Misplaced Pages

#649350

53-570: The Beosi are short-statured hunter-gatherers of the central highlands of Madagascar. They are distinct from the Mikea hunter-gatherers and horticulturalists of the lowlands. The Boesi speak a dialect of the Malagasy language , which originated in southern Borneo . Speculation that there may be remnants of a Vazimba language in Beosi speech was investigated by Blench & Walsh (2009). Beosi speech

106-456: A forest near Tsirendresaka. It is said that their tomb was venerated by all the Vazimba of Betsiriry, and in return, the people of Tsirendresaka observe a fady (taboo) that forbids the killing of zebu, in homage to the Vazimba and their tradition of herding cattle without consuming them. In Madagascar today, popular belief maintains that the Vazimba may not have been human at all, but rather

159-414: A form of wealth and are mainly sacrificed in ancestral ceremonies rather than eaten as food. The rainy season is the time when Mikea are most likely to leave their scavenging encampments for wage labor opportunities in villages or for the corn harvest. This is also the time when Masikoro and Vezo villagers are most likely to move into the forest to grow corn. Vazimba Stories about the Vazimba form

212-495: A group of Malagasy -speaking horticulturalists and foragers who are often described as the lowland hunter-gatherers of Madagascar . They inhabit the Mikea Forest , a patch of mixed spiny forest and dry deciduous forest along the coast of southwestern Madagascar. The Mikea are predominantly of Sakalava origin, although the term describes a shared way of life rather than an ethnic group per se , and individuals from

265-463: A growth in population. The true number of people living from forest scavenging is difficult to estimate with accuracy, as the label "Mikea" is very flexible, and the degree of reliance on scavenging as opposed to seasonal farming can vary significantly at any given time depending on economic and environmental conditions. The Mikea are subject to social stigma linked to their image as primitive or uncivilized people. Housing and social organization among

318-533: A local mushroom; the association of the color red with royalty is found in many parts of Madagascar to this day. Oral history classifies the Vazimba according to the parts of the island where they are believed to have settled. The vazimba andrano ("Vazimba of the Water") settled along rivers and lakes. The vazimba antety ("Vazimba of the Soil") were believed to be the most numerous and were reportedly clustered around

371-538: A significant element in the cultural history and collective identity of the Malagasy people , ranging from the historical to the supernatural, inspiring diverse beliefs and practices across the island. They have analogs in some other Austronesian cultures, including the Menehunes in Hawaii . The facts surrounding the initial settling of Madagascar by oceanic explorers from the region of modern-day Indonesia , including

424-554: A sort of monster or often malevolent spirit that haunts natural sites such as rivers, boulders or gorges. Oral history maintains that it was customary among Vazimba to submerge their dead in designated bogs or other waters and these areas are held sacred, sometimes becoming sites of pilgrimage and sacrifice. The Vazimba are often envisioned as being smaller than the average person, either quite pale or very dark. The more monstrous descriptions of Vazimba speak of an unnaturally elongated face with large lips concealing fang-like teeth. Among

477-461: A subset of the Sakalava ethnic group, although there are Mikea individuals who trace their origins to other ethnic groups. Their adherence to a way of life perceived by villagers and city dwellers as ancestral has contributed to a mystique and various myths and legends about them, and many Malagasy believe they are the descendants of Vazimba , the original inhabitants of the island, although there

530-501: A variety of Malagasy ethnic groups are found among the Mikea. The family encampments of the Mikea shift from prime corn planting territory at the edge of the forest in the rainy season to the interior forest rich with tenrecs and other game in the dry season, when the community becomes highly dependent on spongy tubers to meet their daily demand for water. Their lifestyle is interdependent with that of their neighboring Vezo fishermen and

583-429: A wide range of life events and ceremonies, including havoaza (funerals), bilo (magical healing rituals), tromba (spirit possession), ringa (martial arts matches), savatsy (circumcision ceremonies) and more. Most music is vocal - often making use of whistling, shouts and other vocal effects in addition to singing - with percussion accompaniment ranging from handclapping to djembe or langoro drums. Conch shells and

