People and Culture - Madagascar - page 53

TheAfro-AsianoriginoftheMalagasyhasproducedapeoplewithcomplicatedandfascin-
ating beliefs and customs. Despite the various tribes or clans, the country shares not only
a common language but a belief in the power of dead ancestors - razana . This cult of the
dead, far from being a morbid preoccupation, is a celebration of life since the dead ancest-
ors are considered to be potent forces that continue to share in family life. If the razana
are remembered by the living, the Malagasy believe, they thrive in the spirit world and can
be relied on to look after their descendants in a host of different ways. These ancestors
wield considerable power, their 'wishes' dictating the behaviour of the family or commu-
nity. Their property is respected, so a great-grandfather's field may not be sold or changed
to a different crop. Calamities are usually blamed on the anger of razana , and a zebu bull
may be sacrificed in appeasement. Large herds of zebu cattle are kept as a 'bank' of poten-
tial sacrificial offerings.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Earthquakes mean that whales are bathing their children.
• If a woman maintains a bending posture when arranging eggs in a nest, the chickens will
have crooked necks.
• If the walls of a house incline towards the south, the wife will be the stronger one; if they
incline towards the north it will be the husband.
• Burning a knot on a piece of string causes the knees to grow big.
Beliefintradition,intheaccumulatedwisdomoftheancestors,hasshapedtheMalagasy
culture. Respect for their elders and courtesy to all fellow humans is part of the tradition.
But so is resistance to change.
SPIRITUAL BELIEFS At the beginning of time the Creator was Zanahary or Andriana-
nahary. Now the Malagasy worship one god, Andriamanitra, who is neither male nor fe-
male.
Many rural people believe in 'secondary gods' or nature spirits, which may be male or
female,andwhichinhabitcertaintrees,rocks(knownas ody )orrivers.Peopleseekinghelp
from the spirit world may visit one of these sites for prayer. Spirits are also thought to pos-
sesshumanswhofallintoatrance-like state,called tromba bytheSakalava and bilo bythe
Antandroy. Some clans or communities believe that spirits can also possess animals, par-
ticularly crocodiles.
TheMalagasyequivalentofthesoulis ambiroa .Whenapersonisinadreamstateitcan
temporarily separate from the body, and at death it becomes an immortal razana . Death,
therefore, is merely a change and not an end. A special ceremony usually marks this rite