Afrique Orientale-Jeunes filles Masikoro

The Masikoro are a group of farmers and herders who inhabit areas surrounding the Mikea Forest, a patch of mixed spiny forest and dry deciduous forest along the coast of southwestern Madagascar in Toliara Province. Along with

Vezo The Vezo is a Sakalava Malagasy term for ''Bajo'', the semi-nomadic maritime or sea people from Central–Eastern Indonesia (esp. Flores Sea) who settled in southern Madagascar. They speak a variety of Malagasy language, Malagasy dialect continuum, ...

and

Mikea The Mikea are 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 th ...

, the Masikoro are Sakalava people, the difference being that Masikoro are of the land, Vezo are of the sea, and Mikea are of the forest.

Ethnicity

Some 90,000 of the Masikoro people, mainly concentrated in the districts of

Toliara Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in southern Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of the national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name ...

and Morombe, speak the Masikoro-Malagasy language, a dialect of the

Malagasy language Malagasy ( ; ; Sorabe: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language and dialect continuum spoken in Madagascar. The standard variety, called Official Malagasy, is one of the official languages of Madagascar, alongside French language, F ...

. At one time there was a Masikoro kingdom with a king ruling the territory. Masikoro according to some means "Those dressed in clothing made from rushes". The Masikoro belong ethnically to the Sakalava people along with the

and the

fishermen, which trade products caught, foraged or cultivated in the forest among themselves. Some of the clan names are shared between the Masikoro and Mikea peoples.

Economy

As agropastoralists, the Masikoro typically raise cattle and cultivate

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

and

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

"semi-intensively on a 12-to 15-month schedule". Weekly markets are held in villages of the Masikoro people in which the Mikea trade their products made from the forest such as

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

, tambotrika, tavolo powder, and ovy. Masikoro sell maize, manioc and rice from carts in Belo.

Culture

Historically, Sakalava kings resided among the Masikoro, rather than the Vezo, as the Masikoro have had more power and a larger population. It was important for the king to have a reliable boat available for transport, so if a Masikoro damaged a Vezo canoe, the punishment was beheading. Masikoro have "long, curly hair; high and broad foreheads; large and deep-set eyes; and wide nostrils". The women pound maize and rise on a daily basis, which calluses the thumb base. Funerals may continue for weeks or even longer.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{authority control Ethnic groups in Madagascar Toliara Province