellers," so called from an almost impreg-
nable rocky fastness in their territory. Then the central
tribe of Hovas are subdivided into many smaller clans. The
people in and around the capital city of Antananarivo are
TRIBAL APPELLATIONS.
171
called the Voro-mahéry, "the powerful birds," the birds known
by that name being a species of large hawk or small eagle,
and used as a kind of crest or emblem by the Hova Govern-
ment. To the north of these are the Tsimiamboholahy, "the
men not turning their backs," i.e., on an enemy; farther north
still, at Ambohimanga, the old capital and sacred town, are
the Tsimàhafòtsy, "those not turning pale" (with fear); while
to the north-east are the Mandiavàto, those "treading the
rock,” standing firm.
In the names of two tribes on the eastern coast of Mada-
gascar are preserved traces of the Arab settlements made
several centuries ago in that part of the island, as already
described in the chapter on the Origin and Divisions of the
Malagasy people. These are the Zafy Ibrahima, i.e., the
grand-children or descendants of Ibrahim or Abraham; and the
Zafy Ramania, or, as some writers give it, Zafy Rahimina, or
descendants of Imina, the mother of Mohammed.
As already mentioned in the preceding chapter, the
custom of fady or tabooing certain words has had in some
parts of Madagascar a most unsettling effect upon the
nomenclature of places. But this remark does not apply to
much of the central and eastern portions of the island; and
in the names of mountains, rivers, districts, and towns there
is a field of research as yet unexplored, and which would pro-
bably yield some information as to the settlement of the
country. A cursory glance over a list of villages shows
many parallels to English place-names. Thus, we have
Malagasy "Sunnysides" in Ambòhibémásoàndro, "the place
of much sun;" "Oxfords" in Ampìtanòmby; "Holytowns"
in Ambohimasina; "Stonebridges" in Antatézambato; while
very numerous places called Ambohimanjàka and Ambohit-
riniandriana are the "Kingstowns" and " Princetowns" of the
central provinces, denoting the village of the headman of
many small tribes at a time when the country was still
divided with numerous petty kingdoms or chieftaincies.
Some interest attaches to the name of the largest lake in
Madagascar, the Alaòtra, a sheet of water of about twenty-
five miles long, in the Antsihànaka province. Among the
Sakalava, Alaòtra means ocean" or "sea," so that its name
(C
172 PORTUGUESE ELEMENT IN NOMENCLATURE.
denotes the sea-like sheet of water. (Cf. the use of Bahr
among the Arabs for lakes, in "Sea of Galilee" (or Bahr et-
Tabiriyeh), and "Salt Sea" (or Bahr el-Lut). Alaòtra, ac-
cording to the Rev. L. Dahle, is possibly the Arabic Al-lutat,
"the dashing of the waves," the ocean; and the Arabs of the
Comoro Islands and East Africa are known among the Mala-
gasy as the Talaòtra, i.e., “those from beyond the ocean.
دو
An inspection of a map of Madagascar shows a curious
contrast between the nomenclature of the interior and that
of the coast-line. The former is purely native, as no European
power has ever succeeded in retaining territory for long
away from the coast; but the fringe of names along the sea-
line has a considerable European element in it, and throws
considerable light upon the successive periods during which
the Madagascar coast was visited in early times by different
European nations, as well as upon the attempts made by
some of them to plant colonies in various parts of the island.
Besides this, as all surveying and map-making has hitherto
been the work of Europeans, and as the naval commanders
who gave many of the names of prominent places were usually
unacquainted with the Malagasy language, and consequently
knew nothing of the native names of headlands, rivers, and
bays, they give many of them European names in a very
arbitrary fashion, in some cases, however, not the less em-
bodying an historical fact or date. Thus, most of the promi-
nent capes of Madagascar bear the names of saints-St. Mary,
St. Vincent, St. Thomas, and St. Sebastian-showing the reli-
gious feeling of the Portuguese, the first European power who
discovered the island, which for a considerable period was
called by them and others Isola de San Lorenzo, after the
saint on whose day it was first seen by Fernando Soares.
The traces of the Portuguese are also left in St. Augustine's
River and Bay, the shoal of Bonaventura, the Island of Juan
de Nova, and the fine harbour of Diego Suarez, at the ex-
treme north of Madagascar. We find another memorial of
the same nation in the name of the chief inlet on the eastern
side of the island, Antongil Bay, so called from Antonio Gil,
a Portuguese, who first discovered it. Besides the names given
above, numerous other saints' names are found in ancient
ENGLISH ELEMENT IN NOMENCLATURE.
173
maps, as St. Justina, St. Romano, St. Julian, St. Clara, St.
Lucia, St. Roche, and others, but these latter have been dis-
used by later geographers. The memory of the French occu-
pation of Madagascar is retained in the words Fort Dauphin,
to the extreme south-east; the island of St. Marie's, still
held by them, on the east coast; Port Choiseul, Foule Pointe,
and Louisbourg. And lastly, an English element in the map,
but probably quite unrecognised by the natives, is seen
in the names given by Captain Owen and others to various
ports and islands; as William Pitt Bay, Liverpool Point,
Port Croker and Point Barrow, and in Barren, Barlow, Crab,
Murder, and Grave Islands; while Owen's surveying ships
are both memorialised in "Barracouta" Island and Port
"Leven."
Some of the foreign names given to places in Madagascar
have been strangely altered by the Malagasy, both in sound
and spelling, so that one hardly recognises in Tòamàsina, the
native name of Tamatave, the San Tomaso of the Portuguese
settlers; and still less in Fàradofày, the Fort Dauphin of the
south, two centuries ago the chief French port and stronghold
in the island.
In Madagascar, not less than in European and other
countries, place-names will doubtless prove on careful exa-
mination to be one of the most valuable of ancient his-
torical records; and while we sometimes ask carelessly,
"What's in a name?" it will be seen that in Madagascar,
as in other parts of the world, names form, strange as it may
seem, more enduring and unmistakable records than tombs
and temples, or marble and bronze.
( 174 )
CHAPTER IX.
CURIOUS AND NOTEWORTHY CUSTOMS AMONG THE
DIFFERENT TRIBES.
ROADS AND TRAVELLING-CANOES AND BOATS-SLAVERY-RANKS OF SOCIETY
HOVAS OR COMMONERS-ANDRIANS OR NOBLES-ROYALTY—OATHS OF
ALLEGIANCE-ROYAL PROPERTY—A MALAGASY KABÁRY-NATIVE ORATORY
—OCCUPATIONS AND MODES OF LIVING-HANDICRAFTS.
Roads and Travelling.-One of the first things which strikes
a stranger upon arriving in Madagascar is the absence of
anything like a carriage or wheeled vehicle, and the cor-
sequent necessity for using men as bearers of passengers.
and goods, instead of employing horses or other animals.
This arises in part from the conservative feeling of the Mala-
gasy, who dislike innovation upon long-established usages,
but still more from there being no roads, in our sense of the
word, in the island; so that any wheeled vehicle would be
almost useless except for very short distances on the level
plains of the coast. The Malagasy, therefore, except people
of the upper and wealthier classes, are accustomed to travel
long distances on foot; and the men who are employed by
the Government to take letters and despatches to distant
places have wonderful powers of speed and endurance.
Some of these have been known to travel from the capital
to Tamatave on the east coast, a distance of about 200 miles,
in four days; this journey, it must be remembered, being
performed not over a smooth and level road like an English
turnpike, but over rough and rocky hills, long descents
slippery with mud, rapid streams without bridges, dense
forest, and deep sloughs through which it is impossible to
move rapidly. The endurance of most of the bearers also
is no less remarkable. These are mostly young men who
THE FILANJANA.
175
begin to carry their master's children while they are still
mere lads. Thus they get inured to such work almost
from childhood, and although there are few middle-aged
men who can keep up the pace necessary for carrying people,
yet many retain strength and endurance enough for carrying
burdens until they are quite old and grey-headed.
This con-
The national carriage of Madagascar is the filanjana, or
takon, as it is called on some parts of the coast.
sists of a couple of light poles of tough wood about seven
feet long, and kept together by iron rods with nuts and
screws; on the hindmost of these and from the poles is fixed
an iron-framed seat, covered with leather and stuffed, having
a back against which one can lean. To this many add a piece.
of wood suspended by straps as a foot-rest, and leather pockets
at the side and back for carrying small articles. There is
no cover, but a stout sun-shade is strapped to one pole and
a piece of waterproof sheeting, as an apron for wet weather,
to the other; and thus equipped, one is prepared to explore
Madagascar from north to south and from east to west; and
in such a conveyance has the writer travelled many, many
hundreds of miles, either in the regular visitation of his
district or in making extensive journeys in various direc-
tions from the central province.
The filanjana just described is a gentleman's palanquin;
the one used by ladies is usually a kind of oblong basket
made of platted sheep-skin, and borne on poles of the light
and strong mid-rib of the extremely long leaf of the rofia
palm. For long journeys these are usually fitted with a
covering of strong cloth on a light iron framework, often
with mosquito netting to keep out the various insect plagues
which are occasionally met with. Both kinds of palanquin
are carried in the same way, by four stout bearers, or, as they
are called, maromita, a word which means "many fordings."
Every few minutes they change the pole from one shoulder
to the other, keeping up a short trot at a pace, on tolerably
level ground, of about six miles an hour; and when the men
are properly trained, the motion is much more smooth and
pleasant than might be supposed possible. If taking a
journey beyond an hour's duration, it is usual to have six
176
PALANQUIN BEARERS.
men, the extra two relieving the others every few minutes ;
but if out for a longer time, or for a day's journey, eight
men are employed, so as to have a double set, who relieve
each other at frequent intervals. This they do without
stopping, the "leaders" running under the poles, and taking
them from their companions while going at full speed.
From six to seven hours is an ordinary day's journey,
although the bearers will frequently go eight or nine hours.
without much apparent inconvenience; and a good set of
men will continue at such work pretty nearly every day
throughout a journey which may take two or three or four
months. The pay for each man is about 6d. a day, with 2d.
for food; but although this seems small for each bearer, one
is obliged to take so many men in addition to carry necessary
articles that one cannot undertake a long journey without at
least eight to a dozen men in addition to the personal bearers.
There are no hotels in Madagascar, and so bed and bedding
must be taken; in many parts of the country there are no
inhabitants, so a tent must be carried; and although rice
and fowls are generally to be obtained everywhere, yet tea
and coffee, bread and flour, preserved meats, and other pro-
visions are a very desirable addition to the produce of the
country. And of course, in addition to all these, plates and
dishes and cooking apparatus, necessary change of clothes,
books for distribution, &c., all help to swell the list of articles
to be carried about with one on a journey of any extent.
The bearers of luggage have no change with others. Light
packages are borne by a man on a pole, the weight at each
end balancing the other; while boxes and heavier articles
are borne by two men, or more, according to their bulk and
weight.
And so, with a company of a score of men, more or less,
long journeys of several weeks in duration are continually
being made; and, as a rule, thcse Malagasy bearers are good
tempered and willing, easily managed by a little tact and
kindness, and made happy after any extraordinary exertion
by a gift of some beef, over which they make merry as they
surround their cooking fires in the evening, and soon forget
the toils of the day's march in feasting and jollity. The
PEGU PONIES.
177
In
luggage bearers are looked upon as somewhat inferior to
those who carry people, for these latter have to be more agile
and active, to go at a greater speed, and the whole set must
be able to keep step and pace well with each other.
many of the luggage bearers, especially those belonging to
the tribe called Bézànozàno, who are constantly carrying
burdens to and from the coast, a curious bunch or callosity
may be observed on the shoulders, a provision of nature by
which a sort of natural cushion is gradually formed, protect-
ing the collar-bone from any concussion, and the skin from
abrasion.
Animals are, however, used to some extent for riding by
the Malagasy. Oxen are often saddled and bridled, and
having had their horns and tails cut short, are ridden at a
short shuffling pace often as fast as a horse can canter.
And during the last few years a considerable number of
horses have been imported into the country. Many of these
are Pegu ponies, which are hardy and sure-footed, soon
adapting themselves to the rough paths and rocky ascents,
up and down which they must often climb, more like a goat
than a horse. Many of the natives are bold and daring
riders, and about three years ago the Queen gave orders that
all officers above a certain rank must be on horseback when
escorting her in public, so that a great impetus was given
to the practice of horse-riding. Only twice have I seen a
wheeled vehicle in Madagascar; one of these was a small
carriage belonging to the Queen, but which was carried by
men, instead of being drawn by horses; and the other was an
English cart, drawn by a yoke of oxen, one of a small num-
ber lately introduced by foreign traders, and used to convey
produce along the grassy plains of the eastern coast.
Canoes and Boats.—One of the Hova kings of the old
time, Andriamanélo, has, according to tradition, the credit of
having introduced the use of canoes. Those employed in the
rivers and lakes of Madagascar are hollowed out of the trunk
of a tree, a kind called varòngy (Calophyllum inophyllum) being
chiefly employed. The largest are about forty feet long,
with a breadth and depth of nearly three feet. They are
propelled with paddles, either of a spade shape or in that of
ΔΙ
178
CANOES AND BOATS.
a spoon.
These are dug into the water, the paddler sitting
with his face to the head of the canoe. With three or four
paddles and on smooth water these long canoes can be urged
through the water with great speed, but as they have no keel
they require careful ballasting. Very small canoes are used
in the narrow channels along the sides of the rice-fields to
convey the sheaves to the threshing-floors on the neighbouring
high grounds.
Few things are more pleasant than a canoe voyage on
some of the large rivers of Madagascar, always providing
that you have a good canoe and a sufficient staff of paddlers.
The men often beguile the time by singing their musical and
often amusing canoe chants, in which one of them keeps up
a recitative, usually an improvised strain, often bringing
in circumstances recently happening, and very frequently
introducing delicate flattery of the European employing them,
how generous and rich he is, &c., and inquiring if there is
not beef, and rice, and other food at the next stopping-place.
To this all the rest chime in with a chorus at regular
intervals, a favourite one being Hé! misy và? (“Oh, is there
any?") In another one the chorus speaks of Tamatave as a
great place for spending money, while the recitative brings
in all the different villages on the journey from Tamatave to
the capital, and ends with the north entrance to the palace
at Antananarìvo. In September 1877, I took a four days'
voyage down the river Bétsibòka, encamping on the river-
bank at night; and the heat and some insect plagues were
the only drawbacks to a very delightful excursion, during
which we glided over the smooth surface of the stream with
the strong current, and the glorious vegetation-pandanus
and palm and bamboo-swept past us like a continuous
panorama, all glowing in the intense light and heat of the
tropical sunshine.
A very primitive contrivance called a zàhitra is employed
upon many of the rivers on the south-east coast.
This con-
sists of a number of bamboos lashed together at one end and
spreading out in a fan form at the other. But when the
sovereign has occasion to cross a wide river a kind of raft
of zòzòro or papyrus is constructed, this being the ancient
CURIOUSLY-CONSTRUCTED BOATS.
179
orthodox fashion for royalty. It will be remembered that
the papyrus of the Nile was applied to similar uses by the
Egyptians. Papyrus boats are frequently noticed by ancient
writers. Plutarch describes Isis going in search of the body
of Osiris, "through the fenny country in a barque made of
the papyrus.
See also Isa. xviii. 2.
" *
On the south-east coast of Madagascar, I was much inter-
ested to find that in the lagoons and river mouths, as well
as for going out to sea to the foreign vessels, a most ingeni-
ously constructed boat is employed instead of the ordinary
canoes. These boats are called sàry, and are built of planks
carefully fitted together, and with the ends rising rather high
like that of a whale-boat. They are about thirty feet long
by eight feet beam, and easily carry fifty people. But the
strangest circumstance is that no nail or iron of any kind is
employed in its construction, the planks are all tied together
with twisted cord of anirona palm fibre, a very tough and
durable material, the holes being plugged with pins of hard
wood. There is no framework to which the planking is fixed,
but the seats act as stiffeners of the fabric, passing right
through the sides. Strips of bamboo are used to caulk the
seams, and loops of the same material also form rowlocks for
the large oars or sweeps of European shape.
On the north-west coast again, the outrigger, a nautical
feature never seen in Hova canoes, is largely used for the
canoes of the Sàkalàva and Antankàrana, in fact they could
not otherwise live in the rough waters of the broad bays and
inlets of that coast. Some of these craft are quite different
in construction from any Hova canoe, being made of very thin
planking, and have a curiously curved piece rising from
the head and stern. It seems possible that some of these
canoes have been introduced by the Banyan traders from
India; for, if I am not mistaken, some of them much resemble
the boat in use at Madras and other Indian ports. Others, how-
ever, are probably coeval with these northern Malagasy tribes
themselves. One kind of canoe much used among the islands
and bays of the northernmost part of Madagascar is called
* The Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, new edition, by Samuel
Birch, LL.D. London: 1878.
180
CC
CANOES.
làkampiùra, the fiùra being a raised platform in the centre,
intended for people to sit upon, or to place any luggage.
One of these is described by Bishop Kestell-Cornish as being
twenty-six feet in length, and in breadth only twenty-five
inches. It was formed of the trunk of one tree, and a plank on
either side was added to give the necessary depth. There was
an ingenious outrigger projecting some five feet on either side,
and on the lee side bounded by a piece of timber shaped like
the bottom of a canoe, which took the water when she heeled
over, rendering her perfectly safe without materially checking
her course. In so frail a structure it would be impossible to
step a mast; they therefore work the sail by means of two
sprits, which are stepped into holes which run along the keel
line. If going before the wind, the sprits occupy the holes
which are nearest together; if close hauled, those which are
farthest apart." With a good breeze these canoes will go at
a speed of twelve miles an hour.
The Malagasy along this coast are bold sailors, for these
canoes put out in the open sea with the wind blowing very
fresh; and it is clear that the people of the north-west have
always been skilful navigators. From the long-continued and
systematic piratical excursions they used to make, they must
have been able to construct canoes of considerable size and
with sea-worthy properties; and in keeping up such a custom
they seem to have perpetuated the same predatory habits as
those which are still common to the Malays of Borneo and
other islands of the Eastern Archipelago.
Slavery.―Slavery is another institution in Madagascar
which, together with many other things, makes the state of
society very different from that in a European country. But
when we hear of Malagasy slavery, we must not imagine gangs
of men and women labouring in sugar or cotton plantations,
under fear of the lash of a brutal overseer, and constantly
liable to be sold away from their wives and children and sent
to a distant part of the country. Slavery in Madagascar is
really a "domestic institution," having much of a patriarchal
character about it, and many analogies to that of the Jews
and other Eastern nations, as described in Scripture. (See
chapter on " New Light on Old Texts.") Although, of course,
SLAVES.
181
the innate injustice of buying and selling and holding as
property one's fellow-creatures remains unaltered, practically,
there is not, as a rule, much in the circumstances of the
slaves generally to call for any great commiseration; for, on
the whole, they are kindly treated by their masters, they are
considered as a kind of inferior members of the family to
whom they belong, and many of the slaves have a practical
freedom of action to which the free population are quite
strangers. They will join in the conversation of their mas-
ters at table and give their opinion with a freedom which
strikes us as amusing, and which is utterly alien to our
English habits with our servants. And then it must be
remembered that in Madagascar there is not the colour pre-
judice, or the distinction of race between master and slave,
which raises such an impassable barrier between the dark and
white races in other countries where slavery exists; for the
masters are often just as dark in colour as their slaves, and,
as will be presently described, are, as regards some of them, of
exactly the same origin.
The slave population in Madagascar is divided into three
distinctly marked classes-viz., the Zàza-Hova, the Andévo,
and the Mozambiques.
The first of these, the Zàza-Hova, are, as their name
implies, of the same stock as the Hovas themselves, the mass
of the population of the central province. But they or their
ancestors have become slaves either from having been sold
for debt, or as a punishment for political offences or for
certain crimes. The cruel code of native laws up to about
sixteen years ago denounced not only death for many offences,
but also reduced the culprit's wife and children to slavery.
And so a large number of persons are slaves whose fathers
at a recent or more remote period were free people.
The second and largest division of the slave population,
the Andévo or slaves proper, are chiefly the descendants of
those who were captured in the numerous war expeditions
carried on by the Hovas in various parts of the island,
especially in the reigns of Radama I. and Rànavàlona I.
These wars were conducted with fearful cruelty: the men
being, even after submission, often ruthlessly shot down or
182
SLAVERY.
speared, while the women and children became the slaves of
the conquerors, and were brought up to Imérina. They are,
as a rule, rather darker in colour than the Hovas, and have a
considerable variety of feature, as might be expected from
their mixed origin.
The third division are the Mozambiques or African slaves,
who have been brought into the country from time imme-
morial by the Arab slave-trading dhows. These have now
been formally set free (in 1877), and the majority of them
are actually so, although many of the female slaves remain
with their former owners.
Slavery in Madagascar cannot be said to produce much
of that feeling that accompanies it in some countries which
makes all labour to be considered degrading, although there are
traces of it to be seen now and then. Thus, it appears strange
to the Malagasy to see us Europeans walking out for short
distances unaccompanied by a servant or some attendant; for
no free Malagasy, male or female, would think of going abroad
without at least one follower at his or her heels.
And so,
if any of our native friends meet us alone, they will imme-
diately offer and indeed insist upon escorting us on our way,
thinking we do not keep up our dignity sufficiently by going
alone. So again, no respectable Malagasy would carry with
him any small article, such as a Bible or hymn-book; that
must be taken by a slave boy or girl following them: and
they wonder to see us carrying a map or a roll of drawings
as we go to our schools or Bible-classes.
There is great
respect paid to seniority among the Malagasy; so that if two
slaves who are brothers are going a journey, any burden must
be carried by the younger one, so far at least as his strength
will allow.
Ranks of Society.-The second of the three great classes
into which society in the central provinces of Madagascar is
divided is the Hovas or commoners, the mass of the free
people. These are subdivided into a great many tribes and
clans, who very seldom intermarry, but keep mostly to their
own clan, and, as a rule, to their own family, cousins who
are children of brothers very frequently marrying together,
so as to keep property from being dispersed.
COMPULSORY SERVICE.
183
These so-called free people have, however, in some respects
little freedom of action. They are divided into two great
classes, the bòrizàno or civilians, and the miàramila or mili-
tary class.
Both these are liable to be called upon to do
any work for the Queen and Government, to cut and drag
timber from the forest many miles distant, to make bricks
and tiles, to quarry and build stone, and to perform all other
service required of them, and all this without any payment.
This compulsory labour is called fànompòana, a word mean-
ing simply "service," and it appears to Europeans as the
greatest hindrance to progress in the country, through repress-
ing native talent and ingenuity. For, as all skilled workmen
are liable to be impressed for an indefinite amount of unpaid
work, they naturally do not care to be known as specially
gifted. It is true there are few taxes, but fànompòana in-
evitably becomes very unequal in distribution, every one, if
possible, shifting to his next lower in rank the burden he has
to bear. There are no salaries paid to any Government
officials (except school teachers), from the governors and
judges down to the private soldiers; and although the
customs and other sources of revenue bring in considerable
sums, nothing is spent on harbours, lighthouses, or such
public works. But it is said that the Government are intend-
ing shortly to commence the making of roads through the
country, and a paved road has been already constructed from
the palace to the residence of the chief minister, and this
is to be continued through the city northwards; a European
superintendent, of course salaried, being employed. As
yet, in these matters Madagascar has hardly advanced much
beyond its primitive uncivilized condition; although it may
be hoped that the knowledge now being diffused, and
the advance of intelligence, will ere long bring about
beneficial changes in public policy. No doubt it would
be a very difficult thing even for the Government to alter
suddenly the old order of things, and to impose taxes instead
of personal service; but a beginning has certainly been
made; and through the building of the Memorial Churches
and other mission buildings, in all of which fair and liberal
wages were paid for all work done, the idea of payment
184
ANDRIANS.
for labour has been impressed upon the public mind, so
that even the highest officers felt constrained to commence
making some small payment for work which hitherto they
had always claimed as having a right to demand.
The third class of Malagasy society is that of the Andrians or
nobles. These again are divided into six classes or clans, some
of which are descended from different chieftains of Imérina,
formerly independent sovereigns, but whose dominions were
gradually absorbed by the ancestors of the present reigning
family. Their descendants, however, have been allowed to
retain many of the privileges of their descent, being saluted
in different terms to the commoners, and having a right to
construct a different kind of tomb from that of the people
generally, and some of them having the distinction of carry-
ing the scarlet umbrella, the mark of royalty. Malagasy
nobility, therefore, is strictly a matter of descent, and not of
creation, nor has it ever been the custom to confer such privi-
leges an Andrian possesses upon any one of a lower rank.
The present Prime Minister is not an Andrian, although his
family has been a privileged one and has possessed great wealth
and influence for several generations past. It must not be
supposed, however, that the great majority of these so-called
nobles are marked off in any distinct way from the Hovas or
commoners. Many indeed are very poor, so that it is almost a
proverb to say, "As poor as an Andrian;" and there is generally
little to distinguish them from others, except, perhaps, a some-
what more polite behaviour. In certain villages almost the
whole population except the slaves are Andrians. A kind of
non-hereditary nobility has arisen since the time of Radàma I.
in the giving of "honours" or voninahitra to military and
Government officers. This rank is reckoned by numbers; the
common soldiers having one honour, and so on up the various
grades, the highest being sixteen. Of these last, however, there
are only three or four favoured individuals; but there are
many officers of fifteen honours, and a still larger number of
fourteen, and so the number of holders goes on increasing down
to the lower ranks.
There is nothing in Madagascar like the Hindoo caste,
except in some of the marriage restrictions. Thus, most of
OATH OF ALLEGIANCE,
185
the clans of Andrians do not intermarry, nor can an Andrian
marry a Hova, or a Hova marry a slave; neither do the three
classes of slaves marry with each other; and tribes and even
families generally marry amongst themselves (with certain
exceptions as regards the descendants of sisters, who cannot
intermarry down to the seventh generation), so as to keep
landed and other property together. One clan of Andrians,
however, the Zanakambèny, have certain privileges which they
maintain with great tenacity; and there are various things
they will not do, as mending a fence, associating with the
other tribes, lending a mat or a drinking vessel, or eating from
the same dish with other people. They are, accordingly, very
superstitious, as well as proud, poor, and ignorant.
almost monopolise the craft of making tinware.
They
Royalty. Royalty and chieftainship in Madagascar has
many peculiar customs connected with it, a few of which may
be here noted down. When a Malagasy sovereign succeeds.
to the throne an oath of allegiance must be taken by all
persons of position and by representatives of the distant tribes,
who come up to the capital for that purpose. These signs of
allegiance are three in form-the Léfon'òmby or "spearing
the calf;" the Véli-ràno or "striking water;" and the presen-
tation of Hasina, or silver coin.
In the ceremony of Léfon'òmby, a young calf is killed, the
head and feet are reversed in position, spears are thrust into
the carcass, and those who are to be sworn each hold a spear
in their hand while one of the judges repeats a form of oath,
imprecating fearful penalties upon the head of those who
violate it, and hoping that they may in that case become like.
the mangled animal before them. To this they express assent
by violently shaking the spears. This form of oath is chiefly
employed for the more influential personages.
For those lower in rank the oath of véli-ràno is considered
sufficient. In this ceremony the parties stand round a small
pond of water into which there has previously been thrown
the dung of a bullock, the flower of a certain grass, a musket
ball, rice chaff, the wadding of a musket, branches of a tree
called àmbiàty, a long grass, and a water flower. An oath of
allegiance having been recited by one of the judges, assent is
186
A THIRD OATH OF ALLEGIANCE.
given by the persons to be sworn striking the water with
boughs, a spear being also struck into the pool, and a musket
fired over it. The writer has also seen this form of oath taken
over water in a canoe, which is then violently shaken by the
people who stand around it. At the accession of Rànavàlona
I., another form of oath was devised, called misòtro vòkaka.
In this ceremony a quantity of red earth having been taken
from the tomb of one of the kings was mixed with water,
and drunk by the common people, it being supposed that this
would operate as a curse in those who violate the oath.
The third form of allegiance is by presenting the hasina or
silver dollar. While the other two customs are only observed
at the accession of a new sovereign, this is repeated on every
occasion when the Queen grants an audience either to a
foreigner or to one of her subjects; it is also given at many
other times, not to the Queen personally, but to governors or
other officials who represent the sovereign. The piece of money
presented is the dollar or àridry, formerly the Spanish "pillar
dollar," but in later years the French five-franc-piece; this is
called vòla tsi-vaky (“unbroken money "), as distinct from the
cut money used in trading. On presenting it, a wish or prayer
is expressed that blessings on the sovereign may accompany
the money offered. This offering of money seems analogous
to that widely-spread custom which is alluded to in Ps. lxviii.
30, “Rebuke the company of the spearmen,
until every
one submit himself with pieces of silver."
A Malagasy sovereign never moves out of the palace with-
out great state and ceremony, all the chief people of the
kingdom residing in the capital accompanying her, and hun-
dreds of soldiers and other attendants. Her presence is always
known by a large scarlet umbrella being carried over her,
and when taking the air in the verandah of the palace or in
the gardens this sign of royalty is also seen above her head.
In this scarlet umbrella there seems a link of connection with
some of the African customs, many of the negro kings being
distinguished by an immense ornamented umbrella being borne
over them; and it will be remembered that the state um-
brella of the King of Ashantee formed one of the trophies of
the recent war in that country. The Nineveh sculptures also
COURT ETIQUETTE.
187
show that the kings of Assyria when appearing in their state
chariots had a large and richly decorated umbrella carried
over them by an attendant.
In some of the songs sung in praise of the sovereign there
appears to be a trace of connection with the custom in some
Polynesian Islands, by which the king was always carried on
men's shoulders, as otherwise wherever he might walk would
become henceforth his own property. So some of the Mala-
gasy songs speak of the Queen as tsy mandia tàny, “not
walking on the ground," and indeed the sovereign is very
seldom seen except carried in the state palanquin, unless
when stepping from it to the "sacred stone." One of these
is in the centre of Antananarivo, and upon it the Queen al-
ways stands for a few minutes when returning to the capital
from a distance, being then saluted by the troops presenting
arms and by the discharge of cannon. The other sacred stone
is in a plain below the city to the west, and on that it used
to be the custom for the sovereign to stand at her accession,
a custom somewhat like that at an English coronation, when
the king or queen is seated in Edward the Confessor's chair
and upon the sacred stone from Scone.
Scarlet is (as with ourselves) the royal colour in Mada-
gascar, and no one but the sovereign can wear a scarlet
lamba; and upon the death of a king or queen one of the
royal houses is completely draped in scarlet from the ridge to
the ground. When the scarlet umbrella is seen by the people
even at a great distance, they bow towards it and salute their
Queen. As in European courts, it is a great breach of etiquette
to turn the back towards the sovereign, and those who pass
in front of her bend down, stretching out both hands and
repeating the salutation, "Reach old age, sovereign lady, not
suffering from disease, live as long as the people" (or, “the
under the heaven "). And as a devout Mussulman turns in
the direction of Mecca whenever he prays, so does the loyal
Malagasy, in whatever part of Madagascar he may be, turn
towards the palace when drinking the health of his sovereign
on any festive occasion; and when any number of soldiers,
however small, at any of the distant military posts, are on
drill or are drawn up for any purpose, they turn towards the
188
TAMEHAMEHA.
palace and salute the Queen with music and drums, presenting
arms in the European fashion. It is, therefore, highly im-
proper to shoot in the direction of the palace when shooting
wild fowl anywhere in Imérina, as it appears like a threat
towards the majesty living therein.
In whatever assembly a Malagasy sovereign appears, she
must always be seated in the highest place. And so, when
the present Queen came to the opening of one of the Memorial
Churches, she chose the gallery in the transept for her posi-
tion; and at another church opening at which she was pre-
sent, a temporary gallery was erected for her accommodation.
And in her own chapel royal her throne, richly carved, and
with a highly ornamented canopy of dark wood, is the highest
place in the building (see engraving in Sunday at Home,
March 1879, p. 200, where the royal seat is to the right,
facing the pulpit). This custom is another of those numerous
links of connection between Madagascar and the Polynesian
Islands, for the people of these latter have precisely the same
notion. In Tyerman and Bennet's Voyages (p. 118, 2d ed.),
it is said of Tamehameha, King of the Sandwich Islands,
that "if he were on board a ship in the cabin, and found that
any of his subjects had walked, even inadvertently, on that
part of the deck which was over his head, it would have cost
them their lives as soon as they reached shore. When the
British governor proposed to make him the present of a
vessel, he desired it might be so built as not to require
in the management that the sailors should ever step upon
the cabin roof, as none of his people, by the law of his
country, were allowed to be above him at any time." At
the opening of any building, church or private house, a dollar
is presented by the congregation or the owner to the highest
military officer present, as an acknowledgment of the Queen's
proprietorship of the land on which it is built, all the soil
being theoretically vested in the sovereign.
One of the oddest occurrences to a foreigner newly arrived
in Antananarivo is the respect paid to royal property when
passing through the streets, for not only must every one turn
out of the way before the sovereign, but also before anything
belonging to her. When being quietly carried through the
ROYAL PROPERTY.
189
streets in a filanjùna one frequently sees, on looking a little
ahead, the road completely cleared of people, even in a
crowded thoroughfare; every one presses to one side or the
other, and getting out of the way into any odd corner that
All heads are meanwhile uncovered,
may come convenient.
and presently we see a native bearing a spear, followed by
bearers of some small articles of luggage, the rear being
brought up by another spear-bearer. These men, full of
importance, shout out to the people, Mitànilà ! Miţànilà !
"Get to one side!" and none dares but obey, or a thrust
of the spear would soon teach him proper manners. Some-
times the spear-bearer precedes a dozen men bearing water-
jars, or half-a-dozen bullocks; but in every case luggage,
water, or cattle-it is royal property, and must be honoured
by leaving a free road before it, and by uncovered heads.
Should an unfortunate dog happen to cross the path, it is
ruthlessly speared, and left wounded and dying on the road.
This custom, again, is also found in Polynesia (as well as in
Africa), for in the work just now quoted from it is said, "So
stately was the royal etiquette during his [Tamehameha's]
reign that whoever happened to meet the King's calabash of
water as it was brought from the spring to the house, was
required to unrobe and lie down upon the earth until the
bearer of the vessel had gone by."
When there happens to be special work requiring to be
done in connection with the royal courtyards, such as rebuild-
ing or extending the lofty retaining walls, all ranks of the
people, from the highest to the lowest, take a pride in doing
with their hands some of the actual labour.
Under the eye
of their Queen, who sits on a raised seat looking on, the
highest officers are seen with their làmbas girded round their
loins, working harder than their slaves, carrying stone, dig-
ging or ramming earth, and doing whatever manual labour
may be required. Much of the same kind of feeling exists in
clearing the ground for the erection of their chapels, when
every one—male and female, Andrians and slaves, officers and
soldiers will all labour with the greatest zeal; some digging,
others bringing stone, others laying bricks, while their wives
190
KABARY.
will mix the mortar and fetch the water required for the
work.
There is a curious custom in connection with the adminis-
tration of justice which seems unlike anything in our
Western habits, viz., the use of the spear called Tsi-tia-làinga.
This is a spear with a large silver blade, on which is engraved
the name of the sovereign. Its name signifies "Hater of
lies," and when any one of consequence is accused of any
grave offence, officers are sent bearing this emblem of royal
authority. They proceed to the house of the accused, and
there in front of it they plant the spear in the ground by its
sharpened lower end, after which no one can leave the house
until the offence has been examined into, and inquiry made
as to the truth or otherwise of the accusation.
For several other customs connected with royalty, see
chapter on "New Light on Old Texts," first section.
A Malagasy Kabàry.—One of the most interesting sights
that a foreigner can witness in Madagascar is a great kabàry or
public assemblage for the purpose of hearing a message from
the sovereign. These are usually held at Antanànarìvo, in a
large triangular piece of ground called Andohàlo, situated in
the centre of the city, but sometimes in a much larger square
plain called Màhamàsina, at the foot of the city hill to the
west. On very great occasions every one of the population
in the central province, even the children, except mere in-
fants, are ordered to attend; and as there also come repre-
sentatives from the distant tribes and provinces, a very large
assemblage of people is gathered together.
From early morning, and before it is light, the people are
thronging to the place of meeting to take their positions, and
all the house-yards and buildings surrounding Andohàlo,
and rising in somewhat amphitheatrical form around it, are
also crowded with people. All sit on the ground, with a
quiet order and power of endurance far exceeding what would
be seen in a European crowd. Early in the forenoon, the
discharge of cannon signifies that the high officers entrusted
with the royal message have left the palace, and presently the
roll of drums and the sound of military music announces
their approach, lanes through the crowd being kept by lines
A ROYAL SALUTE.
191
of troops in their white uniforms. Soon they appear upon
the scene, either on horseback or carried in their palanquins,
and occasionally on foot. On important occasions the Prime
Minister brings the royal message, he and the crowd of
officers being clad in European uniforms, gorgeous in gold
lace, and representing almost every kind of service, infantry,
cavalry, naval, artillery, &c., both of the English, French, and
other nations.
Waiting to receive them are lines of inferior officers, also
clothed in every conceivable style of uniform, sometimes
rather mirth-provoking to a European by their ill-fit and
inappropriateness. (I have seen some in policemen's uniforms.)
There also are the judges in their dark-red silk làmbas and
Paris silk hats, and groups of the head-men of the dif-
ferent divisions of the people of Imérina, and those from
distant tribes, these being clad in the native white or dark-
red làmba, often richly ornamented with beads and coloured
borders. At the upper part of the ground a space is kept
clear by the soldiers, as well as an open area extending some
little way into the mass of the seated people. After a short
pause the Prime Minister rises, and giving the word of com-
mand to the troops, they present arms towards the palace and
salute the Queen, the multitude uncovering and turning in
the same direction, while all repeat the word Traràntitra,
"Reach old age." The cannon are fired, and the national
anthem played by the band. Then the officer next in rank
gives the word of command for saluting the Prime Minister,
who stands uncovered while the troops support arms and
salute; and then this officer in his turn is saluted by the next
in rank giving the word of command, and so on for two or
three steps downward.
After these preliminaries, the Prime Minister advances to
the front, draws his sword, and proceeds to deliver the royal
message, which he usually does with great animation of ges-
ture and fluency of language. Almost all Malagasy are born
orators, and the Prime Minister is no exception to the rule,
being indeed a very animated and lively speaker. In these
royal speeches, after a short recital of her ancestry and men-
tion of her predecessors, the subject of the message is ap-
192
MALAGASY ORATORY.
proached, and the new laws and regulations are announced,
the whole speech often occupying an hour or more in delivery.
At the conclusion of each important paragraph the question
is put in a loud voice, Fa tsy izày va, ry ambànilànitra ?
For is it not so, ye people?" (or, "Ye under the heaven),"
that is, "Do you not agree to my wishes? To which there
is a united shout of Izay! "So," in a sharp quick burst of
sound which is very exciting.
At the conclusion of the message the Prime Minister
resumes his seat, and then, after a slight pause, the represen-
tatives of the different classes of the people, the clans of
nobles, the heads of the various tribes, far and distant, the
officers of the army, the native-born Arabs and the Europeans,
commence replying to the royal communication.
The prece-
dence of all these is strictly followed; and when replying
three persons at least of each class advance a little into the
open space, and after saluting the Queen and repeating a
number of the usual complimentary phrases, they express in
vague and general terms their assent to the words they have
heard, and, mànomè tòky, give assurance of fidelity and loyalty,
presenting at the same time the hàsina or silver dollar. Onl
some occasions, when popular feeling has been aroused, these
speeches in reply are more lengthy, the orator turning to face
his companions at the end of his rounded periods, and de-
manding in a loud voice in the usual Fa tsy izày vă? to which
the assenting shouts of Izay! are again given in reply. Occa-
sionally the speaker will throw off the lamba or outer dress
from his shoulders, girding up his loins, or sometimes throwing
his lamba on the ground, seize a spear and shield, and with
immense energy and violent gesticulation leap about, bran-
dishing his weapons with fury against an imaginary enemy of
the Queen; while his auditors will become so excited as his
oratory continues, that at last they will leap to their feet in
an enthusiasm of loyal zeal, waving swords and spears amid
shouts of Izay! Izay! I remember seeing the Snider rifles
also thrown up in the air by the soldiers and dexterously
caught again, and even an Armstrong cannon lifted up bodily
with its carriage and carried about in a fashion that would
have astonished a European officer of artillery.
CIRCUMLOCUTORY SPEECHES.
193
All this speech-making is necessarily a lengthy proceeding,
so that by the time all the different ranks and classes have
replied, and royal and other salutes given, it is generally late
in the afternoon before the vast assembly breaks up, most of
the people having squatted on the ground for eight or ten
or perhaps twelve hours.
On very special occasions the sovereign comes in person
to deliver her speech, when, of course, the pomp and ceremony
is much greater, a large covered platform being erected for her
and her attendants; but the main features of the ceremony
remain the same.
It will be gathered from what has been already said that,
in common with many people who have only recently had a
written language, the Malagasy are ready and fluent speakers,
although they certainly have also the power of saying a great
deal without conveying any clear idea of what they mean.
It is often most difficult-in fact, next to impossible-to get a
simple answer, Yes or No, or to make them come to the point;
there is such a cloud of words, complimentary phrases and
vague nothings, that one often wonders what it really is they
are driving at. It is extraordinary to an Englishman, who
holds it as a maxim that "time is money," to see how a company
of people will meet together to talk day after day, the whole
day long, for a week or more. This may be often seen after
the death of any person in good circumstances; the whole
family and connections will assemble, generally in the open
air, and all day long for days together they will dispute and
argue and speechify over the division of a very small amount
of property. This power of talking is not confined to adults,
for even young lads will sometimes make speeches with the
greatest confidence and assurance; and in ignorant districts,
where few people can read, an intelligent lad with a little
smattering of knowledge has sometimes been put up in the
native chapels, not only to read a chapter, but also to pray.
and he has occasionally even held forth in a most edifying
manner, much to the admiration of his elders.
Occupations and Modes of Living among the Malagasy.
When inquiring about the habits of the Malagasy, English
people frequently ask, "How do they live?" "How do they
N
194
MODES OF LIVING.
subsist and get a living?" To such questions it is not very
easy, even for foreigners who have lived long in Madagascar,
to give an entirely satisfactory reply; for it often puzzles us
who live among them to know how great numbers of people
gain a livelihood and procure necessary food and clothing. On
the other hand, it must be remembered that the state of
society in a country like Madagascar, even in the partially
civilised central province, is utterly different from that of a
European country with its complex civilisation and classes of
society in great dependence one upon another. There is no
great working class or masses of people living solely by being
employed in manufactures or in agriculture. There are no
such extremes of abject poverty and enormous wealth as we
find in England. The great mass of the people are in pretty
much the same easy circumstances: every one is engaged
more or less in agriculture, almost every woman is skilled in
some handicraft, strictly so called, especially weaving, and
almost every man can do a good deal in the simple building
required to put up a dwelling; every person, the slaves
included, has his rice-ground, so that if he will only work
he can always procure the necessaries of life. And as the
population, except in the near neighbourhood of the capital,
is small compared with the extent of the country, land for
planting edible roots and vegetables may always be obtained
by those who will take the trouble to cultivate it.
Then, again, the absolute wants of daily life are few: rice,
with the manioc root and sweet potato, is the staple food;
cattle, sheep, and poultry are abundant; very little clothing
is worn, and of this an industrious woman can weave the
rofìa, hemp, and cotton stuffs which are required, and the very
young children go almost or quite naked until a few years
old. A house can be put up with little actual money outlay;
the red clay of the ground on which it is built forms the
walls; the coarse grass growing at no distance from the
village makes the thatch; no glass is needed for the windows,
or boarding for its floor, which is simply the ground itself
with a thin layer of cow-dung plaster, and covered with the
strong and neat mats also made by the women; so that the
wood for the roof-framing and the door and window shutters
TRADES AND OCCUPATIONS.
195
is almost the only thing requiring money expenditure. Of
course all this refers to the poorest class of native houses;
the well-to-do people often expend considerable sums on
their houses; and during the last ten years the capital has been
almost entirely rebuilt, good substantial houses of sun-dried
brick, with tiled roof, European arrangement of rooms, stair-
case, fire-places, &c., have replaced hundreds of the old native
houses with their single large room, and lofts in the high-
pitched roof.
In Antananarivo and its neighbourhood there are, however,
many changes now passing over native society. Trades and
occupations are beginning to more sharply define the different
classes of people, and an increasing number are being chiefly
occupied in one distinct pursuit. The large number of build-
ings which have been erected within the last few years have.
trained a great class of skilled artizans, masons, bricklayers,
plasterers, carpenters and joiners, tilers, glaziers and painters.
Then there are bootmakers and tailors, straw-hat manu-
facturers,-leather workers, blacksmiths and coppersmiths, gold
and silver smiths, and potters. Then there are a large
number who gain a living by selling all kinds of things in
the markets; and there are a good many who go down to the
coast and purchase European goods, cloths and hardware, &c.,
and bring them up to the interior for sale. Besides this,
there is an increasing number of people who are engaged in
educational work, as well as in printing and bookbinding at
the mission presses. Since the reopening of the country to
Europeans in 1862, the establishment of large missions in
the capital, and the erection of the Memorial Churches and
other important buildings, has brought a large amount of
money into the country, a fact which is slowly altering many
of the old usages, and is raising prices generally. There are
no banks in Madagascar, so money is generally stored in a
hole within the house, and it is also lent at high rates,
seldom at less than at 50 per cent. per annum.
Handicrafts. As remarked just now, the Malagasy are
skilful in all handicrafts; indeed, their long taper fingers seem
naturally fitted to perform all kinds of delicate and minute
work.
And in speaking of manufactures among them, the
196
HANDICRAFTS.
word denotes strictly that which is its literal meaning, "done
by hand," and not by machinery, as the vast majority of our
so-called manufactures are produced. Almost every Mala-
gasy woman, from the sovereign down to the slave, can spin
and weave; the spindles are simply a long piece of the tough
wiry bark of the anivona palm, to which is fitted a circular
piece of bone to fix the cotton wool or silk cocoons; and the
looms are the rudest possible contrivances, these being only
four stout pegs stuck in the rough earthen floor of the house
with some slight connecting pieces, a few hanks of yarn, of
course a shuttle, and a long piece of smooth wood to tighten
up the woof, and that is about all. And yet with these simple
means the women contrive to produce strong and durable and
often very beautiful stuffs made from hemp, rofia-palm fibre,
cotton, aloe and banana fibre, and silk.
In platting mats and baskets, the ingenuity and dexterity
of the women is also very apparent.
In the coarser of these
the tough peel of the zòzòro or papyrus is employed, and in
the finer ones a variety of the numerous beautiful grasses of
the country are used. The smallest of the fine straw baskets
are minute boxes of about three-quarters of an inch cube, in
which the plait is like the finest thread, and both the basket
and its cover have a double thickness of straw.
But in metal-work the men are no less ingenious and
skilful than the women. All kinds of iron, copper, and brass
wrought work can be produced with as neat a finish as can be
desired; and the goldsmiths make minute silver chains of
wonderful fineness, as well as filigree silver ornaments some-
thing like Maltese work. In one of the royal palaces is
a set of large silver vases of classic design, all made by native.
workmen from one sent from Europe. There are many indi-
cations that there is no lack either of manual skill, or of
ingenuity, contrivance, and inventive genius among the Mala-
gasy, and with the gradual lightening and eventual removal
of the finompòana or forced service system, great results for
the future advancement of the people may be expected.
( 197 )
CHAPTER X.
AND
AND
AND
CURIOUS AND NOTEWORTHY CUSTOMS AMONG THE
DIFFERENT TRIBES—(continued).
