Merina People
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The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, Borizany or Ambaniandro) formerly called Amboalambo are the largest ethnic group in
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 ...
.Merina
people
Ethnic Groups of Madagascar
Encyclopædia Britannica
They are the "highlander" Malagasy ethnic group of the African island and one of the country's eighteen official ethnic groups. Their origins are mixed, predominantly with Austronesians arriving before the 6th century AD with Bantu Africans resulting in a core population known as
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 ...
, later by large number of Neo-Austronesians and a minority of Arabs, Indians and Europeans. They speak the Merina dialect of the official Malagasy language of Madagascar. The Merina people are most found in the center of the island (former Antananarivo Province). Beginning in the late 18th century, Merina sovereigns expanded the political region under their control from their interior capital outwards into the island, with their king Radama I ultimately helping unite the island under their rule. The French fought two wars with the Merina people in 1883–1885 and in 1895, colonized Madagascar in 1895–96 and abolished the Merina monarchy in 1897. They built innovative and elaborate irrigation infrastructure and highly productive rice farms in high plateaus of Madagascar by the 18th century. The Merina people were socially stratified with hierarchical
caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
s, inherited occupations and
endogamy Endogamy is the cultural practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting any from outside of the group or belief structure as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relatio ...
, and one or two of the major and long serving monarchs of the Merina people were queens.


History

Austronesian people started settling in Madagascar between 200 and 500 BC. They arrived by boats and were from various southeast Asian and
Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
n groups. Later Swahili-Arabs and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n traders came to the island's northern regions. African slaves were brought to the island's coasts between the 13th and the 18th centuries. The Portuguese traders were the first Europeans to arrive in the 15th century, followed by other European powers. This influx of diverse people led to various Malagasy sub-ethnicities in the mid-2nd millennium. The Merina were probably the early arrivals, though this is uncertain and other ethnic groups on Madagascar consider them relative newcomers to the island. The Merina people's culture likely mixed and merged with the Madagascar natives named ''Vazimba'' about whom little is known. According to the island's oral traditions, the "most Austronesian looking" Merina people reached the interior of the island in the 15th century and established their society there because of wars and migrant pressure at the coast. Merina people were settled in the central Madagascar, formed one of the three major kingdoms on the island by the 18th century – the other two being Sakalava kingdom on the west-northwest and Betsimisaraka kingdom on the east-northeast. These early Merina settlers through their industriousness and innovative abilities built vast irrigation projects that helped drain the plateau marshes, irrigate arable lands, and grow rice two times every year. They emerged as the politically dominant group and a wealthy kingdom towards the close of the 18th century. The capital of their kingdom remains the capital of contemporary Madagascar. Oral history traces the emergence of a united kingdom in the central highlands of Madagascar – a region called Imerina – back to early 16th-century king Andriamanelo. Before Andrianampoinimerina, Merina was subject to slave raiding by neighbor Sakalava and Bezanozano and the 18th century merina civil wars supplied the mascarene and arabic slave market of mainly individuals from the merina group. By 1824, a succession of Merina kings had conquered nearly all of Madagascar, particularly through the military strategy, ambitious treaties and political policies of Andrianampoinimerina (circa 1785–1810) and his son Radama I (1792–1828). The colonial British empire recognized the sovereignty of the Merina kingdom and its control of the Madagascar island in 1817. Radama I welcomed European traders and allowed Christian missionaries to establish missions on Madagascar. After him, the Merina people were ruled by Queen Ranavalona I ruled from 1828 to 1861, Queen Rasoherina from 1863 to 1868, and Queen
Ranavalona II Ranavalona II (1829 – 13 July 1883) was Queen of Madagascar from 1868 to 1883, succeeding Queen Rasoherina, her first cousin. She is best remembered for Christianizing the royal court during her reign. Early life Ranavalona II was born Pri ...
ruled from 1868 to 1885. The Swahili Arab traders expanded their opportunities to trade and European colonial powers such as the French trader Joseph-François Lambert signed a disputed lease with King Radama II for plantation lands for sugarcane cultivation and industries along the Madagascar coastal plains. The Merina people called the Malagasy living along the coasts as ''Cotier''. These operations and plantations were worked by the forced labor of imported slaves. The largest influx of slaves was brought in by the 'Umani
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
s and the French. The Makua people from
Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
were one of the major victims of this demand, slave capture and export that attempted to satisfy this demand. The slavery was abolished by the French administration in 1896, which adversely impacted the fortunes of Merina and non-Merina operated slave-run plantations. The dominance of the Merina kingdom over all of Madagascar came to an end with the first Franco-Hova War of 1883 to 1885, triggered by the disputed lease signed by Radama II. At the war's end, Madagascar ceded
Antsiranana Antsiranana ( ), named Diego-Suarez prior to 1975, is a city in the far north of Madagascar. Antsiranana is the capital of Diana Region. It had an estimated population of 115,015 in 2013. History At the beginning of the 16th century, a Portugue ...
(Diégo Suarez) on the northern coast to France and paid 560,000 gold francs to the heirs of Joseph-François Lambert, a Frenchman who had been promised lucrative trade privileges under King Radama II that had later been revoked. The French declared Madagascar as a protectorate in 1894, which the then Merina Queen refused to sign to. The Second Franco-Hova War followed in 1895, when the French military landed in Mahajanga (Majunga) and marched by way of the Betsiboka River to the capital,
Antananarivo Antananarivo (Malagasy language, Malagasy: ; French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known ...
, taking the city's defenders by surprise. In 1896, the French annexed
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 ...
, and in 1897 the Merina people became the residents of the colony of
French Madagascar The Colony of Madagascar and Dependencies () was a French colony off the coast of Southeast Africa between 1897 and 1958 in what is now Madagascar. The colony was formerly a protectorate of France known as Malagasy Protectorate. The protecto ...
. In early 20th century, the Merina people led an anti-French nationalist movement. The group, based in Antananarivo, was led by a Malagasy Protestant clergyman, Pastor Ravelojoana. A secret society dedicated to affirming Malagasy cultural identity was formed in 1913, calling itself Iron and Stone Network (in local language, Vy Vato Sakelika – VVS). Repressed at first with numerous arrests over 1915 and 1916, the movement re-emerged in the 1920s through communists who gained concessions by partnering with the French Left in France. A famine in 1943–44 led to an open rebellion in Madagascar. The 1946 constitution of the French Fourth Republic made Madagascar a ''territoire d'outre-mer'' (overseas territory) within the French Union. Madagascar gained full independence in 1958 as the
Malagasy Republic The Malagasy Republic (, ) was a state situated in Southeast Africa on the island of Madagascar. It was established in 1958 as an autonomous republic within the newly created French Community, became fully independent in 1960, and existed un ...
. The Merina people faced competition from other ethnic groups. The first president of the Republic,
Philibert Tsiranana Philibert Tsiranana (18 October 1912 – 16 April 1978) was a Malagasy politician and leader who served as the seventh prime minister of Madagascar from 1958 to 1959, and then later the first president of Madagascar from 1959 to 1972. Duri ...
, was a coastal Malagasy of Tsimihety ethnicity, and he was able to consolidate his power with a winner-takes-all system, while the Merina nationalists of the
Congress Party for the Independence of Madagascar A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
was weakened by rifts between leftist and ultranationalist factions. The Merina form much of the elite and educated middle-class of Madagascar. They are influential in the economy, universities and government organizations of Madagascar.


