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Fihavanana
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. Malagasy culture is full of proverbs related to fihavanana: “Ny Fihavanana no taloha ny vola”, which loosely translated means “The relationship is more important than the money”. But fihavanana is more than just “relationship”. It comes from the belief that we are all one blood and that how we treat others will eventually be reflected back to us; and that we should be proactive about goodwill for the good of the world. Fihavanana is not limited to the present but can also be applied to our relationship with the spiritual world. The concept is thus similar to the Southern African ubuntu (philosophy) Ubuntu () is a Nguni Bantu term meaning "humanity". It is sometimes translated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malagasy Culture
The culture of Madagascar reflects the origins of the people Malagasy people in Southeast Asia, East Africa and Oceania. The influence of Arabs, Indians, British, French and Chinese settlers is also evident. The most emblematic instrument of Madagascar, the '' valiha'', is a bamboo tube zither carried to the island by early settlers from southern Borneo, and is very similar in form to those found in Indonesia and the Philippines today. Traditional houses in Madagascar are likewise similar to those of southern Borneo in terms of symbolism and construction, featuring a rectangular layout with a peaked roof and central support pillar. Reflecting a widespread veneration of the ancestors, tombs are culturally significant in many regions and tend to be built of more durable material, typically stone, and display more elaborate decoration than the houses of the living.Acquier (1997), pp. 143–175 The production and weaving of silk can be traced back to the island's earliest settle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malagasy Language
Malagasy (; ) is an Austronesian language and the national language of Madagascar. Malagasy is the westernmost Malayo-Polynesian language, brought to Madagascar by the settlement of Austronesian peoples from the Sunda islands around the 5th century AD. The Malagasy language is one of the Barito languages and is most closely related to the Ma'anyan language, still spoken on Borneo to this day. Malagasy also includes numerous Malay loanwords, from the time of the early Austronesian settlement and trading between Madagascar and the Sunda Islands. After c. 1000 AD, Malagasy incorporated numerous Bantu and Arabic loanwords, brought over by traders and new settlers. Malagasy is spoken by around 25 million people in Madagascar and the Comoros. Most people in Madagascar speak it as a first language, as do some people of Malagasy descent elsewhere. Malagasy is divided between two main dialect groups; Eastern and Western. The central plateau of the island, where the capital Antananari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malagasy People
The Malagasy (french: Malgache) are an Austronesian-speaking African ethnic group native to the island country of Madagascar. Traditionally, the population have been divided by subgroups (tribes or ethnicities). Examples include "Highlander" (ethnically Austronesian/Malay-Indonesian with less Bantu ancestry) groups such as the Merina and Betsileo of the central highlands around Antananarivo, Alaotra ''(Ambatondrazaka)'' and Fianarantsoa, and the "coastal dwellers" (ethnically Bantu with less Austronesian ancestry) with tribes like the Sakalava, Bara, Vezo, Betsimisaraka, Mahafaly, etc. The Merina are also further divided into two subgroups. The “Merina A” are the Hova and Andriana, and have an average of 30–40% Bantu ancestry. The second subgroup is the “Merina B”, the Andevo, who have an average of 40-50% Bantu ancestry. They make up less than 1/3 of Merina society. The Malagasy population was 2,242,000 in the first census in 1900. Their population experienc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinship
In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that the study of kinship is the study of what humans do with these basic facts of lifemating, gestation, parenthood, socialization, siblingship etc. Human society is unique, he argues, in that we are "working with the same raw material as exists in the animal world, but ecan conceptualize and categorize it to serve social ends." These social ends include the socialization of children and the formation of basic economic, political and religious groups. Kinship can refer both to the patterns of social relationships themselves, or it can refer to the study of the patterns of social relationships in one or more human cultures (i.e. kinship studies). Over its history, anthropology has developed a number of related concepts and terms in the st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Friendship
Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept of friendship is restricted to a small number of very deep relationships; in others, such as the U.S. and Canada, a person could have many friends, plus perhaps a more intense relationship with one or two people, who may be called ''good friends'' or ''best friends''. Other colloquial terms include ''besties'' or '' Best Friends Forever'' (''BFF''s). Although there are many forms of friendship, some of which may vary from place to place, certain characteristics are present in many such bonds. Such features include choosing to be with one another, enjoying time spent together, and being able to engage in a positive and supportive role to one another. Sometimes friends are distinguished from family, as in the saying "friends and family", and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Good Faith
In human interactions, good faith ( la, bona fides) is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case with ''bona fides'', which is still widely used and interchangeable with its generally-accepted modern-day English translation of ''good faith''. It is an important concept within law and business. The opposed concepts are bad faith, ''mala fides'' (duplicity) and perfidy (pretense). In contemporary English, the usage of ''bona fides'' is synonymous with credentials and identity. The phrase is sometimes used in job advertisements, and should not be confused with the ''bona fide'' occupational qualifications or the employer's good faith effort, as described below. ''Bona fides'' ''Bona fides'' is a Latin phrase meaning "good faith". Its ablative case is ''bona fide'', meaning "in good faith", which is often used as an adjective to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ubuntu (philosophy)
Ubuntu () is a Nguni Bantu term meaning "humanity". It is sometimes translated as "I am because we are" (also "I am because you are"), or "humanity towards others" ( Zulu '). In Xhosa, the latter term is used, but is often meant in a more philosophical sense to mean "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity". Different names in other Bantu languages Although the most popular name referring to the philosophy today is Ubuntu (Zulu language, South Africa), it has several other names in other Bantu languages. The name also differs by country, such as in Angola (kimuntu), Botswana (muthu), Burundi (ubuntu), Cameroon (bato), Republic of the Congo (RotC; bantu), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC; bomoto/bantu), Kenya (utu/munto/mondo), Malawi (umunthu), Mozambique (vumuntu), Namibia (omundu), Rwanda (ubuntu), South Africa (ubuntu/botho), Tanzania (utu/obuntu/bumuntu), Uganda (obuntu), Zambia (umunthu/ubuntu) and Zimbabwe (Ubuntu, unhu or hunhu). It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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