HOUSES, THEIR STRUCTURE AND ARRANGEMENT-THE HOUSE AS A COMPASS
SUNDIAL-TOWNS AND VILLAGES-FIRE BY FRICTION-POTTERY
SUBSTITUTES FOR IT KISSING OR NOSE-RUBBING TATTOOING
OTHER ADORNMENTS-MODES OF DRESSING THE HAIR-CLOTHING
-USE OF VEGETABLE FIBRES FOR DRESS FEMALE ADORNMENT-
WEAPONS.
Houses, and their Structure and Arrangement.-The structure
and arrangement of a native house in Madagascar varies con-
siderably among the different tribes throughout the island,
and is perhaps not unworthy of notice as closely connected
with the habits and customs of the people.
A Hova house of the old style is always built with its
length running north and south; it is an oblong, the length
being about half as much again as the breath, and the
window and door always on the west side so as to be
sheltered from the prevailing south-east trade-wind; for, as
there is no glass, there would be much inconvenience in
facing the windward side. There is frequently another
window at the north end of the house, and often one also
in the north gable. The material is usually the hard red
clay found all over the central provinces of the island. This,
after being mixed with water, is kneaded by being trampled.
over thoroughly, and is then laid in courses from a foot to
two feet in depth, and about a foot and a half or less in
thickness. Each layer is, of course, allowed to become hard
and firm before the next is laid. It is well beaten on either
side as it dries, and if properly laid and of good material
there are few cracks, and it makes a very substantial and
durable walling; and although we should think an earthen
198
HOUSES.
house a poor dwelling, yet these clay houses are warmer than
the timber ones, and are probably quite as durable as the
majority of cheap brick houses in England. There is some-
thing similar to such construction in the "cob" houses seen
in Devonshire and the western parts of our own country.
The boundary walls of the compounds are also made of the
same hard clay, and it is remarkable how many years such
material will last without much damage, although exposed
almost daily for five months every year to the heavy rains of
the wet season. The better class of houses are of timber
framing, the walls being of thick upright planks, which are
grooved at the edge, a tenon of the tough anivona palm fibre
being inserted so as to hold them together. Several lengths
of the same fibrous substance are also passed through each
plank longitudinally at different heights from the ground, so
as to bind them all firmly together round the house.
The roof in both clay and timber houses does not depend
for its stability on the walls, but is mainly carried on three
tall posts, which are let into the ground for some depth and
carry the ridge-piece. One of these posts is in the centre,
and one at each end close to the walls inside the house.
This is a wise provision, as the roofs are generally of very
high pitch, and in violent winds would need much more sup-
port than could be given by being merely placed on the walls.
The gables are always thatched with the same materials as
the roof, either of long grass or the rush called hérana. The
ridge covering is of another kind of grass, and is fastened
down with laths of split bamboo, and further secured by
layers of clay. At each gable the outermost timbers cross
at the apex, and project upwards for about a foot or two, the
extremities being notched and often ornamented with a small
wooden figure of a bird. In the houses of people of rank
the tàndro-tràno or “house-horns" are three or four feet long,
while in some of the old royal houses they project ten or
twelve feet, the length being apparently some indication of
the rank of the owner. In some tribes these gable orna-
ments, which have become only conventional horns among
the Hovas, are carved in exact resemblance of the pair
adorning the head of a bullock.
INTERIOR OF A HOVA HOUSE.
199
The interior arrangements of a Hova house are very simple,
and are almost always the same.
In
Let us, following Malagasy politeness, call out before we
enter, "Haody, Haody," equivalent to, "May we come in?"
And while we wait a minute or two, during which the good
woman of the house is reaching down a clean mat for us to
sit down on, we notice that the threshold is raised a foot or
more above the ground on either side, sometimes a couple
of feet, so that a stone is placed as a step on either side to
go up and down.
Entering the house in response to the
hospitable welcome, Mandrosòa, Tompokoé, "Walk forward,
sir" (or madam), we step over the raised threshold.
some parts of Imérina a kind of closet, looking more like a
large oven than anything else, is made of clay at the south-
eastern corner, opposite the door, and here, as in an Irish
cabin, the pig finds a place at night, and above it the fowls
roost. Very near the door the large wooden mortar or
làona for pounding rice generally stands, and near it are the
fanòto or pestle, and the sahafa or shallow round wooden dish
in which the rice is winnowed from the husk removed by
pounding. At about the middle of the eastern side of the
house are placed three or four globular sinys or water-pots,
the mouths covered with a kind of basket to keep out the
dust. Farther on, but near the west side, is the fatana or
hearth, a small enclosure of about three or four feet square.
In this are fixed five stones, on which the rice cooking-pots
are arranged over the fire. And over this is sometimes fixed
a light framework upon which the cooking-pots are placed
when not in use. There is no chimney, the smoke finding
its way out through window or door or slowly through the
rush roofing, and so the house is generally black and sooty
above, long strings of soot hanging down from the roof. The
north-east corner of the house is the sacred portion of it, and
is called zòro firaràzana, where any religious act connected
with the former idolatry was done, and near which the sampy
or household charm was generally kept in a basket suspended
to the wall. In this corner is the fixed bedstead, which is
often raised up some height above the ground and reached by a
notched post serving as a ladder, and generally screened round
200
ARRANGEMENT OF A HOVA HOUSE.
with mats or coarse cloth. West of this, close to the north
roof-post, is the place of honour, avàra-pàtana, "north of the
hearth," where guests are invited to sit down, a clean mat
being spread as a seat, just as a chair is handed in European
houses. The accompanying diagram will show at a glance
the arrangement of an ordinary house in Imérina. There is
little furniture in a native house: a few rolls of mats, half-a-
dozen spoons in a long basket fixed to the wall, some round
baskets, and perhaps a box containing làmbas for Sundays
and extra occasions; a few common dishes of native pottery,
and perhaps two or three of European make; a horn or a tin
zinga, for drinking water, very likely a spear or two,—these,
with the rice mortar and pounder and winnower already
mentioned, and the implements for weaving and spinning,
เว
5
Bed
E

000
Waterpots
3
N
6
Hearth
Window
10
W
4
Door
о
S
2
III Roof Posts.
2
Diagram of Hova House.
Place of Tying the Calf."
3 Fowls' Corner.
4
"Place of Pounding Rice."
5 Sacred Corner.
6 Place of Honour for Guests.
constitute about the whole household goods in the dwellings
of the poorer classes. The smooth earthen floor is covered
with coarse mats, and sometimes the walls are also lined
with finer mats; in the roof an attic is often formed for a
part or the whole length of the house, and is reached by a
rude ladder. This upper chamber is frequently covered over
with a layer of earth and used as a cooking-place, with much
advantage to the cleanliness of the lower part of the house,
which is thus kept free from smoke and dirt.
This arrangement of house is much varied among the
other tribes. These latter do not need to keep to the north
and south direction, although the Hovas retain it in most
BETSILEO HOUSES.
201
parts of Madagascar to which they remove on military service
or for other reasons; and while in a Hova village the houses
are generally built in rows, all looking one way, among the
Tanàla, Bétsimisàraka, and other tribes the houses are arranged
on all four sides of a square, with the doors on two or three
sides, and often no windows. The houses in the warmer
portion of the country usually have the floors raised some
little height above the ground, the flooring being made of the
bark of the Traveller's tree spread out flat. The walls are of
a slight framework, filled in with the mid-rib or stalks of the
leaves of the same tree, and the roof is thatched with the
leaves themselves. The door on each side of the house is of
the same material, and a short pole being slung from the low
eaves the rude door is slid backward and forward, thus, by
this primitive contrivance, dispensing with any joinery or
iron work.
The majority of the houses in the Bétsiléo province are
much smaller than those of the Hovas; in a village where the
writer once stayed the largest house was considerably less.
than his tent (eleven feet square), the majority being much
smaller than this, and so low that one cannot well stand up-
right close to the side walls, which are sometimes only about
three feet high. The houses have two openings, one of which
is called a door and the other a window, but as they are
both a considerable height above the ground a stranger would
call them both windows, and say they had no door at all.
In the above-mentioned house the threshold was nearly three
feet from the ground, and as the opening was only about two
and a half feet square it required considerable agility to enter
the building, and rendered dignity out of the question. The
window is a very small hole about eighteen inches square at
the north end of the house, nearer the east than the west.
"Exactly in front of the door is the cooking-place, behind
which is the stand, often richly carved, for the large water-
pitchers in the south-east corner. Over the fire-place is the
invariable frame for drying the rice and wood for fuel, over
which again are the joists supporting the plaited bamboo
flooring of the store-room and sometimes sleeping-room. The
bedstead, at times quite an elaborate affair, is between the
202
SIHANAKA HOUSES.
doorway and the north-west corner. The bedstead is generally
made of wood reaching from the ceiling to the floor, and
panelled all round, except a small opening, very like the door
of the house, through which the occupant creeps when he
enters or rises. They are doubtless very warm and lively.
Suspended from the centre of the ceiling is a round piece of
board, with a hook or hooks hanging down below, to which
articles likely to be devoured by the rats are hung, whilst
other articles are put into baskets and ranged on a shelf
which runs the whole length of the north and east sides of
the house, a foot from the ceiling. When it is remembered.
that all these things are packed into a space of nine or ten
feet by seven or eight feet, one may well wonder how in
such a house from six to a dozen people can find room to eat
and sleep, yet it is managed somehow."*
Door SIHANAKA
Bed
E
N
Hearth
E
Window
BÉTSILÉO


Water
Pots
S
Hearth
Bed
Door
Door
Door
W
The Sihanaka houses, like those on the east coast, have
not one post only at each end of the house to support the
ridge, but three, with a sort of cross piece covering them.
And instead of one door and window on the west side, the
Sihànaka make two doors, these with high thresholds, divid-
ing it into three equal parts, and a low door on the eastern
side, just where the fixed bedstead is placed in Imérina. The
bedstead is at the south-east instead of the north-east corner
and the hearth at the south-west corner instead of towards
the north, as in the Hova houses.
Among the people of the southern-central provinces, the
Bàra, and those adjoining them to the west, Mr. Richardson
says that the houses are built with doors always facing the west,
* "The Bétsiléo : Country and People;" by G. A. Shaw, Antananarivo
Annual, No. iii. p. 83.
BARA HOUSES.
203
and four-square.
These
In
"There is no dressed wood used in build-
ing, the various parts are tied by bark or held together by
The corners
wooden pegs; there are no iron nails used.
are made of round poles, as are also the ridge and gable posts.
The size of the houses varies, from the smallest scarcely five
feet square, to sixteen or eighteen in the case of the kings.
The height of the walls is never as much as six feet, and
sometimes less than three. The walls and gables are made
of bamboo, or the stalks of a long grass called véro.
are held together by cross pieces of the same material.
houses of the better kind there is an outer and inner wall,
and long grass is fixed between the two.
plastered with cow-dung, is open to the roof, and roofed with
very long grass. The bed of the Bàra is always on the west
side, with the head to the doorway; the Tanòsy bed is gene-
rally in the same position, while that of the Mahafaly is
against the south wall. Among the Bàra there is no special
place for the hearth. A shelf of bamboo is fixed against the
south wall; and on the walls and suspended from the ridge
pole are pegs for hanging powder-flasks, belts, charms, &c.
The following simple diagram will show at a glance the style
and differences of the houses in the three tribes."
The inside is
BARA
E
TANOSY
Door
18 Wat
Waterpols
Waterpols
N
Firc
¡Place
Fire
Place
Shelf
Fire
Place
Bed
1
Bed
1
Door
W
Door
MAHAFÀLY



Fire
place!
"The beds are sometimes raised a foot or more; they are
constructed of round poles, and are sometimes surrounded by
a mat like curtains, a rush mat being the only mattress. The
north door can never be used by the Bàra while the father
and mother of the couple who inhabit the house are living
Մ
S
204
THE HOUSE AS A SUNDIAL.
A king may also have another door on the west side at the
north corner. The doorways mostly reach the ground in the
worst kind of houses, but are about a foot or more from the
ground in the better kind. They are very small and narrow:
my tin boxes are fourteen inches wide, but it was only on
one or two occasions that we could get them into the houses
without turning them on the side, the depth of the boxes.
being ten inches."*
A native account, written by a Hova officer, gives much
the same information as to these Bàra houses in a somewhat
different part of the country they inhabit; for he says their
houses are about nine feet long, and only about six wide, and
the height only just so that a person can stand in them: and
the doors are so narrow that one is obliged to wriggle in
sideways, as well as to stoop. Not only so, but they make
their cattle-folds adjoining the house, so that the dung spreads
all over the house, and it becomes almost unbearable in-doors.
The Native House a Compass and Sundial.-Owing, pro-
bably, to the invariable north and south arrangement of Hova
houses, it is common to use the points of the compass in
speaking of the position of things in a dwelling, rather than
to describe them as "left" or "right." Articles placed on
the table or on a shelf would be defined by them according
to their north and south, or east and west positions.
From the invariable position of Hova houses, and the
usual absence of clocks and watches, there has arisen the
habit of describing the different hours of the day by the parts
of the house where the rays of the sun touch on his course
from east to west. Thus, about nine o'clock in the forenoon
is mitatào hàratra, "to come (that is, the sun) above the
purlin" (of the roof). Noon is mitatao vovònana, “to come
above the ridge," ie., when the sun is vertical, just as at nine
o'clock it is at an angle of forty-five degrees or about square
with the slope of the roof. Then at about one o'clock is mit-
sidik’àndro, “the peeping in of the day," i.e., when the sun
begins to shine in a little at the open door as he commences
Towards two o'clock is called
to decline from the zenith.
* Lights and Shadows; or, Chequered Experiences among some of the Heathen
Tribes of Madagascar, pp. iv. v. Appendix i.
TOWNS AND VILLAGES.
205
ampitotòam-bàry, i.e., "at the place of pounding rice," when
the rays reach farther into the building, and touch the part
where the rice-mortar usually stands. Three o'clock is
ampàmatòra-jànak'òmby, “at the place of fastening the calf,"
i.e., when the rays reach the middle post, where the animal
is tied up at night; while at about half-past four o'clock is
called tàfapàka, "touched," when the sun's rays reach the east
wall of the house. So that the arrangement of their houses.
furnishes them with a tolerably correct method of ascertain-
ing the time in the after part of each day.
Malagasy Towns and Villages.-Perhaps the reader may
be inclined to ask what kind of place a Malagasy town or
village is.
The old towns of Imérina are often picturesquely situated
on the summits of hills; around them are lines of deep fosses,
often three or four deep, one after the other, and crossed over
by a narrow causeway. Within the innermost of these trenches,
which are sometimes thirty feet deep, and perhaps twenty wide,
an earthen rampart is often formed of the material dug out of
the fosse, and this is pierced by a rude stone gateway, inside
which there is a great flat circular stone, which runs in a
groove, and used to be drawn across the opening in time of
war. These deep fosses are not filled with water, but they
often form the orchard of the inhabitants, being thickly
planted with banana, peach, and mango trees, as well as
the horirika, an edible arum, and other vegetables; for their
depth gives a certain amount of moisture. Some of these
great trenches look almost like a railway cutting, and must
have cost immense labour to the early inhabitants in the old
time when almost every considerable village was the head of
a petty state or independent kingdom. The fosses round the
old deserted towns are fine places for collecting ferns and
other plants.
All round the summit of the old towns are a number of
áviávy, a tree much resembling an English elm. The highest
part of the town is generally occupied by the làpa or chief's
dwelling-house, a lofty timber building, often with its ridge
and long gable horns rising sixty feet above the ground.
This, with its smaller houses around it, is usually enclosed
205
SANITARY ARRANGEMENTS.
within a strong rough wooden palisading, forming a square
or ròva.
In one part of this is generally seen the great
square tomb of the chief's family, a stone structure in two
or three stages, diminishing as they ascend; and if he is an
Andrian or noble, it has a small timber house surmounting
the stonework. In this courtyard there often grows an
immense amòntana tree, rising high over the aviavy trees,
and forming a great dome of foliage, ever green, and with
large glossy leaves.
The rest of the houses are scattered in rows over the space
within the fosse; the sanitary arrangements are of the most
primitive kind, so that the sights and scents are often the
reverse of pleasant. At frequent intervals between the
houses, and closely adjoining them, are the fahitra, a kind
of shallow square pit, and here the oxen are kept to be
fattened for the New Year's festival. And here, being
fed regularly with succulent green food, roots, and sugar-
cane, they grow to an enormous size, so as to be hardly able
to waddle up out of their den. In some of the old towns, a
shallow space of ground of considerable extent and surrounded
with raised banks is seen, in which, until recently, bull-fights
took place. This used to be a favourite amusement with the
Malagasy, but it has now happily fallen into disuse. The
language contains a considerable number of words for various
charms, which were supposed to act so as to disable an oppo-
nent or to strengthen a favourite animal, and so formed part
of the "turf" vocabulary of former times. Frequently in one
part of the little town there is a cattle-fold, where a huge
layer of powdered cow-dung makes a deep slough of mud in
wet weather, and supplies material for clouds of penetrating
dust in the dry season.
But since there has been one settled Government in the
central province throughout the present century, the great
majority of the villages of Imérina are now built on the level
ground, and are, consequently, far less picturesque than the old
towns on the hills. Many of these, especially in Imàmo and
Vònizòngo, are distinguished by two or three fine amontana
trees. To the north of Imérina, among the tribe called
Sihànaka, the villages have no fosses, but are surrounded by
BARA TOWNS.
207
a dense thicket of prickly-pear, which makes an impervious
barrier to an enemy.
The roads leading to the gateways are
narrow and winding; and the gate consists of a number of
round poles hung from a cross-bar at the top, each of which
must be lifted up before one can pass through. In many
cases the gateway has a low wall built round it inside, so
that it seems made rather to deny entrance than to facilitate
it, for a visitor has to climb over it in a most awkward and
undignified fashion. And on the borders of the uninhabited
land, where marauding parties of Sakalàva frequently appear,
the gateway is often a long low tunnel, in some cases fitted
with three pairs of strong wooden gates, which are carefully
barred at night.
In the Bétsiléo province the old towns are built on yet
loftier and more inaccessible hills than even in Imérina; but
the plains are often dotted over with numbers of detached
homesteads or vàlas, each enclosed in a green ring-fence of a
species of thorny mimosa, which is as effectual a barrier as
the prickly-pear itself.
The Bara towns are described by Mr. Richardson as
"arranged more for the convenience of the cattle than for
the comfort of the people." Like the Sihànaka villages,
they have defences of prickly-pear, with similar gateways of
poles hung from a cross-piece. Among all the tribes of the
eastern and southern portions of Madagascar the number of
houses in a village looks much larger than it really is, from
the fact that about a third of what appear to be dwellings
are rice stores, tràno àmbo or elevated houses." These are
neatly made little houses, but raised up five or six feet from
the ground by four stout posts. Just under the flooring a sort
of collar, a foot to eighteen inches in diameter, is fitted to
each post, these are saucer-shaped, with the concave side down-
ward, and cut quite smooth, so that an adventurous rat or
mouse, wishing to feast on the rice deposited in the little
room above, finds it an insurmountable obstacle to ascending
higher than the top of the post. These rice-houses are also
used for storing clothes and other valuables.
Fire by Friction. Like every semi-civilised people (and,
indeed, like almost every barbarous people as well), the
208
POTTERY.
Malagasy are skilful in producing fire by friction. Choosing
two pieces of a particular kind of wood, they cut one to the
shape of a round stick with a pointed end; the other is a
flatter piece in which a slight hollow or groove is cut. Tak-
ing hold of the pointed stick, the operator twirls it rapidly
round first one way and then another, until the friction pro-
duces smoke and then fire, which is communicated to a little
tinder placed close to the point. Gently blowing upon the
spark which is produced, the tinder bursts into flame, the
whole operation only occupying a few minutes. There are
special words for this mode of obtaining fire: mamòsitra,
which is also used for the boring of a hole by an insect to
deposit its eggs; and miràingy, the piece of wood being called
raingy.
Pottery, and Substitutes for it.-Mention has been made
of the earthen water-pots which stand in Hova houses. The
largest of these, the sini-bé, or "big water-pot," is about two
feet in diameter, and globular in shape, and is the store-pro-
vision of water for daily use; the smaller kind, used for
bringing water from the springs, are less than half these
dimensions, and are carried on the head. These jars are
made of a blue clay, but are not very well burnt or durable,
for the Malagasy are not quite so skilful in pottery as in
some other handicrafts; although there are some dishes and
water-bottles made of a bright-red clay, which resemble
Samian ware in colour, and appear to be of excellent material.
Flattish clay vessels are made for cooking rice, and are fitted
with a cover; and the plates for eating rice have usually a
foot or stem to raise them a few inches above the ground.
A special kind of vessel made for cooking the beef at the
New Year's festival is rather elegant in shape, much like
some of the Anglo-Saxon pottery now and then found in our
own country.
All through the warmer parts of Madagascar, the leaves of
various trees form the usual plates and dishes of the people;
and among the Hovas the fresh green leaves of the banana
are largely used as plates for rice. The leaves of the
Traveller's tree serve the same purpose on the coast, but
especially the thick tough leaves of the pandanus; these can
NOSE-RUBBING.
209
easily be folded into a hollow form so that they will hold
gravy or other liquid. For spoons they use a piece of leaf
from the Traveller's tree or banana, doubled up so as to easily
convey food to the mouth. This kind of spoon is also made
for eating rice at the palace at the New Year's feast, it being
dexterously tied up with a fine tendril. In other parts of the
country small squares of mat are used instead of dishes, the
edges being turned up so as to retain rice or other food.
Kissing or Nose-rubbing.-The Malagasy are, as a rule (like
the Malayo-Polynesian peoples generally), very undemonstra-
tive in matters of affection, and even if they feel deeply do
not often show it by any outward sign. Kissing, in the Western
and Oriental sense, is almost unknown, at least up to a com-
paratively recent period. It is, as the nearest word for it
seems to imply, a pressing or rubbing of noses, manòraka, from
the root òrana, of nose (the ka and na being frequently inter-
changed). This in a colder country would be a decidedly
unpleasant habit, nor, as it is, is it specially agreeable to have
a nose pressed upon one's hand. The people are, however,
beginning to understand our kiss with the lips, and often kiss
our hands, although the kiss given and taken on the lips is
hardly ever seen between natives, old or young. They have
learnt the shaking of hands from Europeans, and it is often a
rather trying ordeal to go through with a large congregation,
especially on a hot day, and as many of the hands which are
pressed upon one have not touched soap and water for a long
time. The old and now obsolete custom of kissing or licking
the foot of a superior has been mentioned in connection with
Malagasy words (see p. 156).
Tattooing and other Adornment.-One of the most striking
customs of the Polynesian Islanders, that of tattooing, is never
seen amongst the Hovas.
But there are traces of it among
the Bétsiléo people, and probably among some of the other
southern tribes as well. It is chiefly seen among the women,
who frequently have a kind of collar tattooed upon their necks
and breast. At a little distance this appears like an elaborate
lace pattern or vandyking, and when looked at more closely,
it is seen to include some of the same ornamental patterns as
are used upon the memorial stones and richly-carved wooden
210
MALAGASY ADORNMENT.
posts which are erected near tombs in many parts of the
Bétsiléo province. Neither the face nor other parts of the
body seem to be adorned in this fashion, but only the neck
and upper part of the chest, the lines appearing as a dark
indigo blue on the olive or brown skin.
It is also the custom in some other tribes to make marks,
which are intended to be ornamental, by slight incisions in
the skin; while another kind of adornment (?), called tombok
àfo, consists of scars burnt in the skin, so much pain will
people suffer for fashion's sake. The Hova women are also
accustomed to put a plaster of white paste on the lips and
face, which when removed is supposed to enhance their charms
by making them fairer; and a spot of dark colour is often
put on the cheeks with the same intention, much indeed, as
did the beauties of a hundred and fifty years ago in our own
country, the contrast of the round black patch with the skin
heightening the effect of their fair complexions. The Hova
girls are also fond of staining their finger nails with the petals
of red flowers, a practice quite the reverse of pleasing to our
European tastes. The young men frequently allow the
nail of their little fingers to grow to a great length, an inch
or an inch and a half, keeping it from breaking by a frequent
use of oil. The teeth are kept white, not only by the sensible
practice of rinsing the mouth with water immediately after a
meal, but also by the application of a black coating called
laingo, which after peeling off leaves them of a beautiful
whiteness. Among the Tanàla or forest tribes the people
use this black substance as an adornment, which gives them
an unpleasant appearance as they open their mouths; all the
teeth, however, are not thus disfigured, but chiefly those at
the back, leaving the front ones white, while in some cases
the lower teeth are alternately black and white.
Modes of Dressing the Hair-A few words may be said.
about the various ways of dressing the hair among the different
Malagasy tribes.
This is a very important operation among the people,
although it is not a business which they perform every day.
Before the time of the first Radàma the Hovas, both male and
female, all wore their hair long, either hanging in a great
HAIR-DRESSING.
211
number of little platted tails, or with these plaits folded up
and formed into a series of little knots, and symmetrically
arranged round the head. But as soon as Radàma had adopted
the military tactics of the English he had his hair cut short,
and ordered that all his officers and soldiers should adopt the
same fashion. This command produced quite a disturbance
among the women of the capital, who assembled in great
numbers to protest against the King's orders. But after being
surrounded with troops the leaders were cruelly speared, and
with hardly less cruelty the rest were kept three days with-
out food or shelter, to teach them not to meddle with political
matters. From that time until the present the short hair,
with a slight tuft or topknot over the forehead, has been the
mark of the military class, while the bòrizano or civilians.
have their hair platted and arranged as already described, just,
in fact, as the Hova women have. But the law is continually
allowed to fall into disuse, and the men generally like to keep
their hair short, and wear the broad-brimmed straw hat which
is used by the military.
The Hova women have long and straight glossy black hair,
but there are a number of people who have stronger and
crisper curling hair, which is called ngita. No one dresses.
her own hair; this is always done by another, and the
mistresses will often do this service for their slaves. It is
generally a matter of two or three hours' work, the operator
having a couple of vessels at her side, one filled with water
and the other with melted fat or suet. Holding a small
bodkin-like instrument of bone in one hand, and a kind of
brush made of strong grass stalks in the other, the hair is
symmetrically arranged on each side in from twenty to thirty
braids, there being always one on the crown of the head.
This is extremely neat in appearance, although a little stiff
and formal. When mourning or at a funeral, the hair is
always unbraided and allowed to fall dishevelled over the
shoulders. At the death of a sovereign the whole population,
male and female, are obliged to shave the head and keep it
shaved during a certain period, often extending over several
months.
Young children have their hair cut very short, it being
212
SAKALAVA HAIR-DRESSING.
left in a series of rings all round the head; and the day when
a child's hair is first cut is made quite a festive occasion for
the friends and relations, who are invited to eat rice, and who
offer congratulations and wishes for the child's long life.
Among the Sihànaka and Sakalàva the hair is platted in
numerous little tails hanging all round the head; while the
Bétsimisaraka and other east-coast tribes have it generally
arranged in five large knots, one on the crown of the head,
and the others in front and at the back on either side. Some
of the south-eastern people have a rather elegant style of
coiffure. It is done thus: the hair is platted in very fine
braids, and then twisted into thin flat circular coils of from
two to two and a half inches in diameter; these are sym-
metrically arranged, in two rows, one overlapping the other,
the upper one completely encircling the head from the fore-
head to the back of the neck, and the other ending below the
The whole has a very becoming effect, quite a "dressy
look in fact, and certainly much more pleasing in its general
appearance than the chignon and some styles adopted in
Europe. At no great distance from these people is another
tribe, many of whose women have their hair arranged in two
rows of little balls. Behind the head they carry fastened
into the hair a piece of hollow wood ornamented with brass-
headed nails, and in this they keep needles and other small
property.
ears.
66
""
The Bàra people have a still more curious style of hair-
dressing than those already mentioned. Mr. G. A. Shaw
thus describes it: Once a month, and in some cases once in
six weeks, the hair is washed, and then rolled up into a great
number of knots, varying in size from that of a marble to
that of an orange, and always round. After being carefully
rolled up and tied or sewn, as the case may be (for these
people, like their more civilised sisters, are given to mak-
ing up Nature's deficiencies with hair from other sources),
it is then thickly coated with bees-wax melted into fat, so
that when cold each knob is firmly cemented to those adjacent
to it, and all appearance of hair is gone. When freshly done
it looks like lumps of grey clay stuck on their heads, each of
which when struck gives back a sound like striking a piece of
CLOTHING.
213
hard wood.
It is a marvel how, having no pillows, they can
sleep. I asked one woman how she could do so, and she assured
me that without the lumps they cannot sleep well, and that it
is comfortable to feel the hard lumps under the head when
lying down." *
Mr. Richardson gives much the same descrip-
tion, with this in addition: "Her hair (that of a Bàra belle)
is done up into knobs as in the case of the men, but the
chignon (a large lump at the top) is bedecked with beads and
representations in brass of oxen, which are inserted by a long
pin; and in addition there is another large knob exactly over
the centre of the forehead, round which are fixed three arm-
let rings, and to the top and sides from four to twenty brass-
headed nails, and a few silver and long coral beads are
inserted. The two knobs of hair on each side of this 'top-
knot' are also decorated with brass nails."
Clothing. Among the Bétsiléo, Tanàla, and the tribes of
the south-east coast, large use is made of mats for clothing.
These are of grass, zozòro or papyrus peel, and hazondráno,
a tough kind of rush. These mats are sewn into a kind of
sack, which is kept in its place by a girdle of coarse cloth
made from the bark of trees. This use of bark for cloth is,
doubtless, one of the many proofs of the connection between
the Malagasy and the Polynesian peoples. All these latter,
it is well known, are most skilful in the manufacture of
beautiful and delicate materials from the bark of the hibiscus
and other species of trees. The bark cloth of the Malagasy
tribes is not, however, to be compared with these Polynesian
fabrics; it is rough and brown in colour, and coarse and
fibrous in texture, bearing the marks of the grooved mallet
heads with which it is beaten out, and has little strength
except in the direction of the fibres. Some of the pieces I
obtained must have been taken from trees of considerable
size, while one specimen had been stripped off the trunk
without cutting it lengthways, so that it formed a long
bag.
It may be here remarked, also, that the absence of any
employment of skins for clothing by the Malagasy may be
considered as a pretty conclusive proof (amongst many
* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 106.
214
VEGETABLE FIBRES USED FOR DRESS.
others), that the peoples of Madagascar have never had
much connection with the African races. These latter, as is
well known, make large use of the skins of a great number
of the animals, both wild and domesticated, found in Africa,
under the name of karosses; while the Malagasy, as far as
is known, never make the least use of such material, except
that very occasionally a cap made of the round hump of the
cattle may be seen. It is quite true that wild animals are
much fewer in Madagascar than in Africa; but, on the other
hand, the herds of fine cattle are numerous, and sheep are
also plentiful, but their skins are never used as articles of
dress.
This is the more remarkable, inasmuch as during two or
three months in the year there is a decided need for warm
clothing in the cool highlands of the interior provinces of
Imérina and Bétsiléo; and it has often occurred to me, as
I have seen the people shivering in the chilly morning air of
the winter months, with nothing on but a thin cotton or hemp
lamba, that in this unaltering conservative habit of dress
there is certain evidence that the Hovas and other inland
tribes were originally inhabitants of a warmer region where
thick clothing was never needed. For centuries they have
been living in the cool elevated plateaux of the interior, from
3000 to 5000 feet above the sea, where warm clothing is a
necessity to Europeans in the cold season, and yet, with the
unchanging habits of a semi-barbarous people, they go on
without any change from the light covering that was sufficient
for their ancestors when they dwelt in the warm maritime
plains, or, previously to that, in the sunny isles of a
tropical ocean. Thousands of animals are killed every year
whose skins in Africa would be all used as cloaks and cover-
ings, and yet it seems never to have occurred to the Malagasy
to employ them for such a purpose. Of course the above
remarks as to the non-use of thick clothing apply chiefly to
the mass of the poorer people; the upper and wealthier
classes see the advantage as well as the comfort of warm
dress in the winter months, and even the poor are beginning
to use flannel and other thicker fabrics for themselves and
for their children. A large amount of infant mortality has,
A MALAGASY BELLE.
215
doubtless, resulted from the way in which young children are
usually exposed to the cold with little or no clothing.
While speaking of native dress, two or three particulars
may be here noted as to the clothing of the forest tribes and
those on the south-east coast. The former, both men and
women, wear but little clothing above the hips, but the
women of the upper classes, at least, are rather highly orna-
mented on their heads, necks, and arms. A fillet of small
white beads, an inch or so wide, is fastened round the head,
and secured by a circular plate of tin on the forehead. From
their neck hangs several necklaces of long oval white beads
and smaller red ones. On the wrist are silver rings, and a
broad bracelet of small black, white, and red beads; and on
every finger and thumb are rings of brass wire.
The poorer
women wear hardly anything but a mat sewn together at the
ends so as to form a sack, which is fastened by a cord round
the waist. Those who are nursing children have also a small
figured mat about eighteen inches square on their backs,
and suspended by a cord from the neck; this is called londo,
and is used to protect. the child from the sun or rain, as it
lies in a fold of the mat above the girdle. In the valley of
the Màtitànana, we noticed a comely girl who was so highly
ornamented as to be conspicuous among her companions
even at some distance. Round her head she had the fillet of
white beads, and from it depended a row of small beads like
drops. On each side of her temples hung a long ornament
of hair and beads reaching below her chin; several beads
hung from her ears, and a number of white and oblong beads
were worked into her hair at the back. Round her neck she
had no less than six strings of large beads, and another
passing over one shoulder and under the arm. On each
wrist were three or four silver rings, while on every finger
and thumb were several coils of brass wire. Her clothing
was a piece of bark cloth fastened above the hips, over an
apron of mat; and on one toe was a brass ring. Thus she
was got up" from top to toe," and made a most striking
appearance.
Weapons.—The ancient weapons of the Malagasy were the
spear and shield, and these are still the chief means of attack
216
WEAPONS.
and defence with many of the tribes of the eastern and
southern provinces. (See chapter on "New Light on Old
Texts.") The use of the bow and arrow is not nearly so
common in Madagascar as in many semi-civilised countries,
the introduction of fire-arms among the Hova and Sàkalàva
having probably rendered the earlier weapons almost useless.
But there are words for them in the Hova dialect, tsipika and
zàna-tsipika (“bow," and "child of the bow "), showing that the
things were once used, and they are still found in use among
some of the northern tribes. In some parts of the island,
the boys use a long hollow bamboo as a blowgun. These are
fitted with a light arrow, and are used for killing birds and
small animals, much in the same way as it is employed by
the Indian tribes of the Orinoco.
As far as our present information goes, there seems no trace
of a stone or flint age in Madagascar, nor have any of the
primitive weapons made of such materials yet been discovered.
But tradition speaks of a time when the Vazìmba, the
aboriginal inhabitants of Imérina, had no iron weapons, but
made spear-heads of hardened and burnt clay, in shafts of
bamboo. But a Hova. chief named Andriamanélo, having
made spears of iron, overcame the Vazìmba with these
superior weapons. These latter then said, "Come, let us flee,
for Andriamanélo makes 'flying iron.'' Iron has doubtless
been worked from a very remote period, for it is found in
great abundance and purity in Madagascar; and it is affirmed
that the progress of the Hovas from the coast to the interior
may be traced by the remains of the smelting-furnaces they
constructed at different stages of their route. Iron is smelted
by means of a bellows, consisting of two cylinders formed
from the hollowed-out trunks of trees and fitted with pistons
of cloth or feathers, similar to those used by the Malayan
peoples. Old men say that in ancient times the strong
tough fibre of the anirona palm was also used for spears, and
this would doubtless make a rather formidable weapon. The
sling is used in some parts of Madagascar, and boys are skilful
in its use.
( 217 )
CHAPTER XI.
CURIOUS AND NOTEWORTHY CUSTOMS AMONG THE
MALAGASY TRIBES—(concluded).
FUNERAL
CIRCUMCISION OBSERVANCES-BROTHERHOOD BY BLOOD COVENANT-ROYAL
THE SÀKALAVA — TOMBS
TOMBS AND
ANCESTOR WORSHIP AMONG
RITES.
-
Circumcision Observances.—The reader of the Hebrew Scrip-
tures would suppose that any notice of circumcision in Mada-
gascar should be considered in connection with the religious
observances of the Malagasy, since it holds such a prominent.
place in the Jewish religion, and among Mohammedan peoples.
But among the Malagasy tribes it appears to have little, if
any, religious significance, and to be regarded rather as an
initiation into the community, since no one who has not
undergone the ceremony can be a soldier, or be considered
as properly qualified for Government service. The children
who undergo the ceremony are said to be made "men," to
be "consecrated" or established. Circumcision appears to
prevail throughout all the various tribes inhabiting the island,
and in their main features the observances connected with it
are much the same, although there are curious varieties of
custom on some particular points.
Among the Hovas, it was a time of the greatest festivity,
exceeding that of any other time, but also of shameless licen-
tiousness. It is not observed when every male child reaches
a certain age, as amongst the Jews and other Semitic peoples,
but every few years, at a time appointed by the sovereign
for the ceremony to be observed by the people generally
who have children still to receive the rite.
The ceremonies last over several days, and in the case of
children of the royal family are somewhat fuller than when
218
CIRCUMCISION.
the people observe the "custom of their ancestors," as it is
especially termed.
CC
After proclamation has been made for a great kabàry or
assembly of the nation to meet, they are ordered to repair
and clear the roads for the sovereign to visit six of the
ancient towns in the central province, and are admonished
to "kill the rats," i.e., to put all sorcerers to death. After
this has been done, notice is given of the day for the cere-
monies to commence, and the first of these is the dressing or
parting the hair" in a special way. This is for the fathers
and mothers of the children to be circumcised, the sovereign
being attended to while seated on a sacred stone in the
centre of the capital city. It is worthy of notice here that
this and many other of the ceremonies at this time, are
performed by the vélondrày aman-drény, that is, by people
whose father and mother are still living; persons from Ala-
sòra, the town from which the reigning family originally
came, a place about five miles south-east of the capital,
performing the ceremonies for the sovereign. A cow of a
red and white colour is sacrificed, with prayers and supplica-
tions for blessings on the children, that they may overcome
their enemies, and have long life. Oxen are then killed,
with dancing and rejoicing, and firing of cannon.
After this, preparations are made for fetching water, which
is called at this time "sacred" or "consecrating water;"
the fathers and mothers of the children meanwhile having
their hair done in the fashion called sàlotra, a platting into
numerous small plaits, lengthened with false hair, and each
plait folded round a small piece of wood.
A dance called sóratra is then arranged, the people stand-
ing in lines, and the sovereign taking part. He then pulls
down the southern wall of the house where the circumcision
is to be performed, after which it is extended southward,
and then handsomely lined and furnished. This, together
with everything else done at this time, appears to have some
symbolic meaning.
Then comes the ornamenting the gourds in which the
sacred water is to be fetched. These gourds are those
shaped like a bottle, and are bound round with three bands
CIRCUMCISION FESTIVITIES.
219
of certain kinds of grass and bark, and joined together like a
net, and ornamented with pieces of silver. The gourd is then
pierced three times with a spear. These things are taken charge
of by the vélondrày aman-drèny, who also procure a number of
other things required for the various ceremonies.
<
The day of fetching the sacred water is the most impor-
tant day of all. The fetchers carry the gourds on their
heads, and are accompanied by a number of men armed with
shield and spear. They are received with shouts of "What
water is this? To which they reply, "Sacred water,
joyful water," and are saluted much in the same way as the
sovereign is received. The water is then carried seven times
round the house before being brought into it. The mothers.
of the children then plait small baskets of the sandrify
leaves, one for each child, in which he is to hold the unripe
bananas which are to be thrown away as a fàditra or
piaculum.
When evening comes, the house is lighted up in a special
way. The stem of a banana tree is fixed upright in the
north-east (the sacred) corner of the house, to serve as a
stand for a lamp. This is made in an earthen dish, with a
number of minute arrangements, all fixed by custom, and of
prescribed materials. Dancing and singing is kept up all
night, and these festivities are continued for two or three
days at the sovereign's pleasure; during the day the dance
called sòratra being performed, and cannon and muskets fired.
Another preliminary ceremony also takes place at night,
this is the "measuring of the children." This is done with
a fine bamboo called vòlotàra; they are first measured from
the ground to the loins, then up to the shoulders, and lastly,
the whole height of the child. Then follows a formal bless-
ing of the children, which is done as follows: some of the
sacred water is put in the shallow wooden dish used for
winnowing rice, and with it honey, a large silver chain, and
a reed called fantàka with the leaves still fresh. The
children are sprinkled with the water, while a blessing is
invoked as follows :-" The lad is not a child!
He is a man
breasting the stream; not caught in crossing, not taken in a
220
CIRCUMCISION CEREMONY.
net! The lad is a banana tree north of the town,* the
leaves not broken, the young shoots untaken! The lad is not
a child! He is a soròhitra (a bird) on a rock; thrown at,
not hit; throwing, hitting (his enemy)! His cattle cover
the plains! His money fills a large tomb!† His slaves
crowd his country house!" with much besides of a like
figurative character.
On the morning following the above-mentioned ceremonies.
(the morning of the day of the circumcision itself) water is
again fetched, but this time it is termed "strong water." For
each child a strong and powerful man is appointed, who
fetches water in the same kind of gourd as the "sacred
water;" and, as on the former occasion, is accompanied by
others bearing shield and spear. Following these again are
the fathers of the children, who take the baskets already
platted by the mothers to fetch the unripe bananas which are
to be a faditra.
Having obtained the water, the bearers return at the top of
their speed. Their attendants cry, "Children of the eagle,"
to which the water-carriers reply, "Lay their eggs on the
rock." Upon arriving at the gate of the town, strange to
say, they are assailed with stones by the people inside.
Making their way through these opposing forces, they arrive
at the lapa or chief house, where the children to be operated
on are seated on a drum placed north of the hearth, and
opposite the window. Just before the circumcision is effected
the sovereign says to each child of his own family, “Be a
man to overcome, my lad! May you obtain! Reach old age!
Live long! Conquer the land, my lad! Be master of the
kingdom!" As soon as the operation is over, the children
are taken to be warmed and comforted at a rush fire made
in the south corner of the house, after which they are taken
home.
The children of the sovereign's relatives and of the people
generally, are placed on a drum to the south of the hearth and
opposite the door. They are also saluted with a benediction:
* That is, the leeside, sheltered from the prevailing south-east winds.
The tombs are commonly used as repositories of money.
TANALA CIRCUMCISION.
221
"Be a man to overcome! May you obtain! Be strong with
the gun! Be strong with the spear! Reach old age!" &c.
After the children's wounds are healed, the sovereign visits
the six ancient towns to give thanks at each of them; oxen
being killed, and dancing and festivities kept up at each place.
It will be seen from these particulars that the ceremonies
here described have reference chiefly to the children of the
royal family. Those observed at the circumcision of children
of the nobles and of the people generally are, however, very
much the same as those for children of royal blood, and need
not be further particularised. It will be remarked how very
important the ceremony is considered, from the numerous and
minute observances which have grown up around it in the
course of the centuries during which it has been celebrated
by the Malagasy.
A word or two may be added as to some particulars in
which the practices of the other tribes in the island with re-
gard to circumcision differ from those of the Hovas.
Among the southern Tanàla or forest people, if the child
of a reigning prince, or the child of his relations, should com-
mit any impropriety during the ceremony, the child by that
act loses caste; and it is henceforth no prince, but is called
a "child of the knife" (zanak' àntsy).
"In former times, on the circumcision of a young prince,
the people had to be assembled, and a clever spearman was
appointed to carry the child to the place of circumcision; and
there was another spearman who hid himself somewhere
about, and when the one carrying the child just emerged from
the house, this one hurled a spear at him who was carrying
the child. If he was struck and yet the child was unhurt,
the child lost caste and was no longer a prince. If the man
and the child were both struck, and both killed, nothing was
thought further about it. Should both the man and the
child escape unhurt, it was a proof that the child was a
prince." "Just before the time of circumcision the mother
of the child had to fast from several things. Should she be
guilty of disregarding any of the tabooed things or acts, she
made her child lose caste. The diviners (òmbiùsy) perform
222
GRADUAL DISUSE OF THE Rite.
the operation and they use a curved knife; some wash the
wound with milk." *
Mr. Richardson says that, among the Bàra people, "the
diviner is consulted as to the fitting time for the ceremony.
He comes with his knife; a good bullock is selected, killed,
and divided with a spear into two equal parts, from the tip
of the nose to the tail. The spear is then thrown over the
ridge of the house, and the diviner runs after it; the half
of the bullock and the spear become his." Two or three
other curious particulars are given in the footnote. †
Among the Sàkalàva generally, according to M. Grandidier,‡
the circumcision itself is performed without any public re-
joicings, on account of the risk attending the operation, for
not unfrequently the child does not survive it.
After a
favourable result, a thanksgiving feast called savatse is
celebrated. At this time (and at this only) a bull, and not
an ox, is sacrificed, the child being placed upon the animal
during the invocation. Among some western tribes the
operators are women.
It may be here remarked that, since the adoption of
Christianity by the people of the central provinces of Mada-
gascar, there has been no general observance of the ceremony in
the fashion of former times. The rite has been administered in
a very quiet and unostentatious fashion, so that for several
years past no European has seen the numerous minute
observances already detailed as preceding the circumcision in
heathen times. It has been felt that so much of evil was
mixed up with the ceremonies that they are being allowed
to fall into disuse, as inconsistent with the profession of
Christianity now made by the Hovas and neighbouring
peoples. Among the heathen tribes there has, probably, been
little alteration in the ancient customs.
* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 93.
+ Apud Hovas præputium infantis in folio bananæ involutum vitulis
datur; apud incolas quosdam oræ occidentalis in haustu alcoholico infant
bibendum datur. Apud gentem Bàra pater præputium in flumen vicinum
projicit; apud gentes Sàkalàva pars præcisa ex tormento [gun] vel cuspidi
hastæ affixa emittitur super tectum patris. Si hasta rectà in terram cadit,
indicio est, ut illis videtur, puerum animosum futurum esse.
Bull. de la Soc. de Géog., Avril 1872, p. 397.
BLOOD COVENANT.
223
Brotherhood by Blood Covenant.-Another peculiar custom
of the Malagasy may be here noted, viz., the practice of
making brotherhood by persons partaking of each other's
blood. This is termed fàto-drà, i.e., "bound by blood," and is
found with certain variations in almost every tribe; and is
intended to make those who enter into the covenant to
become as brothers, devoted to each other's welfare, and
ready to make any sacrifice for the other's benefit, since they
thus become of one blood. The ceremony consists in taking
a small portion of blood from the breast or side; this is
mixed with other ingredients, stirred up with a spear-point,
and then a small portion swallowed by each of the con-
tracting parties. Imprecations are uttered against those who
shall be guilty of violating the solemn engagement thus entered
into. Now and then Europeans who are not over-scrupulous,
and to whom it has been a matter of great importance to
keep in good terms with some of the powerful chiefs, have
consented to make this covenant. The French traveller, M.
Grandidier, became a brother by blood with Zoména, a chief
of the Tanòsy in the south-west of Madagascar, in order
to gain his good-will and help in proceeding farther into the
interior from the Onilàhy, or St. Augustine River. But in
this case the blood was not taken from the contracting
parties, but from an ox sacrificed for the purpose. He
thus describes the ceremony, which he terms the famaké.
