According to one of several competing origin myths of the

Merina The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, Borizany or Ambaniandro) formerly called Amboalambo are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar.

Imerina The Kingdom of Merina, also known as the Kingdom of Madagascar and officially the Kingdom of Imerina (; –1897), was a pre-colonial state off the coast of Southeast Africa that, by the 18th century, dominated most of what is now Madagascar. ...

in the central Highlands of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, Andrianerinerina is the incarnation of the son of God (''Zanahary'') from which the line of Merina rulers is said to have descended.{{cn, date=August 2020 According to the legend, the son of Zanahary descended to Earth at a location named Anerinerina (north of Angavokely) – source of the sovereign's Earthly name – to play with the

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 aver ...

(the original inhabitants of Madagascar according to Malagasy mythology). The Vazimba were specifically warned not to cook Andrianerinerina's sheep for him because he couldn't consume their flesh, but one was nonetheless butchered and cooked in a stew which was then served to him. By unwittingly eating the forbidden

mutton Lamb and mutton, collectively sheep meat (or sheepmeat) is one of the most common meats around the world, taken from the domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries'', and generally divided into lamb, from sheep in their first year, hogget, from sheep in thei ...

, Andrianerinerina was no longer able to return to the heavens to rejoin his father. As a consequence,

Zanahary Zanahary is the personified sky and supreme deity of Malagasy mythology and folklore. He (usually male, but sometimes considered genderless) is considered a creator god, having collaborated with the earth god Ratovantany to create humanity; up ...

gave the Vazimba a choice: to "untie the threads of their lives", or to accept Andrianerinerina as their lord and master. They chose to serve Andrianerinerina rather than be destroyed by Zanahary. Zanahary then sent down one of his daughters, Andriamanitra, to be a wife to Andrianerinerina, and they became the first two members of the royal line.Ottino, P. (1983). Ancient Malagasy Dynastic Succession: The Merina Example. ''History in Africa, 10'', 247–292.

References

Malagasy monarchs Malagasy mythology