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Madagascar (African Studies)

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  1. Introduction
  2.  
  3. The fourth largest island in the world, Madagascar is known for the uniqueness of its flora and fauna, but the island’s inhabitants are also diverse. Little is conclusively known about the settlement of the island in the first centuries CE, although most scholars believe that people arrived from East Africa and Southeast Asia in multiple waves and formed permanent settlements on different parts of the island by the 9th century. This mixture of African and Asian influences has left a lasting impression on the island’s populations. Coastal inhabitants on Madagascar were active participants in premodern Indian Ocean trade networks by around 1150. By the time Europeans arrived during the 16th century, the people living in the north of the island regularly supplied food, slaves, and valuable raw materials to vessels from East African and Comorian port cities, as well as from the more distant ports of the northern Indian Ocean. The leaders of a variety of political states and confederations dominated the export trade from the west and east coasts of Madagascar. By the 19th century, a strong centralized kingdom developed in Madagascar’s interior and dominated much of the island’s export trade until the French colonized the island in 1896. Following decades of challenges to the French colonial rule and bloody uprisings, the Malagasy gained political independence in 1960. Since independence, the island’s government has had difficulty in maintaining political stability as well as furthering economic development. The immediate postcolonial period was marked by a lengthy phase of single-party rule until 1992. The 1990s and 2000s were turbulent decades for politics on the island. Didier Ratsiraka was elected president in 1997 but stepped down in 2002 following an extremely divisive election. In 2009, the two-term democratically elected president, Marc Ravolomanana, left office under intense popular and military pressure. Leadership of the country was given to the mayor of Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina. This transfer of power was considered a coup d’état by many Western governments that, in turn, restricted aid to the island. Presidential elections were held in 2013, and Hery Rajaonarimampianina won what many international observers described as free and fair elections. See also the Oxford Bibliographies articles Swahili City States of the East African Coast, Comoro Islands, Indian Ocean Trade, and Indian Ocean and Middle Eastern Slave Trades.
  4.  
  5. General Overviews
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  7. Only recently has an accessible and thorough English-language history of the island been published. Randrianja and Ellis 2009 is based on new archaeological and historical research and effectively renders earlier overviews of the history of the island obsolete. At times, Madagascar falls out of discussions of African or Indian Ocean history, although Alpers 2013 makes a good case for the place of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean world. Allen and Covell 2005 and Bradt and Brown 1993 are worth examining for a list of scholarship about the island, although neither should be seen as comprehensive. The best overview of the older literature on the island, particularly from the 19th century, is Grandidier 1905–1957. The essays in Goodman and Benstead 2003 examine the island from an ecological perspective and provide a good background for any scholar interested in the interactions between humans and their environment on the island. Scales 2014 is an up-to-date treatment by a number of prominent scholars examining the key issue of conservation in Madagascar today.
  8.  
  9. Allen, Philip M., and Maureen Covell. Historical Dictionary of Madagascar. 2d ed. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2005.
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  11. This short reference book provides an overview of the history of Madagascar, although less thorough than Randrianja and Ellis 2009.
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  13. Alpers, Edward A. The Indian Ocean in World History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
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  15. Although most of the essays are not strictly focused on the history of Madagascar, this collection firmly places Madagascar in the Indian Ocean world and connects the island with developments in nearby coastal East Africa.
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  17. Bradt, Hilary, and Mervyn Brown. Madagascar. World Bibliographical Series. Oxford: Clio, 1993.
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  19. The annotations in this bibliography are helpful for researchers, although the list of sources is far from complete and focuses on published material.
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  21. Goodman, Steven M., and Jonathan P. Benstead, eds. The Natural History of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
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  23. This interdisciplinary collection of essays examines everything from the climate and geology of the island to debates over the premodern extinction of mega-fauna on Madagascar.
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  25. Grandidier, Guillaume. Bibliographie de Madagascar. 3 vols. Paris: Comité de Madagascar, 1905–1957.
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  27. Grandidier provides a fairly comprehensive list of mostly French-language publications dealing with Madagascar, with a focus on the 19th century in particular. For more on the older sources, see Grandidier, et al. 1903–1920, cited under Primary Sources: Collections.
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  29. Ranaivoson, Dominique. Madagascar: Dictionnaire des personnalités historiques. Antananarivo, Madagascar: Tsipika, 2005.
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  31. This book provides a brief biography of several hundred individuals who were influential in the history of Madagascar, including names from origin histories and Malagasy important in postcolonial political developments, although the annotations frequently lack information about the original source material.
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  33. Randrianja, Solofo, and Stephen Ellis. Madagascar: A Short History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009.
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  35. This book, cowritten by historians specializing in Madagascar in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, is both accessible and thorough. The writers rely on recent scholarship to examine the early settlement of the island, the first centralized states, the Merina Empire, the colonial period, and the postcolonial period. Appropriate for nonspecialists and undergraduates.
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  37. Scales, Ivan R., ed. Conservation and Environmental Management in Madagascar. London: Routledge, 2014.
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  39. This edited collection contains essays by a number of prominent scholars, many of whom are mentioned in this article, and combines historical, anthropological, and ecological approaches for understanding the challenges that face Madagascar today.
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  41. Reference Works
  42.  
  43. Madagascar frequently occupies an uncertain place in discussions of Africa’s past, given its unique history and attenuated connections with the continent. The island is rarely mentioned in most textbooks dealing with Africa and is also sometimes absent in histories of the Indian Ocean world. Shillington 2005 is a notable exception, given the multiple articles dealing with the island written by specialists. Archaeological overviews of Africa have tended to include northern Madagascar in discussions of East African city-states, particularly Insoll 2003 and Mitchell 2005, although neither delves into the history of the island beyond this early period.
  44.  
  45. Insoll, Timothy. The Archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
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  47. This book includes a brief overview of archaeology in northern Madagascar.
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  49. Mitchell, Peter. African Connections: An Archaeological Perspective on Africa and the Wider World. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira, 2005.
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  51. This book brings Madagascar into the discussions of archaeological findings in East Africa, although it fails to provide a lengthy analysis.
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  53. Shillington, Kevin, ed. Encyclopedia of African History. 3 vols. London: Routledge, 2005.
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  55. This encyclopedia has ten articles that strictly focus on the history of the island, including “Madagascar: Prehistory and Developments to c. 1500,” “Madagascar: Colonial Period: French Rule,” and “Madagascar: Great Rebellion, 1947–1948.”
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  57. Journals
  58.  
  59. Articles about the people and history of Madagascar can be found in a variety of journals dealing with Africa and the Indian Ocean. A number of important articles dealing with Madagascar’s past were published in Omaly sy anio, and now similar articles can be found in Études Océan Indien, some of which are freely available online.
  60.  
  61. Études Océan Indien. 1982–.
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  63. The French- and English-language articles published in this journal focus on a range of perspectives, including the archaeology, linguistics, literature, and history of Madagascar from premodern to contemporary times.