SECTION 10

#1732772157650

636-434: A wooden pole frame. These houses are loosely clustered with generous space between each lodging. The rainy season encampment serves for three to five years as a base for forest foraging before resource depletion requires a move to a new location. Those working the corn fields may live in simple grass shelters alongside their crops until April or May, when they return to the bark houses. During the dry season from May to October,

689-468: Is also practiced. Like other Malagasy, the Mikea spiritual belief system revolves around respect for ancestors. They also share the common Malagasy belief in a creator god, termed Andrianajanahary. Many Mikea believe in various types of forest spirits ( koko ), which are associated with certain natural spots in the forest deemed sacred; these sites serve as the focus of various ceremonies, in which rum has spiritual and symbolic significance. The greatest of

742-473: Is in contrast to certain ethnic groups, such as the Merina, who had a complex form of social organization that overlaid a caste system with specific social roles assigned to particular family groups. In 1991, an estimated 1,500 Malagasy were living the Mikea lifestyle, primarily around the Mikea Forest , an area that receives limited rainfall. This number was estimated at several hundred in the 1950s, suggesting

795-563: Is no evidence to support this view. The majority of Malagasy believe the existence of the Mikea to be a myth and are unaware that any Malagasy continue to live the Mikea lifestyle to the present day. The term Mikea is principally used by outsiders to label this group and is not often used by members of this community themselves. Most Mikea prefer to call themselves either Vezo-Mikea or Masikoro-Mikea, depending on their specific family lineages. The Mikea are not remnants of an early hunter-gatherer society. Although researchers remain uncertain when

848-431: Is scavenged from the forest, and the average Mikea needs two hours or less to collect adequate food for the day. Their main source of food is tubers, particularly during the dry season when few other foods may be reliably available. Adults and children of both genders work to dig up using a metal-tipped digging stick ( antsoro ) and a digging bowl ( kipao ). The starchy ovy tuber is roasted or boiled before eating, while

901-509: Is widespread year round, and the larger one ( tandraka , 2-3 kilograms), which is mainly caught during the rainy season. To a lesser extent they also hunt or trap two to three species of lemur, feral cats, occasional wild boars, turtles and rodents using blowguns, spears and dogs, and use a hook and line to catch fish in saline inland lakes. Some Mikea raise animals such as goats, chickens and guineafowls for food or sale at market; tree nuts also provide additional protein. The principal crop of

954-500: The Beosi hunter-gatherers of the highlands. While some 1,500 individuals are known to identify as Mikea, many Malagasy disbelieve that the community continues to exist in the present day. The Mikea are hunter-gatherers (also called foragers) who practice limited farming. The Mikea label is applied to those who live this subsistence lifestyle rather than being tied to a specific ethnicity . There are numerous groups termed Mikea along

1007-462: The Masikoro farmers and herders, with whom they trade products caught, foraged or cultivated in the forest. Many Mikea also occasionally engage in paid work such as guarding the zebu herds or tending the corn fields of others. The present-day Mikea are not a remnant of an ancient Malagasy hunter-gatherer society, but are instead descendants of individuals who took refuge in the forest beginning in

1060-504: The Sakalava people . Speculation that there may be remnants of a Vazimba language in Mikea speech was investigated by Blench & Walsh (2009) and found wanting. They concluded, The speech of the Beosi people , short-statured hunter-gatherers of the highlands, has a higher proportion of unidentifiable vocabulary. The arid conditions of the spiny forest, which receives less than 600 millimeters of rainfall each year, largely shape Mikea economic activities. Nearly everything they consume

1113-458: The jejy lava (stringed instrument with a gourd resonator, played with a bow) are also performed; both of these ancient instruments are increasingly rare in Madagascar and among the Mikea the latter is performed by men for one another. Rarer and more costly instruments like the marovany wooden box zither and the valiha bamboo tube zither are used for certain sacred rituals that invoke