The diviners having previously fixed upon a favourable day,
at the appointed time the people assembled together on the
east side of the King's house. "Zoména and I were seated
together on a new mat. An ox was brought and thrown on
the ground, where its four feet were tied together. A prince
of the family of Zafiraminìa cut the throat of the victim,
reciting at the same time some prayers, and received the first
blood drawn in a calabash filled with water. After adding a
pinch of salt, a small quantity of soot, a leaden ball, 'une
grosse manille d'or,' he placed it before us." [In some cases
the blood is mingled with brine, pimento, pulverised flint, earth,
and gunpowder, and rum instead of water.] "I took the ramrod
of my gun, and Zoména seized his spear, and we then dipped
the points into the consecrated liquid. The principal chief
224
COUNT DE BENYOWSKY.
of the village, continuing to strike with a knife the weapons
which we each held in the right hand, delivered a speech, in
which, after having celebrated the praises of the high con-
tracting parties, he enumerated the obligations which the
covenant of blood imposed, and called down upon us the
greatest misfortunes if we should ever perjure ourselves.
My servant Cravate, while this was going on, did not cease
to wet the point of the spear with the liquid. Then Zoména,
filling a wooden vessel with the sacred beverage, put it to my
mouth and made me drink the contents, then struck me on
both shoulders, on the back and on the breast, with the
empty vessel. I repeated the same ceremonies, and the
famake was completed, we were brothers in blood. My new
relatives addressed to me their congratulations, and a crowd of
princes and princesses, some calling me their son, the others
giving me the name of father or of brother, came to take my
hand."
"*
Of this custom amongst the Bàra, Mr. Richardson says:
"To friendships formed by two persons drinking a little
blood taken from an incision in each other's bellies, they
depend for success in plundering, gratifying their lustful
desires, and as a protection from being plundered by others.”
In the "Memoirs and Travels of Count de Benyowsky,” a
Polish noble who, in 1776, so gained the confidence of the
people on the eastern coast as to be made by them their
Mpanjakabé or supreme king, there is an account (vol. ii. p.
267) of the oath which he took on receiving the allegiance
of the chiefs and people, this oath being a kind of blood
covenant. Oxen were killed by Benyowsky himself, one or
more, according to their number, for every rank of the people,
the chiefs taking a drop or two of the blood, and pronouncing
an oath. And after this, to quote his own account: "I was
again conducted to the circle of the Ròhandrians [or principal
chiefs], who made a second oath with me, which was performed
in this manner: each person made an incision, with a razor,
under the left breast, as I did likewise myself; and each
mutually sucked the blood of the other, at the same time
pronouncing the most horrible maledictions against whoever
* Bull. de la Soc. de Géog., Fev. 1872, p 144.
་
THE FATO-DRA.
225
should violate his oath, and benedictions in favour of those
who should continue faithful to their engagement."
From a native account of the fàto-drà as observed among
the Hovas, and contained in a small book edited by the Rev.
W. E. Cousins, I translate the following:-" And these are
the observances customary in the blood covenant: They procure
seven roots of grass, and a grasshopper with its neck twisted,
and dung from a calf whose mother is dead (or lost), and
water from a spring drying up, an old bone, and a single
gun, and these are placed in a rice winnower, together with a
spear without a foot, and set in one side.”
After an invocation to God and the four corners of the
earth, and some supernatural being named Andriampàtitra,
these are addressed as witnesses of the covenant about to be
entered into by such-an-one and such-an-one, who, although
not of the same parents, are united in friendship and affec-
tion by these things. An explanation is then given of each
of the articles brought, as follows:-"The seven roots of
grass are brought to show that if they do not observe [the
covenant], the sevenfold death will overtake them. The
grasshopper with twisted neck is brought also as a warning
that, if the covenant is not observed, their necks will be
twisted so they cannot see what is before them.
The dung
of the calf bereft of its mother is brought as a warning that,
if they do not preserve this friendship, may they have no
descendants, no posterity to inherit. The water from the
drying-up spring is brought to warn them that, if they do not
keep friendship, their lives will dry up in a similar way. The
old bone is brought to show that, if they do not be friends,
may their bones be scattered with none to bury them. The
single gun is brought as a sign that if they do not be friendly
then may they be killed by a gun in the war, while as to
their corpses, devour them, O hawks and all birds, that they
may not come to the home of their fathers; and the spear
without its foot is brought to show that if they do not pre-
serve this friendship and relationship, then may they be killed
by this (spear) in the hand; and if they do not die by the
hands of others, may they die by their own hand, whether
going north or south, or east or west; therefore are ye invoked,
Р
226
ROYAL ANCESTOR-WORSHIP.
O four corners of the earth to observe this; therefore observe,
O Andriampàtitra."
After some further maledictions and benedictions, the
wooden dish containing the above-mentioned things is over-
turned, and water is poured over the hands of the contracting
parties above the dish.
Royal Ancestor-worship among the Sàkalàva.—Closely con-
nected with this subject are some customs of the Sakalàva
which may be here mentioned. Among the southern divi-
sion of this people, the corpse of a king is wrapped in an
ox-hide and suspended in the deepest recesses of the neigh-
bouring forests. After some months the chiefs meet together
and search for the remains, that is to say, one of the vertebræ
of the neck, a nail, and a lock of the hair. The remaining
portions are interred with much ceremony. They sometimes
offer human sacrifices on this occasion; the bodies of the
victims are placed under the royal bier, for a sovereign
cannot rest in the earth like his humbler subjects. They
enclose the relics in a crocodile's tooth, and then carry them
to the sacred house where the relics of former kings are pre-
served.
The possession of these relics constitutes the right to the
royal authority. A legitimate heir who should be dispossessed
of them would lose all authority over his people; and a
usurper, on the contrary, would ascend the throne without
opposition. (See Grandidier, in Bull. de la Soc. de Géog., Avril
1872, p. 402.)
At Mojangà, a principal seaport on the north-west coast,
at the mouth of the Bay of Bémbatòka, is a sacred house
called Zomba, where the relics of the former kings of the
northern Sàkalàva are preserved with religious care. The
eastern part of the house is partitioned off from the rest, and
inside this portion are suspended four small boxes containing
the royal relics. These are a span in length and three inches
wide, and contain the hair and finger and toe-nails of the
deceased king. A cover or hat of gold is placed on one, the
other three having a similar cover of silver. Around them
are placed spears, knives, and hatchets.
On every Friday the Sakalàva meet there to sing and pray
TOMBS AND BURIAL CUSTOMS.
227
to the royal ancestors; and on a certain day every year, all
the people assemble from the surrounding country. There
is a general killing of oxen, which are hunted about before
But
being slaughtered; after which they enter the house.
there are numerous tabooed things to be observed, since no
one can enter who has any disease, or who wears blue
Slaves are not allowed to enter,
serge, or trousers, or shoes.
as they would, in that case, become free people. The gates
to the courtyard surrounding the house, on the east and
west respectively, have each their proper use, only the nobles
and the attendants using the eastern one, and the common
people the western, for it is believed they would die if using
the other. The ceremonies on the special day of worship
consist of prayers, which are led by one who is a descendant
of the ancient kings, and the burning of a fragrant gum, and
the anointing of the relic boxes and other royal property with
a honey-like juice and white earth. All this is followed by
blowing of shells, beating of drums, dancing and singing, in
which some work themselves into a frenzied state, during
which they are believed to be inspired by the spirits of the
departed kings, and their words are received as oracular
utterances.
The Tombs and Burial Customs of the Hovas have been
described in various books upon Madagascar, but it will be
necessary to give a short account of them here, not only to
give completeness to the subject, but also to show in what
respect they agree with and differ from the usages of the other
tribes, which are less known, and some of which are very
curious and noteworthy.
It may be remarked, at the outset, that all the different
peoples inhabiting the island expend a large amount of time
and trouble and money upon their tombs and burial observances.
This care arises in great part from their religious notions, for
they believe that their departed friends become divine, in a
certain sense, and are able to benefit their descendants. And
so they offer prayers to them in connection with the Supreme
Being, and at certain seasons anoint the headstones of their
tombs with blood and fat as offerings to their spirits.
The Hovas.-The majority of the Hova tombs consist of
228
HOVA TOMBS.
a small vault or chamber, sunk for about half its depth below
the surface of the ground, and forming a cube of from eight
to twelve feet. The four sides of this vault are made of rough
slabs of the hard blue basalt rock found so extensively all
over the certain portions of Madagascar. These slabs are not
hewn, but are detached from the surface of the rock by heat.
Small fires of cow-dung are kindled and kept burning for
several hours on the line along which it is wished to break off
the slab; then being suddenly withdrawn, the unequal con-
traction of the rock, and the employment of heavy crowbars,
causes immense slabs, from four or five to ten or twelve inches
thick, to be detached. These heavy pieces of rock are dragged,
by the simple force of numbers, from the place where they are
quarried to the spot where the tomb is to be constructed; the
owner getting the assistance of all his relatives and the people
of his tribe, as well as those of the village where he resides,
if he is a person of any consequence. No money payment
is made for such services, but quantities of food have to be
cooked and many bullocks killed during the many days it
takes (often at long intervals) to drag these massive stones
to their destination. And as everybody helps every one else,
a considerable portion of the time of the people is spent in
such services, it being one of the most frequent causes of in-
terruption to Bible-classes and other instruction. One of the
most common sights on the chief roads is to meet two or three
hundred men and women and slaves, all dragging by repeated
jerks at the rough ropes attached to the stone, which is fixed
to a rude sledge. One or two persons who act as fuglemen
stand upon the stone, and with violent gesticulation and
flourishing of a handkerchief, encourage the people to pull;
but as the roads are of the roughest kind, while the stones
have often to be taken across country, up and down hills, and
across rice-fields, &c., the progress made every day is often
only two or three hundred yards; so that a considerable time
elapses before the four side stones, the smaller ones for
shelves, and then the great ràngolàhy or covering-stone over
the whole, are all brought to their destined position.
It will be seen, therefore, that building a tomb is a costly
and lengthy operation; but upon nothing is expense more
ANCIENT TOMBS.
229
cheerfully lavished; for a Hova will frequently live in a
house that has not cost ten dollars to erect, while he will
This he
freely spend a hundred or two upon his tomb.
begins to make as he advances in life, and gets a family
around him; and in the case of large and costly tombs several
years often elapse before the whole is completed, at least as
regards the external ornamental stonework.
In a few places in Imérina large numbers of ancient tombs
may be seen in one spot, as at the northern and southern
extremities of Antananarivo, where they line the sides of the
road for a considerable distance. But in the case of well-to-
do people, the family tomb is usually constructed in a spacious
square enclosure near their ancestral village, or in the neigh-
bourhood of their rice-fields and landed property. This is
surrounded by a lofty wall of clay, while on three or four
sides of the square are built rows of small houses, where the
slaves and dependants live, the tomb being in the centre.
But in some cases the tomb is in the courtyard of the house
where the owner resides, while the royal tombs are all in the
palace-yard, either at Antananarìvo or Ambòhimànga, and so
also are those of the chieftains of old times in the ancient
towns throughout Imérina.
The stones being brought to the spot where the tomb is to
be constructed a deep trench is cut, into which they are
lowered, on edge, after being roughly trimmed to a tolerably
regular shape. At the west side, where the entrance to the
vault is always formed, a small low doorway is broken through
the stone, and the earth in the centre is removed. Then
shelves of the same hard blue rock are fixed round three sides
of the chamber, and finally the great stone covering all is
placed on the top. A superstructure of earth and stone is
formed, generally in two, and often in three, steps or stages.
In the ancient style of tombs the stones were merely fixed
neatly in the earth, without mortar, and the top was often
covered with lumps of white quartz. In the more costly
modern tombs the exterior is formed with regular masonry,
and massive cornices and mouldings at each stage; while in
some few there is elaborate architectural enrichment in pilas-
ters with carved capitals, copied from drawings of the classical
230
BURIAL CUSTOMS.
styles, and occasionally having a sort of open square arcade
surmounting the tomb. One of the most remarkable struc-
tures of this kind is the immense family tomb of the Prime
Minister in the north-west suburbs of Antananarivo. This is
a spacious vault with numerous chambers opening out from it,
and about sixty feet square. It is surrounded by a massive
verandah of stone columns and flat segmental arches, and a
flight of steps leads up to the roof, about fourteen feet high.
Upon this is an open arcade of columns and arches, and steps
lead down to the interior, which is entered by a massive door
of brass. The doors leading into the tombs are often of stone,
the hinge being a tenon cut out of the stone and turning in
hollows above and below. At two of the angles of this
great tomb are elegant columnar structures carrying the
lightning-conductors.
The dead are not enclosed in coffins in Imérina, but are
tightly wrapped up in a number of dark-red silk làmbas. In
some cases these are very numerous. Four or five years ago
the senior officer of the native army, an aged general named
Rainingòry, died; and as he was believed to be about 100
years old, the Queen gave orders that he should be wrapped
in a hundred làmbas, of which number she herself sent about
thirty. The corpse thus bandaged is laid upon one of the
stone shelves in the vault. Funerals usually take place in
Imérina on the day after decease, or at least upon the second
day after, according to the time of death. The house where
the corpse is laid is lined with the richest silk làmbas belong-
ing to the family, or sometimes only with white calico, while
the corpse is deposited in a small tent, either in the house or
in the courtyard. When carried to the grave it is sometimes
covered with a uniform coat and cocked-hat, if the deceased
were an officer; and I have occasionally seen bonnets and
other articles of female dress surmounting the bier of a Hova
woman. The attendants carry small paper fans, of diamond
shape, to keep away flies, and these are stuck into the ground
at the head of the grave.
The tombs of the sovereign and of the highest ranks of
Andrians have a small and neatly-finished wooden house
erected on the top of the stone structure. This exactly
BETSILEO BURIAL MEMORIALS.
231
resembles a dwelling-house, except that it has no window
or hearth, from which fact it is called tràno manàra, “cold
house," as well as trano masina, "sacred house." In this
house valuable property is often deposited, and when King
Radama I. was buried, and also the late Queen Rasohérina,
an immense quantity of costly articles of dress and furniture
and other valuables were placed in their tombs, as well as
chests of money. Their coffins were made of plates of silver
formed from dollars hammered out, while many thousands of
dollars were also put into the coffin as a bed for the deceased
sovereign. There is, to European ideas, a prodigal and painful
waste of money. (For other curious facts connected with the
subject of royalty, see the chapters on the Language, and
"New Light on Old Texts.")
In former times it was usual to erect poles near the tombs
in Imérina, and upon them to fix the skulls and horns of the
bullocks killed at the funeral feasts; but this custom is now
falling into disuse, although still kept up by other tribes. In
many places a massive upright slab of rough undressed basalt
is erected as a memorial of distinguished personages.
The Bétsiléo.-The Bétsiléo people in the southern central
district of Madagascar have some strongly-marked differences,
both in their tombs and their funeral customs, from those of
their neighbours in Imérina. One of the most prominent facts
in connection with their burial memorials is the existence of
a considerable amount of decorative carving in the curious
and elaborate timber-posts erected over or near their graves,
and also, to a less extent, in the massive stones set up as
memorials in the same situations. On the road from Anta-
nanarivo to Fianàrantsòa, I was much interested when coming
to an old town called Ikangàra to find a large collection of
these burial memorials. They were well worth examination,
as in a small space there were grouped together many different
kinds of tombs and monuments, some forty or fifty in number,
and of the following kinds :-
1. The largest tombs-there were two of them-were of
small flat stones, built in a square of some twenty to twenty-
five feet, and about five feet high. But around them was a
railing of carved posts and rails, those at each corner with a
232
BETSILEO TOMBS.
vase-shaped top; these were connected by a transverse rail,
and this again was supported on each of the four sides by
upright posts which finished under the rail. All the upright
timbers were carved in patterns.
2. Another kind of tomb was formed by a square structure
of flat stones, four or five feet high, and perhaps a dozen feet
square; but on the west was a square enclosure of four
carved posts with the vase-shaped heads, connected by lintels,
and with an intermediate upright. This structure was about
four feet square, by seven or eight feet high, and in the centre
was a single carved post.
3. A third kind of monument was a massive block of
granite, from eight to ten feet high, and from eighteen
inches to two feet square, with carved posts at the four
corners and touching them. On the top these were con-
nected by carved cross pieces, and upon these the skulls of
the bullocks killed at the funeral of the person commemorated
were placed. Many of these horned skulls remained in their
original positions.
4. Another kind of memorial was a massive square post
of wood, about twenty feet high, and fifteen inches square,
carved on all four sides from top to bottom. There were
four or five of these immense posts here. In one case
there was a pair of them, as if intended to form a kind of
gateway.
5. Still another kind was an oblong block of dressed
granite, with an iron hooping round the top, in which were
fixed a dozen or more pairs of slender iron horns. There were
two of this kind of monument at this place, and we afterwards
saw others on the road.
6. Besides the foregoing there were numerous specimens
of a smaller carved post with the vase-shaped head, and a
small open staging near the top, on which were fixed upright
sharp-pointed pieces of wood. These were for placing the
ox-skulls upon.
Many of these memorials were sorely weathered and de-
faced, and others were falling, or had fallen, and were rotting
away. But there was a great variety of carving, and the
VARIOUS TOMBS.
233
patterns almost endless, and many of them were well worth
preserving and carefully copying.
On the road-side were a number of the more simple tombs,
of a kind that seem peculiar to the Bétsiléo. They consist
of a plain square, almost a cube, of thin undressed stones laid
very evenly. Proceeding farther south we were struck by
the number of tombs and carved monuments on the road-side
all the way to Ambòhinamboàrina. The most common form
was the plain square tomb just described, and the upright
vàtolàhy, about two feet square, and from eight to ten feet high.
While the tsangam-bàto in Imérina are all of rough undressed
slabs of blue rock, these in Bétsiléo are of fine-grained hard
white granite, in massive blocks, and dressed to a beautifully
smooth face. They are often in couples, and in one instance
there were two stones, with an elaborately carved post be-
tween them. But the combinations of the different kinds of
monument were very numerous; there was something new
every few yards; and all over the plain, near every little
cluster of houses, we could see these white memorial stones.
South of the Matsìatra river there were very few of the
upright memorial stones, and none of the carved wood pillars.
All the tombs, which were very numerous, were the plain
cube of undressed flat stones, and I was surprised to find
that the majority of them were hollow, many having trees,
species of dracæna, mimosa, and others growing out of the
circular opening in the centre, and overshadowing the whole
tomb, a sight never seen in Imérina. From this it appeared
that the chamber in which the corpses are deposited does not
project at all above the ground, as it does in the Hova tombs ;
and I afterwards ascertained that this chamber is excavated
at a considerable depth beneath the square pile of stones,
which is therefore not a grave, but only marks the position
of one far below the surface. I noticed also that there was
in most cases a long low mound of earth, extending from one
side of the tomb to a distance of from thirty or forty to eighty
feet and upwards. This, it appears, marks the line of a long
tunnelled passage gradually descending from the surface to
the deeply-sunk burial chamber.
Mr. Richardson says about Bétsiléo tombs: "They are very
234
FUNERAL RITES.
deep in the earth, some of them being as much as sixty feet
deep, and are approached by a gradually-descending passage
opening some forty or fifty feet distant from the tomb. The
tombs of the rich are sometimes fifteen or sixteen feet square,
and are quite on the surface of the ground; the four walls
and roof are formed of five immense slabs, which are brought
from great distances, and involve almost incredible labour. I
measured one such stone, and found it to be 18 feet long, 10
feet wide, and nearly 3 feet thick in some parts." Mention is
also made of a circular memorial stone, 12 feet in circumference,
and nearly 20 feet high above the ground. This was said
to have occupied four years in making and dragging to the
place where it is erected. Mr. Richardson also describes other
tombs as having "the skulls of all the oxen killed at the
funeral regularly arranged on the cornice.
I have seen one,”
he says,
'now rapidly falling into decay, on which were no
less than 500 such skulls. The most symmetrical that I
ever saw was a new tomb, on which on the outer square were
arranged 108 skulls of oxen in most regular order; every
other skull being that of an ox whose horns had grown down-
wards. There were also two other squares of skulls arranged
behind this one." *
(C
In the same paper Mr. Richardson gives a detailed account
of the strange ceremonies he once witnessed at the funeral of
a child of noble birth. This is too lengthy to be given here
in full, but one or two of the chief features of the proceedings
may be briefly described. One of the earliest portions of
the ceremonies was the killing of a couple of oxen; these,
however, were first wrestled with, a man to each, and being
thrown down after a hard struggle, the forelegs of each were
dexterously, but cruelly, turned over its head and locked
behind the horns. As soon as the first blood was drawn,
a portion was taken to the child's grandfather to be tasted.
During these proceedings a procession of women, carrying
the property of the deceased, kept entering the house by the
south door and leaving it again by the west door. The
corpse was placed in a long box covered with coloured cloth
and with a roof-like top; upon this were arranged about thirty
* Antananarivo Annual. No. i. pp. 74, 75-
CURIOUS BURIAL CUSTOM.
235
solid silver rings of various sizes. A constant wailing,
drumming, fiddling, and shell-blowing was kept up during
the whole of the time.
But the most curious part of the Bétsiléo burial customs
is yet to be described: it is a very disgusting one, but is not
peculiar to them, being, as will be seen, common to other
tribes, with certain variations. "The third day after death
the body swells; it is then taken from the coffin and rolled
On the fourth
upon planks until it becomes all of a pulp.
day another ox is killed, and the skin from that and those
killed previously are cut into long strips. The corpse is then
held upright against the beam of the house, an incision is
made in the heel of each foot, and all the putrid liquid matter
is collected in a large earthen pot or pots; and when nothing
scarcely is left but skin and bone, the corpse is strapped to
the beam and there left." The curious beliefs of the people
as to the worm supposed to come from the corpse will be
more appropriately described in the chapter treating of Mala-
gasy Superstition and Folk Lore.
The Sihanaka.-The Sihànaka tribe have also certain
burial usages peculiar to themselves. In a tour which I
made round their territory in the year 1874, I noticed a
somewhat different kind of memorial from any seen among
the Hovas. At the entrance of almost every Sihànaka village
two or three tall and slender trunks of trees are fixed into
the ground, rising to a height of from thirty to fifty feet.
To the summit of these lofty poles the fork of a tree is fixed,
the points being sharpened so as to resemble an immense
pair of horns. These are erected by the children of deceased
persons, who fetch them from the forest, choosing wood of
a hard and durable kind. Besides these, were frequently
clusters of shorter poles bearing the skulls and horns of
bullocks, as was formerly the custom in Imérina; at some
villages these were very numerous, one place being called
Màrosalàzana, “Many poles," evidently from there being a
group of twenty to thirty such poles at its entrance. In
several instances small tin trunks, painted oak colour, were
fixed on one point of the fork; and in others, numerous
articles, the property of the deceased, such as mats, baskets,
236
SIHANAKA MOURNING RITES.
&c., were placed on a wooden railing near the poles. This is
done probably from an idea that it is improper to use any-
thing belonging to the dead, the same notion indeed that
leads to the burial of royal property among the Hovas, as
already described.
The mourning ceremonies among the Sihànaka often con-
tinue for a week; the house being filled with men and women,
who weep, and sing funeral chants, and play barbaric music.
One man goes round the house chanting a dirge, which is
replied to by those in the house. Accompanying all this
there is a good deal of drinking of spirits and cating of beef,
oxen being killed every evening. On the first day of watch-
ing the corpse, a great many oxen are brought up into the
village; these are all killed by spearing. Every one then
takes what meat he pleases, excepting the heads, which are
placed on poles near the grave.
On the day of the funeral a number of oxen are taken on
the path along which the corpse is to be carried; and as it
approaches, one after another of the animals are speared, and
their carcasses laid on the ground so that they may be stepped
over by those who carry the corpse. If the grave is at some
distance, this is done many times before the procession reaches
it. This custom of carrying a corpse over the bodies of newly-
slaughtered animals was formerly observed by the Hovas,
especially at the funerals of their kings; not only oxen, or
rather bulls, being killed, but also some of the finest horses
belonging to the sovereign (see History of Madagascar, vol. i.
pp. 251, 252).
The Bétsimisaraka and other Eastern Tribes.-Among the
Bétsimisaraka and other tribes on the east coast, there are
certain customs which show a clear connection with those
common in Polynesia. The inhabitants of many of those
islands do not, in their heathen state, bury their dead, but
place them on an open stage or framework, leaving the corpse
to decompose and pollute the surrounding atmosphere. Much
the same practice exists on the eastern coast of Madagascar.
Of the Bézànozàno people, who are near neighbours, to the
west, of the Bétsimisàraka, Messrs. Jukes and Lord say:
"Near
several of the villages through which we passed we noticed
burial-places.
TANALA BURIAL CUSTOMS.
237
Most of them consisted of mounds of earth
surrounded by shallow trenches. Trunks of trees hollowed
out and shaped like troughs contained the dead bodies, and
These troughs or
were placed on the top of the mounds.
coffins were fitted with movable lids. A number of small
platters made of banana leaves, and containing native spirits,
were deposited on or about the mounds. The Bétsimisàraka
and Bézánozáno tribes seem never to bury their dead under-
ground, but simply enclose them in wooden coffins and expose
them on mounds, or place them on a rude kind of trestle fixed
in the ground."
Another traveller, the Rev. J. A. Houlder, thus speaks of
the customs of the inhabitants at the head of Antongil Bay:
"The people hereabouts do not bury their dead out of their
sight. They put them in rude coffins made of tree trunks,
and arranged in some kind of order, like the tombstones in a
European churchyard. These receptacles for the dead are
usually placed in some obscure spot, in a thick shady wood,
or a part of the great forest. But little care is taken to
conceal the coffins, and no thought is apparently bestowed on
the extreme danger of depositing the decaying bodies of the
dead near the dwellings of the living.”
The Tanàla.-Among the Tanàla or forest tribes in the
neighbourhood of Ivòhitròsa, in the south-east of Madagascar,
the corpse of a person of importance is kept for a month before
burial. The face is exposed for three days; the body is then
covered with a red cloth or lamba, some silver is put into his
mouth, and rings upon his hands, but none are put upon his feet,
that honour being reserved for kings. A month is passed
in watching the corpse, fat being burnt to overcome the
effluvium. The burial procession is accompanied with firing of
guns and loud wailing. Upon arriving at the grave, a man
stands up and cries out, addressing the spirits of the dead
previously buried there," This is what you get, but you
must not follow after his progeny, his grandchildren, his
brothers; this is the one you have got."
The corpse of a king is buried on the day of his death;
his decease is not published abroad, but some guns are
broken and put along with the corpse. An image of the
238
A TANALA FUNERAL.
Every ox in
killed for the
king is then made; it is covered with cloth and hung up in
the cast corner of the house. The heads of his wife and
children are shaved. After six weeks, this image is thrown
into the River Màtitànana, and the same customs are followed
as described above on the burial of a subject.
the kingdom that bellows at that time is
benefit of those who are burying the image.
buried in a wooden house in the forest; the coffin is made
of nuto wood. The lid is roof-shaped, and two horns are
placed straddle-wise on each side. When this decays, a new
one is made, and new cloth is substituted; and all the kings
of one family are buried in one house, but each one has his
own coffin.
The corpse is
Some of the forest tribes, however, in common with the
people near to them on the south-east coast, do not bury
their dead, but throw them into a large hole or pit in or on
the border of the forest. This place is called kibòry, and
each village has one for its inhabitants; the corpses are not
covered with earth, but are wrapped in a coarse matting
made of rush. Hardly any graves or memorials to the dead
are seen in travelling through the forest, or in the Taimòro
or Taisàka country; but at a village called Iàboràno, we saw
something of the kind in four poles placed in a line, the
outer ones higher than the rest, and the inner ones pointed in
a peculiar fashion. These appear to serve the same purpose
as the upright stones in Imérina and Bétsiléo.
In passing through the great forest farther to the north,
we saw a Tanàla funeral, and a curious, although saddening,
sight it was. Some time before we met it we heard a good
deal of noise and shouting ahead of us, and supposed that
the forest people were dragging an unusually heavy piece of
timber. On getting nearer, however, we found fifty or sixty
people, men and women, and a number of men carrying
something, which, on coming closer to them, we found was a
child's coffin, made of a piece of the trunk of a tree hollowed
out, and with a rough cover of wood fastened on with bands.
of a strong liana. This was being carried with a barbarous
kind of chant, but without the slightest sign of mourning on
the part of any one. Amongst these Tanàla people funerals.
BARA BURIAL CUSTOMS.
239
are called fàndroritam-pùty (literally, "the stretching out of
the corpse"), and it seems that the corpse in its coffin is
pulled about, first in one direction and then in another, by
different parties of those following it, and is finally thrown
into some hollow in the woods where the moisture may soon
cause decomposition.
With regard to the people of Ikòngo, in the southern
Tanàla, Mr. G. A. Shaw says: "They make no tombs, but
bury their dead in the forest, with no other mark than a
notched tree to keep the spot in remembrance. The carrying
of the body to its last resting-place is accompanied with
yelling and screaming; but I saw no ostentatious mourning
and weeping, as with the Bétsiléo. At certain places on the
road the body is placed on the ground, and a series of games
is commenced, in which wrestling and the spear-exercise form
a prominent part. Burying is called 'throwing away the
corpse.
""*
The Bara.-Of the Bàra tribes, Mr. Richardson says: "At
death guns are fired, and a horrible wailing is set up; a third
of the deceased's oxen must be killed before 'the ghost is laid.'
At the death of a king half of his oxen must be killed, and
his wives must cut off all their hair; and the ghost is not laid
until his successor has captured a town, or has fought against
one to the shedding of blood, either his own or some one else's,
friend or foe. They dig no graves; the corpse is put into
the ground naked, and stones are piled around and over it,
making an oblong structure from a foot to three or four feet
high. In the neighbourhood of the Isàlo, the bodies are
taken and buried in the caves." This custom of cave-burial was
also followed by two of the chief divisions of the Bétsiléo.
Natural crevices in the sides of enormous precipices were
selected, and made larger and more suitable by men let down
by ropes from above. The body was then lowered in the
same way, and deposited at the innermost extremity of the
hole, the entrance filled up with stones, and on the stones
were fixed the skulls of cattle killed during the funeral festi-
vities. In some of the bold, smooth, rocky heights dozens of
these tombs may be counted, each with its bleached ox-skulls
(C
* Antanùnarivo Annual, No. i. p. 66.
240
ANTANKARANA BURIAL CUSTOMS.
shining in the sun.
At the foot of these rocks a guard is
constantly kept, and no one is allowed to enter the enclosure
containing the houses of the guard.'
"*
The Sukalava and Allied Tribes on the West and North.
Of the last of the great divisions of the people of Madagascar,
the numerous tribes commonly known under the name of
Sakalava, we do not yet know very much. But with regard
to one of these tribes, those called Antankàrana, at the ex-
treme northern end of Madagascar, the Rev. R. T. Batchelor
has supplied some information, from which it will be seen
that the strangely-repulsive custom observed by the Bétsiléo
in the south is also common in the extreme north. He says:
"The corpse, after being sewn up in an ox-hide, is bound tight
with cords so soon as the friends of the deceased think it time
the obsequies should be commenced (which is not so soon as
might be wished), in order that great quantities of beef and
rum may be consumed by the mourners. This marks the
second stage in the mourning. Several times every day these
cords are drawn tighter, and this process is continued until
nothing but the bones remain. These are then carefully laid
in a canoe, with its two ends cut square, and covered in.
When this has been done, the burial takes place. The coffin
is conveyed amidst continuous musket-firing to the family
cemetery, a solitary and unfrequented spot on the sea-shore;
and an Antankàrana will travel a very long distance in order
to assist at these burial customs. A cup and a plate are
placed by the side of the coffin, and every now and then the
friends go in large numbers, and taking rice and rum with
them, hold a feast in these cemeteries, and believe that the
spirits of their dead ancestors and relations come and join
them. Studious care is taken that these coffins are renewed
before they have rotted away."+
A French writer, M. Guillain, also says: "That before placing
the corpse in the bier, the Antankàrana subject it to a species
of mummification. The corpse, placed upon a stage of bamboos
raised some feet above the ground, is covered with aromatic
substances, and with hot sand, which is frequently renewed.
* Antananarivo Annual, No. iv. p. 8.
+ Ibid. No. iii. p. 30.
REVOLTING CUSTOM.
24.1
When it is perfectly desiccated they envelope it in linen
bandages, and then carry it to the place of burial, which is
usually situated upon a small islet, or on some steep cavernous
mountain. The first ceremony of drying the corpse is suc-
ceeded by a most revolting custom; for at the end of several
days decomposition produces a putrefying liquid, which is
received into vessels placed under the framework on which
the corpse is deposited. Then each one of those present holds
his hand so as to receive a portion of the horrible liquid, with
which he rubs his whole body!"*
Another quotation, this time from one of the earliest
English books upon Madagascar, must complete these descrip-
tions of the burial customs of the Malagasy. In the nar-
rative of Robert Drury, describing the customs of the south-
western tribes (1702 to 1717) there occurs the following
account" In the first place, they pitch upon a tree for a
coffin; after that, a cow or an ox is killed and some of the
blood sprinkled upon it, imploring, at the same time, their
forefathers, and the demons and demi-gods, to aid and
assist them. When the tree is down, they cut it about a foot
longer than the corpse, and split it directly lengthwise,
and dig both parts hollow, like two troughs. It is then
carried to the house, the corpse being, in the meantime,
washed and wrapped up in a làmba, or frequently in two,
and sewed together. There is frankincense, or a gum very
much like it, burning all the time in the house. They seldom
keep the corpse above one day, especially in hot weather.
They put the corpse in the troughs, closing them together,
and carry it upon six men's shoulders. Every family has a
burying-place of their own, which no one dare infringe upon
or break into; nor does any one indeed attempt it. This
is enclosed and fenced round with sticks. When they come
near the place, the corpse is set down, and then they make
four fires, one at each corner, on the outside of the burying-
place. On these fires they burn the ox or cow which was
killed before for that purpose; they divide it into quarters,
which are all consumed in the flames. After this they
* Documents sur . . . la Partie Occidentale de Madagascar. Paris, 1845, p.
Q
158.
242
BURIAL RITES.
sprinkle frankincense upon the coals, and spread them all
about. This being done, the chief, or eldest of the family,
goes close to the entrance of the burying-place, and halloog
aloud several times; after a short pause he calls upon all the
dead that are there deposited, commencing at the eldest and
proceeding to the last, and each one distinctly by his name,
and in the conclusion tells them that there is a relation come
to lie amongst them, and that he hopes they will receive him
as a friend. Then the gate is opened, and two or three per-
sons are sent in to dig the grave, which is made, for the
generality, seven or eight feet deep; and the corpse is placed
in it, and covered over with earth without any further
ceremony. None are permitted to enter here but some of the
nearest relations and the bearers, and the door is immediately
shut fast again. They generally visit this burying-place once
a year to clear it from weeds and make it clean, but never
enter it until they have first burnt a cow or a bullock before
it." (Pages 225-227, edition of 1807.)
( 243 )
CHAPTER XII.
RELATIONSHIPS, AND THE NAMES USED FOR THEM, AMONG THE
PEOPLES OF MADAGASCAR, CHIEFLY THE HOVAS.
AS ILLUSTRATING MORALS, MARRIAGE CUSTOMS AND RESTRICTIONS,
AND SOCIAL AND FAMILY LIFE.
THE subject of relationships and marriage customs among
primitive peoples has excited much interest and received
considerable attention from ethnologists during the last few
years. And as there are several facts connected with this
subject as found among the Malagasy tribes, which have not,
I believe, as yet been brought into public notice, it may,
perhaps, be of some service to note them down as a slight
contribution to a fuller knowledge of the state of society
among the less-known races of mankind.*
When a foreigner begins to study the Malagasy language,
he finds in many classes of words strange deficiencies as
compared with English, while at the same time there is in
other groups a much greater fulness and minuteness of dis-
tinction than exists in his own or allied languages.
This remark applies fully to the names used for relation-
ships among the Hovas, if not also to those employed by the
other Malagasy tribes.
The words for "father," ray, and "mother," rény, are used
with a very wide signification, and are applied not only to
the actual father and mother, but also to step-father and
step-mother (who are also called raikély and rénikély, "little
father," and "little mother"), and to uncles and aunts, with
their wives and husbands; so that it is almost impossible
to get to know the exact relationship people bear to one
* My attention was first drawn to this subject by the perusal of a paper
by my friend, C. Staniland Wake, Esq., M.A.I., upon "The Origin of the
Classificatory System of Relationships used among Primitive Peoples" (Proc.
Anthrop. Inst., Nov. 1878).
244
(C
RELATIONSHIPS.
>>
another without asking, "Is he the father who begat him?"
or, Is she the mother who bore him?" (It may not
be unworthy of remark here that the same word, mitéraka,
is used both for begetting and for bearing children.) Con-
sequently there are no single words in Malagasy corre-
sponding to our uncle and aunt; one must say
""
"father's brother," or "sister"
(C
or "mother's brother," or
"sister," as the case may be. And so it naturally follows
that there are also no single words for "nephew," or "niece;"
these are all zànaka, "children," and if more minutely
described are distinguished as children of their father's or
mother's brothers or sisters.
Ray, "father," does not seem to take the sense it has in
many Semitic languages of "maker" of a thing, but it is
used in a wide sense as an elder or superior; and in address-
ing an elderly man it is common to call him ikàky, a word
which, together with dada, is the more familiar and affec-
tionate word used by children in addressing their parent;
the latter word being perhaps more commonly used by sons,
and the former by daughters. It is singular, however, that
rény, “mother," does take the sense of author of a thing:
thus, réniràno, a river, is literally "mother of waters;
rénitantély, a bee, is "mother of honey;" rénivòhitra, a
capital, is "mother of towns ;" and rénivòla, capital, principal,
is "mother of money." And also, the four first months of
the four quarters of the year are called rénivintàna, “mother
of fate," or fortune, these being the principal months.
In
the same manner, the word for child, zanaka, is used as the
converse of rény, "mother," or "originator of a thing." Thus,
zàna-bòla is interest or usury, literally, "offspring of money,"
while mizanaka, is to be at interest; zanakazo is a word for
the pieces of wood cut from a tree, "offspring of the tree;
zàna-tòhatra, the rungs of a ladder, is "offspring of a ladder;
and zana-tsòratra, vowels, are "offspring of writing.' The
words aba and baba, ada and daday and angy, are also used
for "father," while ngahy is a respectful term for an elderly
man or any superior.
""
""
In the same way, rény, “mother," or its more common and
familiar form, nény, is also used in a wide sense as a respect-
PARENTS AND CHILDREN.
ful way of addressing an elderly woman.
245
The word éndry is
also used, almost exclusively so in some tribes, for mother,
and also ima, and jàry, probably the same as záry, which
means "made," "formed," "created."
The
There is no exact equivalent for our word "parent."
compound phrase rai-aman-drény, i.e., "father together with
mother," is applied to any superior, elder, or patron, male or
female, and is given as a title of respect by the sovereign to
the people, and by the people again to the sovereign. In
some of the early editions of the Malagasy Scriptures the
Fifth Commandment was wrongly translated, "Manajà ny
rai-aman-dreninao," instead of "Manajà ny rainao sy ny
reninao," and has accordingly, at least on one occasion, been
preached from by a native whose knowledge was not equal
to his zeal, as containing a command to honour the Govern-
ment and the great people of the country.
In the Sakalava dialect, a man is johàry, which in Hova
means chief, president, or governor, "the lord of the creation,"
in fact; while "woman" is baréra, a word which in Hova
means “to brood over," as a bird over its young.
Then the word for "child," zànala or ànaka (the latter is a
more affectionate and respectful word used in direct address),
is used in an equally wide sense for children actually borne
or begotten, for step-children, and for nephews and nieces, for
which last relationship, as already remarked, there are no
distinct words. The word zunaka, in like manner with its
complements ray and rény, is used in a wide sense in address-
ing or speaking of a younger person. "Son" is zànaka-làhy,
and daughter," zànaka-vàvy.* "Boy" is zùza-làhy, and
"
(c
"girl," zàza-vàvy; while a girl who is an only child is called
by the curious compound vàvilàhy, literally, "male-female."
(Làhy and vàvy are "male" and "female," or "masculine"
and "feminine.") A child dying under two years of age
is termed rùno, the word for "water," and used also figura-
tively for anything soft and delicate.
A girl is in many tribes called zàza-ampéla, that is, "spindle-
My friend Mr. Wake wrote to me: "Have you ever thought of the amus-
ing fact, that while anak means small' in so many languages, in Hebrew
the Anakim were sons of the giant?"
246
ADOPTION AND POSTERITY.
child," or simply ampéla; for every Malagasy woman can
spin as well as weave. So that we have here a close analogy
with our English word "spinster," which recalls the time when
our great-grandmothers and their mothers before them could
all use their spinning-wheels.
Adoption of relatives' children being very common, owing
no doubt to a great extent to the somewhat large proportion
of people who have no children, there are several words
denoting the different relationships arising from this fànan-
ganan' ànaka (literally, "raising up children "), as it is
termed. Thus zàza-làva (literally, "tall children ") are
children of near relatives united by adoption, so as to be
treated as children of the same parents, and to inherit equally.
Zàza mòmba reny (“children of a barren mother") are step-
children who live with their mother and step-father.
To die without posterity is looked upon as a great calamity,
and is termed mati-màso, "dead as regards the eye." And
the Malagasy have a practice similar to the Levitical law of
the Jews, viz., that if an elder brother die childless, his next
brother must marry the widow to keep his brother in remem-
brance; the children of such marriages being considered as
the elder brother's heirs and descendants (see Deut. xxv. 5,
6). This is called mitòndra lolòha (mitondra, to carry, lolòha,
a family under the protection of the elder son or guardian);
and he who thus preserves heirs for his elder brother is said
to mamélo-maso, "make to live the eye," while, as above stated,
he who dies heirless, dies mati-màso, "dead as regards the
eye."
((
heir," or
.
Fara is a word for "offspring,"
progeny."
"Marda fara aman-dimby," i.e., "Be numerous in offspring
and descendants," is a frequent marriage benediction or
salutation; and faraina (“last life") is a word applied to
the youngest child. There is also a special word for the last
child when the mother is again pregnant, aizana. Foster-
child is miolo-nòno, "suckling together with."
The words Koto and Kétaka are applied to children who
have had no name given them; and although meaning little
more than "lad" and "lass," are often retained for a con-
WORDS FOR FAMILY, NATION, ETC.
247
siderable time as the only names, with the prefix Ra- (see
chapter viii.).
""
(C
or come
It may not be out of place to say something here about
the words used for "tribe," "nation," and "family," among
the Malagasy. For "family" the word mpianakavy is used,
of which the word anaka (child) is evidently the root, but
whether the terminal is the verb àvy ("come
from ") is doubtful. For "tribe" there is the word fòko, a
somewhat wide term, meaning also family, class, or clan;
and frequently combined with òlona, people, and firenéna,
nation. This last word, however, has not the wide meaning
which our "nation
"nation" has, as it often means only a clan or
tribe; and it is evidently derived from the root rény, mother,
which fact, taken in connection with the practice of inherit-
ing through the female rather than the male line, is not
perhaps without significance. But we still need more minute
inquiry among the natives of Madagascar upon all these
subjects.
In the words for "brother" and "6 sister," there are dis-
tinctions we do not possess, viz., rahalahy for brother's
brother, anadahy for sister's brother, rahavavy for sister's
sister, and anabavy for brother's sister.
These words again are used for "cousin," for which
relationship there is no single or equivalent term; and so
much is the near kinship of brothers' and sisters' children
recognised that, as with the words father and mother and
child, it is difficult without close inquiry to find out what
actual relationship there is between members of a family.
There are, however, the compounds, zana-drahalahy, child
of a man's brother; zànak'aina (aina = life) and zanak'ana-
bavy, child of a man's sister; zana-drahavavy, child of a
woman's sister; and canak'anadahy, child of a woman's
brother.
The words "brother" and "sister" are also used widely
for any person whom one meets and desires to act towards
in a friendly manner, generally with the polite prefix Ra-, as
Ranabavy, Ranadahy, a form also used for Such an one, Mr.
So and so (Ranona), and also with the word ankizy, children,
as Rankizy, and with other words as well. (This last word,
248
MARRIAGE RESTRICTIONS.
ankizy, is also used to denote "servants," being thus some-
what analogous to the French garçon and to the German
kellner.)
cr
From the (until lately) common practices of polygamy
and divorce, half-brothers and sisters are much more nume-
rous among the Malagasy than in European nations, but there
is no distinctive word for this half relationship, except that
they say that such an one is miray ray, “of one common
father," with another, or miray tam-po, "of one
"of one common
mother," or literally, "joined from the heart." There are
special words for an elder or ycunger brother or sister, viz.,
zoky and zandry, words also applied widely as "senior" and
"junior" generally; and there are also words for brother-
in-law, zaodahy, and sister-in-law, zaobavy. Zazampimihira
are brother and sister whom the father claims as his own
before divorcing the mother. Zazasary (literally, "image of
a child ") is a natural child, a bastard.
*
Marriage between brother's children is exceedingly com-
mon, and is looked upon as the most proper kind of connec-
tion, as keeping property together in the same family (the
marriage of two persons nearly related to each other is called
lòva-tsi-mifìndra, i.e., “inheritance not removing "); and there
does not seem to result from such marriages any of those
consequences in idiocy and mental disorder of the offspring
which are frequently seen in European nations as arising
from the marriages of first cousins. It is possible, however,
that to this marrying in and amongst tribes and families is
due, in part at least, the sterility so frequent in Malagasy
women, although this is no doubt also largely caused by the
too early marriage of young peoples, and the licentiousness
allowed until very lately among the young, and even among
mere children.
Marriage between brothers' and sisters' children is also
allowable on the performance of a slight prescribed ceremony,
supposed to remove any impediment from consanguinity; but
that of sisters' children, when the sisters have the same mother,
is regarded with horror as incest, being emphatically fady or
* Saònjo mihòatra akòndro, i.e., "The arum exceeding the banana,” is a
phrase used to express preferment given to a junior brother by his senior.
GRANDPARENTS AND GRANDCHILDREN.
249
tabooed, and not allowable down to the fifth generation,
that is, to the great-great-great-grandchildren of such two
sisters. So when a man divorces his wife he calls her
anabavy,“ sister,” implying that any intercourse between them
is henceforth impossible.
There are also special words for the eldest, middle, and
youngest children of a family, both male and female. Thus,
the eldest son is termed Andriamatòa, the eldest girl,
Ramatòa; the middle sons, Andrianàivo or Ranùivo, the
middle girl, Raivo; the youngest son, Rafàralàhy (last male),
and the youngest girl, Rafàravàvy (last female). Except the
two first of these words these are often retained as proper
names, either alone or combined with others; and the two
first are frequently prefixed as a complimentary addition to
the names of elderly men and women, whether they be the
eldest of their brothers and sisters or not, and they are also
used as a complimentary form of address to men and women
generally.
Grandchildren are àƒy or zàfy, a word also used widely for
"descendants;” and for tribal names, as Zafin-dralambo, Zafin'
Ibrahim, Zafimanélo, &c. (taranaka is also a word nearly equi-
valent, and used for "posterity, generation "); great-grand-
children are zafiafy, great-great-grandchildren are zafimafy,
great-great-great-grandchildren are zafin-dohàlika, i.e., “de-
scendants of the knee," and great-great-great-great-grand-
children are zafim-paladia, "descendants of the sole of the
foot." Zafindoria is a word used for a very distant relation;
dorìa is a word denoting "everlasting," probably through the
Arabic from a Semitic root of the same meaning.
*
The words for grandfather and grandmother are exactly
equivalent to our own: raibé (bé, great) and rénibé; but
there appear to be no distinctive terms for any relationships.
further back, all previous to grandparents are known by the
general term ràzana, ancestors. To all ancestors a kind of
divinity is ascribed, for they are spoken of as lasan-ko Andri-
amanitra, “gone to be gods," and they are invoked in prayers
immediately after the Supreme Being.
* In Sakalàva the words for grandfather and grandmother are dùdilàhy and
dàdivàvy, both, but especially the latter, very curious combinations.
250
HUSBANDS AND WIVES.