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  65. Omaly sy anio (Hier et Aujourd-hui). 1975–1996.
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  67. A French-language journal formerly published through the Département d’histoire, Université de Madagascar, Antananarivo. Many of the articles found in this journal have not been reproduced elsewhere.
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  69. Primary Sources
  70.  
  71. This section includes published collections of primary sources as well as published narrative accounts.
  72.  
  73. Collections
  74.  
  75. From the time Europeans began visiting Madagascar, they left records of their time on the island. Heavily edited portions of these European sources were published in Grandidier, et al. 1903–1920, although, as many scholars have argued in recent years, it is worth consulting the original sources in European and African archives as these sources were translated and abridged in the collection. Some Portuguese sources have been published in Documents on the Portuguese, although most Portuguese sources have not been studied in great detail by scholars. During the 19th century, visitors to the island began to record Malagasy traditions, most famously Callet 1953–1978 in the highlands, but also Guillain 1845 on the west coast of the island. Ferrand 1891–1902 provides a sample of Arabico-Malagasy sources.
  76.  
  77. Callet, François, ed. Histoire des rois: Traduction du Tantaran’ny Andriana. 5 vols. Antananarivo: Éditions de la Librairie de Madagascar, 1953–1978.
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  79. Callet, a Jesuit priest, recorded oral traditions from highlands of Madagascar. While useful, these traditions served to support the Merina Kingdom, and their biased viewpoints have been heavily criticized by historians.
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  81. Documents on the Portuguese in Mozambique and Central Africa, 1497–1840. 8 vols. Lisbon, Portugal: National Archives of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Centro de Estudos Historicos Ultramarinos.
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  83. Translated into English, these volumes contain 16th-century Portuguese references to Madagascar. Although brief, they suggest that even more information about Madagascar is held in the Portuguese archives, largely unstudied by scholars.
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  85. Ferrand, Gabriel. Les Musulmans à Madagascar et aux îles Comores. 3 vols. Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1891–1902.
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  87. Ferrand edited and translated versions of some sorabe (Arabic script) traditions (see also Beaujard 1998, cited under Historical Background: Early), but only deals with a very small sample of these traditions.
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  89. Grandidier, Alfred, Jules Charles-Roux, Clément Delhorbe, Henri Froidevaux, and Guillaume Grandidier. Collection des ouvrages anciens concernant Madagascar. 9 vols. Paris: Comité de Madagascar, 1903–1920.
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  91. These volumes include edited portions of early European documents dealing with Madagascar, all translated into French, with accompanying notes and commentary. This collection is not comprehensive, and far more English, Dutch, and Portuguese sources can be found in archival collections than those included in these volumes.
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  93. Guillain, Charles. Documents sur l’histoire, la géographie et le commerce de la partie occidentale de Madagascar. Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1845.
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  95. Guillain visited and spent time on the west coast of the island and recorded a number of traditions obtained from the royal Sakalava court. The traditions about the legendary origins of royal power have been criticized as 19th-century developments by some scholars and should be used with caution.
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  97. Letters and Narrative Accounts
  98.  
  99. The earliest accounts left by Europeans who resided on the island come from Flacourt 1995 and Drury 1729 (the authenticity of Drury’s account has been debated but most recently defended in Pearson, et al. 2010, cited under Historical Background: Early). Other European descriptions are found in ship journals and logs, of which only a few have been published, most notably Frappé and van der Lint 2006. Benyowsky 1791, written by the French colonial leader, provides some limited details about his time on the island, although his biography is likely exaggerated and self-serving. Many important narrative accounts, provided by European missionaries, date from the 19th century. One of the most valuable of these sources was by David Griffiths, which has been edited and published with a lengthy introduction in Campbell 2012. In this volume, Campbell casts doubt on the frequently cited narrative provided in Ellis 1838. Raombana 1980–1994 is a history of the island in English during the 19th century. One of the best collections for the colonial period comes from Gallieni 1928. His letters provide insight into the French approach to ruling the island during the early colonial years.
  100.  
  101. Benyowsky, Maurice-Auguste. Voyages et mémoires de Maurice-Auguste, comte de Benyowsky. 2 vols. Paris: F. Buisson, 1791.
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  103. Benyowsky attempted to colonize the island of Madagascar twice, first with French support in 1774–1776 and then making a disastrous return in 1785–1786. His account appears exaggerated and clearly intended to gain support for his colonial endeavors.
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  105. Campbell, Gwyn, ed. and trans. David Griffiths and the Missionary “History of Madagascar.” Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2012.
  106. DOI: 10.1163/9789004195189Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  107. Campbell provides a translated and extensively annotated version of a Welsh missionary’s history of Madagascar that was originally published in 1843 but often ignored by historians prior to the publication of this version.
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  109. Drury, Robert. The Adventures of Robert Drury. London: W. Meadows, 1729.
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  111. Drury was shipwrecked in the south of the island in 1701. He reportedly spent fifteen years living as a slave and traveling throughout the island before returning to England and writing an account of his time on Madagascar. Reprinted in 1807 (Hull, UK: Stodart and Craggs).
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  113. Ellis, William. History of Madagascar. 2 vols. London: Fisher, 1838.
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  115. Ellis provides an account of the island during the early years of London Missionary Society (LMS) missionary efforts, but his account here (and in other books) is heavily criticized in Campbell 2012.
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  117. Flacourt, Étienne de. Histoire de la grande isle Madagascar. Edited by Claude Allibert. Paris: Karthala, 1995.
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  119. Flacourt ruled over the failed French colony in southeastern Madagascar from 1648 to 1655 and left this account of the history and cultural practices of the Malagasy in that portion of the island. Originally published in 1661.
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  121. Frappé, Hendrik, and Willem van der Lint. Slawehandel met Madagaskar: Die joernale van die Kaapse slaweskip Leijdsman, 1715. Edited by Pieter E. Westra and James C. Armstrong. Cape Town: Africana Uitgewers, 2006.
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  123. A translated version of a visit by a Cape slaver in 1715 describing in detail the slave trade on the west coast of the island.
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  125. Gallieni, Joseph-Simon. Lettres de Madagascar: 1896–1905. Paris: Société d’éditions géographiques, maritimes et coloniales, 1928.
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  127. Governor-General of the island during the early colonial years, Gallieni attempted to organize the island into a productive labor force for the French Empire. See also Neuf Ans à Madagascar (Paris: Librairie Hachette, 1908).
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  129. Raombana. Histoires. Edited and translated by Simon Ayache. 2 vols. Fianarantsoa, Madagascar: Ambozontany, 1980–1994.
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  131. The secretary to Queen Ranavalona I, Raombana recounts the history of the Merina Kingdom in this two-volume collection. Ayache has published a detailed history of Raombana: Raombana l’historien, 1809–1855: introduction à l’édition critique de son oeuvre (Fianarantsoa, Madagascar: Ambozontany, 1976).
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  133. Historical Background
  134.  
