Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cattle beef: in stews, kebabs (known locally as
masikita
, often tiny in size) and
as succulent steak.
Zebus are synonymous with status and wealth (a zebu costs €500 to €800, a
huge amount of money for a Malagasy family); zebu meat is therefore the fest-
ive food par excellence. Zebus will be slaughtered for weddings,
famadihanas
(exhumation and reburial ceremonies), circumcisions and other important fest-
ivals or events.
The hump, which is brown fat, is a delicacy (it used to be the preserve of the
nobility); it is seldom served in restaurants, but it is a must at Malagasy celebra-
tions, where it is served grilled or in kebabs.
A Malagasy proverb says 'the food which is prepared has no master'. In other words, cel-
ebrating in Madagascar means eating big. Weddings, funerals, circumcisions and reburi-
als are preceded by days of preparations. Extended family, friends and often passers-by,
too, are invited to share the food, usually a combination of meat dishes (note that turkey
is considered a meat for special occasions), vegetables and, of course, a mountain of rice.
At Malagasy parties, copious quantities of home-brewed rum are consumed, and helpless
drunkenness is entirely expected.