SECTION 20

#1732772157650

1166-420: The 1800s to escape military conflict, heavy taxation and other oppressive factors. Their way of life is perceived by villagers and city dwellers alike as ancestral, contributing to a mystique about them that has inspired various myths and legends. They are commonly believed to be the mythical Vazimba , the original inhabitants of the island, although there is no evidence to support this view. They are distinct from

1219-534: The Mikea Forest area and low access to water for bathing, rates of diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy and skin disease are disproportionately prevalent. Mikea tend to trace their lineage back to specific villages within one or more of three main lineages, associated respectively with the northern, southern and central parts of the Mikea Forest. Most also have relatives living in Vezo and/or Masikoro villages in

1272-583: The Mikea can vary from one individual or community to the next. Some Mikea remain in the forest their entire lives, while others live part of their lives in villages or towns. While living in the forest, groups of Mikea typically move seasonally between encampments nearest to critical resources. In the rainy season, they often live in groups of 30-50 people near tracts of virgin forest in proximity to their newly cleared and planted corn fields. The houses in this settlement are square with peaked roofs, as elsewhere in Madagascar, and are typically made of thatch and bark on

1325-656: The Mikea community as well as those of their Vezo and Masikoro neighbors. The Mikea sell their forest products, as well as woven mats and food animals they raise, at weekly Vezo and Masikoro markets in nearby villages to obtain the necessities they cannot scavenge, such as clothing and medicine. Some Mikea migrate for periods of time to work in local villages or the town of Morombe. They are also hired to work for Vezo and Masikoro villagers, such as by cutting forest for villagers or other Mikeas' corn fields, or guarding villagers' zebu herds. They occasionally acquire one or more zebu in addition to or in lieu of payment, as these are seen as

1378-418: The Mikea eat the watery babo (or baboho ) raw for hydration or use its water for boiling other foods; the tavolo tuber is dried and ground to make a flour that is sold at village markets. They also gather forest fruits, melons and honey, with the latter a particularly important source of income for the Mikea during the rainy season. To obtain water during the rainy season the Mikea capture rain run-off from

1431-420: The Mikea first adopted a forest-dwelling, hunter-gatherer lifestyle, they have determined that the Mikea were only recently established as a community. The current Mikea population is believed to be descended largely from Masikoro villagers who fled into the forest to escape advancing Merina and Sakalava armies in the 18th and 19th centuries. Colonial French documents dating to 1901 describe hunter gatherers by

1484-533: The Mikea is corn, which was introduced to Madagascar in the 1890s. They also occasionally grow manioc. The dry season is used to cut new corn fields, which are burned in October ( swidden agriculture, locally termed hatsaky ) and planted in November and December as the rains begin to fall. This corn is harvested three months later and consumed during the wet season; surplus is dried and sold, with some saved for

1537-419: The Mikea possess Vazimba attributes, such as being small in stature, unclothed, shy and avoidant of contact with outsiders, and living in perfect harmony with the natural environment. None of these are borne out by evidence. The Mikea are known to make masks – a rarity in Madagascar – using human teeth and hair. Music is a significant part of Mikea social and spiritual life. Specific songs are associated with

1590-519: The Vazimba were said to have herded their zebu without eating them for meat. If the multi-wave settlement theory is correct, the indigenous (first-wave) population that the more technologically advanced second-wave settlers would have encountered upon arrival in Madagascar would provide the historic basis for stories of the primitive nature of the Vazimba societies they are said to have encountered there. Archaeological research and oral histories have provided some indication of how these early inhabitants of

1643-483: The ancestors. The marovany or valiha player is typically paid a fomba monetary tribute to perform the ceremonial music. Many songs are accompanied by specific dances and rituals that continue to be practiced among the Mikea in daily life. The Mikea speak a dialect of the Malagasy language , which originated in southern Borneo . Their dialect is close to that spoken by the Vezo fishing clan and Masikoro herding clan of

Beosi - Misplaced Pages Continue

1696-488: The best days or places to hunt, plant, shift camp, and other such events of daily life. The Mikea are culturally and linguistically nearly identical to the neighboring Vezo fishing clan and Masikoro herding and farming clan of the Sakalava; only the traditional source of livelihood distinguishes the three groups. The popular association of the Mikea with the ancestral Vazimba clan has contributed to widespread belief that