  135. The scholarship discussing the history of Madagascar is divided into five categories: the early period predating European arrival, the 16th to late 19th centuries, slave trading, the colonial period, and the postcolonial period. See also Politics and Government.
  136.  
  137. Early
  138.  
  139. Much of the scholarship on the early period remains preoccupied with identifying the origins of the Malagasy. The most recent and most complete overview of the premodern history of the island can be found in Beaujard 2012. Madagascar was likely first visited in the early centuries CE and then settled slowly, likely in multiple waves from Southeast Asia and East Africa, as discussed in Dewar and Wright 1993. On the northern coast, port cities developed by the 11th century, as clear in the works by Vérin 1986 and Radimilahy 1998. Settlement and agriculture expanded into the interior in subsequent centuries. Wright 2007 explores how these developments interacted with the growth of states in the highlands. Archaeological studies are still somewhat limited, as the focus has been primarily on the north of the island. Recently, the work done on the southern half of the island has been published in Pearson, et al. 2010. Only a limited amount of attention has been paid to the written traditions explored in Beaujard 1998. For more on the debates over the origins of the Malagasy, see the section on Language.
  140.  
  141. Beaujard, Philippe. Le parler secret arabico-malgache du sud-est de Madagascar: Recherches étymologiques. Paris: L’Harmattan, 1998.
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  143. Beaujard provides a thorough discussion of the sorabe manuscripts and their use in southeastern Madagascar.
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  145. Beaujard, Philippe. Les mondes de l’océan Indien. 2 vols. Paris: Armand Colin, 2012.
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  147. This two-volume history, written by a scholar who has studied Madagascar extensively, examines the place of Madagascar within the premodern Indian Ocean world.
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  149. Dewar, Robert E., and Henry T. Wright. “The Culture History of Madagascar.” Journal of World Prehistory 7 (1993): 417–466.
  150. DOI: 10.1007/BF00997802Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  151. This article provides a concise overview of chronological developments in early Madagascar, with particular attention to the northern portion of the island. An accessible survey of the archaeological findings through the 1990s.
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  153. Pearson, Michael Parker, Karen Godden, Ramilisonina, et al. Pastoralists, Warriors and Colonists: The Archaeology of Southern Madagascar. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2010.
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  155. This book summarizes the results of archaeological surveys in the south of the island that examine the history of this region from the precolonial period through the 20th century.
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  157. Radimilahy, Marie de Chantal. Mahilaka: An Archaeological Investigation of an Early Town in Northwestern Madagascar. Uppsala, Sweden: Dept. of Archaeology and Ancient History, 1998.
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  159. Radimilahy details the results of an extensive survey of Mahilaka, a town in northwestern Madagascar. She posits that it was likely the earliest portion of Madagascar to be engaged in regular oceanic trade.
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  161. Vérin, Pierre. The History of Civilisation in North Madagascar. Translated by David Smith. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: A. A. Balkema, 1986.
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  163. This book, produced following decades of archaeological research, provides a very detailed account of Indian Ocean trade and development in the north of the island.
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  165. Wright, Henry T., ed. Early State Formation in Central Madagascar: An Archaeological Survey of Western Avaradrano. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 2007.
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  167. This book describes recent archaeological studies into the origins of states in the highland interior of the island.
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  169. 16th to Late 19th Centuries
  170.  
  171. European merchants frequented ports on both the west and east coast of the island by the 16th century. A desire for food and slaves from the island led to Portuguese, French, English, and Dutch attempts to create small-scale settlements on Madagascar, although Randrianja and Ellis 2009 (cited under General Overviews) argues that these were disastrous failures until the 19th century. By the 18th century, coastal groups created centralized states to benefit and coordinate exchanges, leading to the founding of Sakalava states on the west coast and the Betsimisaraka Confederation on the east. Ellis 2007 is one of the few accounts of the Betsimisaraka during the 18th century. Both Baré 1980 and Goedefroit 1998 rely on oral traditions to outline the political history of the Sakalava, whereas Kent 1970 argues for a strong African influence on the Sakalava. Barendse 2009 and Bialuschewski 2005 demonstrate how scholars can use European documents from the era of European piracy and the slave trade to understand political developments on the island throughout this period. Larson 2000 describes how the landscape of power changed dramatically at the close of the 18th century, as the Merina Kingdom of central Madagascar transformed into a politically powerful empire. Campbell 2005 provides an economic history of this period, noting how the empire dominated the island during the 19th century through the use of forced labor by free and slave populations. As Crossland 2014 describes, contact with Europeans contributed to dramatic political changes within the island, but there was still considerable continuity in the ways in which the Malagasy engaged in ritual practices.
  172.  
  173. Baré, Jean François. Sable rouge: Une monarchie du Nord-Ouest Malgache dans l’histoire. Paris: L’Harmattan, 1980.
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  175. This book traces the development of the northwestern branch of the Sakalava royalty by relying on oral traditions largely collected during the 19th century.
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  177. Barendse, R. J. Arabian Seas, 1700–1763. 4 vols. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2009.
  178. DOI: 10.1163/ej.9789004176584.i-1404Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  179. Barendse demonstrates his encyclopedic knowledge of the Dutch sources dealing with Madagascar, with a particular focus on trade on the west coast.
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  181. Bialuschewski, Arne. “Pirates, Slavers, and the Indigenous Population in Madagascar, c. 1690–1715.” International Journal of African Historical Studies 38 (2005): 401–425.
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  183. Bialuschewski uses rich, but understudied, English sources from the era of European piracy, to connect the tenure of the pirates to the growing slave trade from different portions of Madagascar.
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  185. Campbell, Gwyn. An Economic History of Imperial Madagascar 1750–1895: The Rise and Fall of an Island Empire. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
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  187. Campbell provides a detailed history of economic development of the island during the late 18th and 19th centuries as the Merina attempted to create an economically independent empire.
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  189. Crossland, Zoë. Ancestral Encounters in Highland Madagascar: Material Signs and Traces of the Dead. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
  190. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781139565882Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  191. An anthropologist, Crossland presents a unique perspective on the history of the Merina by examining the ways in which beliefs about ancestors intruded on the events of the 19th century.
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  193. Ellis, Stephen. “Tom and Toakafo: The Betsimisaraka Kingdom and State Formation in Madagascar, 1715–1750.” Journal of African History 48 (2007): 439–455.
  194. DOI: 10.1017/S0021853707003064Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  195. Ellis uses a history of the founder of the Betsimisaraka Confederation, Ratsimilaho, to examine the development of a state on the east coast of the island.
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  197. Goedefroit, Sophie. A l’ouest de Madagascar: Les Sakalava du Menabe. Paris: Karthala, 1998.
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  199. Goedefroit uses a variety of oral histories and sources to describe the history of the Sakalava kingdom based in west-central Madagascar.
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  201. Kent, Raymond K. Early Kingdoms in Madagascar, 1500–1700. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970.
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  203. This is still one of the few book-length treatments of this period in Madagascar’s past. Kent highlights the African contribution to the island, with particular attention to the west coast, by tracing a Bantu influence on language and cultural practices.
