Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
thenhaveamealofrice,zebu,milkandhoney.Coinsareplacedinthebowlofriceandthe
older children compete to get as many as possible.
Circumcision
Boys are usually circumcised at the age of about two; a baby who dies be-
fore this operation has been performed may not be buried in the family tomb.
MALAGASY HATS
Camilla Backhouse
DuringmyyearworkinginMadagascar Iwasparticularly struckbythewonderfular-
ray of different hats worn there. Market stalls were piled high with hats of all shapes,
colours and sizes.
Little had been noted about Malagasy headwear until the missionaries came in the
early 19th century. At that time, few hats were worn as a person's hairstyle was re-
garded as more important and a sign of beauty. People from each region of Madagas-
car had different ways of plaiting their hair and they would often incorporate shells,
coins or jewels. Oils and perfumes were massaged into the hair - the richer people
used
tseroka
, a type of castor oil mixed with the powdered leaf of
Ravintsara
, which
produced a nutmeg scent, while the poorest population were satisfied with zebu fat.
The chiefs wore simple headdresses but it was not until the Europeans came that
hatsbecamemorepopular.Althoughplaitingandtheartofweavingwerealreadyvery
well established, there was little evidence of woven hats. The cutting of hair was in-
troduced in 1822 which may have changed the Malagasy attitudes - to cover an un-
plaited head certainly would not be any detriment to their beauty. Initially hats were
worn by the wealthy. Chiefs could be seen wearing caps made of neatly woven rushes
or coarse grass and the people of Tana began to wear hats of more costly and durable
material(oftenimportedfromoverseas).ItwasJeanLabordeinthe1850swhostarted
the industry of hat-making and helped to increase production.
In each region the hats vary: they use different plant fibres depending on what
grows locally, different weaves and occasionally dyes. The colours used are not the
vegetable or plant dyes I had imagined but imported from China. The fibres are usu-
allyfrompalms(raffia,
badika
,
manarana
,
dara
),reeds(
penjy
,
harefo
)orstraw.Some
of the best regions that I came across for seeing weaving were near Lake Tritriva
(straw), Maroantsetra (raffia), Mananjary (
penjy
,
dara
), Mahsoabe near Fianarantsoa
(
badika
) and Vohipeno (
harefo
).
The ways of preparing the fibres for weaving differ, but in general they are dried,
flattened and then, if necessary, stripped into thin fibres using a sharp knife. Some are
woven into strips which are eventually machined together, while other regions use a
continuousweavemethodtomaketheentirehat.Thelattercanbeextremelycomplic-