1749-400: The elder couple's own unmarried children of any age. Adult daughters typically move to join their husband's family encampment upon marriage, but married couples often share their time between the husband's or wife's parents' encampments. Family unions are formed through a fandeo ceremony in which the man is presented to his intended bride's family, and the acceptance of her parents legitimizes

1802-414: The encampment splits into smaller groups that relocate deeper into the forest to settle near babo tuber patches, with dwellings limited to brush shelters and thatch sunshades, and some individuals not living in shelters at all. In both types of settlements furniture is nearly non-existent and Mikea typically sleep in the sand or pits dug at the base of giant termite mounds. The Mikea struggle to ensure

1855-453: The first wave whose culture and way of life had evolved from the first settlers way of life, reflecting centuries of adaptation to local surroundings in total isolation from outside threats. According to popular belief, the Vazimba did not possess knowledge of metallurgy or rice farming and used weapons made of clay. After Bantu-speaking settlers from East Africa migrated to the island and brought their culture of zebu cattle herding with them,

1908-544: The following year's planting and consumption. The traders who gather the maize from the Mikea process it for international export at a significant profit. The Mikea live in a symbiotic relationship with the neighboring Masikoro farmers and herders, and the Vezo fishing clan. The Mikea live primarily on food scavenged from the forest but also grow seasonal crops. Their mobility and reliance on scavenging as opposed to crop growing shifts in response to changes in environmental and economic pressures on availability of resources within

1961-409: The forest to adopt the Mikea lifestyle. Mikea are subject to national laws like all Malagasy citizens but in practice national laws, government and social services do not reach this population while dwelling in the forest. Within Mikea forest encampments an egalitarian form of self-government predominates, with the eldest male family member having the main decision-making authority for the group. This

2014-474: The highlands might have lived. Upon their arrival in those ancient tropical highland forests, the Vazimba practiced tavy (swidden, slash-and-burn agriculture) to clear the land for cultivating bananas, tubers, ginger and other staples . They gathered honey, fruits and edible seeds and hunted small game in the forests. As their population increased, villages were established and ruled by chiefs and later kings. Rulers are believed to have reddened their hair using

2067-469: The hunter-gatherer Mikea peoples and the Vezo fishing tribe, both concentrated along the coastline of western and southern Madagascar, may be descended from Vazimba. There are many legends and stories in Malagasy oral history relating to important Vazimba figures. For instance, oral history tells of a Vazimba woman named Ramboamana and a Vazimba man named Ramboabesofy, known as tompon-tany (masters of

2120-628: The island by the Vazimba and their establishment of kingdoms – often ruled by Queens – in the central Highlands region of Madagascar. According to some accounts, the first Vazimba sovereign of the central highlands was named Andriandravindravina . The second period in the oral history of the Highlands begins with the conquest of the Vazimba Highland kingdoms by Merina sovereigns in what would come to be known as Imerina in their honor. Andriamanelo (1540–1575) – who

2173-467: The land) – the earliest inhabitants of Madagascar, who settled in the region of Ankavandra . The couple had two sons named Rangoromana and Zafihisoky whom legend credits as the first to bring zebu to the island. Some Merina trace their genealogy back to a man named Ndrenavoavo or his sister Pelamana who, according to oral history, were the very first non-Vazimba people (i.e. second-wave settlers) to arrive in Madagascar. They are believed to be buried in

Beosi - Misplaced Pages Continue

2226-430: The name of Mikea living in the southwest of the island. The population is believed to have swelled during the 1947 uprising against French colonial rule , when many Malagasy families left towns and villages to hide in forests across the country. Oil exploration in the 1950s and 1960s entailed cutting paths through the formerly untouched forests of the southwest, which further contributed to the migration of villagers into