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  205. Larson, Pier M. History and Memory in the Age of Enslavement: Becoming Merina in Highland Madagascar, 1770–1822. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000.
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  207. This examination of 19th-century life among the Merina engages with memories of slavery in addition to using a variety of archival sources. Larson provides a particularly rich discussion on the use of different sources to study enslavement in Africa.
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  209. Slave Trading
  210.  
  211. Although some work has been done on the slave trade from Madagascar, most studies of this trade are relatively short articles or essays. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Europeans observed the frequent loading of slaves on non-European vessels. This trade has been described in Vernet 2009, using Portuguese sources to argue that this trade was far more extensive than previously suspected. By the 17th century, slave traders were carrying thousands of Malagasy to ports throughout the Indian Ocean, as described in Armstrong 1983, Barendse 2009 (cited under 16th to Late 19th Centuries), and Médard, et al. 2013. The closest destinations for the slaves were the Mascarene Islands, as outlined in Allen 2008, as well as the Cape Colony of southern Africa, although Allen 2015 demonstrates that slaves were sent to locations along the entire ocean littoral. Hooper and Eltis 2013 demonstrates that Malagasy slaves were even transported to North America during the 17th and 18th centuries. During the late 18th and into the 19th century, Madagascar became an essential link in the major export trade from East Africa, as explained clearly in Clarence-Smith 1989. The essays in Rakoto 2000 reveal the dramatic growth of the slave trade and slaving in the island during the 19th century. Larson 2009 provides a thorough history of this resulting diaspora that extended throughout the Indian Ocean and into the Atlantic.
  212.  
  213. Allen, Richard B. “The Constant Demand of the French: The Mascarene Slave Trade and the Worlds of the Indian Ocean and Atlantic during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.” Journal of African History 49 (2008): 43–72.
  214. DOI: 10.1017/S0021853707003295Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  215. Allen examines French records in the Mascarenes to establish the size and shape of the trade from Madagascar and the reasons why this trade shifted to East Africa by the late 18th century.
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  217. Allen, Richard B. European Slave Trading in the Indian Ocean, 1500–1850. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2015.
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  219. Allen provides an overview of European slaving within the Indian Ocean. Chapters 2, 3, and 5 provide fresh insight into the French and English slave trades from Madagascar.
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  221. Armstrong, J. C. “Madagascar and the Slave Trade in the Seventeenth Century.” Omaly Sy Anio 17–20 (1983): 211–233.
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  223. Armstrong, along with Barendse, remains one of the few scholars to use Dutch sources to examine the slave trade on Madagascar’s coast.
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  225. Clarence-Smith, W. G., ed. The Economics of the Indian Ocean Slave Trade in the Nineteenth Century. London: Frank Cass, 1989.
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  227. This edited collection describes Madagascar as an essential link in the growing slave trade within the ocean.
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  229. Hooper, Jane, and David Eltis. “The Indian Ocean in Transatlantic Slavery.” Slavery & Abolition 34.3 (2013): 353–375.
  230. DOI: 10.1080/0144039X.2012.734112Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  231. This article relies on data from the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database to examine the movement of slaves from the Indian Ocean to the Americas. The slave trade from Madagascar, rather surprisingly, was relatively large during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
  232. Find this resource:
  233. Larson, Pier M. Ocean of Letters: Language and Creolization in an Indian Ocean Diaspora. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
  234. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  235. Larson traces how a far-reaching diaspora created cultural and linguistic connections between Madagascar and the Indian Ocean world. He also provides a thorough overview of the export slave trade from Madagascar.
  236. Find this resource:
  237. Médard, Henri, Marie-Laure Derat, Thomas Vernet, and Marie Pierre Ballarin, eds. Traites et esclavages en Afrique orientale et dans l’Océan Indien. Paris: Karthala, 2013.
  238. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  239. This edited collection includes a recent evaluation of the slave trades in the Indian Ocean, with a focus on not only European slaving but also the trade between East Africa and Madagascar.
  240. Find this resource:
  241. Rakoto, Ignace, ed. La route des esclaves, système servile et traite dans l’est malgache. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2000.
  242. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  243. An edited collection with essays in both French and English that describe the 19th-century export of slaves from eastern Madagascar.
  244. Find this resource:
  245. Vernet, Thomas. “Slave Trade and Slavery on the Swahili Coast, 1500–1750.” In Slavery, Islam and Diaspora. Edited by Behnaz A. Mirzai, Ismael M. Montana, and Paul E. Lovejoy, 37–76. Trenton, NJ: Africa World, 2009.
  246. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  247. Vernet uses Portuguese sources to reveal the extent of the slave trade from Madagascar’s northern ports to the East African coast and the ports of the northern Indian Ocean, although some argue these numbers are a bit inflated. An earlier French version of this article was published: “Le commerce des esclaves sur la côte swahili, 1500–1750.” Azania 38 (2003): 69–97.
  248. Find this resource:
  249. Colonial
  250.  
  251. In 1896, the French formally assumed political control of the island, although they faced formidable challenges in uniting and ruling the diverse island from the start, as Ellis 1985 makes clear. Stability was threatened by continued challenges from earlier political and religious leadership. Randrianja 2001 argues this was the case from the very beginning. The French tried to take advantage of ethnic divisions, as explained in Domenichini 2003. Jennings 2002 describes how, during World War II, the Malagasy began to express their discontent with colonial rule, particularly the exaction of forced labor and increased exports to support wartime efforts. These exactions contributed to an uprising in 1947, which has been studied at length from different perspectives in Cole 2001, Duval 2002, and Tronchon 1986. After the rebellion was brutally repressed, the colonial government attempted to develop the country through a series of reforms. The postwar period brought more successful attempts for autonomy. In 1960, Madagascar gained political independence, and Philibert Tsiranana was elected its first president. See also the section on Politics and Government.
  252.  
  253. Cole, Jennifer. Forget Colonialism? Sacrifice and the Art of Memory in Madagascar. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.
  254. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  255. Cole examines how people remember (and have forgotten) the uprising of 1947 on the east coast of Madagascar, providing a much-needed new perspective on the uprising.
  256. Find this resource:
  257. Domenichini, Jean-Pierre. “Tribu, ethnie, nation à Madagascar: Peut-on corriger les dénominations?” In Les ethnies ont une histoire. 2d ed. Edited by J. P. Chrétien and G. Prunier, 15–32. Paris: Karthala, 2003.
  258. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  259. In this chapter, Domenichini describes the ways in which the colonial government classified and ruled groups of people within Madagascar. This issue would have important ramifications for the postcolonial government (cf. Raison-Jourde and Randrianja 2002, cited under Politics and Government).
  260. Find this resource:
  261. Duval, Eugène-Jean. La révolte des sagaies: Madagascar, 1947. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2002.
  262. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  263. This account comprises the most recent attempt to examine this bloody uprising by giving a fresh look to the official archives.