In the ceremonies of the circumcision, the parent or other
person who carries the child to be circumcised, and also the
circumciser, is called rainjaza, “father of a child;" so that he
and a woman who acts as mother, and is called reninjaza, are
a kind of godfather and godmother.
((
""
For "
father-in-law" and mother-in-law there is one
word, rafòzana, but unless this is defined by the gender
suffixes, the word generally means "mother-in-law," and there
are proverbs in the language which warn people about the
desirability of being on good terms with one's mother-in-law,
speaking of it as being far more important than even agreeing
with one's wife !* Vinanto is the word for "son-in-law"
and “daughter-in-law," and is often further defined by the
gender suffixes.
For "husband" and "wife" there is but one Malagasy
word, vady, and it is not customary to add to this the
masculine and feminine suffixes, lahy and vávy, the meaning
being gathered from the connection. (These words are, how-
ever, often used alone to distinguish the husband or wife.)
Vady is also used in a wide sense for pairs or things which
fit to each other. (In several tribes, by euphonic change of
consonants, vady becomes valy; valy in Hova means an answer,
or anything replying to or corresponding with another.)
Until the spread of Christianity in the central provinces of
Madagascar introduced a higher idea of the marriage relation,
the idea of love between husband and wife was hardly thought
of among the Hovas. Marriage indeed was compared to a
knot so lightly tied, that it could be undone with the slightest
possible touch. There was no lack of strong affection between
blood relations-parents and children, brothers and sisters,
grandparents and grandchildren; but the marriage state was
regarded chiefly as a matter of mutual convenience, each party
carefully retaining separately his or her property. Married
people never address each other by any endearing epithet, but
the wife is called by the husband Rafòtsy or Ramatòa (this,
Ny vady no tiana, ka ny rafozana no malala; "The wife is liked, but the
mother-in-law is loved."
+ Ny fanambadiana tsy nafehy, fa nahandrotra; "Marriage is not (a thing)
tied fast, but tied in a bow."
HOVA MARRIAGE RITES.
251
however, being confined to the first wife), while he is called by
her Tompokolahy (" sir," or "my lord "), or Rainjanaka or
Rainianaka, that is, “father of a child." Marriage is called
fanambadiana, "the state of having a partner," and the word
for wedding is fampakaram-bady, apparently from the root
akatra," ascended, got, or fetched." A widow is mpitòndra-
téna, "one who carries one's self;" she is also called ampéla-
bàntotra (ampéla, spindle, vantotra, middle-sized). An orphan
is kambòty, and another word was also used, but now nearly
obsolete, asòrotànitsisàtry. Asòrotany is the name of the
fourth month, most of which is unlucky; tsy satry, "is not
wished," or "not intended."
A hand-
Among the Hovas a marriage is celebrated first at the
house of the bride's father, and then at that of the bride-
groom's family. The young couple sit together to eat rice
and other food with one spoon from the same dish.
some silk làmba is thrown round them both, and the marriage
becomes legal and binding by presenting a small sum of
money to the bride's parents or guardians. This is called the
vòdi-òndry, lit., "sheep's rump," and no doubt used in former
times to consist of that portion of a sheep.
Among some, at least, of the Malagasy peoples there are
certain marriage customs which seem connected with the
widely-extended practice of taking a wife by force from her
father's family. Thus among the Sakalàvas when a young
man wishes to obtain a girl as his wife, his courage and
suitable qualifications are tested in the following way:-
Placed at a certain distance from a clever caster of the spear,
he is bidden to catch between his arm and side every spear
thrown by the man opposite to him. If he displays fear or
fails to catch the spear he is ignominiously rejected; but if
there be no flinching and the spears are caught, he is at once
proclaimed an "accepted lover." It is said that a similar
custom prevailed among the Bétsiléo,* and probably further
research would reveal something like it in other Malagasy
tribes. A betrothed girl is fofombády, a bespoken or engaged
wife, and it is considered quite proper that such should
* See Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. 1876, p. 22.
252
SAKALAVA MARRIAGES.
co-habit with their future husbands before they are actually
married. Matifahana is a word used for breaking an engage-
ment to marry, "a breach of promise."
Among the Sakalàva tribes marriage between a brother
and sister was not forbidden by the laws. One of the kings
of Ibòina, the northern of the two great Sakalàva kingdoms,
a chieftain, named Andriamàhatìndy, is said to have married
his youngest sister, and to have had by her six daughters.
Such marriages were, however, preceded by a ceremony of
sprinkling the woman with consecrated water, and reciting
prayers asking for her happiness and fecundity, as if there
was a fear that such unnatural unions would call down upon
the parties the anger of the Supreme Being.
*
It should, however, be observed that such marriages were
usually made because of the difficulty sometimes occurring of
finding a wife of equal rank with the chief or king. There was
also often a jealousy of any claimant to the supreme power, on
account of the brother of the chief being, of course, older than
the chief's own children. Thus the founder of the southern
Sakalava kingdom of Ménabé sent away his younger brother
to the north, but gave him at the same time a body of
soldiers. With these he followed the example of his elder
brother, and before long, by the conquest of several tribes,
founded the northern Sàkalàva kingdom of Ibòina.
Lawful marriages are termed hény, an imperative verb
implying "ought," "should," behoveth."
Although gross immorality was common among the Hovas,
and is still so among the Bétsimisaraka and other tribes,
amongst whom the very idea of purity seems unknown, there
being no word for virgin or maid (for mpitòvo, which is com-
monly used as an equivalent for these words, means only an
unmarried girl), there are some other tribes, more isolated, as
certain of the eastern peoples, where a higher standard of
morality prevails, girls being kept scrupulously from any in-
tercourse with the other sex until they are married; and this
notwithstanding the slight use of clothing, unmarried girls
merely wearing a cloth or mat round the Ioins, while the
upper part of the body remains uncovered.
But amongst
* See Guillain, op. cit., p. 26.
IMMORALITY.
253
a not
other tribes, on the contrary, as the Bàra and some neighbour-
ing races, there is a shameless and open indecency of speech
and behaviour which would shock the Hovas, although many
of them would, in secret, act quite as immorally. Thus there
is a Hova word, sàodrànto (saotra, "divorced; " ranto, " traded
in "), to express the leave given to a wife to have intercourse
with another man during her husband's prolonged absence
from home. On the other hand, there are certain ornaments
worn by a wife during such absence to denote that her person
is sacred. Then there are, also phrases, such as miàro-
vàntotra, to express refusal to allow a near female relative to
be taken for immoral purposes, showing, as is well known
from other evidence, that the opposite of this was
infrequent practice. It also used to be usual among the
Hovas for the most shameless licentiousness to be allowed by
custom on certain occasions, such as the birth of a child in
the royal family; but Radàma I. prohibited this, owing to
the urgent remonstrances of Mr. Hastie, the British resident,
who threatened to proclaim to the world what vileness was
carried on in his dominions. Radama, who earnestly wished
to be well thought of by Europeans, was so affected that he
gave peremptory orders to stop such practices, and even put
to death some persons of high rank who were found to have
been guilty of disobedience. Such days were called andro-
tsi-màty, “days-not-dead," that is, not involving death for any
offence (History of Madagascar, vol. i. p. 150).
A wife is sometimes called andéfimàndry, “the one lying
beyond," close to the wall; a second wife is vàdy kély,
"little
wife," while if there are three or more wives, the wife or
wives between the first and the last are called masay, a word
whose meaning is not clear. *
The wives of chiefs among
the Sakalava are termed biby, a word which in Hova means
"animal." A present made to a first wife upon marrying a
second is called éso-pandriana, a corruption of iso-pandriana,
from isotra, "cleared, removed," and fandriana, "bed." The
privilege (?) of having twelve wives was reserved by the
* A French writer, M. Désiré Charnay, says that among the Bétsimisaraka :
"Les sœurs de ces trois femmes [d'un chef] appartiennent de droit à l'époux
jusqu'à ce qu'elles soient mariées." (Tour du Monde, x. liv. 247; p. 208.)
254
POLYGAMY.
Hovas to the sovereign, and Andriamàsinavàlona (who is
fifteenth on the list of Hova princes, the present sovereign
being the thirty-sixth) is the first recorded in native accounts
as having exercised this right, the names of the twelve
wives being preserved. These Roàmbinifòlo Vavy, or " Twelve
Wives," had a recognised place among the great people of the
kingdom, and their advice was always asked in all matters
of importance. There are still (or were until very recently)
some two or three aged ladies in the palace who are the
survivors of Radama the first's wives; but their influence is
now a thing of the past, for sirce 1828 there have been
(with eighteen months' exception) only female sovereigns.
Among some of the other tribes polygamy is carried to a
much greater extent than it was with the Hovas, some chiefs
having from twenty to thirty wives; and one of the Bàra
kings, Ivóatra, is said to count his wives by the hundred!
The power of divorce is legally in the husband's hands,
although a wife can practically divorce herself in many cases.
But in some cases the husband can divorce his wife so that
she cannot marry again, and can also make certain restrictions
as to children and property after she is divorced, a power
expressed by the word hàdindràno, whose literal meaning is
not very clear (hàdy is trench, ràno, water, or possibly it is
tràno, house). Among the Tanàla, if a woman of noble birth
marries a commoner, he cannot divorce her, but she can divorce
her husband. As to the significant native words for poly-
gamy and divorce, see chapter vii.
Money or property is occasionally given on the separation
of husband and wife, to prevent the woman becoming the wife
of another man, except by consent of the husband. This is
called taha.
If a wife is divorced as to be unable to marry again, "she
is often treated personally with extreme cruelty, and during
the formal process of being divorced receives, first, a black fowl,
expressive, it is supposed, of the wish of her husband that
she may ever be to all others a repulsive object; second, a
walking-stick, indicating that for the future she is to have no
home, but is to be an outcast on the roads; third, a small
piece of money, signifying that she is to be dependent on what
CRUEL TREATMENT OF WIVES.
255
is given by others; and fourth, a piece of white gun-wadding,
to signify that she is to continue in that state until her hair
is white with age" (History of Madagascar, vol. i. p. 174).
The Sihanaka have a curious custom with regard to widows.
Upon the death of any man of position or wealth, on the day
of the funeral the wife is placed in the house, dressed in all
her best clothes, and covered with her silver ornaments, of
which the Sihànaka wear a considerable quantity. There she
remains until the rest of the family return home from the
tomb. But as soon as they enter the house they begin to
revile her with most abusive language, telling her that it is
her fault that her vintana or fate has been stronger than that
of her husband, and that she is virtually the cause of his
death. They then strip her of her clothes, tearing off with
violence the ornaments from her ears and neck and arms;
they give her a coarse cloth, a spoon with a broken handle,
and a dish with the foot broken off, with which to eat; her
hair is dishevelled, and she is covered up with a coarse mat,
and under that she remains all day long, and can only leave
it at night; and she may not speak to any one who goes into.
the house. She is not allowed to wash her face or hands,
but only the tips of her fingers. She endures all this some-
times for a year, or at least for eight months; and even when
that is over, her time of mourning is not ended for a consider-
able period; for she is not allowed to go home to her own
relations until she has been first divorced by her husband's
family.
The word havana, meaning strictly "relative," is also
used widely and vaguely for friends and acquaintance; a
"distant relative" is called havan-tetézana, literally, a "rela-
tive (reached by) stepping" (over intermediate links). A
sarcastic native proverb describing "cupboard love," says:
Hàvako raha misy pàtsa, fa raha lany ny patsa, hàvan-teté-
zana, i.e., “He's my relative while the pàtsa last [a minute
fresh-water shrimp, much liked as laoka or accompaniment to
rice], but when the pàtsa are eaten, he's quite a distant rela-
tive."
The proper word for friend is sakaiza, but this again
cannot be used between persons of the opposite sex, as it
implies a paramour in such connection.
256
DISTINCTIONS AND RESTRICTIONS.
Haran-tsi-aina ("a relative without life") is a word used.
for an unkind relation; and a curious word for near relations,
or consanguinity, is atin-kavana, or ati-havana, aty meaning
"liver," or the "inside" of a thing. Lafy, which also means
"side," is another word for relative.
It is a matter for great satisfaction that during the last
few years, owing to the influence of Christianity, great changes
for the better have passed over society in the central provinces
of Madagascar. The marriage relation is every year being
raised in the estimation of the people; a much higher standard
of morals is being formed; polygamy may be said to be at
an end, and divorce is very much less frequent than it used
to be; and an enlightened public opinion is gradually shaming
out many of the immoral practices which formerly passed
unreproved.
A word or two may be said in conclusion as to class
distinctions, and the marriage restrictions which keep separate
different ranks of society. As already described in chapter
ix., the Hova population consists of three great divisions: the
nobles, the Hovas or commoners, and the slaves, and these
classes, with few exceptions, cannot intermarry.
*
The nobles are divided into six clans, from the third of
which the sovereign can take a wife. Some of the ranks of
nobles can intermarry with certain of the inferior ranks, and
only those of the highest ranks can marry a commoner.
The second great class, that of the Hovas, the mass of the
free people, is subdivided into a considerable number of tribes
and clans and families, and these, as a rule, do not intermarry
with each other, but keep to their own clan, and largely to
their own family. A free man cannot marry a slave, except
by redeeming her first; should he divorce her she continues
free, much in the same way as according to the provisions of
the Mosaic law (Exod. xxi. 7-10; Deut. xxi. II-14).
There is among the Malagasy much strong family affection
and tribal and clannish feeling, and one of the most dreaded
evils that can befall any one is to be ariana, or cast off by
* This is a restricted use of the word, for, of course, all the free people, with
the nobles, and the first class of slaves as well, are Hovas, as distinct from the
other tribes inhabiting the country.
MUTUAL POLITENESS.
257
his family or tribe, so as to become an outcast. This family
affection is even extended in some degree to the slaves born
in the family, who are looked upon as inferior members of
it, and who take pride in its prosperity. The young slave
children and infants are often nursed by their owners with
almost as much affection as are their own children; while
the old slave men and women are called ikàky, and inény,
"daddy," and "mammy," much in the same way as the
elderly free men and women of the family.
There is also with this family feeling a great mutual
politeness and a strict adherence to certain forms of expres-
sion towards each other, there being proper modes for a man
to address another of superior, of equal, or of inferior rank to
himself, each being different; while there are similar terms
proper for a woman to address members of her own sex; and
still others for women to use to men, and for men to women,
and for brothers-in-law to address each other.
The subject treated of in this paper has as yet received.
but little attention, but there is doubtless much of value
awaiting research and careful inquiry. I trust that others
will more thoroughly investigate the question, and that thus
further contributions may be made to our knowledge of the
primitive races of mankind.
R
( 258 )
CHAPTER XIII.
NOTES UPON MALAGASY ART IN DECORATION AND
MANUFACTURE.
HOVA ART: HOUSE DECORATION-CHURCH ADORNMENT-TEXTILE FABRICS-
STRAW PLAITING-METAL WORK—POTTERY—BÉTSILÉO ART: CARVING
ON BURIAL MEMORIALS-HOUSES-AND UTENSILS.
If we look at any illustrated book describing the inhabitants.
of Polynesia we shall find that every group, and sometimes
every solitary island, has its peculiar style of ornament,
special to itself, and easily distinguishable from that of other
groups and islands.
Their canoes and paddles, their clubs
and spears, houses and beds, dishes and spoons, pipes and
snuff-boxes, are all ornamented, sometimes most elaborately
and beautifully. And this decoration extends to their own
persons, in the practice of tattooing, and also to their cloth-
ing, as seen in the patterns woven into the cloth or matting
of their dresses, or stamped upon the bark cloth they procure
from various trees.
Hora Art.-But among the Hovas, in the centre of Mada-
gascar, there is very little ornamental art, and in the great
majority of the articles which they construct for daily use,
there is a remarkable absence of the elaborate and varied
carving which is employed by most of the Malayo-Polynesian
tribes. It is true that many of the large stone tombs built
of late years in Imérina have some architectural pretensions,
and decorative carving is employed on them, but the details
are copied from drawings of European buildings, and can in
no respect be considered as examples of indigenous art.
There are, however, some few indications of a feeling for
decoration among the Hovas which it may be worth while
to note down, before proceeding to speak of the much more
HOVA ART.
259
abundant decorative carving found among the Bétsiléo in the
southern central provinces.
There is in Imérina, as in Madagascar generally, nothing
which can be called an architectural style, for there are no
buildings of any size except the royal palaces at the capital.
But still the Hovas have a style of house peculiar to them-
selves, both in construction and shape, and these give a distinct
character to the appearance of the purely native towns. The
capital city of Antananarivo has been almost entirely rebuilt
within the last ten or twelve years, and its old timber houses
replaced by buildings of sun-dried brick, on European models.
But about fifteen or sixteen years ago, it was crowded with
the old-fashioned houses, most of them of wood, with lofty and
extremely high-pitched roofs, and finished at the gables withi
the crossing timbers called "horns," the extremities of which
projected above the ridge to a height of from two or three
to five or six feet, and in the case of the royal houses even
to twelve or fourteen feet. Towering above these, on the
summit of the hill, were the two chief royal palaces; the
principal one an immense timber structure with lofty roof,
and arched verandah in three tiers surrounding the building.
To the north-east of this was the second palace, of similar
design, but only two stories in height, and about two-thirds
the size of its loftier neighbour. The great palace has, how-
ever, during the last ten years been surrounded with a massive
stone verandah, with lofty corner towers, and with Corinthian.
engaged columns, all the details being excellently worked out
under English superintendence in the classic styles, so that it
no longer presents the peculiar Malagasy type of construc-
tion.
In the interior ornamentation of these royal houses (as
well as of some few of those belonging to the upper classes),
there seemed to me to be a certain distinct style prevalent.
This is chiefly seen in the painted decorations of the upper
parts of the walls, and sometimes of the ceilings, which botli
in the colouring and large bold style of the patterns always
reminded me somewhat of Assyrian ornament, as shown in
decoration of the palaces at Persepolis. I am sorry that I am
unable to confirm this by illustrative sketches, for the few
260
HOVA HOUSES.
state occasions on which foreigners are admitted to the palace
were not favourable times for minute examination; but the
general impression I received as to the style of ornament was
as already stated.
The only stone structure of any size erected by the Hovas
(apart from European design) is the large family tomb of the
Prime Minister. This building, in many of its details, in the
outline of its elegant and somewhat minaret-like columns for
carrying the lightning conductors, and in the curious series
of semicircular mouldings forming so marked a feature in
their decoration, as well as of that of the corner piers, always
reminded me somewhat of Indian structures, and as having
some little resemblance to certain features of buildings seen
in the Punjab and North-west Provinces. (I do not for a
moment mean to say that any comparison can be drawn
between this Malagasy tomb and the wonderful creations
of the Moguls, but there are undoubtedly some points of
resemblance in detail.)
As regards the timber houses of the Hovas, there is hardly
a trace of any ornamental carving, except the occasional use
of a notched zigzagged or minute semicircular edging to
certain pieces of timber, as the "horns" and in the windows
in the roof.
In interior decoration, however (apart from the palaces),
we occasionally meet with examples of tasteful ornamentation,
which show that here and there a certain amount of artistic
feeling is to be found. The walls of some of the village
churches in Imérina sometimes display considerable taste, as
well as ingenuity, and show that with a little guidance, and
a few hints and suggestions for conventionalising somewhat
more the natural objects employed in decoration, the native
talent might be trained to produce a very appropriate adorn-
ment for the walls of sacred and other buildings. It is true
that occasionally the native artist has introduced figures and
scenes decidedly (though not intentionally) comic in their
effect: soldiers, sportsmen, animals, and birds being depicted.
But in many cases the walls are painted with a diaper of
groups of leaves and flowers, giving them the appearance of
a well-papered surface, while the doors and windows are
A HOVA CHURCH.
261
bordered by bold lines and running sprays of leaves and
flowers. In a church at Ambòhimànga the windows were all
surrounded by groups of palm-like trees, while on the key-
stones of the arches over windows and doors were painted
groups of flowers, many of them most tastefully designed and
coloured.
I was much struck by a piece of wall-painting which
I found six or seven years ago in a country church some
twenty miles to the west of the capital. The ornamentation
covered about two-thirds of the wall behind the pulpit, and
had it been the custom in our churches to place our com-
munion tables "altar-wise" against the end wall, the painting
might have been taken for an elaborate altar-piece or " dossal.”
There were, however, no figures, or even attempts at represent-
ing such natural objects as leaves or flowers, but only com-
binations of lines and circles, and curves and zigzags, in
a variety of colours. But the most noticeable feature was
that, both in the forms employed, and in the key of colour
pervading the whole, there was a remarkable resemblance to
the style of ornamentation which may be seen in the mediæval
wall-painting still remaining on the stonework of a few of our
ancient Norman and Gothic churches in England. In fact
the whole formed an elaborate diaper, and the colours em-
ployed, mostly the native clays of various shades of brown,
buff, chocolate, and black, with sparing use of the primary
tints, were at a distance all blended in a kind of neutral
tint or purple haze. Indeed, the untaught native artist had
unconsciously succeeded in accomplishing what more laboured
attempts often fail to do. The chief difference between this
Hova decoration and the medieval examples was the absence,
in the former, of any distinctively sacred emblems or mono-
grams. But the similarity of things so far apart both in time
and locality struck me as curious and suggestive.
In the different cloths which the Hova women weave from
silk, cotton, hemp, and other materials, a good deal of taste and
ingenuity are shown. In these woven stuffs stripes are largely
employed, and in the coarser and cheaper fabrics made from the
fibre of the rofìa palm, the colours are obtained from vegetable
dyes and from various coloured earths. A very favourite style
262
HOVA SILVERSMITHS.
of lamba is what is termed drindrano. In these the body of the
stuff is of cotton woven into a strong twilled substance, the
groundwork white, and with a number of narrow stripes of
black, in which coloured threads are mixed. A broad black
border runs along each edge in the length of the lamba, and
each has a coloured pattern of tasteful design in the centre.
The most striking examples of native design are, however,
seen in the silk làmbas. These are of considerable variety of
pattern and colouring (within certain conventional limits),
often extremely rich and elegant. in their effect, and with
a peculiar kind of square leaf or flower introduced into the
stripes, and various combinations of small diamond-shaped
patterns.
Another thoroughly native style of ornament is seen in the
dark-red lambas worn by the chief men of many districts,
and in which fine metal beads are woven into the stuff in a
variety of patterns across the ends of the lamba.
In silver work, the native silversmiths are very ingenious
and skilful. With a few very rude tools they produce filagree
work, and excel in making minute and delicate silver chains
of wonderful fineness. They are very quick in imitating
any pattern given to them, and will make perfect copies of
European jewellery with such exactness that it is difficult to
tell which is the original and which the copy. This manual
dexterity shown by the Hovas extends to all kinds of metal
work; they are equally skilful in working iron, copper, brass,
and tin.
Considerable artistic feeling is also to be seen in the
beautifully fine mats and baskets which the Hova women
plait from the straw of various grasses. In some of these
patterns are formed by the straw being dyed in red and black;
but in the majority of the straw work there are elaborate and
tasteful designs formed without colour, and so as to be only
seen on a close inspection.
In pottery the Hovas do not show so much inventive
power as in their textile productions. Except in one class of
work, the few articles which they manufacture are devoid of
all ornament. The exception to this usual absence of any
artistic feeling is in the earthen pots called vilùny nòngo, which
BETSILEO ART.
263
are made for cooking the beef eaten at the New Year's festival.
These vessels are circular, and somewhat flattened, and are
frequently ornamented with a series of lines and zigzags, very
closely resembling those on the early fictile productions of
the Germanic races.
Bétsiléo Art.-Having for many years seen little of any
Malagasy tribe except the Hovas, and having often wondered
at the almost entire absence of decorative carving amongst
them, I was greatly interested when taking a journey in 1876
into the southern central province of Bétsiléo to find, very
soon after leaving the territory of the Hovas, that their
neighbours to the south employ carving very abundantly, both
in their houses and their burial memorials.
There is among
these Bétsiléo people a decided and special style of ornament,
used not only in their dwellings and tombs, but also in many
of their household utensils, as spoons, gourds, dishes, &c.; and
a kind of tattooing is also very common among them, in which
personal adornment some of the same ornamental details are
also introduced.
I first noticed something new in the tombs in the tract
of country between Isàndrandàhy and Ambòsitra (about four
days' journey south of Antananarivo). Within two or three
hours' journey of the latter place, I observed that the upright
stones placed near the graves were not the rough undressed
blocks or slabs common in Imérina, but were finely dressed
and squared, and ornamented with carving. During my stay
at Ambòsitra, I walked to the top of the rising ground on the
western slope of which the village is principally built. Here
there is an old amòntana tree, and a memorial to one of the
early kings of the Bétsiléo. It is a piece of timber seven or
eight inches square and about ten feet high, having pieces of
wood projecting from a little below the top so as to form a kind
of stage. Each face of the timber is elaborately carved with
different patterns arranged in squares. Some of these are
concentric circles, a large one in the centre, with smaller ones
filling up the angles; others have a circle with a number of
little bosses in them; others have a kind of leaf ornament;
and in others parallel lines are arranged in different directions.
The narrow spaces dividing these squares from each other
26+
MEMORIAL POSTS.
have in some cases an ornament like the Norman chevron or
zigzag, and in others something similar to the Greek wave-
like scroll. The whole erection with its ornamentation bears
some resemblance to the old Runic stones, and the memorial
crosses in Ireland and parts of the Scottish Highlands. The
north face of this memorial post was quite sharp and fresh,
but the others were worn by the weather, and the carving
was filled up with lichen.
Not very far from this memorial there were some others,
consisting of two pairs of posts, each with a lintel, like a
gateway, except that the opening was filled up by a large
flat upright stone. These posts were carved much in the
same style as the single one just described, but were not so
massive, and were more weathered. The tops of the posts
were carved into a shape somewhat resembling a vase. I
then remembered that we had passed a newly-set-up memorial
stone carved in three large squares, with much the same
kind of ornament as these posts had in wood.
On the journey from Ambòsitra to Fianarantsoà (the
capital of the Bétsiléo), at about two hours' distance from the
former place, we passed a tomb by the road-side with a
carved wooden post similar to those at Ambòsitra. Some of
the carving was similar to what we had already seen, but
there were other graceful forms which were new, and some
of the compartments were like the English Union Jack. But
it was on the following day, when passing over an elevated
line of road between Nandihìzana and Ambòhinamboàrina,
that I was most astonished and delighted by the profusion
with which these carved memorials were scattered all along
the road-side, as well as in all directions over the tract of
country visible on either hand. At one ancient town
especially, called Ikangàra, we found a large number and
great variety of these specimens of native art in tombs and
memorial posts, as already described in the chapter on
Malagasy Tombs and Burial Customs.
I regretted that our journey being made chiefly for the
purpose of seeing districts farther south than the Bétsiléo,
we were unable to visit some of the more important old
towns in their province, where there is said to be a great
DECORATIVE CARVING.
ORA
ATIV
265
deal of the peculiar carving, not only in the tombs, but also
in the dwelling-houses and furniture. We did, however, see
two specimens of this native art as used in building: first, just
before entering the Tanàla country, and again, immediately
on leaving the forest on our return home. The first example
was at a village called Ivàlokiànja; in the house where
we stopped was the first example I had seen of decorative
carving in Malagasy houses, the external faces of the main
posts being carved with a simple but effective ornament of
squares and diagonals. There was also other ornamentation
much resembling our national flag. The gables were filled
with a neat platted work of split bamboo. The other
example was at a small hamlet called Ifandriana. The three
centre posts of the house in which we stayed were all
covered with carving of much the same character as that
used in the memorial posts already described, but it was not
quite so well executed. The nearly square window-shutters
had each a circular ornament carved upon them, much like
the conventional representations of the sun, with rays pro-
ceeding from a centre.
One of the most perfect examples of the carved memorial
post we saw the same day, in the morning, at the pictu-
resquely-situated village of Ivòhitràmbo. This village is
perched like an eagle's nest on the summit of a lofty cone of
rock, on the edge of the interior highland, and overlooking
the great forest, the country of the Tanàla tribes, above
which it towers about 2500 feet. This memorial was close
to the village, and was very perfect, the carving very sharp,
and the stage near the top in good preservation, with about
thirty ox skulls and horns still in their places. In many
cases, figures of oxen and men are carved in some of the
panels or compartments of these memorial posts, but the
ornament is chiefly conventional.
Of Bétsiléo ornament, Mr. G. A. Shaw says: "It is a
significant fact that the simple designs are almost identical
with the same species of ornamentation in Polynesia."*
On a carved hatchet handle from Mangaia in his possession
* Antananarivo Annual, No. iv. p. II.
266
BETSILEO ORNAMENT.
are some patterns precisely like those on the Bétsiléo spoon
handles.
Before leaving the subject of Bétsiléo art, it may be
remarked that gourds, fifes, tobacco-boxes (a piece of finely-
polished bamboo), and other articles are often very tastefully
ornamented with patterns incised on the smooth yellow
surface, the lines being filled in with black. These patterns
consist of lines, zigzags, scrolls, and diaper grounds, often
very artistically arranged.
It may be hoped that those who reside in the province
will carefully examine these interesting examples of in-
digenous art, and describe and copy the most characteristic
examples. Hardly anything but photography and the auto-
type process could adequately reproduce the many varieties
of elaborate carving that are to be found; but much might
be done by a few careful measurements and sketches. Many
of the finest specimens of carving in the memorial posts are
being fast obliterated by the action of the weather, and if not
secured within a few years the patterns carved upon them
will be past recovery. And it is very possible that the
influence of foreigners (whether intentional or not) will
eventually lead to the discontinuance of this primitive style
both of memorial and of ornament. As examples of indige-
nous art, therefore, it is highly desirable that they should be
copied as soon as possible; and perhaps it might be practic-
able to secure a few examples of the best carved pieces of
timber themselves, and have them carefully deposited in
some place of safety for reference and preservation. Apart
from their intrinsic interest, these carvings may prove of
value in showing links of connection between the Bétsiléo
and some of the Malayan races, and thus afford some light
towards a better understanding of the ethnology of Mada-
gascar.
( 267 )
CHAPTER XIV.
MALAGASY FOLK-LORE AND POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
ANIMALS-BIRDS-FABULOUS
DAYS AND
AND
ANIMALS-TREES
PLANTS-LUCKY
TIMES ORDEALS-FOLK-LORE OF
HOME
AND
AND
UNLUCKY
FAMILY LIFE-LUCKY AND UNLUCKY NUMBERS, ACTIONS, ETC.-SICK-
NESS AND DEATH-WITCHCRAFT AND CHARMS.
THE Folk-Lore of the various tribes inhabiting Madagascar has
been as yet but slightly studied, and no one has up to the
present time made any systematic examination of the curious
superstitious beliefs which are found in the island.
But as
there exists a considerable amount of information on these
points scattered through different books-notes of journeys,
miscellaneous pamphlets, and magazines published only in
Madagascar-which are inaccessible to the general reader, it
will perhaps be worth while to collect these together in the
present chapter, in the hope that attention may be directed
to the subject, and that those who reside in the island may
be led to inquire more minutely into the noteworthy facts
which still invite research.
That there is a reason to suspect the existence of much
more that is curious in Folk-Lore may be inferred from the
fact that within the last three or four years a large number
of most interesting Folk-Tales have been discovered, of the
existence of which, for the most part, we who had resided in
the country for several years had no suspicion. But as these
Folk-Tales are sufficiently important to require a separate
chapter to themselves, we shall not refer to them now, but
endeavour, by grouping our information under various heads,
to show how much there is of interest in the Folk-Lore,
properly so called; while the following chapter will be
devoted to the idolatry and religious beliefs and practices of
268
SERPENTS.
the people of Madagascar, and the notions they entertain
about a Supreme Being.
Animals. It may, perhaps, be convenient to commence
by describing some of the superstitions which exist among
the Malagasy as connected with animals.
As is the case almost throughout the world, serpents are
held in great dread, although, unlike most tropical countries,
Madagascar is singularly free from noxious reptiles of this
order. In the greater part of the interior there are no
venomous snakes, and there are probably only two or three
species at most which are harmful in the warmer coast plains.
But curiously enough, with this dislike of the reptile there
exists also, as in other countries again, a belief in its connec-
tion with the healing art; for one of the chief idols of the
central province, which was the god of healing and of
medicine, was held also to be the patron of serpents, and to
be able to employ them as the agents of his anger should
any one become obnoxious to him. And so, when this idol,
Ramàlavàly, was carried abroad, his attendants used each of
them to carry a sepent in his hand, which, as it writhed and
twined about him, inspired terror in the beholders.
There is a curious belief about a species of serpent called
màrolongo, which inhabits the mounds made by a white ant
called vitsikàmbo. Mr. Grainge, in his notes of a visit to the
north-west coast, says: "We noticed a large number of earthen
mounds, varying from one to two and a half feet in height;
these were the nest of a large ant, credited by the people
with uncommon sagacity. We were told that they make
regular snake-traps in the lower part of these nests, easy
enough for the snake to enter, but impossible for it to get
out of. When one is caught the ants are said to treat it
with great care, bringing it an abundant and regular supply
of food until it becomes fat enough for their purpose; and
then, according to native belief, it is killed and eaten by
them." "There is no doubt," says another resident (Rev. R.
Toy), "that the belief is most universal among the natives.
I have been assured most confidently over and over again
that it is a fact that snakes are kept and fattened by the ants
as above described." Perhaps we have here a piece of natural
CROCODILES.
269
history, and not a fanciful notion; for a similar belief is
related by Mr. Bates in The Naturalist on the Amazons, as
held by the people with regard to a species of serpent found
in the Amazons valley.
A much more formidable reptile in Madagascar than the
serpent is the crocodile, which swarms in every river and lake,
and is not a little destructive to human life. About this
creature, accordingly, a good deal of fable has been evolved
from the imagination of the people; and from their dread of
its power, they will never kill one except in retaliation for
one of their friends or neighbours who has been destroyed by
a crocodile. They believe that the wanton destruction of one
of these reptiles will be followed by the loss of human life,
in accordance with the principle of lex talionis. The inhabi-
tants living in the neighbourhood of the lake Itàsy, to the
west of the central province, are accustomed to make a yearly
proclamation to the crocodiles, warning them that they shall
revenge the death of some of their friends by killing as many
voày in return, and warning the well-disposed crocodiles to
keep out of the way, as they have no quarrel with them, but
only with their evil-minded relatives who have taken human
life. On the principle of "taking a hair of the dog that bit
them," a crocodile's tooth is worn as an amulet or charm, and
silver ornaments made in that shape formed a chief part of
the adornment of the people in former times (see frontispiece
to History of Madagascar, vol. i.), while a golden crocodile's
tooth formed the central ornament in the royal crown. From
this dread of the supposed supernatural power of the croco-
dile, it is invoked by prayers rather than attacked; even the
shaking of a spear over a stream is dreaded as likely to give
offence to the reptiles and provoke their vengeance the next
time the offender ventures on the water; while to throw dung
into the water was a heinous offence.
Mr. Grainge mentions that along the river Bétsiboka the
people believe that "crocodiles live chiefly on stones, stealing
cattle, pigs, and people merely as a relish to the harder fare.
Also, that smitten by the charms of the pretty little divers
and other water-birds, they choose their mates from among
270
TRANSMIGRATION OF SOULS.
them, and so crocodiles' eggs are produced."* Among the
Antankàrana, in the extreme north of Madagascar, the people
believe that the spirits of their chiefs pass into crocodiles,
those of inferior people being transformed into other animals;
and doubtless this belief leads to their being unmolested
except in the cases already mentioned. A similar belief is
also held by the Bétsiléo.
The belief in a kind of transmigration of souls is also con-
nected with other animals besides the crocodile. The pretty
species of lemur called Babacoote, is believed by the Betàni-
ména tribe to be an embodiment of the spirits of their an-
cestors, and therefore they look with horror upon killing
them. They have as much repugnance to killing the harm-
less and timid little Aye-aye, so interesting to naturalists,
although it is not quite clear that it is from the same notion
respecting them. Accordingly, it is very difficult to obtain
one, as the natives believe that any one killing an Aye-aye
will die within the year, and that evil will follow from their
even seeing one of them. Dr. Sandwith, who procured the
first specimen sent to England, from which the creature was
described by Professor Owen, was only able to overcome this
dread by offering the large sum of fifty dollars for a single
animal.
The spirits of those who die unburied are believed to be
doomed to associate with, if not to become, wild cats, owls,
and bats. And there is much the same opinion with regard
to the spirits of certain criminals, especially those who are
killed for supposed sorcery. The above-mentioned animals
are therefore all of evil omen, and in most parts of the
country the people look with horror upon the keeping of a
wild or native cat, those who have one in their houses being
regarded as familiar with the black art. This cat is called
kàry, and is a beautifully marked animal, with stripings of
black on a grey ground. The European cat, on the other
hand, which is called sàka, is rather prized, and fetches a
good price in the markets.
There is also in many parts of the country a dislike to
goats, and also to pigs. Repeated proclamations have been
* Antananarivo Annual, No. i. p. 16.
•
SACRED OX.
271
made about the latter animals, ordering their removal to a
distance of several miles from the capital city, and some
tribes and families will not eat their flesh, considering it
unclean.
The most valuable and plentiful of all the animals found
in Madagascar, the large-humped buffalo, has some curious
legendary history connected with it. A king called Ralàmbo,
the eleventh on the list of Hova sovereigns, is held in memory
as the first who ventured to use it as food. It is said that
(C
before his time it was called jamòka, a word which is still in
use as an adjective, meaning "gentle, easy, not harsh." But
since then it has been called omby. This name is said in the
story to be derived from the circumstance that Ralàmbo said,
Omby, omby!" ("Enough, enough!"), when the folds were
filled with cattle. But it looks very much as if the story
were invented to account for the word, which is most likely
the same as the Swahili ngombé. It has been conjectured that
before Ralàmbo's time the ox had retained (in that part of
Madagascar, at least) the semi-sacred character which it still
bears among many nations, as with certain Himalayan tribes,
the Veddahs of Ceylon, the Kaffirs, and some peoples in the
valley of the White Nile. The correctness of this supposition
is confirmed by the fact that amongst several Malagasy tribes
the office of killing an ox is one which belongs only to the
chief, who was, it must be remembered, a sort of high priest
among his people. Thus, Drury says, "Few in this part of
the island [south-west provinces] will eat any beef unless it
is killed by one descended from a race of kings. My master
and his brother, to execute these high offices were sometimes
obliged to go five or six miles to kill an ox." Among the
Taimòro people, on the south-east coast, the writer found the
same custom to prevail. At a large village called Ambòtaka
we were told that no bird or animal must be killed for food
except by some one belonging to the family of the king. A
relic of this custom still remains among the Hovas, for at the
Fandròana, or New Year's festival, the fattened oxen to be
killed are driven into the royal courtyard to be blessed by the
sovereign. An ox without blemish is killed, and the hump
being cut off is brought to the sovereign to be tasted, as a
272
SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS.
sort of first-fruits. After this the people take their cattle
home and kill them. Connected with this doubtless is the
fact that in many Malagasy tribes they do not kill oxen,
although they have them in great abundance, unless at
funerals or other very important occasions. The Sakalavas
of Ménabé never kill a red bullock for food except in case
of absolute necessity, and then it is not slaughtered in the
ordinary manner, but with all the forms made use of when
sacrificing animals. A tribe in the Angàvo valley are said to
eat none of the flesh, but only the blood, of the oxen they
kill. In former times the Bétsiléo killed oxen only at reaping
times, while the Tanàla kill chiefly at planting time; but on
these occasions there is evidently some religious significance
in this bullock killing. The Tanàla offer a great deal of the
flesh upon altars in their fields.
Another noteworthy circumstance connected with the ox
is that the rump is the royal share of every ox killed. As
Dr. Davidson has pointed out, "The very name anatomists
give to this part is suggestive. It is called the sacrum, or
sacred part-the part devoted to the gods in Greece and
Rome. But tracing this up to a higher source, we find that
in the Levitical law, this part was specially directed to be
offered " (Lev. iii. 6-11); see Sunday Magazine, 1873, p. 674.
It is also worth notice that the same part of a fowl (vòdi-
akòho) is the proper portion to be given by children or in-
feriors to their parents or superiors; while the same portion
of a sheep is what is given by a man to the father and mother
of the girl whom he marries. This is now always a money
present, but it retains the original name, vòdi-òndry, and
makes a marriage legal and binding.
These three animals, it may also be observed, are those
esteemed by the Malagasy as proper to be sacrificed. These
sacrifices were sometimes holocausts, but more frequently what
are called meat-offerings in the Mosaic law, being feasted
upon by the offerers; while the blood and fat, as representing
the life and the best part of the animal, were alone offered.
These portions of the victim were smeared upon the upright
stones of the tombs as offerings to the ancestors, and also
upon other sacred stones and places.
BUFFALO TYPICAL OF MAJESTY.
273
Mr. Richardson says that the following curious notion in
connection with oxen exists in some parts of the country :—
"The top of a large ant-hill is frequently taken off and thrown
at the rump of an ox that persists in returning to the town
where it has been bought, and it is a belief firmly held by
the cattle dealers that the animal will never return to its
former owner after the operation."
The buffalo, being by far the largest and most powerful
land animal known to the Malagasy, is continually used in
their poetical and figurative language as the emblem and
embodiment of strength and majesty, much as the bull was
employed by the ancient Assyrians, and the lion by Western
Asiatic and European nations. Thus, the kings were saluted as
Ombelàhy, "bulls ;" and the same expression frequently occurs
in forms of benediction at the circumcision and other festivities.
In some tribes the chief is saluted as Biby, a word usually
meaning "animal" or "living creature," but probably intended
as a figurative way of saying that he possesses all the power
of the noblest animal forms. Bull-fighting was formerly a
favourite Malagasy amusement, and numerous charms were
used to make a favourite animal victorious."
*
In the rejoicings connected with the ceremonies at the
circumcision the ox has a prominent place. In the songs
which are sung the animal is called by a special name,
Vòrihàngy, instead of the common name, òmby. And every
portion of the animal is apportioned to a particular person;
every one taking part in the slaughter of the ox having his
proper share, as well as the old, the newly-delivered, the
visitors, &c. This song is a kind of chant, with a chorus
which is repeated at the end of every line, while the name
of the ox (vòrihàngy) is also repeated in every stanza.
Thus, leaving out the repetitions, the horns, the hoofs, the
tongue, the ears and eyes of the animal, are each celebrated
as having their special office; while the brain is the share of
the newly-delivered, the head to the beater of the drum, the
neck to the owner of the axe, the hump to the children
* In digging out the foundations for a new palace gateway, a few years ago,
the remains of one of the former Queen's fighting bulls were discovered, care-
fully wrapped up in a red làmba.
S
274
BIRDS.
undergoing the ceremony, the shoulder to the fetchers of the
sacred water employed, the sirloin to the circumcisers, the
breast to the visitors, the ribs to make bodkins for parting
the hair, the dewlap to the blowers of the conch shells, and
so on, until every part of the creature has been appropriated,
and all concerned in the ceremonies or the killing have had
their proper share of the meat.
Another ancient saying as to the uses of the ox thus
apportions the different parts of the animal: "Its horns to
the maker of spoons, its teeth to the plaiters of straw, its
ears to make medicine for a rash, its hump to make fat, its
rump to the sovereign, its feet to the oil-maker, its spleen to
the old men, its liver to the old women, its lights to fathers.
and mothers-in-law, its tripe to the owner of the rope, its
neck to the owner of the axe, its haunch to the herald, its tail
to the weaver, its suet to the soap-maker, its hide to the
drum-maker, its head to the chief orator, its eyes to make
beads, its hoofs to the gun-maker," &c.
Birds. Turning from the quadrupeds to the birds, it has
already been remarked that owls were considered of ill-omen;
and no one who has heard the unearthly screech of some of
the Madagascar owls can wonder that they should be held in
disfavour by a superstitious people. Their name, vòrondòlo,
means "spirit-bird," and they are popularly supposed to be
embodiments of the departed spirits of evil men. But there
is another bird which is also looked upon with dread should
it fly across the path a person is taking. This is the Tàkatra,
a bird which builds a very large nest resembling an immense
heap of hay or grass when viewed from below. No business
of importance would be undertaken by a Hova in former
times were his path crossed by one of these birds; and if it
crossed the path before the chief idols these were obliged to
return to their houses. It was also believed that any one
destroying the nest of the tàkatra would be seized with
leprosy.
Among the Tanàla people the diviners foretell events "by
means of good and bad birds, according to their notes, or the
way they take in flying, and they profess to know whether
they bring good or evil. They look upon the kite as being a
FABULOUS ANIMALS.
275
bird of much evil omen. Should its droppings fall upon the
head of any one, he is watched as sure to die; the people mourn
for him and kill oxen to ward off the impending death.” *
Then again, the laying by a fowl of an unusually large
egg is regarded as ominous either of some extraordinary
good or evil, while an unusually small egg is feared as
foreboding evil. Something of the same feeling comes up in
the name given to a small insect which attacks the young
rice-plants. It is called Ondrikélin' Andriamanitra, “God's
lamb;" it appears to be regarded as an instrument of divine
anger for men's wickedness.
The fables respecting animals and birds are numerous, and
sometimes very amusing, as giving ingenious reasons for their
respective habits, likes and dislikes, &c. Thus there are
conversations between "The Crocodile and the Wild Hog,"
"The Wild Hog and the Rat," "The Wild Hog and the
Chameleon," "The Hedgehog and the Rat," "The Kingfisher
and the Great Moth," "The Sitry and the Antsiàntsy" (two
species of lizards), "The Wild Cat and the Rat," "The Hawk
and the Fowl," "The Fly and the Ant," &c., &c.
Fabulous Animals.-But besides these well-known animals
the native imagination has pictured several wonderful crea-
tures which have no existence except in the fancy of some
story-teller of a past age. Among these is the Songòmby, a
beast said to be the size of an ox, but of wonderful swiftness,
and addicted to human flesh. Then there is the Tokan-dia
or Tòkan-tòngotra ("the single-footed "), a creature whose
fore and hind legs are said to be each joined, so that it has
only two feet altogether; also a beast of incredible swiftness,
eating men, and only going abroad by night. Then there is
the Làlomena, a beast with red horns and as big as an ox,
but living in water. But besides these fabulous stories there
are others of strange serpents, described as of marvellous
power, which very possibly have a basis of truth, since it has
been ascertained that there is a species of boa in the western
part of the island which drops from trees upon oxen and
passing travellers.
But there is another creature also spoken of by the
* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 98.
276
FANANY.
Malagasy, especially by the Bétsiléo, in which there seems to
be a curious mixture of fact and fable. This is the Fanàny
or the Fanànim-pitolòha (“ the Fanàny with Seven Heads ").
This creature is variously described as a lizard, a worm, and
a serpent, and is believed to come from the corpse of those
of noble blood, and to be, in fact, an embodiment of their
spirits. After the completion of the revolting practice of
treating the bodies of such people (by so compressing the
corpse that a putrid liquid exudes from the foot), the pots
containing the liquid portion are taken great care of, for
the corpse cannot be buried until a small worm appears in
one or other of them. Two or three months are said to
frequently elapse before this takes place. After the worm
has increased in size the body may be buried; while the
earthen pot with the worm is placed in the grave, but in it is
also fixed a long bamboe reaching up to the outer air through
an opening at the top. After six or eight months they say
that this worm climbs up the path prepared for it and comes
into the village. It is then like a lizard in appearance, and
called Fanány. The relatives of the deceased proceed to
question the creature, asking if it is Such an one, and believe
that they get an infallibly correct answer by its lifting its
head. Thus assured, they make assurance doubly sure by
fetching a plate off which the deceased ate his or her last
meal, and in this plate the blood from an ox's ear, together
with rum, are poured. The fanány's drinking these liquids
leaves no doubt as to its identity. A clean cloth is then
spread, upon which the creature steps, and it is borne into
the village with feasting and rejoicing. It is finally carried
back to the tomb from which it emerged; there it remains
(so they say) and becomes the guardian deity of the people
living near, and grows to an enormous size.
