The
bard of Malagasy literature, Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, is also Africa’s
first modern poet. Born in a poor family, he grew up to master African
and French surreal poetry. He was declared the National Poet of Madagascar
in 1960.
Hainteny, translated as “knowledge of words,” is a Malagasy
oral tradition, and is quite different from anything you have heard
before. It heavily uses metaphors, folktales, fables, riddles and
historical poems to convey simple messages.
Both men and women wear the same clothing in Madagascar, lamba. There
are lambas for marriages, lambas for work, lambas for elders, lambas
for children and even the dead are wrapped in a special kind of lamba
before burial. Madagascar is a great place to open a lamba shop
In a ceremony
called Famadihana, the dead remains of an ancestor are first literally
dug out and placed on the field. Then, the family members dance around
the skeleton and engage in funny social debates, or “Kabari.”
The dead ancestor then goes back inside the earth again, happy and
wrapped in a new lamba.
The lemur may look like a monkey tripping on cocaine, but it is actually
a sacred animal in Madagascar, deeply revered and worshipped by the
Malagasy people. To them, lemurs carry the souls of their ancestors
A special species of Baobab, known as the Mother of the forest, Adansonia
grandidieri, is only found in Madagascar. The striking landscape of
The Avenue of the Baobabs has become a cultural identity of not only
Madagascar, but also of Africa.
Music is not viewed as a luxury, but a sacred part of the Malagasy
daily life.
World
Heritage Sites
Tsingy
de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve
Royal
Hill of Ambohimanga
Rainforests
of the Atsinanana
|