  264. Find this resource:
  265. Ellis, Stephen. The Rising of the Red Shawls: A Revolt in Madagascar, 1895–1899. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
  266. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  267. Ellis describes the insurrection against French rule among the Merina, tracing the connections between the uprising and developments within the Merina Empire.
  268. Find this resource:
  269. Jennings, Eric T. Vichy in the Tropics: Pétain’s National Revolution in Madagascar, Guadeloupe, and Indochina, 1940–44. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2002.
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  271. Jennings provides a background to understanding how challenges to French imperialism during World War II undermined French control in Madagascar and contributed to the growth of anticolonial sentiment.
  272. Find this resource:
  273. Randrianja, Solofo. Société et luttes anticoloniales à Madagascar de 1896 à 1946. Paris: Karthala, 2001.
  274. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  275. This book examines the origins of anticolonial movements in Madagascar, with a particular focus on the role played by the Communist Party.
  276. Find this resource:
  277. Tronchon, Jacques. L’insurrection malgache de 1947: Essai d’interprétation historique. Paris: Karthala, 1986.
  278. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  279. This is a (somewhat dated) account of the 1947 uprising against colonial rule based on interviews and some archival sources.
  280. Find this resource:
  281. Postcolonial
  282.  
  283. The independent government of Madagascar has struggled in the postcolonial period to resolve the thorny issues of identity and land use that continue to threaten political stability in the island nation. Althabe 1969 provides a classic account of how the Betsimisaraka contended with the major shifts posed in the immediate postcolonial period. Raison-Jourde 1983 explores how “traditional” leadership on the west coast has become reinvigorated. Galibert 2009 reveals that, within the central government, certain men of power dominated politics, as seen in the constant shifting terrain of political power on the island. President Tsiranana was forced to step down in 1972, as described in Raison-Jourde and Roy 2010. Following a series of different leaders, Didier Ratsiraka came to power in 1975 under a socialist platform and a focus on “malgachization,” which Sharp 2002 reveals to be a central influence in the lives of many Malagasy during this period. For seventeen years, the island was ruled by a single party under Ratsiraka, but in 1992 and 1993, free elections were held. In 1997, Ratsiraka returned to power, but his rule was contested by Marc Ravalomanana in the presidential elections of 2001. In 2002, Ravalomanana was declared the winner and ruled until 2009, when protests forced him to step down. Randrianja 2012 argues that this action revealed major shortcomings in democracy on the island. Andry Rajoelina, formerly mayor of Antananarivo, took over power until elections were held in 2013. Hery Rajaonarimampianina was declared the winner. Uneven opportunity and the lack of economic advancement continued to plague postcolonial Madagascar and contributed to overall instability on the island, although Middleton 2009 only offers the briefest of glimpses into the ramifications of this political upheaval.
  284.  
  285. Althabe, Gérard. Oppression et libération dans l’imaginaire: Les communautés villageoises de la côte oriental de Madagascar. Paris: Maspero, 1969.
  286. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  287. This is a classic account of the Betsimisaraka that examines the use of tromba possession rituals in an era of political change in Madagascar.
  288. Find this resource:
  289. Galibert, Didier. Les gens du pouvoir à Madagascar: État postcolonial, légitimités et territoire, 1956–2002. Paris: Karthala, 2009.
  290. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  291. Galibert examines the gens du pouvoir in postcolonial Madagascar, providing biographical details surrounding several individuals and their families.
  292. Find this resource:
  293. Middleton, Karen. “From Ratsiraka to Ravalomanana: Changing Narratives of Prickly Pears in Dryland Madagascar.” Études Océan Indien 42–43 (January 2009): 47–83.
  294. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  295. This article takes a unique perspective on the political transformations that Malagasy have encountered in the late 20th century by examining the adoption of the prickly pear cactus in southern Madagascar.
  296. Find this resource:
  297. Raison-Jourde, Françoise, ed. Les souverains de Madagascar: L’histoire royale et ses résurgences contemporaines. Paris: Karthala, 1983.
  298. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  299. The essays in this collection, edited by Raison-Jourde, examine the transformation of royal structures on the west coast of Madagascar in the midst of the colonial and postcolonial changes to the political landscape of the island.
  300. Find this resource:
  301. Raison-Jourde, Françoise, and Gérard Roy. Paysans, intellectuels et populisme à Madagascar: de Monja Jaona à Ratsimandrava, 1960–1975. Paris: Karthala, 2010.
  302. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  303. A thorough study of a little-examined period in the history of Madagascar, this book examines the struggle for the nation in the immediate aftermath of decolonization by looking at the rise of Monja Jaona, a Malagasy nationalist, and the protests he inspired during the 1970s against Tsiranana’s government, frequently seen as too closely aligned with the French.
  304. Find this resource:
  305. Randrianja, Solofo, ed. Madagascar, le coup d’État de mars 2009. Paris: Karthala, 2012.
  306. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  307. This edited collection of French essays examines the causes and ramifications of the overthrow of Ravalomanana in 2009, with a particular focus on the future for democracy on the island.
  308. Find this resource:
  309. Sharp, Lesley A. The Sacrificed Generation: Youth, History, and the Colonized Mind in Madagascar. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
  310. DOI: 10.1525/california/9780520229501.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  311. Sharp describes how youth in northwest Madagascar have dealt with the legacy of colonialism and the shortcomings of postcolonial education during the period of “malgachization.”
  312. Find this resource:
  313. Geography and Environment
  314.  
  315. Given the unique endemic flora and fauna of Madagascar, there has been considerable interest in preserving biodiversity on the island. The history of conservation on Madagascar is outlined in Kaufmann 2001. Many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) perceive local land use as threatening the environment and, as a result, attempts have been made to shift agricultural practices (such as slash-and-burn) and to develop the ecotourism sector (see also the section on the Economy). Political upheaval has led to inconsistent support from the international community for these efforts. See also Scales 2014, cited under General Overviews.
  316.  
  317. Gezon, Lisa L. Global Visions, Local Landscapes: A Political Ecology of Conservation, Conflict, and Control in Northern Madagascar. Lanham, MD: AltaMira, 2006.
  318. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  319. This is a detailed examination of the tensions present in the current conflicts over land in northern Madagascar.
  320. Find this resource:
  321. Jolly, Alison. Lords and Lemurs: Mad Scientists, Kings with Spears, and the Survival of Diversity in Madagascar. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
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  323. A scientist specializing in lemurs, Jolly has written an accessible and entertaining narrative about not just the landscape but also the people who inhabit the same space as the lemurs.
  324. Find this resource:
  325. Kaufmann, Jeffrey, ed. Special Issue: Emerging Histories in Madagascar. Ethnohistory 48.1–2 (Winter–Spring 2001).
  326. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  327. This special issue of Ethnohistory contains a number of important essays on the historical ecology of Madagascar written by historians and anthropologists.
  328. Find this resource:
  329. Kull, Christian A. Isle of Fire: The Political Ecology of Landscape Burning in Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.