The Rev. J. Richardson, from whose account the foregoing
description is taken, says that, although he has never seen
the fanány itself, he knows for certain that the bamboo and
earthen pot in the tomb, &c., are arranged as described.
adds: "And I have heard from the lips of the chief prince
of one of the tribes, when his mother was dead, "She has
not yet appeared in the earthen pot, and so I cannot bury
He
TREES AND PLANTS.
277
her body." Of this prince's mother I know that for nearly
three months from the time of her decease, as also the
decease of her sister, and until the fanàny appeared, the
people in the whole district were not allowed to dig or plant.
There was danger of a famine, and the Hova authorities
were obliged to interfere and hasten the appearance of this
fanàny."
» *
In a native account of this marvellous creature it is said to
have seven heads, whence its name, and each head has horns.
At its death it swells to the size of a mountain, so that the
villages near are uninhabitable from the effluvium; while
there are other equally apocryphal stories of its ascending up
to heaven, and of its taking refuge in the sea, where only it
could have space to move about. The narrator says that the
fanány seen by him was the size and had the appearance of
a small water snake called tòmpondràno. He confesses that
he saw only one of its seven heads, but the people accounted
for this deficiency by saying that the specimen he saw was
still young. Evidently the doctrine of development was
urgently needed in this case.
Trees and Plants.-There are several trees which have a
somewhat sacred character among the Malagasy. Among
these are the Fàno, a species of mimosa, which is frequently
found growing over and around the tombs of the Vazìmba.
The tombs of these ancient people were held in extreme
veneration, and also the tree growing over them; the seeds
were commonly used in the working of the divination or
sikidy. Another tree connected with idol worship is the
Hasina, a species of pandanus. The name of the tree implies
its sacred character, masina being the adjective used to
describe consecrated or sacred things.
Another tree called Zahana (Bignonia articulata), an ever-
green with dark glossy leaves and pink flowers, is one fre-
quently seen growing in Imérina as ornamental timber. But
"there is an old superstition regarding it, and still believed
in by many, to the effect that any one planting it in his
grounds will meet with an early, if not sudden, death."
In the southern parts of Madagascar, among the Bàra and
* Antananarivo Annual, No. i. p. 74.
278
FLOWERS.
Tanòsy, the Tamarind tree (one of the finest of the trees
growing in the island), and also the Baobab, have each a
sacred character. In this latter tree there is a certain part
considered as specially belonging to God. Portions of the
tree are coloured black, white, and yellow, bound with mats,
and decorated with charms.
Among the Sakalàva, a tree called Hàzomànitra ("fragrant
wood") is planted at the birth of the first child, as a witness
that the father acknowledges it as his own.
The Malagasy do not, like the Polynesians, make much
use of flowers in their festivities; but it was formerly the
custom that those who accompanied the Queen, on her return
from the ancient to the present capital, should all be decorated
with flowers. The effect produced by several thousands of
people, with their heads or head-dresses all adorned with
flowers, was often extremely pleasing. Some flowers used to
be considered as acceptable offerings to the idols; thus, a
pink-petalled flowering plant, called Vonénina, was proper to
be brought to the tutelar deity of the reigning family, while
the other idols had also their appropriate flower offerings.
Flowers were also carried in the joyful procession which
was formed of the friends and relatives of those people who
had been cleared of guilt by the tangéna ordeal, and were
then termed madio, "clean," or cleared of blame. These were
fastened to small wands, and carried in the hand.
In the times when bull-fighting was common, the owners
of the bulls held a plant called Tsivalondriana in their hands
to ensure victory. Concerning a hard-wooded tree called
Hazotokana, the Malagasy used to believe that if any part of
it were brought into the house the rice-pans would be broken.
And formerly, the root of a plant called Vàrikitia was brought
by the father of a newly-born child (if the first-born), who
held it over his head outside the house, then dashed it on the
ground westwards, with the idea that the child was in some
way or other benefited thereby.
*
An edible arum, called Sàonjo, is always eaten at a Hova
housewarming. But occasionally, possibly on the principle
that "one man's meat is another man's poison," some of the
* Rev. R. Baron, in Antananarivo Annual, No. iv. p. 115.
LUCKY AND UNLUCKY DAYS.
279
most nourishing vegetables are fàdy, or tabooed, by certain
individuals or families. Thus, I was once warned that I
could not enter a certain house if I had amongst my property
any arrowroot prepared from the manioc root, as that was
fady to the owner of the house.
Lucky and Unlucky Days and Times.-Leaving now the
natural objects, animal and vegetable, with which superstitious
notions are associated in Madagascar, something may be said
about days and times. The wide-spread belief in lucky and
unlucky days is common to all the tribes in the island. The
Malagasy month is, of course, a lunar one; indeed, the word
for moon and month are the same. In some parts of the
country there seems little use of a sevenfold division of time,
but the days from one new moon to another are called by
twelve names. These are the very same as the month
names, and include two or three days respectively, which
are distinguished as vàva, vònto, and fùra or vòdy (“mouth
or opening," "swelling or increase," and "end or close") of
that name.
The Hova names for the months are all of
Arabic origin, while those used on the coast are compounds
of native words; but curiously enough, although these words,
with slight variations in their form, are the same on both
the eastern and western sides of the island, they are not
synchronous. So that while the order of the twelve names is
the same, the month Vòlambita, for instance, is four months.
later in the east of Madagascar than on the western side of
it. From the double meaning of month names, a very com-
plicated system of lucky and unlucky times was formerly
in use among the Hovas. Thus, out of the twenty-eight days
of the month, twelve only are lucky. The vàva or first days
of some months were especially disastrous to the children
born on them, in some cases to the offspring of the people
generally, and in others, to those born of the family or in
the household of the sovereign. These were usually put to
death by placing the new-born infant's head, face downwards,
in a shallow wooden dish filled with lukewarm water. In
certain cases, however, this fate might be averted by making
prescribed offerings, or by undergoing an ordeal, as will be
presently described. On the other hand, some days were
280
SIHANAKA SUPERSTITION.
considered as favourable for planting, commencing house-
building, going on a journey, or a war expedition, &c.
Each tribe, however, has customs peculiar to itself. Thus,
among the southern Tanàla we found that eight days in each
month were considered unlucky, viz., those called Tsàratà,
three days, Alakaòsy, two days, and Alijàdy, three days; and
that children born on those days were put to death in the
manner above described, so that a fourth of all who are born
are destroyed.
Then we also learned that with them every day throughout
each month has its fàdy or food which must not be eaten
when travelling on that day. Thus, on the first day silk-
worms must not be eaten; on the second Indian corn is
prohibited, and so on successively, with sugar-cane, bananas,
sweet potatoes, rice, yams, honey, earth-nuts, beans, kàtsaka,
and vòamàho.
Among the Sihànaka tribe the people of a village called
Anòrohorò are said to be almost like wild men, and are
extremely superstitious, being addicted to astrology and the
observance of days. Among them the twelve months have
each their qualities of good or bad, and the month is also
divided into the same number of parts; each day, even, they
divide into a number of parts from morning to evening. And
if a stranger comes to them on a day which they consider
unlucky, or on one of the divisions of the day or of the
month which is of bad omen, they will not allow him to
enter the village, but make him remain outside, and there
they bring him food. Should he, however, persist in coming
in they say he will certainly come to harm, either dying in
the town, or being so ill as to lose his senses, or will be lost
and not find how to advance or retreat, becoming hopelessly
adrift among the rushes on the water. For as this village is
situated in the midst of a dense thicket of papyrus, there is
no road to it except by canoe.
*
Among the Bàra, if a child is born on a day which is
unlucky to either its father only or its mother only it is not
put to death, but if born on a day of evil omen to both
parents it is buried alive in an ant-hill. The unfortunate
* Antananarivo Annual, No. iii. p. 61.
TANALA SUPERSTITION.
281
infant thus destroyed is called nébo, a term also employed as
indicating the strongest reproach.*
Among the Tanàla one of the months called Faosa is
extremely unlucky. "No one works on that month, no one
changes his place of abode or goes about. If any one happens
to be in the fields when the month comes in there he remains.
Almost all children born in that month are buried alive in
distant forest; but should the parents determine to let one
live, they fetch the ômbiàsy or diviner." This functionary
makes an expiatory bath, consisting of certain grass, herbs,
and other articles placed in water, in which the child is
bathed. This ceremony puts an end to the child's evil days,
and the water and its contents are buried.†
Among one clan of the Sàkalàva all children born on
Tuesdays are put to death, while almost every family has a
day similarly ill-omened to their newly-born offspring.
The month called by the Hova Alakàosy was esteemed
very unlucky; and among them and other Malagasy tribes
the waning of the moon is an unfavourable time for any
important undertaking. Among the Antankàrana the dead
are only buried immediately after the new moon appears.
Before the destruction of idolatry in Imérina in 1869
every idol had a day sacred to it, on which day those who
were especially its votaries abstained from work. Until quite
lately the Sunday or Thursday were the lucky days for the
Hova sovereign to go on a journey or commence any under-
taking.
Ordeals. Reference was just now made to a certain
ceremony by which a child might be preserved from death,
although born on an unlucky day. There are, however,
many different ordeals in use among the Malagasy tribes, of
which a short description may now be given.
Foremost among these is the well-known one of the Tangéna
or poison ordeal.
The Tangéna is a small and handsome tree growing in the
warmer parts of the island, and the poison is procured from
the nut of its fruit. This in a small quantity acts as an
* Lights and Shadows, App. i. p. 5.
† Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 100.
282
ORDEALS.
CC
emetic, but in a larger dose as a virulent poison. The chief
use of the tangéna ordeal was for the detection of witchcraft,
by which the African races
understand the use of poisonous
drugs for evil purposes." Dr. Davidson remarks * that the
word "is in fact equivalent to the Papμakeía of the Greeks;
and as the terms Papuakôs and veneficus were applied by the
ancients to signify alike a physician, a sorcerer, and a poisoner,
so in many of the African languages the same peculiarity obtains.
This arises from the fact that among these and other primi-
tive races the physiological effect of drugs, whether poisonous
or medicinal, are ascribed to some magical power, either inhe-
rent in the substance itself or imparted to it by sorcery.
Medicines are thus employed as charms both for causing and
curing disease."
The use of some poison as an ordeal in Madagascar is pro-
bably of very ancient date, but it seems possible that the
tangéna itself has not been used for a very long period.
It was used chiefly for the detection of infamous crimes
when ordinary evidence could not be obtained, such as
witchcraft and treason; and it was believed that there was
inherent in the fruit some supernatural power, a kind of
"searcher of hearts," which entered into the suspected person,
and either cleared him of guilt or convicted him. The mode
in which it was administered was by giving a portion of two
nuts rubbed down in water or in the juice of a banana, the
culprit having previously eaten a little rice and swallowed
three small square-shaped pieces of a fowl's skin. Tepid
water was after a few minutes administered to cause vomit-
ing, and the proof of innocence was the rejection of these
three pieces uninjured. But even if the ordeal was fairly
administered, there was an amount of risk of poisoning; and
as it was frequently used to get rid of obnoxious persons,
by a little management it could easily be made to yield an
unfavourable result.
One of the most remarkable things in connection with this
ordeal was the implicit faith of the people generally in its
supernatural power, so that they would often demand of the
authorities that it should be administered to them to clear
* Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, vol. viii. p. 97.
TANGENA ORDEAL.
283
them of any possible suspicion, and this notwithstanding the
certainty that some would fall victims to their credulity. As
whole villages sometimes took the tangéna, the mortality
caused by it was very great, and it was a fearful means of
destruction with an appearance of fair dealing.
I have been told by native friends who had been obliged
to take the ordeal during the persecution of Christianity that
they were not freed from suspicion even after the pieces of
skin had been rejected, but that for a day or two afterwards
they were closely watched, and dared not even spit to get rid
of the bitter taste caused by the poison. In that case they
would have been put to death all the same. Happily, this
absurd and cruel custom is now at an end in those parts of
the island to which the Hova authority extends; for, by the
Anglo-Malagasy treaty of 1865, the use of the tangéna ordeal
was abolished for ever in Madagascar. There can, however,
be no doubt that it is still believed in by numbers of the
people. This was shown unmistakably quite recently (April
1878), for the prevalence of a very fatal epidemic fever led
many of the people in a village only a few miles distant
from the capital to resort to the tangéna, several dying from
its effects. The Government, however, promptly interfered, and
punished severely all the inhabitants of the place.
Among the Tanàla, or forest tribes, some other ordeals are
in use, and it is curious that two of these are called tangéna,
with another word added, as if the word had become equi-
valent to "ordeal" in meaning.*
One of these is termed Tangén-Janahàry, i.e., “the Creator's
ordeal,” and is administered as follows:-Water is heated in
a pot, and as the water begins to boil some pieces of quartz,
called vàto vélona (i.e., " living stones"), are slung in the water,
so as not to touch the bottom of the pot. When this is done,
the accused person is ordered to take the stone out of the pot,
putting his hand under the stone, and bringing it out lying
on the palm of his hand; he must then put the stone into.
cold water. He is then carefully watched until the next
day, and should his hand not blister he is declared innocent.
Yet if the accused himself should be the first to declare his
* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. pp. 94, 95.
284
TANGEM-BOAY AND KODEO ORDEALS.
hand unblistered he is accounted guilty, and if accused of
stealing he must pay the stipulated fine. The hand not
blistering, and the accused having waited for others to declare
him innocent, his accuser must give him one slave, and he is
set free.
Another ordeal is that of Tangém-body, the "ordeal by
crocodile." In this test the person suspected of wrong-doing
is taken to a river in which there are many crocodiles. The
people are assembled there. A man stands behind the accused
and strikes the water thrice, and addresses the crocodiles,
begging them to show whether the culprit is guilty or other-
wise. He is then made to swim across the river and back
again, and if he successfully accomplishes this, and is not
hurt by the crocodiles, then the accusers are fined four oxen;
the swimmer gets two, the king one, and the councillors one.*
It may be presumed that few escape this ordeal with life.
Still another ordeal is called Kodéo, a word of obscure
meaning. In this ceremony the accused is set upon a rice-
mortar, and he is made to mutter. A man then approaches.
holding a large stick, with which he thrice strikes the earth,
and thrice cuts the hair of the accused, throwing it to God,
who is invoked to show his guilt or innocence by certain
signs. Should the person be guilty it is said that he at once
begins to tremble, to be purged, and to vomit; and some of
them, although they do not die as they sit there, do not
escape, for the lightning, it is said, soon strikes their houses.
If, although guilty, he finds favour with his judges, they
invoke God's mercy for him and purify him by lustration.
Should the person be innocent he is sprinkled with water, in
which silver rings have been allowed to stand, to make him
well.
The drinking of the Vokoka, or water mixed with earth taken
from the tomb of a former sovereign, as a test of allegiance,
may also be regarded as a species of ordeal.
Another ordeal must be mentioned which was formerly in
use in Imérina. In the case of children born in the month
of Alakàosy it was possible to avert the necessity of actually
* For a romantic story founded on this custom see Chambers's Journal, p. 309,
December 1, 1849, "The Trial by Caïman," by Perey B. St. John.
"WATER IN THE NOSE."
285
destroying them by placing them at the entrance of the cattle-
fold of the village, the oxen being driven over the spot where
the hapless infant was laid. Should it happen that through
any freak of the animals the child was avoided by them and
so escaped death from their hoofs, it was considered to have
overcome the evil fate, and its life was spared. It was
usually sent away into some sequestered village, and not
acknowledged as its father's offspring until some time had
elapsed. It was believed that these children who escaped
It is
through this ordeal would live to be extremely rich.
said that the present Prime Minister of Madagascar was thus
exposed as an infant, having been born in the ill-fated month,
but he escaped injury, and so has lived to be the most power-
ful chief minister the country has ever had as its ruler.
There is still one more custom in use in Madagascar hav-
ing the character of an ordeal. This is called Ràno-àn’-
òrona, "water in the nose," and is a test which is made by
putting water in the nostrils, this being supposed to cause the
guilty party to sneeze. So that if a person accuses another
of theft the accused will say, "Come, let us both put water
in our nostrils, if you dare test it, and see whether I stole or
not?"
Folk-Lore of Home and Family Life.-A few words may
now be said about some popular Malagasy beliefs and super-
stitions having reference chiefly to home and family life.
The mention of sneezing just now reminds us that the
world-wide superstition of some evil influence being at work
when any one sneezes is equally prevalent in Madagascar.
Thus, when a child sneezes its mother or nurse always repeats
the common benediction, " Hotahin' Andriamànitra hianao,”
"God bless you," exactly as is done in Europe and other
parts of the world.
When a child loses one of its first or milk-teeth the tooth
is thrown over the house, a practice closely corresponding to
what is common in some parts of England. Toothache is
believed to be caused by a small worm in the offending tooth,
and so the sufferer is described as being maràry òlitra,
"poorly through the worm."
There is a common belief that the first spittle produced
286
BARA SUSPICION.
after waking in the morning has medicinal virtue in healing
a sore ear or eye. It is then called ròra mafàitra, “bitter or
disagreeable saliva." And when a Malagasy passes anything
with an offensive smell, as, for instance, a dead dog on the
roadside, he always spits, as a kind of antidote. (Perhaps,
however, this should not be regarded as a superstition, but as
a sensible sanitary precaution.)
On entering a house, especially a royal house, it is improper
to use the left foot on first stepping into it; one must "put
one's best (or right) foot foremost." Then again, it is improper
to lean against a chief's house, and it is highly indecorous
to sit upon any royal property, such as cases of goods, &c.
In many parts of Madagascar it is common when giving
a present of food for the donor to taste part of it himself, as
an assurance that it is given in good faith and may confidently
be eaten without any suspicion of its being poisoned. Much
the same feeling is expressed in old forms of salutation, as
Sarasàra tsy ambaka, the two latter words meaning "not
deceived, overreached, or beguiled." This is no superfluous
assurance in some portions of the island, for the Bàra are
said to live in such constant suspicion and dread of an
enemy that they never wash in their houses, but only in the
open air. And even then they only wash one side of the
face at the time, leaving one eye open, and one hand grasp-
ing gun and spear.
Mention has been already made (Chapter X.) of the arrange-
ments of a Hova house, and the sacred portion of it at the
north-east corner, where, in time of war, the women sing the
ràry, a chant or invocation imploring victory for their husbands
and friends. The following is one of these chants :-
''
Although they have many guns,
Although they have many spears,
Protect Thou them, O God."
The rary is also made use of at other times, as when there
has been injury caused by hail, lightning, or waterspouts.
In this north-east corner the fixed bedstead always has its
head towards the north, for the Hovas invariably sleep with
their heads towards the north or east. Even in their tombs
LUCKY AND UNLUCKY NUMBERS.
towards west or south.
287
the dead are also laid in this direction, never with the head
The entrance to the tomb is always
on the western side. Other tribes, however, are not so
particular as the Hovas about the position of their tombs.
In building a house the first corner-post set up is always
at this sacred part of it. Several kinds of plants are attached
to its base, and on the top is fixed a piece of silver chain, a
sort of assurance that the owner will always have money in
his dwelling. In the case of a royal house the post is
sprinkled by the sovereign with sacred water brought from a
special spring, and an invocation is pronounced imploring a
blessing on the building.
Lucky and Unlucky Numbers, Actions, &c.—In the building
of a house for the late sovereign all the measurements were
regulated by the Queen's own réfy, or fathom, that is, the
space between the tips of her fingers when the arms were
extended; and the smaller dimensions were according to her
span, a most awkward and troublesome fettering of the
European architect in making his drawings. Besides this,
no dimension was, if possible, of the unlucky numbers six and
eight. These are considered as of bad omen, because énina,
six, is the same in sound as the root of the word manénina,
to regret, or feel remorse; while vàlo, eight, is similar in
sound to mivalo, to abjectly beg pardon, and also to fàhavalo,
an enemy. The word fàhatélo, third, is also used for enemy,
possibly on the principle that "three are no company," so that
it also has some disfavour attaching to it, as has also the
word fàhasivy, ninth, in some tribes, at least, amongst whom
it is used to denote a malignant kind of spirit or ghost. It
is probable that some, if not all, of these ill-omened numbers
derive much of their discredit from their position in the
columns of arrangements of numbers in working the divination.
or sikidy (see next chapter).
(C
Mr. Richardson says that the Bàra have a strong dislike to
the singular number. They will take nothing singly. You
must offer two, and sometimes they will spend an hour or
two in matching two beads. They call two 'one person
(iraika amin' olo). If you offer one they always ask, ‘Aïa
ny vàliny?'
(Where is its partner?)" Perhaps, however,
288
TABOOED ACTS AND CUSTOMS.
this love of the plural arises from nothing more than their
covetous habit of mind, in short, by an apparent paradox,
from their love of "Number One."
But of course some numbers are lucky, especially twelve,
a number which appears in many connections. Thus the
sovereign has twelve wives; there are twelve capital crimes, and
twelve men who are appointed executioners for such offences;
while in the proclamations twelve royal ancestors are often
spoken of, and also the twelve ancient towns in Imérina, or,
as they are usually on hills, they are called the "twelve sacred
mountains."
The left hand and side appear to be regarded as more
appropriate in circumstances of mourning than the right.
Thus, after leaving off mourning for a deceased relation, the
youngest son or daughter puts a little grease on the left side
of the neck by the little finger of the left hand, a custom
known as mitendrilo.
There are numerous acts and customs which are fâdy or
tabooed in different parts of the country. Thus in some
villages it is forbidden to enter with burdens carried by
one man only; all must be borne by two men. Then "there
is a belief prevalent among the carriers of burdens that if a
woman should stride over their poles, the skin of the shoulders
of the bearers will certainly peel off the next time of taking
up the burden. A cooking-pot may not be used for ladling
water out of a stream, or be put into a pool; an infringement
of this is looked upon as a sure precursor of a wet day."
Similar weather is expected should a man die on a journey
and be buried on the downs where he dies.*
Of the river Fanindrona in Bétsiléo, Mr. Shaw says, that
although it is a splendid river, "on account of the supersti-
tion of the people deterring them from putting a canoe on it,
is one of the greatest obstacles to travelling to and from the
capital in the wet season. In one itinerating journey the
only way of getting the writer's goods across was by balancing
them upon the native water-pitchers, and a man swimming
on each side propelling the cranky vessel forward. And
* Rev. J. Richardson, in Antananarivo Annual, No. iii. p. 84.
TATAO.
289
although scarcely a year passes without one or two being
drowned, yet no inducement is sufficiently strong to over-
come their superstitious dread of allowing a canoe to be
used.” *
Mention has been made in the chapter on Malagasy Names
of much that is curious in connection with them, but there
are two or three facts that may be perhaps more appropriately
considered as illustrations of folk-lore. For instance, it is
often difficult to get persons to tell you their name; if asked,
their attendants or slaves will reply for them; indeed in some
places it is fady for a person to pronounce his own name.
Mr. Grainge says, "Chatting with an old Sàkalàva while the
men were packing up, we happened to ask him his name,
whereupon he politely requested us to ask one of his servants
standing by. On expressing our astonishment that he should
have forgotten this, he told us that it was fàdy for one of his
tribe to pronounce his own name. We found this was per-
fectly true in that district." +
There is a custom called Tatào, which consists in placing
on the head a portion of the rice, honey, and meat eaten
at the New Year's feast. But it is also employed on other
occasions; thus, when crossing a stream which is dangerous
either from the strength of the current or the number of
crocodiles in it, those who have passed in safety take a hand-
ful of the water and put it on their heads, apparently as a sign
of thanksgiving. This practice seems to be a relic of some
ancient form of worship. Among the Bétsiléo the word
tatao is applied to heaps of stone and rubbish, called by the
Hovas fànataovana (see next chapter).
Sickness and Death.-It will be readily supposed that
amongst the Malagasy there are many strange observances
and beliefs connected with death. Some of these have been
already described in the chapters on their Burial Customs, and
on their Language, but there are others more strictly belong-
ing to the present subject.
At the death of a sovereign there are a number of things
which become fady, and must not be done for a specified
* Antananarivo Annual, No. iv. p. 77.
+ Ibid. No. i. p. 24.
T
290
FÁDY.
time, usually extending over several months, and in some
cases lasting a year. Thus at the death of Radàma I. not
only was almost every one ordered to shave the head, but also
to use no showy dress or ornaments or unguents, not to ride
on horseback, or be carried in a palanquin; not weave silk, or
make pottery, or work in the precious metals, or manufacture
sugar; no carpentry work was to be done, or writing, or
plaiting of straw; no salutations were to be used, or musical
instruments played, and dancing and singing were prohibited ;
no beds, tables, or chairs were to be used, and no spirits were
to be drunk.*
At the decease of the late Queen Ràsohérina
in 1868 it was ordered that no musical instrument should
be played, that there be no building in clay, or manufacture
of pottery, that no one lie on a bed, or spin, or prepare silk,
and in case of death the corpse was to be buried without any
killing of bullocks or the usual ceremonies.
The trouble the Malagasy take about their tombs is partly
accounted for by their belief that the spirit of the departed is
unrestful if the body remains unburied. There also exists a
general belief throughout the country in pollution as con-
nected with death. Thus no one who has been at a funeral
can enter the palace or approach the sovereign unless a
month has elapsed, and no corpse is allowed to be buried in
the capital city, or to remain in it beyond a very short time.
The rough bier on which the body is carried is thrown away
in the neighbourhood of the grave as polluted; no one would
dare to use it even for firewood, but it is left to decay with
the weather. Besides this, after a funeral the mourners all
wash their dress, or at the least dip a portion of it in run-
ning water, a ceremony which is called àfana, "freed from,"
and is supposed to carry away the uncleanness contracted
from contact with or proximity to a corpse.
Among the Sakalàva such is the dread of death that when
it occurs in one of their villages they break up their settle-
ment, and remove to a distance before rebuilding their slight
houses. They seem to believe that the spirit of the deceased
will haunt the spot, and do some harm to those who stayed
* History of Madagascar, vol. ii. p. 398.
SIHANAKA SUPERSTITION.
291
where it had lived in the flesh. This perpetual fleeing
before death, of course, prevents the population from becom-
ing settled in its habits, and produces a most unsubstantial
style of house-building. The same notion is also found
among the Bàra.*
Something of the same superstition prevails in other tribes.
Thus the Sihànaka do not pull down the house or go away
from the village, as do the Sàkalàva, but they leave it, and
allow it to fall to pieces of itself.
Such deserted dwellings
they call tràno fòlaka, "broken houses." †
These same people, when taking a corpse to the grave,
nave an earthen dish filled with burning cowdung carried on
a man's head, and this is placed at the headstone. They say
that the reason of this is that the dead person may be able
to get fire should he chance to be cold.
"When the corpse has been placed in the grave a man
knocks at the door of the tomb, or on the stone covering it,
should there be no door, and calls out, 'O thou, Such an one,
whoever it is that has bewitched you, let him not hide, let
him not be concealed, but break him upon the rock, that the
children may see it, that the women may see it;' and all
there also join in the adjuration." +
Among this same tribe, should any one happen to be
seriously ill, he is taken secretly out of the village and con-
veyed to some out-of-the-way place, where no one is allowed
to see him except those who nurse him. §
It is said that among the southern Tanàla the people are
accustomed, when any of their relatives are ill and become
insensible, to take and place them in a part of the forest
where they throw their dead; and should the unfortunate
creatures so cast away revive and return to the village, they
stone them and kill them outright.
Among these same Tanàla, they call sudden death fòla-
mànta ("broken-unripe "), and "such deaths are ascribed to
witchcraft. The diviner is fetched, and he consults the
oracle; and wrapping up some grains of black sand, places
them on the head of the corpse, saying, 'He who is caught
* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 46
‡ Ibid. 1. 65.
Ibid. No. iii. p. 66.
§ Ibid. p. 63.
292
WITCHCRAFT.
carrying his cloth (i.e., his dress) within a month is mine.'
They think that the black sand will make the person who
bewitched the deceased to go about naked; and, therefore,
should such a one be caught at such practices during the
month he is killed."*
Witchcraft and Charms. It will be inferred from the
above, what indeed is the fact, that those who practise
witchcraft are accustomed to go about naked, but this is, of
course, done by night, and the lamba or outer dress is carried
on the head. To dance on tombs is said to be another action
commonly done by mpàmosàvy or sorcerers.
Although to practice sorcery was a capital crime, it appears
to have been very prevalent; indeed the sorcery which
consists in a use of charms of various kinds is still practised
almost all over the island. When it was wished to do injury
to any one, a basket containing various small articles, each
having a symbolic meaning, was laid at his door. Shortly
before the revolution in 1863, Mr. Ellis had such charms
betokening evil to him laid at his door or window for more
than a week. "This charm consisted of a small basket, three
or four inches in diameter and depth, in which were two
pieces of granite stone, called 'death stones.' A hole was
burned in the basket, which indicated calamity by fire.
Amongst the contents were hedgehog's bristles, parts of
scorpions or centipedes, hair, earth said to be from a grave,
and other strange ingredients.” †
Charms or òdy (òly, in some parts of the country) are used
for all sorts of purposes: thus there are òdifàty, a cordial for
exhilarating in circumstances of extreme sorrow or danger;
òdifitía, a philtre or love charm; ddimahéry or òdiràtsy, a
malignant charm, &c. There were also certain charms thrown
towards an enemy before a battle as a means of ensuring
victory. And as soon as one goes away from the Chris-
tianised portions of Madagascar one meets with numbers of
charms worn by the people, and designed to protect from
various evils or to procure certain benefits. Thus, among
the Bàra, Tanàla, and east-coast tribes, every one carries
* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 98.
+ Madagascar Revisited, p. 271.
CHARMS.
293
charms round his neck. These are small pieces of wood,
some being smeared with animal oil, and others with castor-
oil, those belonging to rich people being ornamented with
beads and anointed with fat. Occasionally these charms are
tied round their knees, or fastened round the chest; some
are small pieces of wood shaped like a little canoe; others
are lemur's bones, both from the hands and feet; others are
small wooden figures of men; others are figures of women, or
of oxen, with a variety of other small objects. "This lemur's
foot," said the people, “we call tsimòkotra, and it is a charm
against fatigue; and the meaning of this little canoe is, that
we shall not be upset, and if we swim we shall get across
safely." And the little human figures they call a charm for
obtaining spoil and getting plenty of slaves; and the figure
of a woman is to aid in obtaining women; and as to the
figure of an ox, they say of it that those who possess it
will get abundance of cattle. There are other charms also
called sàmpilàhy or òdi-bàsy, that is, charms against a gun.
These are pieces of a bullock's horn, from three to five or
six inches of the tip; they are ornamented with tin, or with
small beads worked in patterns; the cavity is nearly filled
with the ashes of certain trees or plants of supposed magical
power, and mixed with fat or bees'-wax; in this composition
are stuck a number of large needles. These òdi-basy are sup-
posed to render the wearer invulnerable, being an unfailing
protection against a musket-ball.
*
(C
Mr. Richardson says of these Bàra people: "The charms
are very numerous;" and in addition to the gun-charm just
described, "the men wear from two to twenty-nine (the
greatest number I counted), others on the head, or slung
from the shoulder and across the breast." They have
unbounded confidence in these charms, and will not part
with them except on exorbitant terms." "Should you show
a man that his charms are useless, he will only agree to the
belief that you have a more powerful charm than his own,
and which he is prepared to buy at any price." According
to the same authority, the Bàra have many prohibited acts
* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 63.
294
BARA AND BETSILEO CHARMS.
(fady or tabooed), for which fines are imposed. Thus, "for
sitting or reclining on another person's bed, a fine of one ox,
or to be shot. For striding over a person, or for striding
over the foot even, the same. For brushing a person's face
or any part of his body even with any part of your clothing,
the same. For using spoons, plates, or drinking vessels be-
longing to another person, the same.
Children while young
are exempt from the penalties; but when a child arrives at
an age when he may be trusted with a spear, he is given in
charge of his mother, who takes him from home for a month,
and instructs him in his duty to his fellow-men, especially
urging him to beware of incurring a fine, or running the risk
of being shot. On his return, should he commit any of the
above offences the father will pay the fine, but disinherit his
child; and on the second offence will drive him from the
place."
Of the Bétsiléo charms, Mr. Shaw says that they con-
sist for the most part of pieces of wood about a span in
length, cut from various trees, some growing only, it is said,
in distant places, and hence costing considerable sums of
money;" and that he has in his possession between twenty
and thirty òdy, of each of which he had ascertained the use.
Some are believed in simply as medicine, the sticks being
rubbed on a stone, and the dust thus grated off eaten by the
sick. One is used as an antidote to any poison an enemy
may have placed in the ford; while others are efficacious for
curing cuts and open wounds, delirium, sudden illness, as
protection from thieves, lightning, crocodile, &c. *
Among such customs may be counted one found among
the Sihànaka. In a certain place is a small hole, into which,
if you can pitch a stone, you will be rich and prosperous.
Among these people also, as amongst other tribes, a white
earth is plastered over the face as a cure for certain com-
plaints. The Hovas are also accustomed to put patches
of this substance on their faces on some festive occasions.
Thus, at the coronation of Queen Rànavàlona I., her
majesty's forehead was marked with this white clay, which is
• Antananarivo Annual, No. iv. pp. 5, 6.
"SPIRIT OF EVIL."
295
called, probably from this use of it, tàny ràvo, or “joyful
earth."
The charms which were used to procure victory in the
bull-fights have already been mentioned; and many charms
are also employed to secure a favourable result in the tangéna
ordeal.
There is a curious custom formerly in use among the
Bétsiléo, and still practised by other southern tribes, which
is called Salamànga, a kind of incantation to induce the
spirit of evil," which they believe possesses every one who
is ill, to leave the body in which it has entered and pass into
other bodies. Mr. G. A. Shaw, in his Notes of a Journey to
Ikongo (South-east Madagascar), and also from information he
has kindly supplied me with, gives the following particulars
of the ceremonies employed:" To compass this object
many forms are gone through under the direction of a
diviner. On the roof of the house were placed pieces of
white wood, pointed and painted in cross-bars of black and
red, and stuck in the thatch near the ridge, so as to resemble
the horns of the old-fashioned Malagasy houses. About
three feet from the door was planted a forked branch of a
tree, also resembling horns, having the bark peeled off from
the joint upwards. Those in the roof were to induce the
spirit to ascend them and so leave the house. That near the
door is to prevent any stranger, or any one coming from a
house of mourning, from entering the house, as that would
break the spell. Then twice every day a dance is per-
formed. The òdy or household charms are brought into the
courtyard, and placed on the wooden rice-mortar together
with a dollar. A cloth or mat is spread over this, and upon
the whole the sick person is seated, dressed in a most curious
fashion. One had on, among other ornaments, a conical
fool's cap, decked with leaves and flowers, and a great tassel
at the tip. Then drums and bamboos were beaten, and the
native guitar, banjo, and flute played, the whole village form-
ing a circle round the sick person and clapping hands, while
the women and girls sang a monotonous refrain.
Then a
woman of rank appointed for the occasion began to dance,
while another, seated behind the sick persons, began to leat
296
EXORCISING AN EVIL SPIRIT.
a worn-out spade, suspended by a string, with a hatchet,
quite close to their ears, making a horrid din. I thought as
I stood by that if it wanted anything to make an indisposed
person downright ill this would be a good recipe. The idea
of this is to drive the angatra (evil spirit) possessing the sick
person into one of those dancing. But the two sick persons
sat perfectly motionless, while the drums were beaten louder
and louder, and more and more voices and hands joined
in the chant and the clapping until it reached a perfect
shriek; when I was rather astonished by seeing the two sick
girls jump up and commence dancing round the inside of the
circle formed by the performers. All this goes on twice, and
sometimes three times, a day, and if the sick persons are not
speedily cured appeal is made to the diviners, who tell them
that not enough rum has been brought, or enough beef, or
that the persons dancing are not of high enough rank, or
anything else for an excuse.
""
NOTE.-Since the above was written I notice in the 4th No. of the
Antananarivo Annual, p. 41, the following items of curious supersti-
tious practices related by the Rev. P. G. Peake of the Bezanozano tribe :
"At the funeral, if the heir is young, the fruit of a very bitter creeper
(hòfika) is cooked for him, that he may learn to bear hardship and have a
foretaste of endurance, lest he consume foolishly his possessions.
If a
person of consequence dies, the horns of the gable-ridge of the house are
broken off, and the appellation An-tràno jòloka (‘at the house of humilia-
tion') is given to it."
(297)
CHAPTER XV.
MALAGASY IDOLATRY AND RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND OBSERVANCES.
IDOLS AND THEIR WORSHIP-SACRIFICES-ATONEMENT AND EXPIATION-ALTARS
AND SACRED STONES AND PLACES-DIVINATION-AMERONDROMBÉ, THE
MALAGASY HADES-NEW YEAR'S FESTIVAL.
THE subjects of the preceding chapter and the present one are
so closely connected that it is impossible to draw a rigid line.
of distinction between them, for curious superstitious notions
are mingled with all the religious beliefs and practices of the
Malagasy. But as a matter of convenience, they may be con-
sidered under the separate headings given to the present and
preceding chapters.
Idols and their Worship.-The Malagasy occupy a middle
position among heathen nations: on the one hand, they have
never sunk so low as some of the South African peoples, the
Australian aborigines, and other tribes, who appear to have
lost all idea of a God or a spiritual existence, and have, there-
fore, no words for such ideas; and, on the other hand, their
idolatry has never been developed into a system, with an
elaborate mythology and an organised worship, such as is
found in such fulness in India and other Eastern countries.
In Madagascar there are no temples or regular worship, and
nothing like shrines, pilgrimage, penance, asceticism, and self-
torture, and there is no priesthood, properly so called. The
people undoubtedly have the religious instincts far less de-
veloped than is seen among the Hindoos and many other
Asiatics. The idolatry of the Malagasy generally is indeed a
fetishism or worship of charms, such as are described in the
last chapter. But among the Hovas there had grown up, in
comparatively modern times, an idolatry somewhat different
from the charm-worship common to the people of the island
298
IDOLS.
generally, and of this a few particulars may not be without
interest.
When Europeans first went up to the interior province of
Imérina in the early years of the present century, they found
a number of idols held in veneration by the people, in addi-
tion to the household idols or sampy common to every house,
and those held in special veneration in different villages and
districts. Of these idols, some fifteen or sixteen in number,
four were especially famous, and were regarded as the pro-
tectors of the kingdom and the sovereign. These four were,
however, nothing more than charms, some of them, if not all,
having, according to tradition, been brought from distant parts
of the island, and seem, through some accidental circum-
stance, to have acquired fame for their supposed supernatural
powers.
First in rank and estimation was the idol Rakélimalàza (i.e.,
"Little (yet) renowned "). This was especially the protector
of the kingdom, and was supposed to make the sovereign
invincible, to protect from crocodiles, from sorcery, and from
fire.
From a drawing given to me by a native friend whose
family was the hereditary guardian and keeper of one of these
chief idols, it appears that Rakélimalàza consisted simply of
three small pieces of the wood of some sacred tree, wrapped
round with white silk. It was kept at a large village called
Ambohimanambòla, distant about six miles east of the capital;
and it, like the other chief idols, had a house appropriated to
it. The office of idol-keeper was hereditary, and was one
both of honour and profit, those who held it having several
privileges belonging to no other subjects, such as the right of
carrying a scarlet umbrella, the badge of the royal family,
and in some cases of being not subject to the punishment of
death for any offence. The principal idols were usually kept
in a box, and were occasionally anointed with castor-oil and
other unguents, a ceremony having apparently some religious
significance. At none of these idol-houses, however, was there
any regular worship, but they were visited by those people.
who desired to obtain certain benefits, offerings of money or
of fowls, sheep, and other animals being brought to the idol-
IDOL SANCTITY.
299
keeper. The idols were also taken abroad on special occa-
sions, being at these times usually fastened to the top of a
slender pole, so as to be visible from a distance, although the
idol itself was generally hidden from view by a covering of
scarlet silk or velvet, striped with dark-blue cloth
Each idol had its special fàdy, that is, certain things or
acts which were distasteful to it, and which must not be
touched or practised by its votaries. The fady of Kélima-
làza were as follows:-Pork and shellfish were forbidden, and
also to taste food which was still being cooked, or which was
taken off the fire at a different side to that at which it had
been put on.
Should the bird called the tàkatra cross its
path when carried abroad, it must be carried back; and
should this bird fly over the idol's house, a red ox entirely of
one colour must be killed as an expiation. It could not be
taken abroad on Friday or Saturday, and two species of
grass, called hòròndràno and tenona, were forbidden to be
taken into its house. Its keepers were not allowed to eat
beef killed at a funeral, and no person who had recently
attended a funeral could enter its house; and its keepers
were obliged to dress their hair in a special manner, parted
back, and not arranged in a knot near the forehead.
finally, all who entered its house must step in with the right
foot.
And,
Next in rank to Kélimalàza was Ramàhavàly, the
Malagasy Esculapius; this was kept at a village a few
miles north of the capital, and was regarded as having power
to cure diseases. To effect this, small pieces of wood which
had been fastened to the idol were sold to those who required
them, and were regarded as of undoubted efficacy. The
name means “able to answer," or "able to revenge," and, as
already mentioned, when speaking of the superstitions con-
nected with animals, serpents were regarded as the agents of
this idol's anger if he were offended. Very extensive and
extraordinary powers were attributed to Ramàhavàly, not
only over disease, but over the elements of nature, the
seasons, and futurity; and not only were serpents his agents,
but he was said to be able to twist the neck of those who
offended him, so that they faced backwards, a reverse which
300
RAFANTAKA.
no earthly power could remedy. From the native drawing it
appears that this idol consisted of two small rude wooden
figures of lizards, ornamented with coral beads and pieces of
silver. And from an interesting account of the burning of
this idol given to me by a Malagasy friend, it seems that
the idol had several coverings of different kinds of cloth, the
outer ones profusely ornamented with silver and beads, and
made respectively of dark-blue cotton, of native silk, and of
scarlet cloth. Together with the idol itself, there were burnt
twenty-six large and small baskets, all filled with leaves and
pieces of wood used as charms; and nine wooden boxes filled
with charms to be used as fillets for the head, necklaces, or
armlets, and supposed to give the bearer certain protection in
battle.*
The tabooed things and acts of this idol were onions,
and funeral beef; vegetables to be cooked must not be put
to boil inside the house, but out of doors, and the rice about
to be eaten must not be mixed up in the middle of the
cooking-pot. No serpent must be killed, nor could any
attendant at a recent funeral enter the idol house; it could
not be carried abroad on Thursday, and those who sought its
aid paid fourpence and a cock to the keepers as a fee.
Next perhaps in importance was the idol Rafantàka. This
was kept at the old capital and sacred city of Ambòhimànga,
about eleven miles north of Antananarivo. From the native
drawing already referred too, it appears to have been simply
the curved tusk of a wild-boar, to which was attached a long
ribbon-like piece of dark-red native silk. At each end of
this was a kind of fringe made of coral beads and small
pieces of silver. The fàdy or tabooed objects and actions of
Rafantàka were the following:-Onions, kidneys, the herb
called àna-mafàitra, tripe, and funeral beef, and food tasted,
or removed, while cooking, in an improper way from the fire.
It was forbidden to take into its house the rolls of twisted
grass used to place under anything carried on the head, or the
rush called vòndrona; and the reed called by the same name
as the idol, fantàka, must not be burned, or the wood called
haròngana. Chaff must not be scattered, and if the idol's house
were crossed by a takatra, an ox with horns growing down-
* See Sunday at Home, April, 1879, pp. 213–216.
IDOLS OF IMERINA.
301
ward must be killed. The worshippers of the idol took an
offering of dark-blue cloth and a silver ring, and money to
about the value of about threepence, and were sprinkled with
water by the idol-keepers.
The fourth of these principal idols, that called Manjà-
katsiròa (ie., "Not two sovereigns "), was the tutelar deity of
the sovereign, and was kept in a house in the palace-yard at
Antananarivo. From the native drawing it has a very exact
resemblance to a common bottle-gourd, but I believe it was
really nothing more than a small bag of sand. This curious
god was taken in one hand of the sovereign at her first
public appearance after her accession, the idol Rafantàka being
held in the other; and standing upon the sacred stone or
rock, she invoked the protection of these two idols for herself
and the kingdom.
Among the other idols of Imérina was one of which a
word or two may be said. This was Rànakandriana, which
was kept in a cave on the steep side of a lofty rocky ridge, a
few miles north-west of the capital. This cave was a kind of
Delphi, and was resorted to by those who desired answers to
questions they put about various benefits they sought for.
It is quite true that audible answers were given to such
inquiries, but, as might be supposed, it was the voice of a
man, and not of a god, which replied. Two brothers were
the idol-keepers; and one of them, previously concealed in a
cavity in the rocks, gave such answers as he deemed would
be acceptable to the votaries.
Of the other idols, some were believed to be able to pro-
tect against hail; others to bring travellers safely home
again; and others to punish theft. Many were the curious
antipathies they were supposed to entertain; one of the
most foolish of these was the dislike to houses with walls
made of non-combustible materials, so that until about nine
or ten years ago no stone, brick, or earthen building could
be erected either in the capital city or the other principal
towns of the central province.
These idols have, however, now all passed away. On
the 8th and 9th of September 1869, they were committed to
the flames by royal command; and on the following days the
302
HOUSEHOLD WORSHIP.
whole of the charms and sampy throughout the central
province of Imérina were also destroyed.
In almost every
village a heap of curious and worthless looking objects which
had long been regarded with reverence were collected together,
and, to the horror of many of their worshippers, met with the
same fate as the principal gods.
<<
In the other parts of Madagascar the idolatry of the people
seems never to have reached the development it had attained
among the Hovas; it was, and indeed still is, more of a
household, and occasionally, a tribal, worship of charms, and
every man was priest in his own house. Speaking of the
people in the south-west of the island, Drury (1702-1717)
says: There are no people here who pretend to be
greater favourites of the Supreme Being than other men,
and to have a particular commission to interpret and declare
His will. No one here yet has been so presumptuous as to
attempt this; and if any one should be so hardy, he would
meet with but few to credit him. Every man here, the poor
man as well as the rich lord, is a priest for himself and his
family, and expects the demons should answer his requests
in his dreams." In another part of his narrative he describes
this household worship, which consisted of placing the family
idol or òly (òdy in Hova and other dialects) upon a forked
stick, burning a fragrant gum under it, and invoking the
Supreme Being and some inferior divinities.
A native account of the Sihànaka tribe relates that an
old man of the district said: "We had no religion except
making offerings (sòrona) and sacrifices (fànalàmboàdy),
while our country was still separate from the Hovas; but
when the country was conquered by Radàma I., then were
first brought here the idols called Itsimàhalàhy and Ramà-
havàly. But notwithstanding that," said he, "we regarded
their worship only as Government service which must be
performed, for we did not see the meaning of it; for the
only idol (or charm) we Sihànaka made use of was a charm
for preserving cattle, and that we did not worship, but it was
taken by the herdsmen into the pastures with them." *
Sacrifices.-Sacrifices were offered by the Hovas, and are
* Antananarivo Annual, No. iii. p. 66.
SACRIFICES.
ACRIFIC
303
still offered by the people in those parts of the island which
are uninfluenced by Christianity. These consist of oxen,
which in many cases must be entirely of one colour, and of
goats, sheep, and fowls. In certain cases the whole animal
was burned; but in most instances the fat only was burned
and the blood poured out, as representing the best portion
of the victim and its life; while the flesh was eaten by
the offerers, forming thus a meat-offering. Sacred stones
and places were also anointed with the fat and blood; the
graves of the Vazìmba and the upright headstones of family
tombs being thus honoured. A gum called émboka and a
fragrant wood called havòzo were also burnt on some occa-
sions; and a kind of lustration, by sprinkling water upon
the worshippers by the idol-keepers and by those who acted
as sacrificers, was a frequent part of the religious ceremonies
in use.
