Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
rewrapped in a new burial shroud (
lambamena
) and carried around the tomb a few times
before being replaced. Meanwhile the corpse is spoken to and informed of all the latest
events in the family and village. The celebrants are not supposed to showany grief. Gener-
ous quantities of alcohol are consumed amid a festive atmosphere with much dancing and
music. Women who are trying to conceive take small pieces of the old burial shroud and
keep these under their mattresses to induce fertility.
TOMB ARCHITECTURE AND FUNERARY ART
Hilary Bradt
In Madagascar the style and structure of tombs define the different clans or tribes bet-
ter than any other visible feature, and also indicate the wealth and status of the family
concerned. Below is a description of the tombs.
MERINA
Inearlytimesburialsiteswerenearvalleysorinmarshes.Thebodywould
beplacedinahollowed-outtreetrunkandsunkintothemudatthebottomofamarsh.
These
fasam-bazimba
marshesweresacred.LatertheMerinabeganconstructingrect-
angular wooden tombs, mostly under the ground but with a visible structure above. In
the 19th century the arrival of the Frenchman Jean Laborde had a profound effect on
tombarchitecture:tombswerebuiltwithbricksandstone,nolongerjustfromwood.It
was Laborde's influence which led to the elaborate structure of modern tombs, which
areoftenpaintedwithgeometricdesigns.Sometimestheinteriorislavishlydecorated.
SAKALAVA
During the Vazimba period, the Sakalava tombs were simple piles of
stones. As with the Merina the change occurred with the introduction of cement and
a step design was added. At a later stage, wooden stelae,
aloalo
, were placed on the
tombs,positionedtofaceeast.Theseweretoppedwithcarvings,oftenofamosterotic
nature. Since Sakalava tombs are for individuals and not families, there is no attempt
atmaintaining thestelaeasitisbelievedthatonlywhenthewooddecayswillthesoul
of the buried person be released.
Tomb construction commences only after the person's death and can take up to six
weeks,thebodymeanwhilebeingkeptinahouse.Whileatombisunderconstruction,
many zebu are sacrificed to the ancestors. The Sakalava call their tombs
izarana
, 'the
place where we are separated'.
ANTANDROY AND MAHAFALY
The local name of these tombs is
fanesy
which
means 'your eternal place'. Zebu horns are scattered on the tomb as a symbol of
wealth (on Sakalava tombs, zebu horns are only a decoration, not an indication of
status).TheAntandroyandMahafalytombshavemuchthesamearchitectureasthose