  330. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  331. One of the most hotly debated environmental issues in Madagascar is the continued use of fire to clear land for agriculture. Kull presents an ethno-historical perspective on the problem by arguing that struggles over land and the use of fire have been occurring for centuries.
  332. Find this resource:
  333. Society and Culture
  334.  
  335. Under colonial rule, Madagascar was divided into about twenty different ethnic groups. Some of these groupings dated from 19th-century Merina rule but were formalized by the French. Anthropologists and historians have struggled with continued use of labels to subdivide populations on the island today. Many recent publications by anthropologists focus on this thorny issue of identity. See, in particular, Astuti 1995, Bloch 2001, Feeley-Harnik 1991, and Woolley 2002, all of whom question the use of ethnonyms to classify the Malagasy. Evers 2002 and Graeber 2007 examine how inequality on the island is connected to issues of ancestry and land ownership. Anthropologists have been drawn to the study of different ritual practices throughout the island, starting with the work of Maurice Bloch (Bloch 1971, cited under Religion) and continuing into contemporary anthropological studies. Middleton 1999 examines how scholars have been particularly drawn to those associated with ancestor worship. Both Lambek 2002 and Nielssen 2012 (cited under Religion), for instance, investigate how communication with royal ancestors through spirit possession ceremonies occurred in different portions of the island.
  336.  
  337. Astuti, Rita. People of the Sea: Identity and Descent among the Vezo of Madagascar. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
  338. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511521041Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  339. Astuti examines the ways in which people on the west coast of the island chose and engaged with ethnic identities on their own terms.
  340. Find this resource:
  341. Bloch, Maurice. “The Ethnohistory of Madagascar.” In Special Issue: Emerging Histories in Madagascar. Edited by Jeffrey Kaufmann. Ethnohistory 48.1–2 (Winter–Spring 2001): 293–299.
  342. DOI: 10.1215/00141801-48-1-2-293Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  343. Bloch provides a good critique of scholarship from the 1970s to 2000s that examines the use of ethnonyms in the study of Madagascar.
  344. Find this resource:
  345. Evers, Sandra J. T. M. Constructing History, Culture and Inequality: The Betsileo in the Extreme Southern Highlands of Madagascar. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2002.
  346. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  347. The culmination of years of research in the interior of Madagascar, the author argues that the legacy of enslavement can still be felt in the region through controls over ownership of land and tombs.
  348. Find this resource:
  349. Feeley-Harnik, Gillian. A Green Estate: Restoring Independence in Madagascar. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1991.
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  351. Feeley-Harnik examines beliefs about ancestral royalty among the Sakalava. She also provides a strong critique of the use of royal traditions for understanding the history of the Sakalava.
  352. Find this resource:
  353. Graeber, David. Lost People: Magic and the Legacy of Slavery in Madagascar. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2007.
  354. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  355. Graeber describes the role of authority in molding a rural town in the highlands of Madagascar by examining local clashes over hierarchy and the uses of storytelling. To do so, he provides an entertaining, if meandering, narrative.
  356. Find this resource:
  357. Lambek, Michael. The Weight of the Past: Living with History in Mahajanga, Madagascar. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
  358. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  359. Lambek highlights how communication with the past continues to influence life for the Sakalava by recounting the time he spent observing spirit possession in the northwest of the island.
  360. Find this resource:
  361. Middleton, Karen, ed. Ancestors, Power and History in Madagascar. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1999.
  362. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  363. This collection of essays by historians and anthropologists looks into the role ancestors play in shaping identities and authority in Madagascar.
  364. Find this resource:
  365. Woolley, Oliver. The Earth Shakers of Madagascar: An Anthropological Study of Authority, Fertility, and Creation. London: Continuum, 2002.
  366. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  367. Woolley spent time in a little-known portion of southeastern Madagascar and provides a rich ethnographic history of authority covering the colonial and postcolonial periods. He describes a part of Madagascar where people see themselves as living just beyond the reach of the central government.
  368. Find this resource:
  369. Women and Gender
  370.  
  371. Campbell 2007 provides one of the few studies focusing on women in the precolonial period. The absence of good historical literature on women is surprising, given the importance of women as rulers in precolonial Madagascar. Few book-length publications focus on gender in contemporary Madagascar, although there is a growing interest in sexual practices, stemming from a concern over curtailing the spread of HIV/AIDS and sex trafficking on the island. Cole 2010 and Stoebenau 2010 examine the sexual decisions of women, although these also reveal the ways in which difficult economic choices constrain women in Madagascar. Gezon 2002 also explores the ways in which economic concerns influence women in northern Madagascar.
  372.  
  373. Campbell, Gwyn. “Female Bondage in Imperial Madagascar, 1820–95.” In Women and Slavery: Africa, the Indian Ocean World, and the Medieval North Atlantic. Edited by Gwyn Campbell, Suzanne Miers, and Joseph Calder Miller, 237–257. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2007.
  374. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  375. Campbell provides one of the few historical considerations of the role women played as laborers in Madagascar.
  376. Find this resource:
  377. Cole, Jennifer. Sex and Salvation: Imagining the Future in Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010.
  378. DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226113326.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  379. Although Cole focuses on urban youth in Tamatave, much of her focus is on the sexual and marital choices young women make in Madagascar in the early 21st century.
  380. Find this resource:
  381. Gezon, Lisa L. “Marriage, Kin, and Compensation: A Socio-Political Ecology of Gender in Ankarana, Madagascar.” Anthropological Quarterly 75.4 (2002): 675–706.
  382. DOI: 10.1353/anq.2002.0060Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  383. Gezon examines the use of female agricultural labor in the north of the island (see also Gezon 2006, cited under Geography and Environment).
  384. Find this resource:
  385. Stoebenau, Kirsten. “‘Côtier’ Sexual Identity as Constructed by the Urban Merina of Antananarivo, Madagascar.” Études Océan Indien 45 (December 2010): 93–115.
  386. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  387. Stoebenau interrogates the understandings of coastal sexuality in the capital of Madagascar. She has also written a number of other articles investigating women’s sexuality from a public health perspective.
  388. Find this resource:
  389. Economy
  390.  
  391. By the time Europeans first arrived on the island, agriculture on the island already supported long-distance exchanges both within and from Madagascar. Campbell 2005 (cited under 16th to Late 19th Centuries) describes how, during the 19th century, production became even more diversified, with local crafts flourishing. Throughout the 20th century, many Malagasy have struggled with poverty. Today, climatological problems and environmental challenges threaten the livelihood of those who continue to make their living through agriculture, as clear in the essays published in Evers, et al. 2013. A recent book written by Sodikoff 2012 describes how recent efforts have attempted to harness international interest in the endemic plant and animal life of Madagascar by developing forestry, ecotourism, and niche crafts for export. Walsh 2012 explores the negative consequences of economic development in the north of the island. For more information on the development of ecotourism, see the section on the Geography and Environment.
  392.  