Among the Hovas the sovereign acted on some
occasions as a high priest; thus, Radàma I. is described by
the Rev. J. J. Freeman, in 1828, as burning a small piece
of fat before each of the seven small wooden houses covering
the tombs of the royal ancestors in the royal courtyard at
Antananarivo. This was done at the New Year's festival.
It is worthy of remark that sacrifices of thanksgiving are
called fanalamboàdy, that is, “the accomplishment of a vow,”
while others offered to obtain benefits are called sòrona.
This latter word is also used, probably from its connection
with the burning of the flesh, for the simple feeding of a
fire with fuel.
In one province of the island, the Vangaindràno district.
on the south-east coast, human sacrifices were formerly
offered. These were made every week, Friday being the
proper day, and those of high rank were considered the most
appropriate offering; the victims were speared and left to be
devoured by wild dogs and birds.
Atonement and Expiation.-Closely connected with the
Malagasy customs as regards sacrifices was the practice of
making a faditra, a kind of expiatory or atoning offering for
certain offences, or to avert threatened or dreaded evils.
This faditra often consisted of most worthless objects, such
as ashes, the husk of a fruit, the gourd or pumpkin, or the
304
ATONEMENT AND EXPIATION.
water with which the mouth had been washed out; or it
was sometimes a piece of cut money, or a sheep. Whatever
it might be, the evil desired to be removed was first recited
over the fàditra, with the wish that it might be removed by
its means. If ashes were employed, these were blown so to
be driven away by the wind; if cut money, it was thrown
into deep water, so that it could not be found again; if a
pumpkin, it was dashed violently on the ground; while if a
sheep, it was carried to a distance on a man's shoulders,
who ran with the utmost speed, imprecating on the victim.
all the evils it was intended to carry away.
In the early part of the reign of the first Rànavàlona, one of
her favourites, foreseeing a speedy reversal of the royal favour,
"applied to a diviner, and inquired what would be his fate.
The diviner told him he would die a violent death, for his
blood would be shed. He asked how he might avert the
doom. The diviner gave him little reason to expect that
anything could avert it, but directed him to mount a bullock,
carrying on his head a vessel full of blood, and as the
animal moved along he was to spill the blood on his head,
and then send it away into the wilderness.
This was done,
but the doom was not averted." A few days afterwards he
was cruelly killed in his own house.*
Another remarkable occurrence, but with a happier end-
ing, may be related as a further illustration of the belief the
Malagasy held, in common with many other nations, that
"blood maketh an atonement." In the reign of a former
Hova sovereign, named Andriamàsinavàlona, the first one
who united the whole central province of Imérina under his
authority, he was told by the diviners that a human sacrifice
would be the best to make when setting up the first corner-
post of his new palace. Upon his announcing this to the
people assembled to witness the ceremony, the whole multi-
tude fled precipitately from the palace-yard, and many even
from the city. But a man named Ratrìmofòloàlina, living at
a village a mile or two to the west of the capital, when he
heard of the King's wish, went up to the palace, and offered
to the King to give his life for his sovereign's benefit, and
* Nurrative of the Persecution, p. 21.
ALTARS.
305
allow his blood to be shed as an offering to sanctify the new
royal house. His offer was accepted, the corner-post was
raised, and he was fastened to the top, and prepared himself
to die. But the King gave private instructions that his ear
only should be cut, and that at the same time a quantity of
water dyed with a red bark should be sprinkled over the post,
so that the people thought that Ratrìmofòloàlina was really
killed. But he was soon brought down again, his bonds cut,
and then the King in the fulness of his gratitude offered him
anything he should chose: oxen, fighting bulls, an estate,
money, or to be made a prince. He chose, however, some-
thing different, and the King agreed that to the latest genera-
tion the descendants of the man who had offered his life for
his sovereign's benefit, should never be put to death for any
offence, or be placed in irons, or punished for any theft of the
sovereign's property. From that time, therefore, the clan
descended from Ratrìmofòloàlina has been known by the
name of Tsimàtimanòta, i.e., "Not killed (although) trans-
gressing."
Altars, and Sacred Stones and Places. Although the
Malagasy have no temples they have sacred places, where
certain sacrifices are offered, and which may be considered
as a kind of altar. Of these, the headstones of their tombs,
rude undressed slabs of blue granite or basalt, are the most
prominent, being, as already mentioned, anointed with the
blood and fat of the animals killed both at funerals and on
other occasions, especially at the New Year's festival. In
numerous places, other stones may be seen anointed in a
similar way. Some of these are in the bed of streams, being
thus honoured to propitiate the spirits supposed to dwell in
the water or around it. Other stones are anointed by women
who wish to obtain children.
Among the forest tribes (Tanàla), Mr. Brockway describes.
the following kind of altar as seen by him:-" One outside
the forest was a perfect altar, upon which no tool had ever
been lifted, and was about two and a half feet high. Three
stones (the tripod) were firmly fixed in the ground, and a large
flat one covered these; the whole finding a back-piece in a
U
306
BARA SACRED PLACES.
>>
vàto-tsàngana, a large upright stone.' Among these same.
people, but farther south, I met with an altar consisting of a
long flat stone supported by several smaller ones. Another
kind was made by an upright stake fixed in the ground with
a number of bamboos arranged round it, forming a cone-
shaped structure; in front of this several stones were placed;
and upon this rude altar the heads of cattle, fowls, &c., were
thrown as offerings. Here also the people come to pray for
the blessings which they desire, especially for children.
Among the Bàra people there are said, by Mr. Richardson,
to be three kinds of sacred places. The first are the fetish
tamarind trees found near some of the towns. Surrounding
the trunk of these trees, some of which are very large, “are
laid small baskets, mats, fan-palm leaves, locks of hair,
&c. &c.; and on the surrounding branches similar articles are
hung, evidently placed there in making a vow, or as a thanks-
offering for some benefit." Then come the sacred posts out-
side the towns. The commonest kind of these are "about a
foot in diameter, and rise to the height of six feet or more.
The lower part is round; about a foot from the ground two
grooves are cut in the post, leaving a piece about the size of
a man's head; above this the post is cut in the form of an
immense four-sided stake tapering to a fine point. They are
sometimes three in number, and in exposed places are sur-
rounded by a fence of véro (a very tall grass) or bamboo.
Some of these posts are much shorter, and are rudely carved
to represent a man, but mostly a woman. These are the
guardians of the town." The third kind are the sacred
posts in the King's enclosure, which are generally of the same
character as those outside the town; but more frequently
they consist of about half-a-dozen sticks about the thickness
of an ordinary walking-stick. The bark of the upper part is
peeled off in circular rings, showing the white wood, and these
are smeared with blood, mostly the blood of oxen killed to
propitiate the deity. There is a bent spear, also smeared with
blood, stuck in the centre of these sticks, and the whole is
enclosed in a fence of bamboo."
In another part of the Bàra country, a native account de-
* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 60.
HOVA SACRED PLACES.
307
scribes the people as paying a kind of adoration to a tree
called bontòna. An ox-skull is suspended to the branches,
In another dis-
and to it numbers of charms are fastened.
trict the largest tree had a figure of a woman fixed to it. On
being asked the meaning of this, the people replied, “This is
the tree of adulterous desires, for here those pray who want
women, or are about to marry."
Among the sacred places of the Hovas, the stones and
graves of the Vazìmba formerly held a prominent place.
These Vazìmba, as already mentioned in the sixth chapter,
are believed to have been the aboriginal inhabitants of the
central province. There are numerous traditions about them,
some of which are doubtless fabulous, for certain of the
Vazìmba chieftains were elevated by the popular imagination
to the rank of demigods endowed with marvellous powers.
After the expulsion of the Vazìmba from the central pro-
vince, their tombs became sacred places, and their spirits
the objects of a special worship and dread. Oxen, sheep,
and fowls used to be sacrificed at their tombs, and the stones
were rubbed with fat, as a means of obtaining good from
them, or averting their anger. It was believed that to tread
on their tombs was especially offensive to them, and that
those offending were struck with pain and disease, or made
blind.
The Vazìmba were supposed to be of two kinds, the
kindly-disposed and the fierce and cruel. Some are said to
inhabit the water, the lake Itàsy being especially their
abode, while others are terrestrial in their habits. They
were believed to appear to those who sought their aid,
in dreams, warning them and directing them.
This appear-
ance was called tsindrimùndry, tsindry meaning "squeezed,'
"impressed," and mandry, "lying down." One famous Va-
zimba called Ranòro had, like the chief idols, his fady or
tabooed things. Salt was one of his antipathies, and was
forbidden to be brought near the water he inhabited. If,
however, salt was carried past the lake it must not be men-
tioned by its usual name, sira, but must be called farào,
otherwise it would be all dissolved and lost; while the
people he inspired must term it sakay màmy, i.e., "sweet
308
VAZIMBA.
pepper" (or chillies), or they would be violently shaken by
the offended spirit. Onions, shellfish, and funeral meat
were also very offensive to this Vazìmba. A marvellous
story is told in a native account of a slave-girl who was
inspired by Ranòro, and after offending him was struck
blind, but was restored to sight by a wash made of a blue
flower called nifinakanga, of sassafras (havozo), and a tree
called fànazava. After this she was taken by him into the
river Ikiòpa, where she remained, so they say, three days
under the water.
It is said in this same account that the Vazìmba in the
lake Itàsy were accustomed to show themselves every day
on a rock in the midst of the water, but if any one approached
too near they disappeared. They were clothed in a red
lamba; possibly the presence of scarlet herons or flamingoes.
gave rise to this story. Other Vazìmba are said to appear
on the margin of the sea; most probably these were seals,
some species of which are well known to have a remarkable
resemblance to human figures at a little distance.
As was
said of the Lares and Lemures in European countries at the
introduction of Christianity, so the Vazìmba are reported to
have all disappeared from the central provinces since the
idols were burnt, and to have gone into the sea to the west
of the island.
Among the Tanàla people there is also a belief in a kind
of water-sprite or mermaid, called Andriambàviràno, “water-
princess." "She is said to be white, and her hair is green
and long. It is only in deep water, where there are many
long weeds, that she is to be seen; she possesses water-
cattle with long hair, and these oxen also live in the water.
The people think there is land below the land in which they
live, but they do not profess to know anything about it.*
Another kind of sacred place frequently seen in Imérina
by the roadsides is what is called fànatàovana. This con-
sists of a heap of stones, sticks, grass, and other rubbish on
which persons passing usually throw something to express
the hope of a safe return.
Divination.
Among the superstitions of the Malagasy,
* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 100.
DIVINATION.
divination held a very important place.
this was called sikidy, a word which has
309
Among the Hovas
been shown by the
Rev. L. Dahle * to be most probably of Arabic origin. This
fact, together with the additional one that the words for fate,
vintana, sorcery, mosàvy, and possibly some other words con-
nected with these practices, are probably derived from the
same language, leaves little doubt that the practice of divina-
tion is of foreign origin, and was introduced into Madagascar
many centuries ago by the Arab settlers, both on the east
and west coasts. And this is further confirmed by the fact,
that many of the words employed in working the oracle
are also evidently of Arabic origin, from their commencing
with the Arabic article Al. According to native accounts,
this form of divination was supernaturally given to their
ancestors; but probably the stories told were invented to give
greater authority to the decisions of the diviners, who were
accustomed to invoke the names of the ancients to whom
the art was said to be first communicated and who trans-
mitted it to posterity.
But it will be asked, What was this sikidy? and how
were its decisions ascertained? It was a "mode of working
a particular process by means of beans, rice, straw, sand,
or any other objects that can easily be counted or divided.
Definite and invariable rules were given for working the
process and deciding upon the result." A number of lines
were drawn resembling the divisions of a chess-board; the
first set had sixteen columns one way and four the other, the
second set four columns each way, and the third set four by
eight. Taking a handful of beans from a heap, the diviner
withdrew two, then two more, and so on until only two or
one bean was left, which he placed on the first square at the
top of the right-hand corner. All the spaces were filled up
in a similar way. Then by certain fixed combinations of
numbers from the second table, the third one was filled up;
and as each column, read in different directions, had a special
name and significance, the coincidence in numbers between
different columns was supposed to point out what was to be
done in case of real or imaginary, present or apprehended,
Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 8o.
*
4
310
ORACLE OF THE SIKIDY.
evils. It will be seen, therefore, that there was a mixture of
chance and of fixed rules in the working of this oracle. In
Ellis's History of Madagascar (vol. i. chaps. xv., xvi.) will be
found diagrams of these tables, with minute particulars as
to the methods employed in ascertaining the decisions. In
illness, in buying and selling, in going on a journey, in dread
of any calamity, recourse was had to the sikidy, and im-
plicit belief placed in its direction, as of divine origin. The
first Queen Rànavàlona had recourse to the divination for
the directing of almost every action and event of her life.
"She could scarcely venture to take even an ordinary meal
of rice without having it worked ten or a dozen times. First,
the diviners must decide from what class of the people the
rice is to be obtained; then, in what direction it may be
fetched; then, who is to fetch it, in what kind of basket;
who is to cook it, with what fuel; in what dish to serve it
up; on which side it is to be served out; what may be eaten
with it, drank with it, &c. &c. All this is thought needful
to guard against witchcraft and sorcery.
To avert the evils pointed out by the sikidy various offer-
ings, of the kind already described and called fàditra and sòrona,
were made. These offerings had generally some verbal connec-
tion with the particular evil to be averted. Thus, for evil be-
lieved to come from heaven, a herb called tsikòbondanitra,
"stirred up by heaven," was presented; if from sheep, a small
fish called ondrindráno, "water-sheep," was offered; while if
death was feared, a piece of disintegrated granite called vàto
màty, or“ dead-stone," was the fàditra. In other cases there was
a different kind of connection between the evil and the remedy;
thus, if fire was the origin of the evil, then the scarlet flowers
of the sòngosòngo (Euphorbia splendens) was offered. When
it was wished to bring home a person from a distance, a reed
was erected upon a mountain in accordance with the instruc-
tions of the sikidy, and this was called manàinga-làvitra,
"to raise up afar off.”
The Hova diviners were acquainted with the science of
casting nativities, and those who practised this art were called
mpanandro, i.e., “makers of days." It was not, however, done
* Narrative of the Persecution, p. 60.
ASTROLOGERS.
311
by astrology, for the vintana, or fate of persons, depended upon
the age and situation of the moon at their birth.
Among the Tanàla tribes, however, there appears to be an
astrology, strictly so called. Some of their diviners "look at
the little stars that are visible about three o'clock in the
morning in the eastern sky, and from which they foretell any
calamity that may be hanging over any person or town.
They also know from them who will die and who will live;
and before the time of their death comes they are able to give
them something to ward it off and make them live longer.
These star-gazers are the chiefs of the diviners. Some others
look into a glass or a white plate, and they say they see
there what will make people ill, and give medicine to ward
off the calamity. The diviners in the Taimòro district are
said to have a large book, and on looking into this book they
are able to foretell what will kill any one, and what will
ward off death." So runs the native account; but the
"book," and the looking into a glass or white plate, seem so
unlike indigenous Malagasy customs that I strongly suspect
they are derived from the Arabs, who are known to have
settled in the south-east coast of Madagascar, and to have
advanced inland, becoming chiefs of some of the forest tribes,
as well as of others on the coast. (See chapter v.)
Ambòndrombé, the Malagasy Hades.-The old ideas of the
Malagasy concerning the state of men after death seem very
confused and obscure. Sometimes the dead were spoken of
as làsan-ko-rivotra, "gone into air," or as having become
nothing; and yet there was doubtless a belief also in their
continued existence, as they were prayed to and invoked on all
religious observances, and were said to have gone away and
"become God" (làsan-ko Andriamanitra), a noteworthy phrase,
implying something of a pantheistic idea. In a remarkable
speech attributed to Andrianimpòinimérina, father of the first
Radama, who died in the year 1810, he told his friends and
family that he was "fetched by God," and was "going home
to heaven." And a phrase used in speaking of the dead, who
are said to have nòdy màndry, which means literally "gone
home to rest," also seems to imply a return from the grave,
1
312
MALAGASY HADES.
as it is often employed when people spend the night at a
place and return home the following day.
A belief in ghosts is found all over the island. There are
several names for these shades, as matòatòa, ambiròa (with
many variations), and lòlo.* The Bétsiléo, Tanàla, and probably
other southern tribes, have also the words kinòly, a grotesquely
horrible being, more like an animated skeleton than anything
else, and also a curious word, fàhasivin' ny màty, which is
literally, "ninth of the dead," or simply, fàhasivy, "ninth."
The word àmbiròa (or àmeròy) is also used by the Tanàla to
denote the spirits of the living. These fàhasivy are said to
appear in dreams, and are propitiated by offerings of an ox.
The spirits of the dead are believed to go to Ambòndrombé,
a lofty mountain covered with forest on the eastern edge of
the highland of the Bétsiléo country and dividing it from the
lower Tanàla territory. While travelling in the southern
part of the island in 1876, I was much interested to have
this Malagasy Hades pointed out to me when near the Hova
fort of Imàhazòny. It had the appearance of a long regu-
larly-curved mountain, stretching like the outline of a bow
from north to south, and many miles distant to the east.
The summit is often covered with clouds, and thus, from its
height and almost inaccessible character, it has been invested
for ages past with an atmosphere of dread. No one resident in
the surrounding country would dare approach it, and strange
stories were told of the firing of cannon and making of salutes
whenever a royal ghost arrived to take up his abode there.†
About three years ago, Mr. G. A. Shaw solved the problem
raised by the strange sounds reported to be heard from
Ambòndrombé, by a personal examination of the dreaded
mountain. He was unable to induce any Bétsiléo to accom-
pany him or bring hatchets to cut open a path, but some of
his bearers were bold enough to follow him, and after three
hours' hard work, cutting away the undergrowth and creepers,
he reached the summit.
He describes the mountain in the following terms:-"I
* Lòlo is also the word for "butterfly:" a curious analogy with the similarly
double meaning of the Greek ψυκη.
† See Antananarivo Annual, No. i. pp. 95-97; No. ii. p. 99.
AMBONDROMBE.
313
found that Iaratsa [another name given to it] consists not of
one hill, as it appears at a distance, but of a large group of
hills, some six or seven in number, with very deep gullies
between them. These gorges have a general north and south
direction. The northern end of the gorges or valleys is open,
but at the south three hills, or one large hill with three tops
-I could not tell which-blocks up the southern end except
at the south-west corner, which is open to the west.
This
peculiar arrangement of an isolated block of hills is, I think,
the first cause of the strange sounds which are the origin of
the superstitious fears connected with this place. The eastern
hill is one of the highest, if not the highest, in Bétsiléo, and
the wind, generally easterly, meeting this obstruction, rushes
with furious force round the north end, and over the top
into the three longitudinal valleys, out of which there is no
outlet except the narrow mouth at the south-west end.
this way a species of natural trumpet is formed.
tainly while there I noticed that when there was scarcely a
breath of wind in my camping-ground, there was often the
roar as of a furious tempest going on above us. The hills
are more thickly covered with forest than any other part I
have seen in Madagascar, but I could discover nothing else,
such as caves, &c., that by an echo could have given rise to
the weird tales so fully believed in by the Bétsiléo.
I quite
think from what I heard that the wind is the great ghost
raiser at Ambòndrombé.” *
In
And cer-
The Fandroana or New Year's Festival.-The observances
connected with this principal feast of the Hovas have been
described by more than one writer, but as any account of the
religious usages of the Malagasy would be incomplete with-
out some mention of this national festival, a short summary
may be here given. It is to be noticed that the Fandròana
seems to be a Hova observance, and is not kept by many of
the tribes away from the central provinces of Madagascar.
First as to the name of the festival. This is derived from
one of the principal ceremonies observed, that of bathing,
fandròana meaning a "bath." Native tradition relates that
* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 57.
314
NEW YEAR'S FESTIVAL.
the king named Ralàmbo first instituted the observance of
the festival, the same chieftain who is celebrated as having
discovered the excellence of beef.
The first ceremonies are held on the last day but one of
the old year.
The great people of the kingdom meet the
sovereign in the principal palace, and a red cock is then
brought by the chief diviner. Its neck is wrung, and the
blood being caught in a banana leaf, is carried to the sove-
reign; this blood he takes with the nail of the left-hand little
finger and with it touches his forehead, neck, stomach, arm-
pit, finger-nails, and toe-nails; the rest of the assembly fol-
lowing the example. This blood is allowed to remain on.
On the following day the great people assemble again,
wearing the handsome red silk lamba, and in the morning the
royal tomb-houses in the palace-yard are swept and furnished
with mats. In the evening they assemble again for the royal
bathing in the great palace. Native music of the old style is
played, together with that of more modern European fashion,
and the representatives of the six royal clans, and of those
from the commoners and the army, present the dollar of alle-
giance. A fire on a temporary hearth of red earth is pre-
pared in the middle of the great hall, and numerous pots of
rice are put on to cook. Then the Queen proceeds to bathe;
this she does in the north-east (the sacred) corner of the
house, in a silver bath, being screened from view by làmbas
held up by her attendants. The cannon are fired and a royal
salute given. After bathing the Queen takes a horn of water
in her hand and sprinkles those present, pronouncing a bene-
diction and asking for a blessing on the new year, in certain
prescribed formula. She then goes to the open door to the
west and sprinkles those outside. The rice mixed with honey
is then partaken of by the Queen and the assembled guests,
the spoons being made of banana leaves tied up with fine
tendrils of some plant. Several salutes are fired, and the
assembly disperses at between ten and eleven o'clock. The
new year is then supposed to have begun, it being called the
first of the month Alàhamàdy, and the new moon of that
month. Since the accession of the present sovereign, how-
ever (1868), the festival has been held at the time of full

12-
14
16-
18
20
46
44
Ga-t
Comoro
Vol.
COMORO
Mohilla
A ISLES
Johanna
H
A
N
屋
​C. SAndrew
C.Amber
50
Ambro
Glorioso P
48
Port Liverpool
WPitt Bay
British Sound
Passandari
C.S Sebastian
Minow Isla
Nosibe
M
Port/Looke
Port Leven
Volimar P
Mahanura
Port Rada
Passando
PM Cluer
Narreenda Ba
Majambo Bay
Bembatoka Bay
Makambyten B
Boyanu B.
N
E
A
East C.
12
14
Port
Choiseuly
kondritsara
Mojanga
Marifandrai
Maroko
Trabongy
Kamorn
Betsitule
Σκορ
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L
antra
Ambatonarumaka
Ankay
Antagel Bay
Fenerwo
Turnford Nost
St Marie I.
Foule P
Mondren. Tamatave
Andevorado
4
N
O
16
-18
Juan de Nova
Nova
Caffin I,
Banatry
Secondary
Plains
Mevaranana
E
0
Q
Burren l
Ankarandray
F. Marenholm
Imanandaray
Desert
B. Tauribijana
B
B
I
Andakabe
Barlow L
pilasaoka
Mansa
Kitombo
Kangoly
Antsira
CS Vincent
22
24
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FEET
SOOD
4000
2200
1000
Sea Leach
R. Mang
Woode d
Malarmbandy
Betaf
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Ausgiboarin
Mahdo
Mother's
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hiba
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Ambatapang
ambahy
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1
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St Augustine B.
0
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C
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herenaria
R. Oralary
Secondary Plains
Trimanampetsotay
Machikord
Love I
Pr Darrow
Cape 5 Mary
46
(T
Tropic of Capricorn
PHYSICAL MAP OF
MADAGASCAR
by the Rev. Ja Sibree.
From the Proceedings of the
orographical Socj
ENCLISH MILES
o
50
100
150
Fort Dauphin
50
The Shadel part shows the Elevated Gramine Region
the Black Dots, the Volare Drstricts, while Umse
Forest (coloured Green) surrounds the Island
48
HORIZONTAL SECTION ACROSS MADAGASCAR ON 19TH PARALLEL STH LATITUDE
on on enlarged Scale
42
44
W.J.Turner, R. G.S., Del.
46
48
50
24407
FRET
3000
4000
2000
20
122
-24
2000
1000)
Sea Lord
52
PALACE FESTIVITIES.
315
moon of the month, and prayers and the singing of one or
two hymns have been added to the former observances.
On the following morning takes place the ceremony of
blessing the oxen of the people, and killing an ox without
blemish for the sovereign, as already described in the previous
chapter. The rump is roasted near the head of the royal
ancestors' tombs, and the sovereign eats, invoking a blessing;
then, together with the royal family and heads of the royal
clans, she enters the chief palace and eats, a small portion
of the rice being placed on the head, with the invocation,
Blessed, blessed (be) God the Creator! thousands of us have
reached the year, the family unseparated!"
(C
In the evening there is more feasting, the four chief palaces
being entered one after another by the sovereign and her
guests. Sunday and Thursday were the proper days for the
principal ceremonies of the feast. If the oxen were killed on
Thursday the chief feast was on Sunday, but if the killing
was on Sunday, the feasting, dancing, and singing was on
Thursday. A red-and-white ox was killed both at Ambò-
himanga, the old capital, and at Antananarivo, the present
capital, the animal at the latter place being killed by the
sovereign in person, and that at the former place by one of
the royal family. A few days after all this takes place at
Antananarivo, the sovereign and court go to Ambòhimànga
to feast and eat jaka there, and offer prayer at the tombs of
the royal ancestors. Among the ceremonies is the placing of
a rush, dipped in the blood of the ox, at the door of the royal
tomb-houses, while the hump is deposited inside the house.
So much for the Fandròana ceremonies as observed by the
sovereign. A few words must next be said as to the obser-
vances of the festival amongst the people generally.
Proclamation is made beforehand of the time of the feast,
and the people are forbidden under pain of death to kill any
animal, except poultry, five days before and after the appointed
day for killing oxen. The fat is ordered to be brought
to the royal soap factories, and the hides are asked for for
making the soldiers' caps and belts. A poll-tax of a minute
sum is ordered to be paid, and also the royal share (the
rump) of each ox killed; and if any one dies during the first
316
WEEPING FOR THE DEAD.
days of the month the mourning and full funeral ceremonies
are to be deferred until it is past.
A great deal of visiting of friends and parents and superiors
takes place, and small pieces of money are given as jùka, or
substitutes for the preserved meat so called; and good wishes
and benedictions are exchanged.
One of the most pleasing of the Fandròana ceremonies is
the lighting of small fires just at dusk on the two evenings
next before the royal bathing. These fires are called harèn-
drina, and the first of these is for the sovereign, the second
for the people, but there is no difference in them. The fires
are made by small bundles of dry grass being fixed to the
end of bamboos; these are lighted, and are carried about and
waved by the children, amidst a general shouting and rejoic-
ing. Looking from the summit of the capital over the
surrounding country, the sight is a very beautiful one; all
around, in every direction where there are villages or houses,
these dancing lights are seen through the dusk, thickly massed
in populous places, and scattered thinly where there are few
inhabitants, while a general murmur rises through the air. It
seems probable that this custom is a relic of some observance
connected with the worship of fire in remote times. Those,
however, who have had a death in the family during the year
do not make these fires, nor do they kill oxen, or bathe.
On the night when the fires are lighted for the people, there
is a general weeping at cock-crowing for the dead who have
not lived to see the new year. On the eve of the new year
every one bathes in warm water; each household meets
together, and a little of the water is placed on the head with
the proper benedictions. At this time also all slaves return
to their masters from wherever they have been, either
trading, or doing work for them or for others, for they have
each to provide a bundle of firewood for the cooking of the
special food eaten at the Fandròana. Every wife also must
be with her husband at that time, or it is considered that she
is as good as divorced.
For several days there is much feasting and visiting; all
are dressed in their best clothes and ornaments; and all when
cating place a portion of rice on their heads, repeating a bene-
DECLINE OF THE FANDROANA.
317
diction, similar to that already quoted, with the words, "Saluta-
tion, reached is the year." As in the case of the royal tombs, a
rush dipped in the blood of the ox killed at the feast is hung
up over the door of the house; this is said to be as a protection.
of house and life, and for sanctifying the house. The hump
is carried to the family grave, and the headstone anointed
with the fat, while prayers for blessings and prosperity are
made to the spirits of their ancestors. A particular kind of
dish is much liked at this time, and is prepared from the
inner portions of the oxen killed, and stewed in a special
kind of earthen dish. The slaves take meat and cook it out
of doors, and after feasting, dancing and singing together with
native music is kept up, the highest personages often joining
in the festivities.
The oxen killed at this time, have generally been fattened
for several months previously, and are usually very fine and
fat animals. Portions of the meat are sent to all friends and
relatives by those who kill one or more oxen.
It will be understood that the above description applies
to the customs observed before the general reception of
Christianity nine years ago. The prayers to the ancestors.
and offerings at their tombs are not presented at the present
time.
( 318 )
CHAPTER XVI.
NEW LIGHT ON OLD TEXTS: ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIPTURE
FROM MALAGASY CUSTOMS.
ROYALTY AND GOVERNMENT
M
BENEDICTIONS,
GOVERNMENT FAMILY LIFE MARRIAGE
CURSES, AND SALUTATIONS-DRESS AND FOOD-WEAPONS-HOUSES AND
TOWNS TOMBS AND BURIAL-ROADS AND PATHS-SYMBOLIC ACTS AND
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE-AGRICULTURE-SLAVERY-TIME.
It has been often remarked that "the Bible is an Eastern
book;" and perhaps it is impossible for those who have
never lived in any but a temperate climate to fully appre-
ciate, not merely the figures and allusions in which the
Scriptures abound, but the whole Eastern feeling and atmo-
sphere in which they are steeped. The researches of a host
of travellers and of residents in the East have, however,
now enabled those who stay at home to understand the
Oriental colouring of the Bible far more clearly than it was
possible to do only a few years ago; and some of the most.
trivial, and at first sight unimportant, details are found to
contribute most essentially to the vividness of the narratives
and teachings of the Scriptures.
But although the Book of God is, of course, most clearly
seen in the light derived from Palestine and Egypt, Assyria
and Persia, all tropical countries and peoples have more or
less affinity with the land and peoples of the Bible; and
illustrations of Biblical customs may be derived from almost
every mission-field. This subject has already been treated
of in some missionary works, but it has by no means been
exhausted; and, as in the course of several years' labour in
Madagascar, I have frequently been struck by the close
analogies between native customs and those described and
referred to in the Scriptures, it may not be uninteresting to
ABSOLUTE GOVERNMENT.
319
note down a few of them. They will afford, I venture to
think, not only some new light upon Bible customs and
allusions, but also be of service as illustrating the habits of
the Malagasy people.
Royalty and Government.-It is not very easy for a
foreigner to immediately understand the absolute character of
a government like that of Madagascar, where every person,
from the highest to the lowest, is a servant of the sovereign,
and where no one can take any step in life-change his
residence, built a house or a tomb, go on a journey, be
married, or even be buried-without reference to his imme-
diate superior in rank, or directly to the head of the State.
But all this is much more like the state of society described
in the Bible, like the autocratic character of the Jewish
monarchy, to say nothing of other monarchies referred to in
the sacred records, than is our own social and political
system. And, therefore, such sayings as, "The king's wrath.
is as the roaring of a lion, but his favour is as dew upon
the grass
(Prov. xix. 12); "The wrath of a king is as
messengers of death;" &c., are in thorough harmony with
Malagasy ideas.
""
It should, however, be understood that there are many
influences now at work in the spread of Christianity, and the
growth of European ideas, to modify the absolutism of former
times. What this was may be gathered from an incident
related of Queen Rànavàlona I. Soon after the promulgation
of the laws against Christian worship, some of the people
came to certain of the missionaries and asked if they did not
tremble at the word of the sovereign? They replied that
they were indeed grieved that the Queen wished to prevent
the knowledge of the Word of God, but that they did not
tremble, because, after all, the Queen was only human. The
natives rejoined, "It may be well for you to say so, because
you are white people; but as for us Malagasy, when our
sovereign frowns upon us we are as people soon dead! The
ascription of divine honours to King Agrippa in the shout,
"It is the voice of a God, and not of a man," was paralleled
(but, of course, with a far less degree of blame) by the former
appellation of Malagasy sovereigns, who were called Andria-
tr
وو
320
SIMILARITY WITH BIBLICAL CUSTOMS.
mànitra hita-maso-" the god seen by the eye," the visible
divinity.
When passing the chief entrance of the palace-yard, and
noticing the crowd of people and officials sitting at the gate-
way, I have often been reminded of the Eastern custom of
suitors for any favour or office "sitting at the king's gate"
(2 Sam. xi. 9; Esth. ii. 19). This is not only seen at the
royal gateway, but also at the entrance of the houses of the
highest officers of state; people are there "watching daily at
his gates, waiting at the posts of his doors" (Prov. viii. 34).
And just as in the East, those who seek to have justice done
to them in any law-suit, have to wait and waylay the great
men, and by their very importunity force them to attend
to their cause (see Luke xviii. 1-5), so have we known
women who have sat for days together at the palace gate, for
the purpose of pressing their case upon the attention of the
high Government officers as they went in and out from the
presence of the Queen.
There is also in Madagascar a custom that if, on any royal
progress, a criminal can contrive to put himself in the way of
the sovereign, so as to be seen and looked upon by her, he
can claim pardon for his offence. (Malagasy offenders are
not, as a rule, kept in prison, but have light fetters put upon
them, so that they can walk about and get employment in
various out-door work. When, therefore, the sovereign goes
abroad, orders are issued that all convicts (gàdra làva) must
keep out of the way.) This is strikingly like Eastern
customs, for there are numerous passages which show that to
"look upon," or to "regard," &c., are expressions equivalent
to gaining favour and compassion (see Exod. ii. 25, iv. 31;
1 Sam. i. 11; 2 Sam. xvi. 12).
I
When a Malagasy sovereign goes on a journey to any dis-
tant portion of her dominions, she is always accompanied by
an immense crowd of her subjects, including all the upper
classes of the people, with their bearers and attendants. Like
the Queen of Sheba, she goes "with a very great train," "a
very great company, she and her servants" (1 Kings x. 2).
On recent royal "progresses" the number of these followers
has amounted to as many as from 20,000 to 30,000 people!
A ROYAL JOURNEY.
321
And in the preparations for these journeys we always have
illustrations of many Scripture passages. As there are no
roads, properly speaking, in Madagascar, the local authorities
along the line of march are responsible for improving the
paths, or, in many places, for making an altogether new road.
The elevations are cut down, the hollows filled up, timber
bridges are constructed, and the jungly grass and thickets are
cleared out of the way. It is, in short, an exact illustration
of the words, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight
in the desert a highway. Every valley shall be exalted, and
every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked
shall be made straight, and the rough places plain" (Isa. xl.
3, 4). At every halting-place on the journey the camp is
formed with most scrupulous care and order: the royal scarlet
tent in the centre, and around it its court; opposite the
entrance are the tents of the chief officers of state, and then
in regular order on all four sides are those of the different
tribes and ranks of the people. The whole, when viewed from
an elevation, bears a striking resemblance to the camp of the
Israelites, as it must have appeared on their march through the
desert.
Throughout the whole of the East it is indispensable, when
seeking an interview with a person of authority or influence,
that a present be brought to propitiate his favour; for "a
man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before
great men" (Prov. xviii. 16). It is exactly the same in
Madagascar; nor can these presents be properly termed
bribes, for as the majority of Government officials have no
regular or fixed salary, such presents are one of the chief
means they have of keeping up their position. So much
is this the custom that, even when coming to see us, their
missionaries, the people usually bring some little offering-a
bunch of bananas, half a dozen oranges, or other fruit, or a
young fowl; and if they have nothing they make an elaborate
apology for coming empty-handed. And I have often thought,
when reading that story of Saul and his servant when seeking
his father's asses, how like it is to Malagasy usages—their
concern at finding they have nothing left to offer in approach-
ing the great man, Samuel (" But, behold, if we go, what
X
322
POLITICAL PUNISHMENTS.
shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent, and there is
not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?"
I Sam. ix. 7); the servant's finding a quarter-shekel; his
master's immediately appropriating it—all this is true to the
life to what continually happens in Madagascar.
As among the Jews and most Eastern nations, the staff is a
sign of office and authority, so also it is among the Malagasy
(see Numb. xvii.). When the elders of the people, chiefs of
villages and tribes, come in from the country to the capital,
they frequently carry with them this staff or rod of office as
a sign of their position.
Up to a very recent period, the punishments for political
and other crimes in Madagascar were very severe. The code
of laws in the time of sovereigns preceding the present one
commenced by denouncing death for a number of offences;
but beside this it provided also that the wife and children of
the culprit should "be lost," that is, reduced to slavery. And
so "the sins of the fathers were visited upon the children," a
thing which, although prohibited by the law of Moses (Deut.
xxiv. 16; Ezek. xviii. 20), was often practised by Jewish
rulers, as well as by neighbouring nations (see 2 Kings x.
6, 14, xi. I; Dan. vi. 24).
In the case of popular risings against obnoxious counsellors
of the sovereign, as was the case in May 1863, when a num-
ber of the king's friends were accused and put to death, their
houses were in several instances set upon by the populace,
torn to pieces, and all the property destroyed in a very few
minutes, giving a striking and rather terrible illustration of
the passage, "Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man
dwell therein" (Ps. lxix. 25; Acts i. 20).
We are accustomed in this country to consider all Govern-
ment officials as servants of the public; but in Madagascar,
as in the East generally, the reverse is usually the case. And
so, any little petty officer can command service and assist-
ance by pronouncing the magic words, Fanjakan' Andriana,
Queen's business" (literally, "Kingdom of the sovereign”).
"Dressed in a little brief authority" given by his connection.
with the Crown, he can lord it over people much his superiors
in every way, and everywhere require obedience to his demands
r
MARRIAGE.
323
by the use of words much the same as the text, "The king's
business requireth haste."
The power of the Crown itself is theoretically unlimited
over the property and personal service of the people, so that
for all Government work, such as building a palace or fort or
workshop, every one is liable for an uncertain amount of labour
and expense until its completion, and without any payment.
The description given by Samuel to the Israelites as to the
demands that would be made upon them by their future king,
with its somewhat sarcastic conclusion as to their ultimate
chagrin on account of their folly, might have been applied
very well to Malagasy sovereigns up to a recent period. But
the present Queen, under the influence of Christian teaching,
has shown a laudable desire to lighten the burdens of her
subjects, and is known universally by the appellations, mòra
bé sy malémy fandhy, i.e., “exceedingly kind and gentle-
spirited."
""
Marriage and Family Life.-In few countries is more re-
spect paid to age and to elders than in Madagascar, and very
fully is the precept carried out, "Thou shalt rise up before the
hoary head, and honour the face of the old man (Lev. xix.
32). And such sentiments as those expressed by Elihu, “I
am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and
durst not show you mine opinion" (Job xxxii. 6), might be
paralleled by many a passage taken from the kabarys or
public speeches which have been noted down. And this
respect for age is also carried out to a considerable extent for
seniority. Thus, if two brothers are taking a journey and
any burden is to be carried, the younger one always carries
it, as a matter of course.
In customs connected with marriage, the betrothal is re-
garded as a much more formal and binding ceremony than
it is in England, so that a betrothed girl is much more like a
wife than with us, just as was also the case under the Jewish
law; and this, notwithstanding the fact that marriage was held
in far lower estimation in heathen times than it is now.
The Hebrew law, by which a man was, on the death of his
elder brother, bound to marry his widow and so preserve his
name and family possessions, finds a very close parallel in
324
ADOPTION OF CHILDREN.
Malagasy usages (Deut. xxv. 5, 6); and there are special
phrases to denote such marriages. This is closely connected
with the strong family and clannish feelings of the Malagasy,
in accordance with which people very seldom marry out of
their own tribe and family, so that property may be kept
together; just as by the Jewish law all land was to be
retained in the possession of the same tribe and family
originally holding it. (See Numb. xxxvi. 7, "The inheritance
of the children of Israel shall not remove from tribe to tribe;
for every one shall keep to himself the inheritance of the
tribe of his fathers.")
As, however, large families are very uncommon amongst
the Malagasy, and a considerable number of women are
childless, adoption is far more common among them than it
is with Western nations, and, therefore, many passages in
the Epistles, such as "the adoption of sons," "the spirit of
adoption," &c., have a greater force to the people of Mada-
gasear than they have to us. And further, as there is much
less extreme poverty among the Malagasy than in our over-
crowded Western civilisation,, children are most easily
supported, and are ardently longed for, often with the pas-
sionate earnestness shown by Hannah the mother of Samuel
(1 Sam. i. 10-16). (For further particulars on this subject,
see chapters on Curious Customs, and on Relationships.)
Benedictions, Curses, and Salutations. From what has just
been stated, it naturally follows that to have children is
looked upon as one of the greatest of all blessings; and the
benediction upon a bride in the patriarchal times, "Be thou
the mother of thousands" (Gen. xxiv. 60), finds its parallel
in the Malagasy blessing, Maròa fàra aman-dimby, "May thy
heirs and descendants be multiplied."
In Malagasy benedictions and salutations the Divine
Name is most frequently invoked, as it is indeed by all
Eastern peoples; but it would be an utter mistake to
suppose that this frequent use of sacred words is any
evidence of deep religious feeling. On the contrary, now
that our Christian people are beginning to appreciate the
obligations imposed by the Third Commandment, we always
consider that a man is rather more of a heathen than others
BLESSINGS.
325
if he is profuse in the use of the name of God. Ignorance of
this Eastern habit has led to some very edifying, but most
mistaken, comments upon such passages as that in the Book
of Ruth, where Boaz says to his reapers, "The Lord be with
you; and they answered him, The Lord bless thee" (ii. 4).
And it has been sometimes inferred from these phrases that
there was a delightful and earnest religiousness of character
in those using such beautiful language. But the fact is, that
these were, and are still, the ordinary Oriental salutations,
common to all religions; and a reference to other passages
shows that people of very questionable character were
equally profuse in similar pious language; see what was said
by the murderers of Ishbosheth (2 Sam. iv. 8), by Saul after
disobedience to a plain command (1 Sam. xv. 14), by Laban,
and by many others. And just in the same way, the Takin'
Andriamanitra hianao ("May you be blessed of God") of
the Malagasy is the most common expression of thanks and
of farewell, and is used in the vast majority of cases without
any more religious feeling than we are conscious of when we
say "Good bye" (God be with you) or " Adieu.
""
The Malagasy are a very polite people, and look with
contempt upon those who neglect the ordinary usages and
salutations. In speaking with a friend of his house, or land,
or other property, it is common for him to call it antsika,
i.e., "ours," an inclusive form of possessive pronoun signifying
a thing to be common both to the speaker and the spoken to.
But going beyond this, they will sometimes tell you that all
they have is yours; it is, however, only a complimentary
figure of speech, no more meant to be taken literally than
were Ephron's polite offers of his land to Abraham, when
he told the patriarch, "The field give I thee, and the cave
that is therein, I give thee; in the presence of the sons of my
people give I it thee;" proceeding immediately to charge an
uncommonly good price for the land. All this was thoroughly
Malagasy, as was also his apparently generous indifference to
money, “What is that betwixt me and thee?" and not less
so was the request of Abraham that others would act as
mediators between himself and Ephron, who was there
present, for in almost every business of importance a third
326
ANCESTORS' COMMANDS HELD SACRED.
party must be employed as a go-between (see Gen. xxiii.
8–16).
Turning from the blessings to the curses used by the
Malagasy, many points of similarity might be noted between
them and those found in Scripture; but one only need be
mentioned here, namely, a close analogy between the peculiar
Hebrew form of imprecation by the use of "If," as in the
words, "So I sware in my wrath, if they shall enter into my
rest (see margin of Bible, Ps. xcv. II), a specially solemn
form from its vaguely indefinite terms. In like manner, there
are certain Malagasy imprecations with the same conditional
particle.
"}
Amongst all the tribes of Madagascar the commands of a
father or an ancestor are held as most sacredly binding upon
his descendants; and so one frequently meets with tribes or
families who are prohibited from passing a certain place (as
the royal family are bound not to pass along a particular
road in the capital), or from doing certain acts, or from eating
some kinds of food. One of my bearers was bound by the
injunction of an ancestor not to eat pork, and another not to
eat onions. We have examples of this in Scripture in the
commands of Jacob to his sons, and of Joseph concerning
his bones (Gen. xlix. 1-25); and also in the injunctions of
Rechab to his descendants not to drink wine, or plant or sow,
or live in houses (Jer. xxxv. 6, 7); and something similar in
the abstinence of the Jews from a certain sinew in the thigh
(Gen. xxxii. 32).
Dress and Food.-The native dress of the Malagasy, like
that of the inhabitants of all warm countries, is much more
loose and flowing than the stiff and ungraceful fashions of
Western peoples. But the specially national article of dress
is the lùmba, a piece of cloth about three yards long and two
wide; this is folded round the body above the arms, and one
end thrown over the shoulder, and as worn by the people, and
falling in graceful folds, is most elegant and dignified in its
effect, somewhat resembling the Roman toga. It is made of
various materials,―silk, cotton, hemp, banana or rofìa palm fibre,
according to the rank and wealth of the owner; and is common
to both sexes, although there are numerous slight differences in
DRESS.
327
the way of wearing it. The lamba is the outdoor or walking
dress, and the arms are not free, as they are enclosed in its
ample folds. But when in preaching or other public addresses.
the speaker gets excited, the làmba is thrown off one shoulder,
leaving the arm free; so that the Scripture expression of
making bare the arm" is a most familiar one to the Mala-
gasy. And then when about to engage in any active work,
the lamba is thrown entirely off the shoulders, and is bound
tightly round the waist, here again being exactly the "girding
the loins" so frequently mentioned in Scripture. Our native
servants, like those mentioned in the Parables, gird themselves
before serving us at meals (Luke xii. 37), and their Malagasy
masters constantly make use of these girded-up làmbas as
towels for wiping their hands before and after taking food
(see John xiii. 4, 5). This làmba can, of course, like the
garment of Bartimeus, be easily taken off and cast away
(Mark x. 50), or left in the hand of a pursuer, the wearer
escaping (see Gen. xxxix. 13; and Mark xiv. 51, 52,—the
young man with a linen cloth cast about him); and in the
case of the poor, it is also their covering for the night as well
as for the day, as it was with poor Israelites; although there
is no such merciful provision in the Malagasy law as in the
law of Moses, forbidding that it be retained in pledge for a
debt (see Exod. xxii. 26, 27; Deut. xxiv. 12, 13). The great
majority of the people do not wear shoes, but when going
on a journey, especially if the roads are rocky, or the grass
prickly, they prepare a rough kind of sandal or kapa, bound
round the foot with thongs after the manner of Eastern
peoples.
In taking food, the hands are largely used by the Malagasy
(as in the East generally) in serving others and in feeding
themselves. From this it becomes a necessity to wash
before and after eating (see Matt. xv. 12), and for this
purpose a servant comes round and pours water over the
hands, just as did "Elisha, who poured water over the hands
of Elijah" (2 Kings iii. 11). And when they invite friends
to a feast, the host and hostess themselves serve at the table,
considering it an honour to wait upon their guests, just
as did Abraham when entertaining his three unknown, but
328
FOOD.
heavenly, visitors at Mamre (Gen. xviii. 8). It is also the
custom for the Malagasy to send a servant at the exact time
the feast is ready to bid the guests come and partake (see
Luke xiv. 17).
The Christianised Malagasy are scrupulous about not
eating food until a blessing has been asked, but this takes a
superstitious form, from being considered not so much as the
thanksgiving of the partaker as a consecration of the food
itself, which is then termed vita fisaorana, or "properly
blessed;" much indeed as the people of Zuph (?) would not
eat of the sacrifice until it had been blessed by Samuel (1
Sam. ix. 13). So they ask of any food, "Is it blessed?"
and it is said that some graceless people, who wished to save
themselves trouble, have been so economical of time as to
ask a blessing over the whole store of provision in their rice-
pit! considering that all future thanksgiving would thus be
unnecessary.
