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Fihavanana is a Malagasy word encompassing the Malagasy concept of kinship, friendship, goodwill between beings, both physical and spiritual. The literal translation is difficult to capture, as the Malagasy culture applies the concept in unique ways. Its origin is havana, meaning kin.
The Tandroy share the common Malagasy beliefs in a creator god and the eternal life and power of the ancestors, who intervene in the affairs of the living and who must be respected. The Tandroy commune with and can be possessed by the ancestors by entering a trance state called bilo . [ 11 ]
An 892-page Malagasy–English dictionary was published by James Richardson of the London Missionary Society in 1885, available as a reprint; however, this dictionary includes archaic terminology and definitions. Whereas later works have been of lesser size, several have been updated to reflect the evolution and progress of the language ...
The Malagasy (French: Malgache or Malagasy: Gasy [1]) are a group of Austronesian-speaking ethnic groups indigenous to the island country of Madagascar, formed through generations of interaction between Austronesians originally from southern Borneo and Bantus from Southeast Africa. Traditionally, the population have been divided into sub-ethnic ...
Traditions, an 1895 bronze tympanum by Olin Levi Warner over the main entrance of the Thomas Jefferson Building at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.. A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past.
Malagasy mythology is rooted in oral history and has been transmitted by storytelling (angano, "story"), notably the Andriambahoaka epic, including the Ibonia cycle. At least 6% of Madagascar are adherents of the religion, which is known as Fomba Gasy , and surveys show it is likely at least half practice some aspects of it.
An mpisikidy practices sikidy in 1895. The practice is several centuries old, and is influenced by Arab geomantic traditions of Arab Muslim traders on the island. [1] [2] Stephen Ellis and Solofo Randrianja describe sikidy as "probably one of the oldest components of Malagasy culture", writing that it most likely the product of an indigenous divinatory art later influenced by Islamic practice. [3]
The tradition of kabary in Madagascar, which predates Merina King Andrianampoinimerina (1787–1810), nonetheless owes much of its modern form, usage and meaning to standards set at his court. Kabary is a highly stylized form of speech that has formed an important part of Malagasy culture for centuries. One who speaks kabary is known as mpikabary.