Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
By the 18th century the Sakalava Empire occupied a huge area in the west, but was di-
videdintotheMenabeinthesouthandtheBoinainthenorth.Thetworulersfellout,unity
wasabandoned, andinthe19thcentury thearea came underthecontrol oftheMerina. The
Sakalava did not take kindly to domination and sporadic guerrilla warfare continued in the
Menabe area until French colonial times.
TheSakalavakingdomborethebruntofthefirstseriouseffortsbytheFrenchtocolonise
the island. For some years France had laid claims (based on treaties made with local
princes) to parts of the north and northwest, and in 1883 two fortresses in this region were
bombarded. An attack on Mahajanga followed. This was the beginning of the end of Mad-
agascar as an independent kingdom.
THE SAKALAVA PEOPLE TODAY
The modern Sakalava have relatively dark skins.
ThewestofMadagascarreceivedanumberofAfricanimmigrantsfromacrosstheMozam-
biqueChannelandtheirinfluenceshowsnotonlyintheracialcharacteristicsofthepeople,
but also in their language and customs. There are a number of Bantu words in their dialect,
and their belief in
tromba
(spirit possession) and
dady
(royal relics cult) is of African ori-
gin.
TheSakalavadonotpractisesecondburial.Thequalityoftheirfuneraryart(inonesmall
area) rivals that of the Mahafaly; birds and naked figures are a feature of Sakalava tombs,
the latter frequently in erotic positions. Concepts of sexuality and rebirth are implied here.
The female figures are often disproportionately large, perhaps recognising the importance
of women in the Sakalava culture.
Sakalava royalty do not require elaborate tombs since kings are considered to continue
their spiritual existence through a medium with healing powers, and in royal relics. The
box on
Click Here
describes an encounter with the present-day royal family.
KING RADAMA II
Hilary Bradt
The son of the 'Wicked Queen' Ranavalona, King Radama II was a gentle ruler who
abhorred bloodshed. He was pro-European, interested in Christianity (although nev-
er formally a Christian) and a friend of William Ellis, missionary and chronicler of
19th-century Madagascar. After Radama's death, Ellis wrote: 'I have never said that
Radama was an able ruler, or a man of large views, for these he was not; but a more
humane ruler never wore a crown.' With missionaries of all denominations invited
back into Madagascar, intense rivalry sprang up between the Protestants sent by Bri-
tain, and the Jesuits who arrived from France. Resentment at the influence of these