In the more primitive state of society existing in the still
heathen tribes of Madagascar, it is common to see menial
offices, which are left to slaves in the more civilised capital of
the country, performed by the female relatives of the chiefs.
Thus at Ivòhitròsa, among the forest people, I remember
being much surprised to see the daughters and wives of the
King and his family pounding rice and fetching water, &c.,
while still arrayed in the ornaments proper to their rank.
But it will be remembered that this is just what both
Rebekah and Rachel did, although they were near relatives of
a wealthy and prosperous man, doubtless a sheikh, or chief
of the district where he resided (see Gen. xxiv. 15-20; xxix.
9, 10). There is, however, the same distinction among the
Malagasy as among Easterns in the way of carrying the
water pitcher; free women carry it on the shoulder, as did
Rebekah (Gen. xxiv. 15), while slaves carry it on the head.
Almost every Malagasy town and village presents the same
scene now, morning and evening, as is described in 1 Sam.
ix. 11: "Young maidens going out to draw water" for the
daily use of each household; and in every house there are two
or more waterpots placed, as there were at Cana in Galilee
(John ii. 6).
II:
WEAPONS.
329
Mention was made just now of the "rice-pit." These are
dug in the hard red clay soil of Imérina, and are a bottle-
shaped excavation for storing rice in the husk; a flat stone
is placed over the mouth, and then the whole is covered with
earth, so that it is not very easy for a stranger to discover
the store of food. These rice-pits form a common place of
concealment from an enemy, and many Christians have been
hidden in them during the time of persecution, just as
the cisterns of the East are often used as hiding-places (see
2 Sam. xvii. 15-21, describing the stratagem by which
Jonathan and Ahimaaz were concealed in the cistern, and so
escaped Absalom's servants).
Weapons. Before the introduction of European arms and
disciplined methods of warfare, the shield and spear were the
chief weapons of the Malagasy. The former is a round or
oval piece of hard wood, about twenty inches in diameter,
covered on the outer convex side with untanned ox-hide, and
having a handle cut out of the wood at the back. The spear
is a light shaft of ebony or other hard wood, about six feet
in length, and with a blade often eight or nine inches long.
Like the Eastern spears, it is shod with iron, ending in a
short spade-like point, by which it can be stuck into the
ground. This blunted foot is, however, capable of inflicting
a wound, just as Abner, in self-defence, was able, and indeed
obliged, to kill Asahel who was pursuing him, by striking
backward "with the hinder end of the spear" in his hand
(2 Sam. ii. 23). The bow and arrow is not now used by the
Malagasy generally; one or two only of the native tribes
seem to be accustomed to it, and to the majority of the
people it has for nearly a century past been superseded by
the European musket.
Houses and Towns. In the central provinces of Madagas-
car where a hard red clay abounds, most of the houses are
made of that material. The clay is laid in courses, and makes
a tolerably substantial and durable walling. But it is easily
cut through with a spade or any sharp instrument, and
accordingly, a Malagasy housebreaker almost always chooses
this way of stealing. As in the East, "thieves break through
and steal,” and, "in the dark they dig through houses, which
330
HOUSES AND TOWNS.
they had marked for themselves in the daytime" (Job xxiv.
16). Extraordinary stories are told of the ingenuity of some
of these people in taking away the bedding and clothes from
under persons who are sound asleep.
And then again, as in the East, the movable property of
the people largely consists of "changes of raiment," in other
words, of a store of handsome làmbas; so that our Lord's
words about "moth corrupting" them are hardly less appropriate
than they were to His Jewish hearers. And like them also,
the money of the Malagasy is generally kept in the house,
buried in a hole in the ground, usually near one of the chief
posts supporting the roof; so that "hid treasure," so fre-
quently mentioned in Scripture, is quite a familiar idea to the
Malagasy (see Josh. vii. 21; Job iii. 21; Isa. xvii. 4;
Prov. ii. 4; Col. ii. 3; &c.)
In the unsettled state of society which prevailed in the
central provinces up to the end of the last century, every
town and village was built on the summit of a hill, often of
considerable height; so that throughout Imérina and Bétsiléo,
as well as in other parts, all ancient towns are "cities set on
a hill, which cannot be hid." The capital of the island is
built on the summit of a long rocky ridge, 400 to 500 feet
high, and is visible in some directions from a distance of
thirty to forty miles; and many villages in Bétsiléo are on
hills 700 feet high above the surrounding country.
Tombs and Burial.-Like most Easterns the Malagasy do
not use coffins for their dead, but wrap the body in a great
number of cloths, proportionate to the rank and wealth of the
deceased (see John xi. 44; Acts v. 6). At the death of an
aged officer of the native army in 1875, a veteran said to be
about a hundred years old, the Queen ordered that he should
be wrapped in a hundred red làmbas, of which number she
herself sent about a third as a mark of respect. The Mala-
gasy spend large sums upon their tombs, and they consider
it as the greatest calamity not to be buried in their own
family vault. So that those Hova officers who die at the
military posts in various parts of the island far away from
their native province, are always brought up to Imérina to be
buried with their ancestors; and so it is also with those who
ROADS AND PATHS.
331
die in war, their bones at least must be brought home and laid
in their own tomb. It is much the same strong tribal and
family feeling which led Joseph to give "commandment con-
cerning his bones," and made Jacob say, "Bury me with my
fathers, in the cave which Abraham bought for a possession
of a burying-place," and recalling how he had there laid the
remains of his nearest relatives (Gen. xlix. 29-31).
Roads and Paths.-The poetical books of Holy Scripture.
are full of figures taken from roads and paths, for we con-
stantly meet with such expressions as "way," "goings,"
"leading," "guiding," footsteps," slipping," "sliding,'
And such language
(C
stumbling-block," and many others.
is by no means unfrequent even in the prose portions of the
sacred writings; so that the figures have long ago passed
over into our Western speech and become so naturalised that
when we speak of taking a right or wrong path (as regards
conduct), it hardly seems a figurative expression at all. But
further, on account of the perfection attained by our modern
civilisation, all these figures have become faint and weak to
us compared with their force to those who live in the East.
With our wonderful railway system covering the whole
country, with our smooth roads and paved streets, travelling
has been divested of almost all its discomfort and of a large
proportion of its danger, and we must live in a country like
Madagascar, which is without roads, to realise the vividness
of such expressions as, "Teach me, O Lord, the way of Thy
statutes," "Teach me Thy way, and lead me in a plain path,"
"He set my feet upon a rock and established my goings,"
&c. How often as I have picked my way up or down a
rough rocky staircase rather than a road, or toiled painfully
along a slippery clay slope, have I recalled the words, "Hold
up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not,”
Ponder the path of thy feet, and let thy ways be estab-
lished;" and at other times, either on foot, or borne on the
shoulders of my stout bearers, or occasionally on horseback,
when skirting the edge of a sheer precipice by a narrow
path, have I realised the terrible force of some of the curses
in the Bible, "Let their way be dark and slippery," "Their
footsteps shall slide in due time;" or with more cheerful
(C
332
SYMBOLIC ACTIONS.
feelings have rejoiced in the words, "When my foot slipped,
Thy mercy, O Lord, held me up."
And while the paths in Madagascar are difficult enough
in the day, they become positively dangerous by night. As
we stumble into a deep hole, or our feet come in sharp
contact with a rough stone, we find new meaning in the
words, "Make straight paths for your feet," "Take up the
stumbling-block out of the way of My people," "Thou shalt
walk, and thy foot shall not stumble.” And should we chance
to be overtaken by darkness after the brief tropical twilight,
how we recall the prayer, "Lighten my darkness, O Lord,"
and welcome the approach of a friendly torch or lantern,
and are reminded of the text, "Thy word is a lamp unto
my feet, and a light unto my path."
In such circumstances as these a large class of words in
the Bible have a freshness and reality which they never
acquire in our own country.
Symbolic Acts and Figurative Language.-When reading
the Bible we frequently meet with examples of the use of
symbolic acts to impress some important truth upon the
witnesses of such actions. The prophets of the Old Dispen-
sation frequently received Divine commands to use such
teaching; thus, Ezekiel taught by eating a roll (iii. 1-3), by
the mimic siege of a tile upon which Jerusalem was por-
trayed (iv.), by the use of a chain (vii. 23), of a boiling pot
(xxiv. 1-4), by the uniting of two sticks (xxxvii. 15-17),
and by many other symbolic actions; and false prophets also
did the like, one of them making horns of iron to give vain
confidence to an ungodly king (see I Kings xxii. 11).
In Malagasy history there are some interesting examples
of a similar employment of symbolic actions, especially before
the general use of writing had made written letters common.
Towards the close of the last century the King of Imérina,
the central province of Madagascar, had reduced under his
authority a great part of the interior of the island, and, con-
fident in his own power, sent a messenger to the principal
chief of the southern central province, Bétsiléo, telling him
that he was "his son
(a common Malagasy expression,
implying that one person is subordinate to another), and
>>
RN
A STUBBORN CHIEF.
333
The
requiring him to come and acknowledge his father.
Bétsiléo chief, however, replied that he was no son of the
Hova king, but that they were brothers, each possessing his
own territory. The Hova returned for answer, “I have a
large cloth (to cover me), but thou hast a small one; so that
if you are far from me you are cold; for I am the island to
which all the little ones resort, therefore come to me, thy
father, for thou art my son." When the Bétsiléo chief re-
ceived this message he measured a piece of wood between
his extended arms (the réfy or standard measure of the
Malagasy, between the tips of the fingers when the arms
are stretched apart to the utmost), and sent it to the king,
with the words, "This wood is my measure, bid Andrian-
ampòina (the Hova king) equal it; if he can span it, then I
am his son and not his brother." Upon Andrianampòina
trying it he was unable to reach it, for the Bétsiléo chief
was long in the arms. But the Hova king would not give
up his point, and replied, "My measurement of the wood is
of no consequence, for kingship does not consist in length of
arms; thou art little, therefore my son, I am great, therefore
thy father."
Still the southern chief was unwilling to submit, and sent
a particular kind of native cloth ornamented with beads, with
a request that an ox should be cut up upon it, as another sign
whether he was to acknowledge the Hova king as his superior
or not.
This test also turned out to his own advantage; but
at length Andrianampòina would have no further trifling. He
sent back the cloth with a piece cut off one end of it, and a
spear hole through the middle, as a significant warning of
his intentions unless immediate submission was made. The
lesson was not lost upon the weaker chief; he returned a
humble answer, begging that he might not be killed, saying,
"While it is to-day, all day let me eat of the tender (food) of
the earth, for Andrianampòina is lord of the kingdom."
Something of a similar kind of symbolic act is related of
Queen Ranavalona I. When she came to the throne in 1828
there was a little boy not many months old at that time, of
the true seed royal, and descended from the line of the ancient
kings. The Queen then announced that she had made this
334
QUEEN RANAVALONA'S WISDOM.
boy her adopted son, and that he should be her successor;
even if she should have children of her own, his right to the
throne should remain good. Afterwards she had a son of her
own, whom she named Rakòton-dRadàma; many thought that
her own son would succeed her, but the declaration in favour
of the other was never rescinded, and hence arose much
animosity between the two princes. When the Queen became
old and feeble, the subject of the succession came up, and she
settled it in a singular way, substantially as follows:-She
held a meeting of her officers, judges, and heads of the people
with great solemnity within the palace, when she announced
her intention of making a valuable present to each of the two
princes. Two fine vases or covered vessels were placed on
the table, and the two young men were called in; the elder
was first directed to choose which he would have. He did
so, and on opening the vase, it was found to contain some
beautiful gems and valuable ornaments. The younger, her
own son, then opened his vase, and found it contained only a
handful of earth. The Queen then addressed the assembly,
saying that the elder prince was to be advanced to high honour
and riches in the land; but, as the land could not be divided,
the younger prince, who had received from God the handful
of earth, should be her successor. (He eventually became
king under the name of Radama II., but only reigned about
eighteen months.)
*
Turning from the symbolic acts to the figurative language
used by all the tribes in Madagascar, many interesting parallels
might be pointed out between what is common to Malagasy
speech and the language used in Scripture. Reference was
just now made to the iron horns which the false prophet
Zedekiah made to encourage King Ahab; and it will be
remembered how very frequently the horn is employed in
the Bible as an emblem of power, strength, and confidence. It
is used very much in the same way in Madagascar, for the
long-horned and humped cattle are the largest and most
formidable animals known in the island, and the horns of
cattle are frequently seen as ornaments or symbols. Numbers
*Quoted from R.collections of Missionary Life in Madagascar, by James
Cameron, Esq.
AGRICULTURE.
335
of them, together with the skulls, are fixed upon poles near
graves; and in some places, enormous carved representations
of horns surmount lofty mast-like poles in the same situation.
Amongst the Bétsiléo iron horns are used as a cresting for
the massive upright monoliths raised above tombs, and carved
horns, either close imitations of the real thing or convention-
alised representations of them, surmount the gables of houses
in Imérina and other portions of Madagascar. (See also figura-
tive use of the word in complimentary speeches; p. 159, and
pp. 198, 231, 232.)
(C
Agriculture. Many illustrations of Scripture might be
derived from Malagasy usages in the cultivation of rice, their
staple food, but two or three only must suffice. As rice
stands in water during all the stages of its growth, it is a
common figure to describe things which are inseparable to
"rice and water." One may frequently see the sower cast-
ing his bread upon the waters;" and as the plots of land
where the rice is sown are often narrow slips of ground along
the margin of rivers and streams, one recalls the words,
"Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, and send forth
the feet of the ox," if not also the ass; for the former animal
is employed in many parts of Madagascar to trample over the
ground which has been previously softened with water, and
so render it fit for the reception of the young rice-plants
taken from the small plots where they have grown from seed.
Malagasy threshing-floors are, like those of the Jews,
formed on the sides of rising grounds, so as to get the benefit
of any breeze, and so be rid of "the chaff, which the wind
driveth away."
""
Slavery. Malagasy slavery, like that to which frequent
reference is made in the Bible, is a patriarchal and family
institution. Slaves in Madagascar usually identify them-
selves with the interests of the family to which they belong,
and often hold positions of great trust and confidence, like
Abraham's servant Eliezer, or Joseph in the household of
Potiphar. The system certainly presents outwardly few
repulsive features, although its essential injustice is, of course,
unaltered. And as it was in the time of our Lord, so now,
people can be reduced to slavery for debt, and if that is in-
336
MALAGASY TIME.
sufficient to discharge their obligations, their wives and children
can also be enslaved, just as in the Parable, where the lord of
a certain "servant commanded him to be sold, and payment
to be made" (Matt. xviii. 25).
(Matt. xviii. 25). As to the marriage of a free-
man with a slave girl, and the close similarity between what
is enjoined by the Malagasy law and by the law of Moses,
see p. 256.
This chapter may be appropriately concluded by a remark
upon time as reckoned by the Malagasy. I have been re-
peatedly struck by the exact correspondence there is between
their way of reckoning time, and that of the Jews, viz., in the
inclusive way of counting days. For instance, from a Friday to
a Sunday they would call three days, as it is reckoned in the
Gospels, when speaking of the time our Lord lay in the tomb,
and which is so puzzling to English readers. In like manner
they call a week eight days, as we see in Luke ix. 28 ("about
an eight days after these sayings;" cf. Matt. xvii. I, Mark ix.
2). They also reckon the day to begin after sunset, just as
in Genesis we read, “and the evening and the morning were
the first day," &c.
It will be seen from the foregoing examples that in our
intercourse with such a people as the Malagasy we are con-
stantly reminded of Scripture customs and allusions. Very
many others might no doubt be given, but these will be suffi-
cient to show how wide a range of subject there is; and it is
pleasant to think that in many cases the words and figures of
the sacred writings have a familiarity to our people which
must help to impress the most important truths upon their
understandings, and eventually, we may hope, upon their
hearts and lives.
(337)
CHAPTER XVII.
MALAGASY CHURCH LIFE, AS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE HISTORY OF
THE APOSTOLIC AND EARLY CHURCHES.
AS REGARDS MORALS-RISE OF SUPERSTITIOUS PRACTICES AND SACRAMENTA-
LISM-CHURCH DIVISIONS-CUSTOMS CONNECTED WITH WORSHIP-CHURCH
OFFICES AND GOVERNMENT-RELATIONS BETWEEN THE CHURCH AND THE
STATE.
Morals. In perusing portions of the New Testament, a
thoughtful reader must frequently be struck by the some-
what strange prohibitions which are found in the apostolic
epistles, and addressed to the Churches of that early age;
precepts which refer, not to matters of faith and doctrine, but
to what we are accustomed to call mere worldly morality.
We find, for instance, the admonitions, "Let him that stole
steal no more," Lie not one to another," "Let no evil
communication proceed out of your mouth," together with
many others of similar import; and it strikes us as somewhat
extraordinary that the apostles should think it necessary to
address such commands to those whom, in the very same.
epistles, they call "sons of God," and "called to be saints."
There appears at first sight to be a strange inconsistency in
such differing language being addressed to the same people.
But we in this Christian England, where the gospel has been
a power for so many centuries, raising the tone of morals and
purifying the whole social system, forget that what the world
now claims as its morality-mere honesty, and truthfulness,
and purity-is really the offspring of Christian teaching, and
that these things were not recognised as duties by the mass
of society in the old Pagan world.
Those, however, who labour in heathen countries, or
amongst peoples only lately emerged from heathenism, see at
once the need of such admonitions as were addressed by the
Y
338
MORALITY.
apostles to the early Churches. We, too, find strange incon-
sistencies and inequalities of character among our Christian
converts. And when we first engage in mission work, we
often feel strangely shocked and pained by finding what a
low moral sense exists among our professedly Christian
people. We are surprised to find men and women who are
capable at times of rising to a sublime elevation of self-denial
for Christ's sake, sometimes descending to very low and un-
worthy actions; we occasionally detect them in lying, cheat-
ing, and falling back into sins of impurity, in a way that is
intensely disappointing and perplexing to us. And therefore
superficial observers, especially those who have little or no
sympathy with any Christian work, are exceedingly quick to
point out these inconsistencies, and from them to infer that
the religion of such weak brethren is a piece of hypocrisy and
deceit from beginning to end. But such a conclusion is as
untrue as it is unfair and short-sighted. Such severe critics
judge these newly Christianised converts by a standard only
rightly applicable to people who have been long under the
purifying influence of the gospel. They forget, and even we
their missionaries are apt to forget, the heathen influences to
which the Malagasy people have been exposed for long past
ages, and which are still very strong all around them. In
their heathen state there was no stigma attached to such sins
as impurity, or deceit, or fraud; these latter indeed were
rather admired as proofs of superior cunning, as things to be
imitated, so far at least as they would not bring the offender
within the penalties of the native laws. We forget that time
is required to form a purified public opinion, an enlightened
"Christian conscience," in a people; and while we strive,
and not unsuccessfully, to raise the whole tone of feeling
about morals, we can make allowances for those who occa-
sionally sin flagrantly against our higher standard of right and
wrong. And we come to perceive that although some of our
people do at times fall into gross moral offences, they yet are
not hypocrites and deceivers when they profess to love the
Lord Jesus Christ; they do really believe in and serve Him,
although not as yet fully "purged from their old sins." In
this, as in numerous other instances, light is thrown upon the
CHRISTIAN RITES REGARDED AS CHARMS. 339
apostolic and early Church history by missionary experience
in modern days.
There are, however, several other points in which missionary
experiences in Madagascar (in common, no doubt, with many
other heathen countries) illustrate and explain Church history
in early times; and prominent among these is the Rise of
Superstitious Practices and Sacramentalism.
то
The Malagasy mind, like that of most other semi-civilised
peoples, is a fertile soil for the rapid growth of all sorts of
superstitious notions. Malagasy idolatry is mainly a belief in
ody or charms-charms to prevent evil of various kinds, or
obtain certain benefits. So that unless great care is taken
on the part of the teachers and guides of such people when
they have only lately come out of heathenism, their supersti-
tious ideas are almost inevitably transferred to the two great
symbolic ordinances of the Christian religion; and Baptism
and the Lord's Supper are immediately regarded as the
Christian òdy or charms. So much is this the case that I
have often seriously debated whether it would not be best to
defer for a considerable time the introduction of both sacra-
ments until the people's minds have been further enlightened,
and some groundwork of knowledge laid down. Otherwise
they are almost certain to regard these two symbolic ob-
servances as means of obtaining some vague benefit, quite
irrespective of the moral condition of those receiving them.
It would be ludicrous, were it not also saddening, to see
how baptism is regarded amongst the semi-heathen Malagasy.
In some cases people have come up from the country districts
saying they wished "to pray to the baptism;" in others they
ask that they may "drink baptism," probably confounding the
two sacraments together. Soon after the burning of the idols
in the central provinces in 1869, when the Queen and Govern-
ment gave in their adhesion to Christianity, there was a great
rush to worship; and when they heard that their sovereign
and the Prime Minister had been baptized, immediately eager
crowds came forward to receive the ordinance while yet
utterly ignorant of its meaning. And in very many places,
especially in those away from the control of a missionary or
an enlightened native pastor, great numbers of people, some-
340
SACRAMENTS MISUNDERSTOOD,
times even by hundreds at once, were baptized. In a very
large proportion of these there is no doubt that a desire to
do as their rulers had done was almost the sole motive of
their action, while in others there was probably the vague
expectation of gaining some unknown spiritual benefit. Even
among our more intelligent Christian people it is curious to
see what a superstitious notion often attaches to the symbol
itself. Some few years ago one of my brother missionaries
was preaching in a village congregation in his district, not
far from the capital, and being the first Sunday in the month
he had to preside at the Lord's Supper. But before that was
partaken of he had also to baptize several people, and the
water for that purpose was brought (as is frequently the case)
in one of the cups used for the wine at the other sacrament.
As soon as the baptism was over the cup was, of course, needed
for its special purpose; but here a difficulty occurred to the
good deacons, What was to be done with the water? A little
consultation took place; they appeared to think it improper
to throw away what had been used for a sacred purpose, and
so at last, to solve the difficult problem, one of them took up
the cup, and drank off its contents!
But the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is still more liable
to abuse by ignorant and half-enlightened people. An incident
which occurred in my own experience not very long ago
suggested to me how very innocently, almost imperceptibly,
high sacramental ideas of the ordinance grew up in the early
Church. One day the pastor of one of the congregations
under my care, himself a most intelligent and earnest Chris-
tian man, came to ask my opinion as to a request which had
been made to him. He said that on the previous sacrament
Sunday, several of the church members were unable to be
present through sickness, and that they were grieved at being
thus prevented from joining with their relatives and friends
in the sacred feast. They had therefore sent to ask that the
deacons might be allowed to take to their own houses a
portion of the bread and a small quantity of the wine, so that
although at home they might still partake of the sacrament.
He appeared to think that this was a very reasonable and
proper request, and so in fact, for a moment, it appeared to
me.
SUPERSTITIOUS NOTIONS.
341
But immediately I saw how superstitious a notion
would inevitably be attached to the symbols; that they
would soon be regarded as a kind of charm, having some
mysterious virtue in themselves; and I therefore pointed out
to him the erroneous ideas which would be encouraged by
compliance. But it is easy to see how, from such, at first,
most innocent and very natural feelings, the doctrine of the
"reserved sacrament arose in the early Churches, accom-
panied by all kinds of superstitious notions growing around
the simple ordinance of remembrance and spiritual com-
munion.
دو
Another superstitious notion regarding the Lord's Supper
I also found growing up in the minds of several of my own
people at Ambòhimànga, a notion, it will be observed, exactly
like the Romish and Ritualist idea of what is proper before
receiving that sacrament. We are asked whether we did
not fast before communicating, as they always did themselves,
believing that it would be improper to allow the sacred
elements to be mixed with common food. There is also a
strong feeling that no other time than the forenoon is proper
for observing the supper; and to a vast majority of the
people any proposal for celebrating it on any other Sunday
than the first in the month would be regarded with great
suspicion, and much more would they be astonished at par-
taking of it on any week-day.
By a considerable number of the communicants the Lord's
Supper is certainly regarded as a kind of charm, for many
come to no public service except that on the first Sunday
morning of the month, when very large congregations
assemble; and they evidently think that by thus once
month receiving the sacrament they have sanctified the rest
of the time, and gained some spiritual advantage. Not a
few do not even attend the preceding service of worship and
preaching, but just come in for the communion service only;
while now and then, some will even slip in towards the con-
clusion of the service, and ask the deacons to procure them
some bread and wine, so that they may thus expend no time
at all in hearing the Word of God, or in praise and prayer.
342
HONOURING THE SACRAMENTS.
Truly and sadly we may say to such, "This is not to eat the
Lord's Supper."
Of course the only effectual remedy for such errors is faith-
ful scriptural teaching and an increasingly firm discipline, by
which, in time, the crowds of people who a few years ago
came into the churches before any efficient control could be
exercised, shall be no longer children in knowledge, or shall
go out from a communion which they see is only for the
spiritually minded. Happily this is increasingly the case in
all the better instructed congregations.
Occasionally this reverence for the sacrament has been
manifested in a way that could hardly be blamed, although it
might soon degenerate into something not greatly differing
from the old worship of charms. Some five years ago a
journey was taken by two of the most intelligent students in
our Theological College to visit the congregations towards the
north-west. At a village called Ambòdiamòntana, not more
than sixty miles from the capital, they were much surprised to
find the following ceremonies observed by the people :-Taking
their own account of them and translating it literally, they
say: "When about to pound rice [for making the bread for
the sacrament] the people wash their clothes and bathe, and
the pestle and rice mortar are thoroughly cleaned; then they
close the doors of the house while pounding and cooking
the rice. And again, when the sacrament is concluded, if
there is any bread left they take it into the Government
House, and there pray before eating it. So we asked them,
'What is the reason of your doing these things? What do
you consider the bread to be?' They replied, 'We act in
this way because we don't want the unbelievers to know
how it is made lest they should despise it, and therefore we
thus honour it.' Upon this we hardly saw what to say to
them, for we were both astonished and puzzled. However,
we ventured upon a word of caution: Take good care,' we
said, lest you pay a superstitious regard to these emblems, and
so become forgetful of Jesus Christ. What you do is proper
enough if intended as honouring Christ, and not the bread and
wine; but if these only you honour, and do not remember
Christ, then you are altogether in the wrong."
CHURCH DIVISIONS.
343
Church Divisions.-On still another point connected with
the Lord's Supper has our missionary experience in Mada-
gascar recalled some of the incidents in apostolic Church
history; in this case, however, the evil is in the opposite
extreme to a superstitious reverence for the sacrament, being
rather a profane abuse of it, and a making it a cause of
division and strife between contending parties in the Church.
The following incident forcibly recalled to me the unseemly
quarrels and disputes in the Corinthian Church which were so
severely censured by the Apostle Paul in the eleventh chapter
of his Second Epistle. At a village church not more than ten
miles from the capital, there was a difference in opinion
about the election of a pastor, who, some of the people said,
had been forced upon them by an undue exercise of influence
by the chief man of the village. The Church had thus
become divided into two parties, whose feeling against each
other had at last grown so strong, that on a Communion
Sunday, when the Lord's Supper was about to be observed,
the pastor broke the bread, &c., at the communion table,
while the other party also brought bread and wine of their
own, and called to their friends to come and partake of their
bread and wine; so that there were actually two communion
services going on at one time in the church! It took much
time, several meetings, and a great expenditure of patience
and persuasion to reconcile the opposing parties, and induce
them to shake hands with each other. And yet I firmly
believe that several of the leaders were really Christian men,
and were sincerely anxious to uphold what they thought was
right. Their conduct really arose from their belief that the
independence of the Church had been wrongfully interfered
with. At another village, very near to Antananarivo, a
brother missionary had almost as painful a scene; for a man
of some position, who had been excluded for immoral conduct,
was encouraged by those who sided with him to take the
bread by force, so that the table had to be "fenced" in a
more literal sense than Presbyterians mean when they use
this word in connection with the Lord's Supper.
Yet it would be a great mistake to take these as any but
exceptional cases, or to conclude that there was no real
344
REVERENT DEMEANOUR.
Christianity among churches where even such scenes as these
had occurred. Did we know all the circumstances, and the
enlightenment of both, there was probably as much, if not
more, blame in some of the churches founded by the apostles
and instructed by men who had the miraculous gifts of the
Holy Ghost. Such passages as I Cor. i. 10-13; iii. 3; v.;
xi. 17-34, point to abuses in the Corinthian Church quite as
scandalous as any of those which occasionally perplex us in the
Malagasy churches. For while in matters calling for cen-
sure, the assemblies of Malagasy Christians sometimes furnish
parallels to the apostolic churches, I have again and again
thought how the order and quiet reverence seen in scores of
our churches at the communion service recalled the descrip-
tion given by Justin Martyr of the celebration of the eucha-
ristic feast by the churches of his age. The same simple forms
and ceremonies are common to both the thanksgiving prayer
by the "president" (not the priest); the sitting at the recep-
tion of the elements by the communicants, the bread and wine
being carried to them by the deacons (showing that the kneel-
ing at the holy table is a later practice); the reading of the
Scriptures and the singing of a hymn—all these are repro-
duced in our modern mission churches; and, as already
mentioned, the taking of some of the bread and wine by the
deacons to absent members would also be easily introduced
were there not some one to caution the people against the
use of superstitious practices.
In still another direction does missionary experience in
Madagascar present some interesting analogies to the history
of the early Churches, viz., in the Customs connected with
Worship.
In our less intelligent country congregations, where many
of the people still seem to need schooling like children in
proper behaviour in public worship, the native deacons usually
constitute themselves directors of the congregation. They
stand up in various parts of the building during the prayers,
keeping a vigilant eye on the people, lest any should look
about or otherwise misbehave themselves. No sooner does
the pastor or missionary say, "Let us pray," than the deacons
shout out, Mivàvaka ! (“Pray !") in stentorian tones, until
CHURCH PHRASES.
345
every head is bowed down. I have frequently thought that
here we have just the Oremus of the early church deacons, as
they called upon the congregation to join in the prayers about
to be offered. Then, again, as soon as the benediction is pro-
nounced, our native officials are equally forward in calling to
the people, Miràva! (“Break up!" or "Disperse !"), which is
very much the Malagasy form of the words, Ite, missa est, of
the deacons in early times, when the morning prayer was
ended, and the catechumens were bidden to retire before the
celebration of the Holy Supper.
It may be also noted here that in Madagascar the Lord's
Supper is commonly called ny Famakia-mòfo, an exact equi-
valent of the apostolic church phrase, "the breaking of
bread" (Acts ii. 42, 46; xxi. 7); and the man who presides,
ny Mpamaky mòfo ("the breaker of bread "); although the
sacrament is also as frequently called ny Fandraisana ("the
taking," ie., of bread and wine), and the communicants, ny
Mpandray ("the takers," or receivers, of the ordinance).
Further still, as names are always worthy of notice, it is a
significant fact that the Christian religion has, from a very
early period after its introduction into Madagascar, been known
all over the island as Ny Fivavahana, i.e., " the praying.
>>
It is evident from the New Testament that from the
very earliest times there was something of a responsive
element in the public worship of the Church, an element
doubtless retained from the Jewish practice (see Neh. viii. 6;
v. 13); for the Apostle Paul reproved the praying in an un-
known tongue, from the inability of the congregation to
intelligently respond to such prayers by saying the " Amen
at the thanksgiving (1 Cor. xiv. 16). In our Malagasy con-
gregational worship this audible response is also usual, although
much less general now than it was formerly, when a loud and
universal" Amen " used to show the assent of the worshippers
to the prayers offered.
وو
Readers of ecclesiastical history will remember that in the
days of the "golden-mouthed" preacher and bishop, John
Chrysostom, his congregation showed their approval of his
eloquent periods by vociferous applause, a practice which he
frequently sternly reproved. Our Malagasy hearers are accus-
346
MALAGASY PREACHERS.
tomed to show their appreciation of what is said in sermons
and other public addresses by a kind of clicking sound pro-
duced by the tongue; and when this is heard it is always a
sure sign that something has been said which has touched
their feelings or excited their admiration. Occasionally, this
is also heard during the prayers; and when some of the more
gifted natives preach, men who are born orators, repeated
rounds of this clicking noise run through the building, having
a very curious effect to one only accustomed to our very
decorous and usually unmoved English congregations.
While speaking of preaching, it may be here mentioned
that in the early history of the modern mission in Mada-
gascar we had something like what is described as seen in
the Church at Corinth in its earlier history, when "every
one had a psalm, a doctrine, a revelation, an interpretation"
(1 Cor. xiv. 26). Much in the same way also, the public
services at that earlier period of our mission history (1862-
1870) were very informal in character, almost every church
member considering it his privilege to rise and give out a
hymn, offer a prayer, and make. an exhortation, as he felt dis-
posed. For a considerable space of time our services were
often very lengthy: from early morning until far on into the
forenoon would the people remain together; sometimes four
sermous (or what were meant for such) would be delivered;
each with its accompanying hymn, prayer, and reading.
These were often very meagre substitutes for sermons, in our
idea of the word, but they were the best instruction that
could be got for many of the congregations at that stage of
the people's religious history. Very different is the preach-
ing now heard in almost all our larger churches; and it is
far more difficult to induce our Malagasy friends to preach
than it used to be; for they are beginning to learn how
little they really know, and they generally desire time for
careful preparation before venturing to address a congrega-
tion.
In the early churches there seems to have been a practice
of giving to their members going to distant parts "letters of
commendation" to the congregations there, as a guarantee of
their character and standing (see 2 Cor. iii. I; 3 John 9).
FAVOURITE BOOKS.
347
Similar precautions have been found quite as necessary in
Madagascar, for the preacher's office is so honoured that any
one going to places distant from the capital can easily get
much respect and advantage by getting up and preaching,
although he may be of very indifferent character. Accord-
ingly, for some time past, formal "epistles of commendation"
have been prepared to be taken by preachers as evidence of
their being held in confidence by the churches of Imérina,
and the distant congregations have been warned that if any
one brings not such certificates of character they should
"receive them not, nor bid them God speed" (2 John 10).
Another illustration of early Church history, although not ex-
actly connected with this part of the subject, may be here noted.
Among the books which the Malagasy Christians most prized
during the twenty-five years of persecution, was the "Pilgrim's
Progress," of which a very idiomatic translation was made by
the Rev. D. Johns. This was often bound up with a small
edition of the New Testament, and thus acquired a position
in their esteem second only to that of the inspired book itself.
We see, therefore, how easily in early times, by the mere
placing together of canonical and non-canonical books, some
of these latter were for a time regarded in some places as
Holy Scripture. And so the "Shepherd" of Hermas, and
the Epistles of Barnabas and Clement and others, were in-
cluded in some early lists of the canon. Some of the less-
informed country people sometimes inquire of us if the maga-
zines and works issued at our press were written by the
Apostles; while they gaze with wonder at the English books
on our shelves, and ask if they are all Bibles.
With regard to Church Offices and Government, our Mala-
gasy experience offers many illustrations of early Church
history in the development of ecclesiastical systems. For
inany years, indeed until the year 1870, the London Mis-
sionary Society's mission was concentrated at the capital city
of Antananarivo; following apostolic precedent the great
centre of intelligence and civilisation and government was
first occupied; just as Antioch and Ephesus and Corinth and
Rome early became seats of the most powerful churches.
And accordingly, just as these, with other cities, came to have
348
CHURCH GOVERNMENT.
a great influence and authority over the less important
churches, becoming the seats of patriarchates, so does the
capital of Madagascar exercise a very powerful influence over
the more ignorant country congregations. On the whole, this
influence is most salutary and helpful to these pagani, but
it might easily and almost insensibly develop into an arbi-
trary authority over the weaker brethren connected with each
city congregation's zana-piangònana or "offspring churches."
And then again, the way in which districts, containing
congregations numbering from thirty to eighty, are bound
together by rules as to discipline and instruction, illustrates
the beginning of synods and presbyteries among the early
churches. In the capital there are nine strong congregations
who act as mother churches to as many districts radiating
from the city. These having mostly an English missionary
presiding over them form a kind of diocese, of which he is a
virtual bishop or overseer. And when, as will doubtless
eventually be the case, foreign superintendence shall have
been withdrawn, it can hardly be doubted that the native
mpitandrina or overseer of these larger churches will continue
to exercise a very sensible influence over the congregations
in his district, and will retain very much of the position of
a bishop, at least primus inter pares, if not much more of a
veritable episkopos.
But we may hope and trust that by giving the pastors and
teachers of the present Malagasy congregations a thorough
acquaintance with the history of the early Church, by pointing
out the evils which the infusion of a worldly spirit effected
in that Church, and, above all, by continuing to teach them
that the Bible is the only authoritative rule as to faith and
discipline also, we may hope that Christianity in Mada-
gascar will be preserved from those evils and corruptions
which ecclesiasticism worked in post-apostolic and medieval
times. The Malagasy Christian people will doubtless even-
tually develop a Church system and discipline of their own,
probably combining the features of more than one, or two,
ecclesiastical organisations; but we may hope that their
Independency will never degenerate into isolation and weak-
ness, that their Episcopacy may never become a prelacy, a
RELATIONS BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE. 349
lordship over God's heritage, nor their Presbyterianism fulfil
again the taunt of a by-gone age that "new presbyter is but
old priest writ large.”
On one other point only can a word be here said, and that
is as to the analogies between modern Malagasy history and
ancient Church history in the matter of the Relations between
the Church and the State. This is, however, such a wide
subject, and so difficult to be understood without full details,
that it could not be treated satisfactorily at the end of a
chapter; besides which, the time has not yet arrived for
judging how far the experience of ancient times, in this
respect, will be reproduced in modern times in Madagascar.
From the very circumstances of the country, and the habits
of the people, there are undeniable tendencies in the direction
of a control of religion by the State. But it may with some
confidence be hoped that by the constant inculcation of
scriptural teaching as to the independence and spirituality of
the Church, the Christian congregations may retain their
freedom, especially as the Government have repeatedly and
publicly expressed their adhesion to a policy of non-inter-
ference in religious matters.
Such are a few of the side-lights which are thrown by
mission experiences in Madagascar upon the history and
development of the apostolic and early churches. The
subject is a wide one, and is doubtless capable of ample
illustration from other mission fields. I trust that these
slight contributions to it may meet the eye of some of my
missionary brethren in other countries, and may induce them
to note down and make known other facts, showing how
history-ecclesiastical history-repeats itself, and the new is
ever illustrating the old.
(350)
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE MADAGASCAR OF TO-DAY-ITS PROGRESS AND PRESENT
POSITION, SOCIALLY AND RELIGIOUSLY.
MADAGASCAR has for many years past been regarded with
deep interest by the Christian people of England, especially
by those connected with the Congregational Churches of this
country. It is now (1879) a little more than sixty years.
ago since the first Protestant missionaries set foot upon its
shores; and since that period its religious history has been
one of remarkable changes, and often of startling and painful
interest. The earliest efforts made by the London Missionary
Society (in 1818) to evangelise the Malagasy people were
soon interrupted by disease, and by the death of almost all
who were engaged in the work, so that it was not until the
year 1820 that the mission was resumed, and Christian
teaching was commenced in the interior of the island, at the
capital city of Antananarivo.
For sixteen years the small body of earnest men who
laboured there were permitted to continue their efforts to
benefit the people. And it was a noble work which they
accomplished in that space of time: they reduced the lan-
guage to writing, and gave the Malagasy their own tongue
in a written form; they prepared a considerable literature,
both educational and religious; they founded a school system,
through which many thousands of the natives received the
elements of a good education; they introduced many of the
useful arts of civilised life; they translated and printed at
their own press the whole Word of God; and they gathered
several Christian congregations, of whom not a few had
received the good seed in an honest and good heart. "Their
works do follow them," and in Madagascar the names of
CHRISTIANITY PERSECUTED.
351
Jones and Griffiths, of Johns and Freeman, of Baker and
Cameron, will ever be held in lasting remembrance and
honour as the pioneers and apostles of Malagasy Christianity.
(C
The sixteen years of planting the gospel in the interior of
the island were, as is well known, followed by a quarter of
a century of determined persecution of its adherents. The
more prominent incidents of that terrible time have now
become a part of Church history, and have given another
confirmation to the old saying, that "the blood of the
martyrs" was the seed of the Church." Their blood was
again, as Tertullian said, "the red rain that made the harvest
grow."
The fury of the persecuting Queen Rànavàlona I.
only defeated its own purpose: it strengthened and deepened,
and extended far and wide the influence of Christianity;
about two hundred faithful men and women laid down their
lives for their love to Christ; "those who were persecuted
went everywhere preaching the word," and at length, when
those twenty-five years were over, the number of professing
Christians had increased twenty-fold!
And now, another period of sixteen years has passed away
since the London Missionary Society's mission was re-
established at the capital of the country; and we who have
been labouring in Madagascar during this third stage of its
Christian history can look back and see wonderful changes
and advances during that period. For these sixteen years
have been chequered in their experiences. For a few months
during the reign of Radàma II., the sunshine of royal favour
took the place of royal frowns. But the state of things dur-
ing the short reign of the young King was thoroughly un-
satisfactory, and had it continued longer, would probably
have injured the prospects of real religion far more than the
years of open persecution. Then came the reign of Queen
Rasohérina, during which, for five years, the gospel made
steady and solid progress. With a fair field and no favour
from the Government, but with no opposition, Christianity
was permeating and influencing all ranks of society in the
capital city and its neighbourhood. The younger and more
intelligent of every family of position were among its
adherents, and it was gradually becoming an acknowledged
352
CHRISTIANITY ACCEPTED.
power in the country, and making its influence felt even far
away from the central province.
But with the death of Queen Rasohérina in April 1868,
and the accession of her cousin Ramòma, came another great
advance. The advisers of the sovereign had for some time
seen very clearly the course events were taking. They
perceived that Christianity was becoming an element in the
country which could no longer be ignored. They therefore
resolved to put themselves at the head of the new movement,
and not allow such a mighty influence to be altogether in-
dependent of the State.
And so, at the coronation of the Queen (afterwards known
as Rànavàlona II.), a kind of public acknowledgment of
Christianity took place; for no idol was brought to sanctify
the ceremony, but a Bible occupied a conspicuous place close
to the Queen's right hand, while on the canopy over her
head there were written in large characters words taken
from the angelic hymn, "Glory to God," "Peace on earth,"
Good will to men." It was evident that a new era had
that day been inaugurated.
t
This open recognition of Christianity was soon followed
by still more decisive measures in favour of the once pro-
scribed religion. In February of the following year (1869),
the Queen and the Prime Minister were both baptized in the
presence of a large number of the chief people of the king-
dom; public worship was commenced in one of the royal
houses; the foundation of a chapel-royal was laid in the
palace-yard; and in September of the same year, the insolent
behaviour of the idol-keepers led to the burning of the royal
idols, and, immediately afterwards, to a like destruction of
those belonging to private individuals and separate tribes
throughout the central provinces of the island.
With a people like the Malagasy, accustomed to move in
crowds, and to follow implicitly anything which is favoured by
their rulers, the effects of this Government patronage may be
easily imagined. The immediate results were an enormous
numerical increase in the attendance upon Christian services;
every chapel was crowded to excess; new places of worship
were hastily erected in every village; the people eagerly
SPREAD OF THE MOVEMENT.
353
came forward to be baptized and to become church members;
and every missionary was pressed with work and felt over-
whelmed with the responsibility thrown upon him. The
number of congregations in the central province of Imérina
increased in two years more than tenfold, and the atten-
dants upon public worship in a somewhat less proportion; in
fact, almost the whole population of Imérina professed them-
selves to be Christians.
The news of this wonderful movement was received with
great enthusiasm in England, and caused very exaggerated
and incorrect notions to be formed as to the character and
real significance of the change which had come over Malagasy
society. A little consideration would have made it evident
that a vast proportion of these new converts were only Chris-
tians because the Government favoured Christianity, and
would have probably become Roman Catholics or even
Mohammedans with almost equal readiness had their rulers
favoured those forms of religion. Besides all this, it was
forgotten how large a country Madagascar is, and that these
changes had only affected two or three out of its many dif
ferent tribes; while the great majority of the people, probably
at least three-fourths of the whole population of the island,
were hardly at all influenced by Christianity.
There was, no doubt, great reason for thankfulness in the
fact, that in the central provinces all external hindrances to
the progress of the gospel had been removed, but its very
success had become its difficulty, and its triumph seemed
likely to prove its greatest embarrassment. The small body
of Protestant missionaries resident in the capital at the close
of 1869 (there were only ten of them) seemed utterly in-
sufficient to guide and control the almost heathen crowds who
filled the chapels and pressed into church communion; and,
to this very day, the presence of such nominal Christians in
the churches forms one of the greatest difficulties and causes
of perplexity with which the missionary has to contend.
But strenuous efforts were made to cope with the great
press of work involved in the new state of things. In 1870
the mission staff was largely increased, until, in two or three
years' time from the destruction of the idols, it numbered
Ꮓ
354
RESULTS OF CHRISTIANITY.
(including the members of the Friends' mission, always
working in thorough harmony with that of the London Mis-
sionary Society), nearly forty missionaries, besides their wives.
The churches of the capital sent out a considerable number
of teachers and evangelists, and collected money for their
support, and by grouping the vast number of country con-
gregations into districts, and laying down many stringent
rules with regard to discipline and the learning of elementary
truths, a good deal was done to instruct and bring into some
order the ignorant crowds of people who had pressed into the
churches.
And now, it may be asked, what are the results of the
last few years' labour? and to what extent does Christianity
now influence society in the central provinces ?
In reply,
it may be confidently affirmed that there are numerous
undeniable facts which sufficiently testify that the gospel is
a mighty power in Madagascar; facts, not only patent to the
Christian missionary, but also to any honest and unprejudiced
traveller, who knows what the country was a few years ago,
and what is the state of things at the present day.
To begin with the matter of clothing, a subject always
closely connected with morality. In their heathen state a
dirty hemp or rofia lamba suffices for the great mass of the
Malagasy, but as soon as a Christian congregation is gathered,
a great change comes over the outward aspect of the people.
Every woman must have her neat jacket and skirt of print or
other stuff, and the men their shirts and pantaloons, as well
as the flowing outer dress or lamba (common to both sexes) of
European calico. Wherever Christianity comes, there imme-
diately springs up a demand for foreign manufactured goods,
and the trader follows in the wake of the missionary. It can
be shown from consular returns, that so much has Christianity
opened up trade in Polynesia, that every Protestant missionary
is worth £10,000 per annum to European and American
commerce. So much cannot yet be claimed for Christian
missions in Madagascar, but perhaps it would not be too much
to say that each missionary represents a value of from £2000
to £3000 per annum of foreign imports. In 1863 there
was not one English commercial house at the great city of
IMPROVED SOCIAL HABITS.
355
Antananarivo, but now several firms carry on a profitable.
business, besides which a great amount of goods are brought
up by the native traders. So true it always is that Christianity
is the best civiliser, and the harbinger of all honest trade.
The erection of improved dwellings is also slowly leading
to improved social habits. Instead of being all crowded
together in a house of one room, a family has now in many
cases two or three separate sleeping places; although in this
respect there is still abundant room for improvement, as is
also the case in the cottages of our English labourers and
artisans. During the last few years the repeal of the ancient
law forbidding the erection of any but wood or rush houses
in the capital and other ancient towns has led to the almost
entire rebuilding of Antananarivo; sun-dried brick is largely
used for building houses and churches; the old wooden
houses with their lofty high-pitched and thatched roofs have
almost entirely disappeared, and have been replaced by scores
of convenient two-storeyed and verandahed dwellings, many of
them with tiled roofs. The erection of the Martyr Memorial
Churches (1864-1874) gave a great impetus to the building
art; it showed the people how to use their own stores of stone
and clay, and timber and metal, and numbers of intelligent
natives have become clever workmen.