  393. Evers, Sandra, Gwyn Campbell, and Michael Lambek, eds. Contest for Land in Madagascar: Environment, Ancestors, and Development. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2013.
  394. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  395. The essays in this edited collection examine the ways in which Malagasy attempt to maintain control over their access to land in the midst of international and government efforts to curtail their activities.
  396. Find this resource:
  397. Sodikoff, Genese Marie. Forest and Labor in Madagascar: From Colonial Concession to Global Biosphere. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2012.
  398. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  399. Sodikoff explores the divide between conservation ideology and the exaction of conservation labor from the colonial period to early-21st-century eastern Madagascar.
  400. Find this resource:
  401. Walsh, Andrew. Made in Madagascar: Sapphires, Ecotourism, and the Global Bazaar. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012.
  402. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  403. Walsh examines the impact of global commerce on new portions of Madagascar—namely, the north of the island—in unexpected ways.
  404. Find this resource:
  405. Politics and Government
  406.  
  407. The postcolonial state in Madagascar has faced severe challenges in unifying and ruling the country, although accessible scholarly publications are still somewhat limited. Raison-Jourde and Randrianja 2002 explores the divide between the people of the highlands and the coastal regions. National governance continues to rely on local organizations known as the fokonolona that evolved from precolonial and colonial associations, as outlined in Marcus 2008. Scholars have sought to understand how a complex landscape of identity and power will influence the uncertain future of democracy in Madagascar, as argued in Marcus and Ratsimbaharison 2005. See also the section on Historical Background: Postcolonial.
  408.  
  409. Marcus, Richard R. “Tòkana: The Collapse of the Rural Malagasy Community.” African Studies Review 51.1 (April 2008): 85–104.
  410. DOI: 10.1353/arw.0.0046Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  411. Marcus describes the decline of community participation in southern Madagascar, noting the dire consequences of this development.
  412. Find this resource:
  413. Marcus, Richard R., and Adrien M. Ratsimbaharison. “Political Parties in Madagascar: Neopatrimonial Tools or Democratic Instruments?” Party Politics 11.4 (July 2005): 495–512.
  414. DOI: 10.1177/1354068805053214Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  415. This article provides an interesting perspective on political change in Madagascar by examining how political parties have been an engine for change, but not necessarily democracy, on the island.
  416. Find this resource:
  417. Raison-Jourde, Françoise, and Solofo Randrianja, eds. La nation malgache au défi de l’ethnicité. Paris: Karthala, 2002.
  418. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  419. This edited collection examines the challenges facing Madagascar, with a particular focus on the division between the “Hautes Terres” and “Côtiers.”
  420. Find this resource:
  421. Religion
  422.  
  423. Malagasy traditional religious practices have clear East African and Southeast Asian roots, as scholars have examined starting with Bloch 1971. Islam had a strong, if uneven, influence over much of the island, especially the north, as discussed in Blanchy 1995, but the essays in Blanchy, et al. 2006 describe how other religious influences were crucial as well. Raison-Jourde 1991 details how European missionaries encouraged conversion to Christianity during the 19th century and, following French colonization, Catholicism became more widespread. Today many Malagasy engage in a variety of religious practices, with evangelical Christianity, Islam, and traditional beliefs influential in different parts of the island. Scholars are increasingly interested in the ways in which “traditional” practices have spread from one part of the island to another, as Nielssen 2012 reveals. Keller 2005 examines how the dramatic growth of Protestant movements in recent years have had an impact on these practices.
  424.  
  425. Blanchy, Sophie. Karana et Banians: Les communautés commerçantes d’origine indienne à Madagascar. Paris: L’Harmattan, 1995.
  426. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  427. Blanchy gives a thorough history of Indians residing in Madagascar from the 19th century into the early 21st century.
  428. Find this resource:
  429. Blanchy, Sophie, Jean-Aimé Rakotoarisoa, Philippe Beaujard, and Chantal Radimilahy, eds. Les dieux au service du peuple: Itinéraires religieux, médiations, syncrétisme à Madagascar. Paris: Karthala, 2006.
  430. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  431. This edited collection focuses on the myriad ways in which various religious influences (Islamic, Christian, and Hinduism) have been absorbed and incorporated into more traditional practices.
  432. Find this resource:
  433. Bloch, Maurice. Placing the Dead: Tombs, Ancestral Villages, and Kinship Organization in Madagascar. London: Seminar Press, 1971.
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  435. Bloch wrote this seminal work on ancestor worship among the Merina in 1971, prompting a growth of interest from anthropologists in Madagascar. Bloch also wrote numerous essays and books considering other ceremonies in the highlands, including circumcision and wedding practices.
  436. Find this resource:
  437. Keller, Eva. The Road to Clarity: Seventh-Day Adventism in Madagascar. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
  438. DOI: 10.1057/9781403977007Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  439. Keller examines two villages in Madagascar to understand the appeal of Adventism among contemporary Malagasy and highlights how it challenges traditional religious beliefs.
  440. Find this resource:
  441. Nielssen, Hilde. Ritual Imagination: A Study of Tromba Possession among the Betsimisaraka in Eastern Madagascar. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2012.
  442. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  443. Nielssen explores how tromba spirit possession, originating among the Sakalava, has taken hold on the east coast among the Betsimisaraka. This book provides an interesting counter to Lambek 2002 (cited under Society and Culture).
  444. Find this resource:
  445. Raison-Jourde, Françoise. Bible et pouvoir à Madagascar au XIXe siècle: Invention d’une identité chrétienne et construction de l’Etat, 1780–1880. Paris: Karthala, 1991.
  446. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  447. This book examines the early history of the arrival of Christianity to the island and the impact of conversion on the Merina Empire.
  448. Find this resource:
  449. Language
  450.  
  451. A single Malagasy language is spoken throughout the entire island, although with clear regional differences in terms of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, with a standardized form of Malagasy used in education. This was not always the case, however. Linguists have traced a variety of influences on the language from Southeast Asia and East Africa, although the timing and nature of these influences have been heavily debated, especially by K. Alexander Adelaar, most notably in Adelaar and Himmelmann 2005, and Dahl 1991. These debates, at times quite dense for nonspecialists, help make sense of the work done by historians and anthropologists who have developed theories about the diverse origins of the Malagasy. Two French-language publications by Dez 1980 and Rajaonarimanana 2001 help outline the complexities of the language, although comparable works do not yet exist in English.
  452.  
  453. Adelaar, K. Alexander, and Nikolaus Himmelmann. The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar. New York: Routledge, 2005.
  454. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  455. A number of chapters deal with Madagascar in this edited volume, but the most useful for nonspecialists is the first, authored by Adelaar, in which he clearly lays out his argument and evidence, much of it arguing with Dahl.
  456. Find this resource:
  457. Dahl, Otto Christian. Migration from Kalimantan to Madagascar. Oslo, Norway: Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture, 1991.
  458. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  459. Dahl provides one of the more accessible studies of the Austronesian influence on the Malagasy language, although it is becoming dated and should be read in tandem with Adelaar and Himmelmann 2005.
