The Hova, or free commoners, were one of the three principal historical

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultur ...

s in the Merina Kingdom of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...

, alongside the

Andriana Andriana refers to both the noble class and a title of nobility in Madagascar. Historically, many Malagasy ethnic groups lived in highly stratified caste-based social orders in which the ''andriana'' were the highest strata. They were above the ...

(nobles) and Andevo (slaves). The term ''hova'' originally applied to all members of a Malagasy clan (possibly of the Zafiraminia people) that migrated into the central highlands from the southeast coast of the island around the 15th century and absorbed the existing population of

Vazimba The Vazimba (Malagasy ), according to popular belief, were the first inhabitants of Madagascar. While beliefs about the physical appearance of the Vazimba reflect regional variation, they are generally described as smaller in stature than the ave ...

Andriamanelo Andriamanelo ( ''fl.'' 1540–1575) was king of Alasora in the central highlands region of Madagascar. He is generally considered by historians to be the founder of the Kingdom of Imerina and originator of the Merina royal line that, by the ...

(1540–1575) consolidated the power of the Hova when he united many of the Hova chiefdoms around

Antananarivo Antananarivo ( French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "A ...

under his rule. The term Hova remained in use through the 20th century, though some foreigners transliterated that word to be ''Ankova'', and increasingly used since the 19th century. In and after the 16th century, slaves were brought into Madagascar's various kingdoms, and social strata emerged in Merina kingdom. The Hova emerged as the free commoners caste below the nobles hierarchy. The subset of Hova related to the king by blood came under the title ''Andriana''. The social structure of the new kingdom became further defined under his son Ralambo (1575–1612), who further subdivided the Andriana into four ranks.Raison-Jourde (1983), pp. 141–142 Ralambo was also the first to use the term ''Imerina'' (land of the Merina) to describe the land occupied by the Hova people, who thereafter gradually adopted the identity and label of ''Merina''.Kus (1995), pp. 140–154 The warriors and soldiers of the Merina society were traditionally selected from the Andriana caste, or from the nobles. However, in the 19th century when Merina conquered the other kingdoms and ruled most of the island, a much larger army was needed, and the soldiers then included the Hova caste as well. The traditional occupation of the Hova caste was managing rice and crop lands as owners and trading. The labor in the farms and other servitude was the occupation of the Andevo (slave) caste, also called the ''Mainty'' who were denied the right to own land. A Hova person could be reduced to slavery as punishment for crime or a debt in default, and in this state he would be referred to as ''Zaza-hova''. The Andriana, the Hova and the Andevo strata were endogamous in the Merina society. According to William Ellis memoir in 1838, a Hova in the Malagasy society was prohibited from marrying a noble or a slave, as well as a Zaza-hova. The exception, stated Ellis, was the unmarried Queen who could marry anyone from any strata including the Hova, and her children were deemed to be royal.

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Bibliography

* * * * {{cite EB1911 , wstitle=Hòva , volume=13 , page=829 History of Madagascar Malagasy culture Social classes Castes Malagasy words and phrases

See also

References

Bibliography