But one of the most decided proofs of advance is the
improved state of feeling with regard to polygamy and
divorce, and the marriage relation generally. In their
heathen state the Hovas were most immoral; chastity and
purity were almost unknown, and a common proverb com-
pared marriage to a knot which could be untied with the
slightest touch; polygamy was general, and divorce a matter
of everyday occurrence. But an enlightened public opinion,
a Christian conscience, is growing up on all these subjects,
and is strengthening year by year; so that now polygamy is
at an end in Imérina, and divorce is vastly less frequent than
it used to be. The sanctity of the marriage tie is more and
more recognised by the people, so that infringement of its
acknowledged obligations is increasingly condemned, while
church censure makes itself felt as a very powerful restraint
upon wrong-doers.
356
SABBATH OBSERVANCE.
In the observance of the Sabbath the appearance of the
capital city and of the central provinces generally compares
very favourably with that of most English towns. The
Government deserve praise for having, immediately upon
their adhesion to Christianity, stopped all public work on
that day, and closed all markets, thus giving a legal day of
rest; and a considerable proportion of the people of Imérina
attend public worship. Not unfrequently the Government
has given a rebuke to the representatives of so-called Christian
powers, who wished to transact public business on the Lord's
Day.
The native authorities also merit the commendation of
every right-minded person for their persistent endeavours to
keep temptations to drinking out of the way of their people.
In almost every part of Madagascar, except Imérina, drunken-
ness is a fearful source of degradation to the people, threaten-
ing the very existence of some of the coast tribes; but,
owing to the very stringent laws against the manufacture or
importation of ardent spirits into the central province, a
drunken man is there very rarely seen in public, so that
Imérina is one of the most temperate countries in the world.
Most devoutly it is to be wished that the Government could
enforce similar laws on the eastern coast, where, to their
shame be it said, English and French traders yearly pour into
the country thousands of gallons of rum, to the ruin of the
weak and ignorant coast population. To these poor people,
as yet unfortified against temptation by Christian teaching,
civilisation without religion means rum, and rifles, and the
vices of the Europeans, which often sweep them away, before
they have a chance of learning what true civilisation means.
The influence of Christianity upon public feeling in Mada-
gascar has also been strikingly shown in the abolition or
disuse of the cruel punishments formerly inflicted for political
and other crimes. Up to a recent period certain military
offences were punished by the frightful penalty of burning
alive, but in later cases this has been substituted by fine and
loss of rank. During the writer's first stay in Madagascar
(1863-1867), he was frequently shocked and pained by the
utter disregard for human life and suffering shown by the
CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE IN WAR.
357
Malagasy, and more than once has he aided in rescuing
persons who were on the point of being killed by the mob
for trifling thefts. In former reigns many offences, political
and otherwise, involved not only death to the offender, but
also reduced his wife and family to slavery; but these cruel
and unjust laws have now been abolished. It is not, of
course, to be inferred that there is not yet immense room for
improvement in all these matters; but still, the loving and
merciful and kindly spirit of the gospel is exerting a great
influence, and is making itself felt more and more powerfully
every year. Hardly any capital punishments have been in-
flicted during the reign of the present sovereign, who is
universally beloved for her kindness of heart and humane
disposition.
But, perhaps, in nothing has the beneficent influence of
Christianity been so evident as in the amelioration of war.
In the early part of the present century, the Hovas, while
making themselves masters of the interior and eastern portion
of the island, carried on a series of cruel wars, in which great
suffering was inflicted on the outlying tribes. Fire and
sword were carried through the country; the men were
mercilessly shot down or speared, and the women and children
were brought up as slaves to Imérina, so that a deep feeling
of hatred to the Hovas was left in the minds of the conquered
people, a feeling still strong after the lapse of forty or fifty
years. But in the last expedition against the Sakalàvas (in
1873), one of the divisions of the army returned without
firing a shot or taking a single life; the other had to attack
the rebel stronghold, and in the conflict some few lives were
lost; but, as far as is known, no other bloodshed took place.
So that the Hova army returned to Imèrina, leaving a very
different impression upon the minds of people to that made
by former war expeditions. The people who at first fled
from the Hova camp soon perceived that they had nothing
to fear, and they found that its neighbourhood was the best
possible market for the sale of their produce. More than
that, on the Lord's Day divine service was held morning and
evening in the camp, so that many of the ignorant heathen
people heard for the first time the tidings of salvation. Au
358
"A SHOWING OF MERCY."
interesting native account relates that "as they repeatedly
heard the preaching, they said, 'What is this religion which
leads the Imérina people not to enslave us any more and
take us away by force?' And they were answered, 'Because
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Redeemer of men, has
given the gospel to teach mankind to show mercy.' So
many of our good pastors and preachers accompanied the
Hova forces as officers, that that military expedition really
became a missionary expedition, and led to Christ's name
being proclaimed in heathen portions of the country where it
had not been heard before. This was, no doubt, greatly due
to the excellent Christian character of many of the officers;
but it was also not less owing to the admonition of the
Prime Minister to the leaders of the army before their de-
parture, when he said, "You are Christians now, and must
not use any cruelty to the people of the country you are
going to; you must not take any life, except there is armed
opposition to the Queen's authority." And so when that
Hova army was about to return, the heads of some of the
tribes came to the commander and said, "We thought that
when you Hovas had burned your gods you would be power-
less, but now we see that you are still able to fight although
you worship Jehovah ; and we perceive that this filàzantsàra
(gospel) you preach is 'a showing of mercy.' Surely this
was an honourable testimony to the real change which the
profession of Christianity had effected among the Hovas.
It will of course be understood that in all that has been here
said of progress made in morality, Sabbath observance, sobriety,
and humanity, it is not to be inferred that there is no room still
for immense advance and improvement. Ten years is a short
time, indeed, for a people to be purified from the evils and vices
and cruelties which are the growth of centuries. But there
is reason for hope and encouragement in the fact that great
changes have already taken place; the gospel leaven is begin-
ning to work in the so lately heathen masses of the people,
and by God's blessing will not cease to influence them until
in due time it shall have "leavened the whole lump."
It may, however, be asked by some, What is the vital and
NOMINAL CHRISTIANS.
359
spiritual influence which Christianity is now exerting upon
the mass of the professedly religious people of Madagascar ?
Upon this point it is much more difficult to speak with
certainty and confidence than on the matters already referred to.
From what has been said as to the great advance in public
morality it will be evident that the indirect results of the
preaching of the gospel have been very real and unmistakable.
But it is a more delicate task to gauge its influence upon the
hearts of those who have professed to embrace it. And this,
difficult everywhere and in any state of society, is specially
so from the peculiar circumstances of Malagasy society dur-
ing the last eight or nine years. It has, during all that time,
involved no social discredit to make a profession of religion,
it has rather been a disadvantage not to be a member of
some church. To become baptized, and then, after a few
months of probation, to join one of the churches, is looked
upon as only a proper and becoming course of conduct, by
which a man takes a creditable position in society. So that,
in the language of the Bedford dreamer, "religion walks in
his silver slippers; the sun shines, and the people applaud
him." All this, it it evident, is unfavourable for the develop-
ment of the more solid and enduring qualities of Christian
character, and inevitably leads to a great deal that is only
superficial. A very large proportion of the present adhe-
rents, especially in the more ignorant country districts, can
only be regarded as Christians in name; and were there to
be a change in the attitude of the authorities towards the
form of religion now favoured by them, probably only a
small remnant of these pagani" would be found steadfast
to their present profession. We could not expect it to be
otherwise; nine or ten years' time, with most meagre instruc-
tion in many districts, is an utterly inadequate period in
which to Christianise a nation. On more than one occasion,
when unfounded reports had been circulated in the villages
that the sovereign no longer favoured Christianity, a mere
handful of people only have come together for several weeks
afterwards, to represent a congregation of three or four
hundred worshippers. In the capital city, and in many of
the larger villages, where the congregations have had con-
360
MISAPPREHENSIONS.
tinuous instruction for several years past, there would
doubtless be a very much larger proportion who would
remain steadfast, whatever might be the change of circum-
stances; and the experience of the time of persecution
assures us that there is an element of persistence in the
native character which would again brave suffering and death
for Christ's sake.
It would have prevented much misapprehension as to the
real character of the change which, nine or ten years ago,
came over society in the central provinces, if it had been
remembered that the vast majority of those who then pressed
into the churches had never previously had any instruction
whatever. They had just come out of absolute heathenism,
and the great reason for their burning their idols and
attending Christian worship was that their sovereign had
burned her idols and had put herself under Christian
instruction. There has been in Madagascar no parallel at all
to that remarkable awakening which a few years ago passed
over the native churches in the Sandwich Islands, and stirred
up thousands to seek for forgiveness and salvation. Such
a revival could not have been expected in Madagascar; the
circumstances of the two countries were totally different: in
the one, there had been many years of uninterrupted labour
in a comparatively small field, and the Spirit of God came
down to vivify seed which had long lain dormant in many
hearts; but in the other, thousands of those who pressed
into the hastily run-up mud chapels knew nothing whatever
about even the elementary truths of religion.
It may also be added, that even among those who we can-
not but think are sincere Christians there is remarkably little
depth of feeling or emotion, as shown either in a feeling of
guilt before God, sorrow for sin, earnestness in seeking salva-
tion, or joy in a sense of pardon and believing in Christ.
At any rate, it is rare to meet with any expression or mani-
festation of such feelings. No doubt this in part arises from
the unemotional character of the whole Malayo-Polynesian
race, to which family of people the Malagasy belong. But
still, accepting the Divine criterion, "By their fruits ye
shall know them," we have reason to believe that the gospel.
MALAGASY CONGREGATIONS.
361
And
has come to not a few, not in word only, but in power.
when we see the graces of Christian character developing,
and evil diminishing; when we see honesty and truthful-
ness, and liberality and purity, taking the place of the opposite
characteristics; when we see larger sums devoted every year
to religious objects, and men and women offering themselves
for Christian service, we cannot doubt that the good Spirit of
God is working, even if it be in ways somewhat different to
what we had expected.
The native congregations in Madagascar are closely asso-
ciated together in districts, which in some communions might
be called" dioceses," in others "circuits," and in others " pres-
byteries." In fact, the government and order of the Malagasy
churches may be considered as a combination of Episcopacy,
Independency, and Presbyterianism, with an infusion of
Methodism in its large use of lay agency or "local preachers."
It is a system which has grown up rather from the necessities
of the case than from any set purpose. Nine of these districts
radiate from the capital, having their main strength at Antanà-
narìvo, as their common centre, in one of the old-established
mother-churches of the city, and seven others are grouped
round some of the most important towns in Imérina. Other
mission stations are found in the Bétsiléo country, the
southern province, having their headquarters at Fianàrantsoà,
its chief town; while two have recently been formed in some
of the outlying heathen tribes, one amongst the Sihànaka
people, north-eastern central, and another at Mojangà, on the
north-west coast, from which it is hoped that an entrance
may be effected for the gospel among the wild Sakalàva race.
All these districts have an English missionary presiding over
them; some of them include as few as thirty congregations,
and others as many as eighty and upwards. These churches
meet together by their representatives at regular intervals;
they make rules as to discipline and instruction and school
education, and exercise a very powerful and salutary influence
over each congregation included in the district. With such
a large field of work the position of the English missionary
becomes that of an overseer of many churches, and not that
of pastor of a single church; he endeavours to guide and
1
362
MALAGASY "LOCAL PREACHERS.”
elevate the native pastors and teachers; he holds frequent
classes at the chief villages, where, as from centres, the
greater part of the congregations can be influenced through
the more intelligent of the preachers; and in this work the
advanced knowledge and Christianity of the members of the
city churches is a powerful auxiliary to the influence of
the missionary. Twice a year representatives from all the
Imérina congregations meet together in the capital, in a kind
of "Church Congress," or "Congregational Union," to discuss
important subjects connected with the welfare and progress
and discipline of the churches. At these the debates are
perfectly open and free to all who attend; and the habit of
thus freely discussing subjects often closely connected with
social life, as well as with church life, is having a powerful
effect in training the people to think and speak for themselves.
It cannot fail eventually to influence political matters, and
prepare the way for freer institutions than are practicable, or
even desirable, at the present time.
A good deal has been done to raise up an instructed native
ministry. It has been felt from the first that upon this
greatly depends the future of Malagasy Christianity; and
accordingly, for several years past, the most earnest and
intelligent of the young men have been selected, and have
received a good general and theological course of instruction
at the Missionary College. It may, therefore, be expected
that in process of time a trained and well-taught pastor or
evangelist may be placed in every village. Of course native
agency is largely made use of in the Malagasy churches;
without this nine-tenths of the congregations would be left
without instruction, and a large body of "local preachers" is
therefore attached to each mother-church. These good men
preach extensively according to a printed "plan" in the
country district with which they are connected, and thus
they give a large amount of help to their less advanced zàna-
piangonana or "offspring of churches."
The object of the London Missionary Society has been
from the first to draw out the self-help and liberality of its
converts and churches; not to keep them in leading-strings like
children, or to do everything for them, but to encourage them
CHURCHES.
363
to help themselves, to give for the erection of their own
churches, and for the support of their own teachers and
pastors, and to let all help from foreign sources be only
supplementary and temporary, until they become self-sup-
porting. This policy has led to a liberality which is yearly
increasing on the part of the Imérina churches, so that during
the past year no less a sum than $20,000 was contributed.
This amount, though by no means so large in proportion as
that given by some of the native churches in Polynesia, is
yet one of the strongest possible proofs that Christianity has
a growing power over the Malagasy.
During the last eight or ten years large sums have been
expended in improved places of worship. Besides the four
Memorial Churches and the Chapel Royal-which are hand-
some and solidly-built stone structures, with spires or towers,
-erected under European superintendence-many very sub-
stantial and excellent churches have been built in Antanà-
narivo and in the chief towns of Imérina, of sun-dried
brick, a material which is also in extensive use for dwelling-
houses, and makes, with proper precautions, very durable and
substantial buildings. Indeed many of the village churches,
with their neatly-plastered and whitewashed walls, glazed
windows, matted floors, and appropriate fittings, may be
considered as models of what such buildings should be. Their
lofty tiled or thatched roofs now make quite a prominent.
feature in the landscape as they stand up above the villages
all over Imérina.
And while the buildings for divine worship have been
greatly improved during the last few years, the conduct and
arrangements of religious services have greatly advanced during
the same period. In all the more intelligent congregations,
the Sunday services are conducted with much outward order
and decorum. Some few of them have adopted the European
fashion of standing during singing, but there has been little
attempt perhaps too little-to introduce in religious worship
any of those becoming and seemly acts of outward reverence
which are common to most European churches; and con-
sequently the native habit of squatting lazily on the floor
354
POPULAR HYMNS.
through all portions of the service is still the prevailing
fashion, and leaves much room for improvement.
During the last three or four years there has been what
may be almost called a revival of congregational singing. A
large number of good Malagasy hymns have been written, all
in good rhythm, and many in rhyme, both by the mission-
aries and by natives. These have been set to lively tunes,
many of those introduced by the American revivalists being
now as popular in Madagascar as they were in England, and
have spread rapidly all over the country; so that "Hold the
Fort," "Ring the Bells of Heaven," "The Sweet By-and-by,"
and many others, are now as well known in their Malagasy
dress as in their original English form. Besides these, many
of the more classical English hymns have been naturalised in
Malagasy, such, for instance, as "Rock of Ages," "Hail to the
Lord's Anointed," and numerous others. In the capital and
its neighbourhood these Christian hymns have quite supplanted
the native songs, and are heard in every direction in the city
and the villages at the close of the day, when the people are
gathered together in family groups round their evening meal.
The introduction of the Tonic-Sol-fa system has done very
much to deepen and extend the national love of music and
singing, and many hundreds of the younger people can now
sing with ease from this notation.
In preaching also a great advance has been made. A few
years ago almost any one would undertake to rise and address
a congregation, for the Malagasy are naturally fluent and con-
fident public speakers; but now, a general increase of intelli-
gence on the part of the hearers has necessitated a much
higher standard of ability on the part of the preachers; so
that a constantly increasing body of intelligent men, well
versed in the Scriptures and able to speak with power, is
being raised up for the instruction of the native church.
Some few of these men are orators of no mean order, and have
great influence among the churches and in the country
generally; and many of them can use their national legends
and proverbs with very powerful effect.
In education and general enlightenment the central pro-
vinces of Madagascar stand in a somewhat advanced position
SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION.
365
for a country so recently emerged from semi-barbarism.
Almost every congregation has a school where instruction in
the simplest elements of knowledge is imparted. Normal and
training schools in the capitals of both Imérina and Bétsiléo
have already supplied the most important towns and villages
with well-trained teachers, and it may be hoped that event-
ually every village will have one to instruct its children.
And although in the more ignorant districts there is still
much suspicion among the people as to the ultimate design
in obliging their children to attend school, the Government
has put strong pressure to enforce education, and has on this
point wisely and rightly exercised its almost absolute authority.
Its action will certainly make the next generation an educated
and enlightened one, and earn for it the gratitude of posterity
in Madagascar, as well as the respect of European nations.
Higher education has been greatly promoted by a theo-
logical academy in Antananarivo, which has recently been
expanded into a general college. Here it may be expected
that by imparting a thorough training to the sons of the
higher classes, they will be much better fitted than their
fathers to become the future rulers of the country, and to fill
the positions of governors, judges, and great officers of state.
The spread of education has, of course, created a reading
class, and an extensive demand for popular and cheap litera-
ture. For several years the presses connected with the two
chief Protestant missions have been tasked to supply the need
of elementary school books and lesson-sheets; and school ap-
pliances and first reading-books have been issued by tens of
thousands. But more advanced literature has also met with
a ready sale, and such books as Bible Dictionaries, exegetical
and hermeneutical treatises, and science text-books, have been
in great demand. It speaks something for the intelligence of
the young men of the capital that such a work as a Physical
Geography should be one of the most popular books, and
rapidly pass into a second edition, while an elementary Logic
is also a very popular work! Besides this, 3400 copies a
month are sold of a cheap monthly magazine, Tény Sòa (“Good
Words "); a quarterly, Mpanòlo-tsaina ("The Counsellor "),
supplying articles of a higher class, and commenced two or
366
MALAGASY MISSIONARIES.
three years ago, has been extensively circulated; and other
serial publications, Vàry tondràhan-tàntély (" Rice mixed with
Honey"), a Malagasy edition of the "British Workman," and
Ny Sakàizan' ny Ankizy madinika ("The Children's Friend"),
a publication in which the Religious Tract Society's illustra-
tions of "The Child's Companion" are used, have also a large
sale. In several of these, articles by native writers, as well
as by Europeans, frequently appear, and often display no small
amount of ability and observation; while in all the mechanical
processes of printing and book-binding, and in the combined
mechanical and artistic skill required in lithography, native
talent, under European guidance, produces books that may
challenge comparison with those turned out of English work-
shops.
The energies of the native churches of the interior provinces
of Madagascar are not entirely confined to their own part of
the country, but are now being extended into some of the
more distant and heathen portions of the island.
As long
ago as thirteen or fourteen years from now, the first native
missionary was sent out by one of the Antananarivo churches
to the Sihànaka province. There he did a good work, which
is now being carried on in a much more complete way by an
English missionary assisted by four native helpers. Since
then other native evangelists have been sent out to others of
the distant heathen tribes; in one instance, especially, a great
work has been accomplished through the labour of one excel-
lent man; and although some missions sent had to be with-
drawn through the suspicions of the people, who feared a
political meaning in them, the Imérina churches were not
discouraged, but again sent out several evangelists last year
(1878) to the south-east provinces. Five young men offered
themselves at the missionary meetings in June, and money is
also forthcoming for their support. The missionary spirit of
the Malagasy churches has been fairly awakened, and a work
has been begun which, we may hope, will not now stop until
all the heathen tribes have been brought under the influence
of the gospel.
From what has been already said it will be seen that the
position of Madagascar at the present time is one of peculiar
ENLIGHTENED STATE POLICY.
interest to the Christian and the philanthropist.
367
By a series
of political changes the Hovas, the most intelligent and energetic
of its numerous tribes, have gradually obtained the supremacy
over all the rest. The central province of Imérina, occupied
by them, and especially its capital city of Antanànarìvo, has
for several years past been a centre of intelligence, civilisa-
tion and Christianity, from whence these blessings are slowly
spreading to distant portions of the great island. The capital
and its neighbourhood have been largely Christianised, but
even in the central province there is still (can we wonder at
it?) much darkness and superstition; and while in some of
the other tribes Christian work has only just been commenced,
many others are yet entirely untouched by the elevating in-
fluences of the gospel. But the history of the past gives
hope and promise for the future, and the church in Madagas-
car is being aroused to a sense of its duty and responsibility
to its heathen fellow-countrymen.
As already pointed out, the policy of the present Govern-
ment has in many points been greatly in advance of that of all
preceding ones. In their anxiety for education, in the repres-`
sion of the traffic in intoxicating drink, in the upholding of
the Sabbath, and in the amelioration of cruel customs and
laws, and warlike usages, they deserve the praise of all; and
in what they do to extend Christianity, although they do
not always see the possible difficulties this may involve, the
personal influence of the highest personages in the state has
been exerted from the best motives, and from a deep and
sincere interest in the extension of the gospel.
Civilised and Christianised, a great future lies before Mada-
gascar; and as it has already become famous for the faith
and devotion of many of its sons and daughters, so also from
its commercial importance, its inexhaustible fertility, and the
mental capabilities of its people, it will eventually take an
important and honourable place among the nations of the
world.
INDEX.
ABOLITION of idolatry, 301, 302; of tangéna | Barringtonia, 73.
ordeal, 283.
Aboriginal peoples, 135-138.
Absolute character of the Government, 319.
Accounts, early, of Madagascar, 6.
Actions, lucky and unlucky, 287.
Acts and customs, tabooed, 288, 294; sym-
bolic, 332.
Adoption of children, 246, 324.
Adornment by scars, 210.
Epyornis maximus, 3, 34, 54.
African relationships of Malagasy, 103, 110.
Age, respect for, 323.
Agriculture, 335.
Alaòtra lake, 25, 130, 171.
Albuquerque, Alfonso d', 4
Almeida, Francisco de, 3.
Aloes, 94.
Altars and sacred stones, 305:
Ambohimanga, 51, 81; church at, decoration
of, 261.
Ambòbitra or Amber mountains, 26.
Ambòndromé, the Malagasy Hades, 311-313.
Amelioration of war, 357-
Ancestor worship of royalty, 226.
Ancestors' commands, sacredness of, 326.
Andriamanélo (king), 136, 177, 216.
Andrians or nobles, 112, 184.
Animals, superstitions regarding, 268; of evil
omen, 270; sacrificial, 272; fabulous, 275.
Animals for riding, 177.
Anivona palm, 74-
Ankaratra mountains, 23, 26.
Antananarivo, 143; rebuilding of, 259.
Annales des Mines, 34, 35.
Ants, 61; and snake-traps, 268.
Antsihanaka province, 29, 49, 130.
Arab influence in Madagascar, 1, 106, 109, 123-
171; writers on Madagascar, 2.
Ardent spirits, laws against, 356.
Aristotle's De Mundo, 2.
Bats, 44.
Béhòsy or Kaliò, 138.
Belief in future existence, 311; in ghosts,
312.
Beliefs regarding serpents, 268; the lemur
and aye-aye, 279.
Benedictions and salutations, 324, 325.
Benyowski, 140, 224.
Betrothal, 323.
Bétsiboka river, 57, 24, 33, 34, 73.
Bétsiléo art, 263-266; charms, 294.
Bétsiléo country, 24, 32, 136; people, 85, 87,
113, 125, 231; houses, 201; towns, 207.
Bétsimisaraka, 106, 131, 212, 236.
Bezánozáno or Tankày, 129, 141.
Biblical customs, similarity with, 318-336.
Birds, species of, 48-55.
Birds of evil omen, 274.
Births, unlucky, 279-281.
Blessings, Malagasy, 324, 325.
Blood, atonement by, 304.
Boats, curiously-constructed, 179.
Bojer and Hilsenberg, 100.
Bond, Hon. John, "Governor and Captain
General" of Madagascar, 9, 10.
Books, educational, demand for, 365; favour-
ite, 347.
Bow and arrow, 216, 329.
"Broken houses," 291.
Brotherhood by blood, 223.
Buffalo, the, legendary history connected
with, 271; typical of majesty, 273.
Bull-fighting, 273, 278.
Burial customs, 227-242, 330.
CANOE travelling, 178.
Canoes and boats, 177.
Cape lilac, 82.
Cardamoms, 94.
Carnivora, 45.
Art among the Hovas, 258; native, in build- Carved memorial posts, 264, 265.
ing, 265.
Arums, 78, 89, 205.
Astrology, 311.
Atàfa tree, 76.
Atonement and expiation, 303, 304.
Audible responses in church, 345.
Augustine's Bay, St., 9, 32, 223.
Aye-aye, the, 43; belief regarding, 270.
BABACOOTE, the, a species of lemur, 270.
Bamboo, 77·
Bananas, 91.
Baobab tree, the, 78, 278.
Baptism, superstitious notions regarding,
339-341; of queen and prime minister, 352.
Bara (tribe), 126, 142, 212; houses, 202, 222,
223, 239; towns, 207; suspicion, 286;
charms, 293; sacred places, 306.
Bark cloth, 75, 213.
Casting nativities, 310.
Cauche, François, 15.
Cave burial, 239.
Centetidæ, 44.
Ceremonies at circumcision, 217, 273, 274;
New Year's Festival, 314-317.
Cernè, an ancient name of Madagascar, 2.
Chapel-royal, foundation of a, 352.
Charms, 292; various kinds of, 293.
Charnay, M. Désiré, 253.
Cheap literature, demand for, 365.
Cheboua, an ancient name of Madagascar, 2.
Children, pride in, 167.
Christian rites regarded as charms, 339, 341.
Christians, nominal, 359.
Christianity, influence of, 140, 222; persecu
tion of, 351; progress of, 352; public ac-
knowledgment of, 325; rapid increase of,
353; results of, 354, 355; influence upon
INDEX.
public feeling, 356, 357; indirect results of,
359, 360.
Church and State, relations between, 349;
divisions, 343.
Church life, 337; offices and government,
347, 361; phrases, 345.
Churches, in Imèrina, decoration of, 260;
memorial, 355, 363; village, 363.
Circumcision, ceremonies connected with,
217, 273, 274.
Civilians or borizàno, 183.
Class distinctions, 256.
Clothing, 213.
Coast plains, 33.
Cocoanut palm, 75.
Coffee, 89.
EAST Coast tribes, the, 132.
Education, 364, 365.
Ellis, Rev. W., 97, 98, 112, 140, 292.
English words in Malagasy, 152, 173.
Epistles of commendation," 347-
Ethnology of Madagascar, 102, 109.
Euphorbia, 84.
European elements among Malagasy, 106.
Evangelists, native, 366.
Evil eye, 168.
Evil omen, animals of, 270.
Exorcising an evil spirit, 295, 296.
Expedition against the Sakulàvas, 357.
Expiation and atonement, 303, 304.
FABLES about animals and birds, 275.
369
Coincidence of Malagasy and Jewish customs, Family affection among the Malagasy, 256.
318–336.
College, the Missionary, 362.
Colony, English, projected in Madagascar,
II.
Coloured cloths, weaving of, 261, 262.
Commerce, increase of, 354.
Compass and sundial in Hova houses, 204.
Complimentary terms, 159.
Condiments, 90.
Conglomerate rock, 35.
Congregations, Malagasy, 361.
Coral reefs and rocks, 36.
Cousins, Rev. W. E., 122, 137, 146, 225.
"Creator's ordeal," the, 283.
Crime of sorcery, the, 292.
Crimes, political, 322; detection of, 282.
Crocodile, the, 57; ordeal by, 284; native
beliefs about, 269, 270.
Crown, power of the, unlimited, 323.
Cruel treatment of wives, 255.
Cryptoprocta, 46.
Family life, folk-lore of, 285, 286.
Family, nation, &c., words for, 247.
Fanàny, the, strange belief concerning, 276,
277.
Fandròana, the, or New Year's Festival, 271,
313-317.
Fano, tree, the, 83, 277.
Fanompòana or forced service, 183.
Father, words for, 243.
Fato-dra, 225.
Fauna of Madagascar, exceptional and highly
specialised, 39, 48, 65.
Favourite books, 347.
Ferns, 79.
Festivities, New Year, 314-317.
Fetish trees, 306.
Fianarantsoa, 143.
Ficus, species of, 81.
Figurative language, 334.
Filanjana or palanquin, 175.
Filao (tree), 73.
"Cupboard love," native proverb describ- Fire hy friction, 207.
ing, 255.
Curious customs, 174-242.
Curses, Malagasy, 326.
Custom regarding widows, 255.
Customs at death, 290, 291; connected with
Christian worship, 344, 345; marriage, 250-
252, 323; tabooed, 288, 294.
DABLE, Rev. L., 1, 121, 154, 172, 309.
Davidson, Dr., 272, 282.
Day names, 154.
Days, lucky and unlucky, 279, 280.
Dead, the, weeping for, 316.
Death, observances connected with, 289-291.
Decoration, interior, 260.
Decorative carving in Bétsiléo, 263; in Mala-
gasy houses, 265.
Deference to royalty, Malagasy, 319.
Design, native, in cloths and silks, 262.
Detection of witchcraft, 282.
Dialects of Malagasy, 149.
Fireflies, 61.
Fishes, 58.
Flora of Madagascar, 69.
Flowering trees, 99.
Flowers, 98; superstitions regarding, 278.
Folk-lore and folk-tales, Malagasy, 267; of
home and family life, 285, 286; of names,
289.
Food, 327, 328.
Forest belt round Madagascar, 27.
Forest scenery, 70.
Fosa, 46.
Fossils, 33.
French claims on Madagascar. 15, 134, 173-
French words in Malagasy, 152, 173.
Fruits, 90, 157.
Future existence, belief in a, 311.
GEOLOGY of Madagascar, 31.
Gezirat al-Komr, "Island of the Moon," i.e.,
Madagascar, 2.
Dislike to goats and pigs, 270, 271; to the sin- Ghosts, belief in, 312.
gular number, 287.
Disregard for human life, 356.
Districts, Christian, 361.
Divination, 308, 311.
Diviners, 274.
Division of time, 279.
Divisions, church, 343.
Divorce, 161, 254; improved feelings regard-
ing, 355.
Domestic animals, 159.
Goats and pigs, dislike to, 270, 271.
God, names for, 99.
God of healing and medicine, 268.
"God's lamb," an insect, 275.
Gospel, power of the, in Madagascar, 354-
Gourds, 95.
Government and royalty, 319; church, 347,
348, 361; officials, power of, 322.
Gramage, Mr., quoted, 268, 269, 289.
Grandidier, Alfred, 18, 22, 33, 42, 142, 223.
Dress, native, 213, 326, 327; improvement Grandparents and grandchildren, words for
in, 354.
Drunkenness, 356.
Drury, Robert, 14, 88, 156, 271, 302.
Dutch intercourse with Madagascar, 6.
Dwellings, improvement in, 355.
Dyes, 95.
249.
Grasses, 84, 158.
Gums, 99.
HADES, the Malagasy, 311, 312.
Hair dressing, 210.
2A
370
Handicrafts, 194, 195.
Hàsina, the, 277.
Hemp, 95
Herana (rush), 86.
Hippopotamus (fossil), 47.
INDEX.
Local preachers, Malagasy, 362.
London Missionary Society work, 147.
Lord's Supper, the, superstitious notions re-
garding, 339-341; profane abuse of, 343.
Lorenzo, San, name of Madagascar, 4.
History, in words, 155; religious, of Mada- Lucky and unlucky days, 279, 280; numbers
gascar, 350.
Home life, folk-lore of, 285, 286.
Honouring the sacraments,
342.
Horns of cattle, used as symbols, 334.
Houlder, Rev. J. A., 30, 56, 237.
Household worship, 302.
Houses and towns, 329, 530; building, 287 ;
decoration, 259.
Houses, Bara, 202; Bétsiléo, 201; improve-
ment in, 355; Sihanaka, 202; structure,
and arrangement, 197, 266; wood, 71, 197
House-horns, 198; Tanòsy, 203; Mahafaly,
203.
Hova art, 258; marriage rites, 251; pottery,
262; sacred places, 307.
Hovas, or free people, 109, 112, 115, 121, 123,
132, 149, 182. 211, 217, 225, 327.
Human lite, disregard for, 356; sacrifices,
303.
Husbands and wives, words for, 250.
Hymns, popular, 364.
IAMBOLI, an ancient name of Madagascar, 2.
Iboina, founding of the kingdom of, 252.
Idols and their worship, 297-301; sanctity of,
299; burning of royal, 352.
Ikongo (tribe), 128, 239.
Ill-omened numbers, 287.
Illustrations of Scripture customs, 318-336.
Imérina, 125; village churches in, 260; idols
of, 301.
Immorality, gross, of the Hovas, 252, 253.
Imprecations and curses, Malagasy, 326.
Improved social habits, 355-
Incantation against spirit of evil, 295, 296.
Indian traders, 1.
Indiarubber, 99
Infants subjected to ordeal, 284, 285.
Influence, Christian, in war, 357.
Insects, 59-65.
Insectivora, 44.
Invocation in time of war, 286.
Itàsy lake, 25. 27, 28, 50.
Ivòhitràmbo, picturesque village of, 265.
KABARY, or public assembly, 190-193.
Kalio or Bétiòsy, 137.
Kary, the, a native cat, 270.
Kélimalaza, an idol, 299.
Kestell-Cornish, Bishop, 29, 180.
Kimos or Quimos, 137.
Kissing, or nose-rubbing, 209.
Kodéo ordeal, the, 284.
LACE-LEAF plant, 100.
Lagoons on East Coast, 25.
Lakes in Madagascar, 25.
Lâlomèna, the, 275.
Làmba, the, 326, 327.
Language, figurative, 332.
Laws against ardent spirits, 356.
Leaves used as pottery, 208.
Legendary history connected with buffaloes,
271.
Lemur, the, belief regarding, 270.
Lemuridæ, 40.
Lianas, 79.
Lichens, 96.
Liberality, native, 363.
Limestone deposits, 32.
Literature, demand for, 365.
"Living stones," 283.
and actions, 287.
MADAGASCAR, origin of name, 2, 5; early
accounts of, 6; population of, 138.
Mahafaly houses, 203.
Majesty, the buffalo typical of, 273.
"Makers of days," 310.
Malagasy hymns, 148.
Malagasy blessings, 324, 325; congregations,
361; curses and imprecations, 326; mis-
sionaries, 366; morals, 337; peoples, mar-
riage customs among, 251; politeness, 325;
salutations, 324, 325; time, 336.
Malagasy, origin of name and division, 5,
102; language of, 145-164; dialect of, 114,
149.
Malay relationships of Malagasy tongue and
people, 103, 105, 116, 117, 119, 122, 145.
Mamioc or Mangahazo, 88.
Mandritsàra, 30.
Mania river, 27.
Manjakatsiròa, the idol, 301.
Maps of Madagascar, 15.
Marco Polo, 3, 54.
Màrolongo, a serpent called, curious belief,
268.
Màromita or bearer, 175, 176.
Marriage, 161, 185, 250, 252; and family life,
323; between near relations, 248; customs
connected with, 323; restrictions, 256.
Martyr Memorial Churches, 355, 363.
Matitanana river, 27, 58, 59,99, 108.
Medicinal plants, 94.
Medicinal virtue of spittle, 286; charms, 294.
Meller, Dr. C., 80, 81.
Memorial churches, 355, 363; posts, 264, 265.
Memorial to early king of the Bétsiléo, 263.
64
Mercy, a showing of," 358.
Mermaid or water-sprite, 308.
Metal work, 196.
Military offences, punishments for, 356.
Minerals and metals, 37.
Minnow islets, 29.
Mission stations, 361.
Missionaries, Malagasy, 366.
Missionary College, the, 362; work in Mada-
gascar, 350, 361.
Mitendrilo, a mourning custom, 288.
Mode of divination, 309.
Modes of living, 193.
Mohammedan influence in Madagascar, 110.
Mojangà, 134, 137, 226.
Money, 195.
Months, Hova names for, 279.
Months, names, 154.
Morality in words, 160.
Morals, Malagasy, 337.
Mosses, 78.
Mountains in Madagascar, 26.
Mourning custom, a, 288.
Mullens, Rev. Dr., 20, 21, 28, 142.
Mutual politeness, 257.
NAMES, folk-lore of, 289.
Names of Madagascar, 2.
Names for relationship, 243.
Names, royal, 150, 168, 169; Malagasy, 165,
173; month, 154; length of, 165; tribal,
166, 170; offensive, 167; reverence for,
168; scriptural, 170; of places, 171.
Native art in tombs and memorial posts, 264,
265.
INDEX.
Native evangelists, 366.
Native illustrations of Biblical customs, 318,
336; literature, 365; pastors, 346, 362,
364; proverb, 255.
Nativities, casting, 310.
Nautical skill of Malagasy, 118.
Nettle-tree, 82.
New Year's Festival, the, 271, 313, 317.
Nobles or Andrians, 184.
Nose-rubbing, or kissing, 209.
Quimos, or Kimos, 137.
371
RADAMA I., king, 124, 133, 139, 151, 210, 253.
Radama II., Christianity during reign of, 351.
Rafantàka, the idol, 300.
Rainfall, 37.
Rakėlima áza, the chief idol, 298.
Ralambo, king, 271, 314,
Ramahavaly, god of healing and of medicine,
268, 299, 300.
Rànavalona, queen, 186, 310; incident in her
reign, 319; wisdom of, 333, 334.
Nosin-dàmbo, native name of Madagascar, 5. Ranòro, a famous Vazimba, 307.
Nominal Christians, 359.
Normal schools, 365.
Nosibé, 15, 35, 137.
Numbers, lucky and unlucky, 287.
Numeral system, 148.
OATHS of allegiance, 185.
Observance of the Sabbath, 356.
death, 289-291
Ràry, the, a chant or invocation, 286.
Rasohérina, queen, Christianity during reign
of, 351.
Rats and mice, 48.
Reeds and rushes, 85.
Reckoning time, mode of, 336.
Observances connected with sickness and Relations between Church and State, 349.
Occupations of Malagasy, 193.
Offices, Church, 347-
Officials, Government, power of, 322.
Oracle, a native, 301; of the sikidy, 309, 310.
Oratory, Malagasy, 192.
Orchids, 98.
Ordeals, 281-285.
Ordinances, Christian, 339, 340.
Ornamental grave stones, 263.
Ornamentation, interior, of royal palaces, 259.
Owls, beliefs regarding, 274.
Ox, the sacred, 271.
Oxen, curious notion concerning, 273.
PAINTED decorations of royal houses, 259.
Palms, 73, 159.
Papyrus (zozoro), 85.
Pastors, native, 346, 362.
Paths and roads, 331.
Peake, Rev. P. G., 129, 141, 296.
Periodicals, native, 365, 366.
Persecution of Christianity, 351.
Phrases, Church, 345.
Phoenician traders to Madagascar, 1.
Physical geography of Madagascar, 22.
Pigs and goats, dislike to, 270, 271.
Pilgrim's Progress, the, translation of, 347.
Pitcher-plant, 81.
Place names, 171-173.
Places, sacred, 305, 306, 308.
Plants, sacred, 277.
Plateaux of interior of Madagascar, 23.
Poetry in words, 157.
Poison, ordeal, the, 281.
Politeness and courtesy, Malagasy, 257, 325.
Political punishments, 322.
Polygamy among the Hovas, 253, 254; im-
proved feelings in regard to, 355.
Population of Madagascar, 138–143.
Popular hymus, 364; superstitions, 267.
Port Louquez. 35.
Portuguese, discovery of Madagascar by, 3,
6; influence, 172.
Posts, sacred, 306.
Pottery among the Hovas, 208, 262.
Power of the Crown, unlimited, 323.
Preaching, native, 346, 364.
Presents or gifts, 321.
Profane abuse of the sacraments, 343.
Progress of Christianity, 352, 353, 361.
Prickly-pear, 83.
Prickly-grasses, 84.
Prime Minister, family tomb of, 260.
Punishments for military offences,
political, 322.
356;
QUAMBALON, ancient name of Madagascar, 2.
Relationships, 243-250.
Religion, words used in, 162.
Religious beliefs and practices, 297-301; his-
tory of Madagascar, 350; services, improve-
ment in, 363.
Reptilia, the, 55-58.
Responses, audible, in Church, 345.
Restrictions, marriage, 256.
Results of Christianity, 354, 355, 359.
Revolting practice, 276.
Rice culture, 86, 335.
Rice-pit," the, 329.
Richardson, Rev. J., 21, 33, 126, 142, 233, 273,
276, 287, 293.
Rise of superstitious practices, 339.
Rites, Christian, regarded as charms, 339, 341.
River-hog, 47:
Rivers in Madagascar, 24.
Roads and paths, 331.
Roads and travelling, 174.
Rock fortress, 26.
Rodentia, 47.
Rofia palm, 75.
Royal idols, burning of, 352: journeys,
320, 321; palaces, architecture of the, 259.
Royal seats, 188; property, 188.
Royalty and government, 150, 161, 168, 185,
190, 226, 230, 237, 319; deference to, 319.
SABBATH observance, 356.
Sacramentalism, 339.
Sacrament, profane abuse of the, 343; reve-
rent observance of, 344.
Sacraments, honouring the, 342.
Sacred ox, the, 271; stones and places, 305,
306, 308; trees and plants, 277.
Sacrifices, 302, 303.
Sa rificial animals, 272.
St. Augustine Bay, 9, 33, 273.
Såkalava marriage cust m, 251.
Sakalavas, expedition against the, 357.
Sakalavas, 109, 113, 124, 132, 143, 151, 169,
179, 212, 222, 226, 240.
Sala anga, the, an incantation, 295, 296.
Salutation, old forms of, 286.
Salutations and benedictions, 324, 325-
Sanctity of idols, 299.
Schools, normal and training, 365.
Scripture customs, illustrated by Malagasy,
318-336.
Seat of sovereigns, 188.
Serpents, 53; beliefs regarding, 268.
Service, religious, improvement in, 363.
Shaw, Mr., 41, 113, 126, 239, 288, 295, 312;
on Bétsiléo ornament, 265.
"Showing of mercy, a," 358.
Sicknes- and death, 289, 290, 291.
Sihauaka, 129, 130, 212, 235.
372
Silkworms, 96.
INDEX.
Toothache, 285.
Silanaka custom, curious, 255; religion, 302; Towns and houses, 205, 329, 330.
superstition, 280.
Sikidy or divination, 309.
Silver work, native ingenuity in, 262.
Singular number, dislike to the, 287.
"Sitting at the king's gate," 320.
Sirabé, 32.
Skins, non-use of, 214.
Slate, 32.
S'avery, 162, 180, 182, 335.
Slaves, class of, 181.
Snake-traps, made by ants, 268.
Sneezing, 285.
Toy, Rev. R., quoted, 268.
Trade, increase of, 354.
Trades and occupations, 195.
Tradition as to Malagasy origin, 121.
Traditions of the Vazìmba, 307, 308.
Training schools, 365.
Tràndraka or tenrec, 44.
Translation of the Pilgrim's Progress, 347.
Transmigration of souls, the, 270.
Traveller's tree, 91.
Trees, height and size of, 71.
Trees and plants, sacred, 277; fetish, 306.
Soares, Fernando, discoverer of Madagascar, 3. Tsiàfakòmby (tree), 82.
Social habits, improved, 355.
Society, ranks of, 182.
Soldiers, or miàramila, 183.
Sougomby, the, 275.
Songs, loyal, 187.
Sorcery a capital crime, 232.
Spear and shield, the, 329.
Spear called Tsi-tla-làinga, 190.
Souls, transmigration of, 270.
Spiny and prickly plants, 82.
Spirit-bird," the, 274.
(C
"Spirit of evil," the, 295.
Spirits of the dead, 312
Spittle, the, medicinal virtue in, 286.
Staff, the, a sign of office, 322.
Stations, Mission, 361.
Star-gazers, 311.
Stones, sacred, 305.
Stories, fabulous, 275.
Straw-plait, artistic feeling shown in, 262.
Stubborn chief, a, story of, 332, 333.
Sudden death ascribed to witchcraft, 291.
Sugar-cane, 89.
Superstitions connected with birds, 274, 275;
with death, 290, 291; popular, 267.
Superstitious practices, rise of, 339.
Symbolic acts, 332.
TABOOED Customs, 288, 294.
Tabooed or Fady words, 150, 168.
Takatra, the, 274.
Tamarind, the, 78, 278.
Tamatave, 143.
Tanàla altar, a, 305, 306.
Tanàla superstition, 281.
128, 215, 221,
Tanàla tribe and country, 107, 128, 215, 221,
237.
Tandroy, 132.
Taugèin-boay ordeal, the, 284.
Tangéna tree, 73-
Tangéne or poison ordeal, 140, 281, 282, 283.
Tankarana tribe and people, 26, 179.
Tankày or Bezànozano, 129.
Tanosy, 203, 223.
Tatao custom, 289.
Tattooing, 209.
Teeth, loss of, 285.
Thanksgiving, sacrifices of, 303.
Threshing-floors, Malagasy, 335.
Time, division of, 279; mode of reckoning,
336.
Times, lucky and unlucky, 279.
Tobacco, 95.
Tokan-dia, the, 275.
Tomb, family, of prime minister, 260.
Tombs and burial customs, 225, 330.
Tonic sol-fa system, introduction of, 364.
Twelve, a lucky number, 288.
UMBRELLA, royal, 186.
Ungulata, 46.
Unlucky days,
actions, 287.
279, 280; numbers
and
VARIEGATED leaved plants, 80.
Vazimba, the, 135, 216, 307, 308.
Vegetable foods, 86; exports, 99.
Vegetation of coast, 71.
Vegetation of interior, 81.
Venetian maps of Madagascar, 16.
Vézo (tribe), 126.
Village churches, 363.
Vòavontaka, 72.
Vokoka ordeal, the, 284.
Volcanic region, 27.
Vonénina, the, 278.
WAKE, C. S., 103, 243.
Wallace, Alfred, 39, 45, 47, 48, 54, 66, 96, 105,
116, 117.
Wall-painting in country church, 261.
War, Christiau influence in, 357.
Wasps, 61.
"Wator in the nose," 285.
Waterfalls, 24.
Watershed of Madagascar, 24.
Water-sprite or mermaid, 308.
Weapons, native, 216, 329.
Weaving of coloured cloths, 261, 262.
Weeping for the dead, 316.
Widows, curious custom regarding, 255.
Wisdom of Queen Ranavalona, 333, 334-
Witchcraft and charms, 292; detection of,
282.
Wives, cruel treatment of, 255.
Words, fàdy, 150, 169, 171; obsolete, 152;
French, 152; English, 152; Arabic, 154;
history in, 155-157; poetry in, 157-160;
morality, 160-162; for religious worship,
162-164; onomatopoetic, 164; connected
with royalty, 169.
Worship of ancestors, 226; of idols, 297-301;
Christian, customs connected with, 344,345.
YANIS, 88.
Yule, Colonel, 55.
ZAHANA, the (Bignonia articulata), 82, 277;
Zàhitra (raft), 77, 178.
Zaza Hova (slaves), 182.
Zaledz, an ancient name of Madagascar, 2.
Zomba (sacred house), 226.
Zoro firaràzana (sacred corner), 199.
PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
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D
Tropic of Capricorn
ute Island
48
FEET
5000
4000
ON 19TH PARALLEL STH LATITUDE
MADAGASCAR
On an enlarged Scale.
46
48
50
Forest
3000
2000
1000
Sea Level
52
W&A.K.Johnston, Edinburgh, ard London
18
20
22

AN