  460. Find this resource:
  461. Dez, Jacques. Structures de la langue malgache: Éléments de grammaire à l’usage des francophones. Paris: Publications Orientalistes de France, 1980.
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  463. Dez provides a thorough but dense study of the modern Malagasy language.
  464. Find this resource:
  465. Rajaonarimanana, Narivelo. Grammaire moderne de la langue malgache. Paris: Langues et Mondes, 2001.
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  467. This grammar is one of the more recent surveys of the Malagasy language.
  468. Find this resource:
  469. Literature
  470.  
  471. Malagasy literature includes both written and oral forms. The most prominent oral traditions include formalized Malagasy speeches (kabary) and proverbs (ohabolana). Haring 1992 focuses on kabary and reveals the richness of oral performance in Madagascar, whereas Domenichini-Ramiaramanana 1983 examines how speeches have translated into political power on the island. A limited number of folktales have been written and published as well, especially by Haring 1994. A few studies, especially about the poet J. J. Rabearivelo have been published in recent years, including most notably Bourgeacq 1999 and Adejunmobi 1996, but Malagasy literature is little known outside of the island and is rarely translated into English. One of the few exceptions is the collection edited by Bourgeacq and Ramarosoa 2002.
  472.  
  473. Adejunmobi, Moradewun. J. J. Rabearivelo, Literature, and Lingua Franca in Colonial Madagascar. New York: Peter Lang, 1996.
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  475. In this book, the first English study of the famous Malagasy poet Rabearivelo, Adejunmobi describes the historical setting in which the poet struggled to write and gain recognition by a Malagasy and international audience.
  476. Find this resource:
  477. Bourgeacq, Jacques. “La Littérature malgache contemporaine, cette inconnue.” The French Review 72.3 (February 1999): 543–556.
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  479. This article provides an overview of the most famous Malagasy literature from the colonial to postcolonial period, with some analysis of the influence of postcolonial political developments on prominent writers.
  480. Find this resource:
  481. Bourgeacq, Jacques, and Liliane Ramarosoa, eds. Voices from Madagascar: An Anthology of Contemporary Francophone Literature. Athens, OH: Ohio University Center for International Studies, 2002.
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  483. This compilation has a number of poems and short stories translated into English (original version, Voix de Madagascar: Anthologie de littérature francophone contemporaine) and comprises one of the few efforts to disseminate Malagasy literature outside the country. The editors also provide a useful overview of 19th-century Malagasy literature.
  484. Find this resource:
  485. Domenichini-Ramiaramanana, Bakoly. Du ohabolana au hainteny: Langue, littérature et politique à Madagascar. Paris: Editions Karthala, 1983.
  486. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  487. This book provides an overview of the connection between Malagasy formal speeches and politics in the country.
  488. Find this resource:
  489. Haring, Lee. Verbal Arts in Madagascar. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992.
  490. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  491. In this critical history of folklore in Madagascar, Haring examines different genres of performance, especially kabary, at length.
  492. Find this resource:
  493. Haring, Lee, ed. Ibonia: Epic of Madagascar. Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell University Press, 1994.
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  495. This is a translation of one of the more well-known oral histories from Madagascar.
  496. Find this resource:
  497. Arts
  498.  
  499. Art production is regionally specific in Madagascar, as examinations of textile production make clear. Fine palm and bark cloth is found on the coasts, and silk and cotton weaving is prominent in the interior. The few studies of textile weaving (Kreamer and Fee 2002 and Kusimba, et al. 2004) rely on collections from the 19th century. The most well-known art from Madagascar is associated with funerary practices on the island. Mack 1989 describes how fine textiles (lamba mena) are woven of locally grown silk. Goedefroit and Lombard 2007 uses their discussions of carvings used to decorate tombs, known as andolo, to note the importance of funerary art on the island. There are few studies of other art forms on the island, although Nativel 2005, which examines architecture in the Merina highlands, is a welcome addition.
  500.  
  501. Goedefroit, Sophie, and Jacques Lombard. Andolo: L’art funéraire sakalava à Madagascar. Paris: Biro, 2007.
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  503. This history of funerary sculpture among the Sakalava traces the development of this art through a royal and cultural history.
  504. Find this resource:
  505. Kreamer, Christine Mullen, and Sarah Fee, eds. Objects as Envoys: Cloth, Imagery, and Diplomacy in Madagascar. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002.
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  507. A beautifully illustrated book, this volume details the ways in which Malagasy textiles were understood and used in the formation of cross-cultural relationships with Europeans during the 19th century.
  508. Find this resource:
  509. Kusimba, Chapurukha Makokha, J. Claire Odland, and Bennet Bronson, eds. Unwrapping the Textile Traditions of Madagascar. Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 2004.
  510. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  511. This well-illustrated book provides an overview of textile traditions of Madagascar using the Ralph Linton collection found at the Field Museum.
  512. Find this resource:
  513. Mack, John. Malagasy Textiles. Aylesbury, UK: Shire, 1989.
  514. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  515. Mack examines the different practices of textile production on the island, with a particular focus on highland silk weaving.
  516. Find this resource:
  517. Nativel, Didier. Maisons royales, demeures des grands à Madagascar: L’inscription de la réussite sociale dans l’espace urbain de Tananarive au XIXe siècle. Paris: Karthala, 2005.
  518. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  519. Nativel provides a thorough historical survey of 19th-century royal architecture in Antananarivo to reveal the role that these royal homes played in the Merina.
  520. Find this resource:
  521. Music and Performance
  522.  
  523. As with other forms of art, musical practices on the island tend to be specific to different regions, and scholarship is still fairly sparse. In the highlands, the Merina and Betsileo, who trace their ancestry to southwest Asia, traditionally use instruments such as the valiha and sodina that are derived from Indonesian instruments, as described in Duvelle 2010. On the west coast of the island, music has a more continental African influence, including salegy. According to Mallet 2009, tsapika has been popular in the south; basesa, in the east. Emoff 2002 provides a useful correction to anthropological studies of religious practices on the island by examining how music has been used in ancestor worship.
  524.  
  525. Duvelle, Charles. Aux sources des musiques du monde: Musiques de tradition orale. Paris: UNESCO, 2010.
  526. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  527. During the mid-20th century, musicologist Duvelle oversaw the recording of world music while working for a French record label (Ocora). This volume, and accompanying CD, includes a discussion of the valiha.
  528. Find this resource:
  529. Emoff, Ron. Recollecting from the Past: Musical Practice and Spirit Possession on the East Coast of Madagascar. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2002.
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  531. Emoff examines how music is an essential component of tromba possession ceremonies, including a detailed discussion of both musicians and instruments.
  532. Find this resource:
  533. Mallet, Julien. Le tsapiky, une jeune musique de Madagascar: Ancêtres, cassettes et bals-poussière. Paris: Karthala, 2009.
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  535. Mallet looks at the historical background of tsapiky and its current appeal in Madagascar.
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