2279-655: The nature spirits is Ndrianazo, the lord of the forest. The extended family group, which spreads through multiple encampments, is united around a central priest figure, the mpitoka hazomanga , who officiates over major family ceremonies dedicated to the ancestors. In addition, within each encampment is at least one ombiasy (wiseman) who interprets the will of the ancestors and spirits, and plays important roles in such ceremonies as marriage, circumcision, blessings, ancestral rituals, funerals, and tromba and bilo spirit possession ceremonies. Some also practice sikidy and other forms of divination, and provide spiritual advice on

2332-428: The precise timing and nature of this colonization, remain a subject of ongoing debate and study. It has been theorized that there may have been successive waves of early settlement in Madagascar. According to this theory, the waves originated from the same region of southeast Asia , spoke the same language and shared the same culture. When the second wave arrived, they found the island sparsely populated by descendants of

2385-516: The quality of life they seek. While the forest has long provided for their basic needs, deforestation and population growth are straining resources. In addition, Mikea are increasingly seeking to obtain better quality material goods for themselves, such as clothing, which necessitates greater engagement with the external economy through trade and wage labor to earn local currency . Lack of access to social services such as education and health clinics are also taking their toll: with only one health clinic in

2438-535: The region. Many Mikea families have established ziva (a " joking relationship ", commonly found in southern and eastern Africa) with the Vohitse Vanovato clan of the Masikoro, which indicates a degree of familial closeness with this subclan. Mikea encampments are typically family groups. These consist of an elder couple, their married sons and daughters-in-law, the grandchildren of these marriages, and

2491-443: The rooftops of their houses using hollowed-out logs or transport water on foot or zebu-drawn wagon from the villages, while during the cool dry season the Mikea consume their store of water-engorged babo tubers and drink water from natural or man-made wells when possible. Key protein sources include birds and tenrecs . Mikea adults and children of both sexes use clubs to kill the small tenrec ( tambotrika , 0.4 kilograms), which

2544-509: The stories of distinctive Vazimba physical appearance, Jean-Pierre Domenichini has theorized that the term Vazimba may have been more of a statement of cultural than ethnic difference and that many who had been considered Vazimba in this period did not die out, but instead may have simply chosen to become assimilated into the vanquishing Merina culture. The oral history of many Merina and Betsileo families speaks of intermarriage between Merina and Vazimba ancestors, and some Malagasy speculate that

2597-423: The union. Children of the marriage are legitimized by the husband's bestowal of presents to his wife's parents. The relationship between the wife's brother ( renilahy , "male mother") and her children can be very strong in Mikea marriages, and the renilahy will commonly adopt children that his sister's husband does not legitimize. Both the husband and the wife have the right to divorce at any time and remarry. Polygamy

2650-451: The valley of Betsiriry in the central Highlands. The vazimba antsingy ("Vazimba of the Tsingy ") lived in the caves around the limestone formations (tsingy) of Bemaraha in western Madagascar and were believed to scavenge fruit and other forest products to live. The first period of Malagasy oral history is known as the Vazimba period ( faha vazimba ), beginning with the initial population of

2703-595: The west and southwest coast of Madagascar , with the majority living in and around the spiny Mikea Forest on the southwestern coast between Morombe and Toliara , an area extending 2500 square kilometers. Historically this main concentration of Mikea may have extended as far south as the Fiherenana River and as far north as the Mangoky River ; another main cluster of Mikea live to the west and southwest of Lake Ihotry . They are typically considered

SECTION 50

#1732772157650

2756-456: Was found to have a relatively high proportion of vocabulary that cannot be identified with words in other varieties of Malagasy, substantially more than the Mikea dialect, and is more likely than Mikea to retain a Vazimba substrate, if such a thing even exists. The possibility is complicated by the extensive use of evasive language and cant by the Beosi, which is designed to hinder understanding by outsiders. Mikea people The Mikea are

2809-406: Was himself half-Vazimba through his antecedents Queen Rangita and Queen Rafohy – is credited (along with his successors, Ralambo and Andrianjaka ) with successfully forcing the Vazimba out of the Highlands and into the western part of the island. It is commonly believed that the last of the Vazimba were annihilated during the reign of Andrianjaka (1610–1630). However, dismissing

#649350