Antananarivo and Area Looking - Madagascar - page 266

Avisit toasession of hira gasy (pronounced 'heera gash') provides ataste ofgenuine
Malagasy folklore - performed for the locals, not for tourists.
In the British magazine Folk Roots , Jo Shinner describes a hira gasy:
It is a very strange, very exciting affair: a mixture of opera, dance and Speaker's
Corner bound together with a sense of competition.
The performance takes place between two competing troupes of singers and mu-
sicians on a central square stage. It's an all-day event so the audience packs in early,
tea and peanut vendors picking their way through the throng. Audience participation
is an integral part - the best troupe is gauged by the crowd's response. Throughout
the day performers come into the crowd to receive small coins offered in appreci-
ation.
The most immediate surprise is the costumes. The men enter wearing 19th-cen-
tury French, red, military frock-coats and the women are clad in evening dress from
the same period. Traditional lamba are carefully arranged around their shoulders, and
the men wear straw Malagasy hats. The musicians play French military drums, fan-
fare trumpets, flutes, violins and clarinets. The effect is bizarre rather than beautiful.
The hira gasy is in four parts. First there are the introductory speeches or
kabary . Each troupe elects a speaker who is usually a respected elder. His skill is
paramount to a troupe. He begins with a long, ferociously fast, convoluted speech ex-
cusing himself and his inadequacy before the audience, ancestors, his troupe, his
mother, God, his oxen, his rice fields and so on - and on! Then follows another
speech glorifying God, and then a greeting largely made up of proverbs.
The hira gasy pivots around a tale of everyday life, such as the dire conse-
quences of laziness or excessive drinking, is packed with wit, morals and proverbs
and offers advice, criticism and possible solutions. The performers align themselves
along two sides of the square at a time to address different parts of the audience.
They sing in harsh harmony, illustrating their words with fluttering hand movements
and expressive gestures, egged on by the uproarious crowd's appreciation. Then it is
the dancers' turn. The tempo increases and becomes more rhythmic as two young
boys take to the floor with a synchronised display of acrobatic dancing that
nowadays often takes its influence from karate.
For a truly Malagasy experience go to a performance of hira gasy (see box on Click
Here ) . There are regular Sunday performances at Andavamamba, in the front yard of
a three-storey grey concrete house set back from the street that goes past the Alliance
Française. A few Malagasy flags fly above the high, red brick wall and the entrance is via
an unsignposted footpath. It starts at 10.00 and finishes around 16.00. Tickets cost 800Ar.
Part of the seating is under a tarpaulin canopy and the rest is in the open. It's an exciting