Language

The Merina 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 ...
, also called Hova, Malagasy Plateau or just Malagasy, is spoken natively by about a quarter of the population of Madagascar; it is classified as Plateau Malagasy alongside the Betsileo, Bezanozano, Sihanaka, Vakinankaritra, and southeastern dialects excluding the Antesaka dialect.Malagasy, Plateau
Ethnologue
Hova is one of two official languages alongside French in the 2010 constitution putting in place the Fourth Republic. Previously, under the 2007 constitution, Malagasy was one of three official languages alongside French and English. Merina is the national language of Madagascar. An estimated 7.5 million people were fluent in this language in 2011, according to Ethnologue. It is written in Latin script, introduced by Christian missionaries. Merina is the language of instruction in all public schools through grade five for all subjects, and its use is optional for the subjects of history-geography, Philosophy and Malagasy language for the baccalaureate degree in high school.


Religion

King Radama I welcomed Christian missionaries to establish missions on Madagascar in the 1810s. The Merina nobles were among the first to convert to Christianity. The London Missionary Society established numerous missions along the coast of Madagascar in the 1820s. Those who converted were offered scholarships in London and apprenticeship in Manchester. Due to the influence of British missionaries, the Merina upper classes converted to Protestantism entirely in the mid-19th century, following the example of their queen, Ranavalona II. The early spread of Protestantism among the Merina elite resulted in a degree of class and ethnic differentiation among practitioners of Christianity. The French preferred Catholic interpreters and the former slaves of the Merina people converted to Catholicism. The ruling and noble class, however was Protestant. The nobility attempted to intervene, by expelling certain Christian missions. This dynamic ultimately created religious sect divisions in contemporary demographics.


Society and culture


Social stratification

Among all the Malagasy ethnicities, the Merina historically have had a highly stratified
caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
system. The overall society, like many ethnic groups in Africa, had two categories of people, the free locally called the ''fotsy'' who had ancestors with Asian Malagasy physiognomy, and the serfs or ''mainty'' with African physiognomy whose ancestors are mix of Mozambican slaves (Makoa, Masombika), pre-conquest merina slaves and slaves captured in other parts of Madagascar mostly during Ranavalona I's reign. However, the fotsy-mainty dichotomy among Merina is not based on physiognomy, states Karen Middleton, but whether they have a family tomb: ''fotsy'' have family tomb, ''mainty'' are those without one or those who have established a recent tomb. The Merina people were divided into three strata: the '' Andriana'' (nobles), the '' Hova'' (freemen), and the lowest strata called '' Andevo'' (slaves)., Quote: "Historically, Merina had the most stratified caste system in Africa (...)" Each strata had been then hierarchically subdivided. The ''Andriana'' are divided into six sub-strata, each had an inherited occupation, and were endogamous. The nineteenth century records show that ''Andevo'' or slaves were imported blacks, and they constituted about a third of the Merina society. The Merina society sold highland slaves to both Muslim and European slave traders on Madagascar coast, as well as bought East African and southeast African slaves from them for their own plantations between 1795 and 1895. Marriage and any sexual relations between the ''fotsy'' and ''mainty'' were a taboo. According to a 2012 report by Gulnara Shahinian, the United Nation's Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, the descendants of former slave castes continue to suffer in contemporary Madagascar Merina society, and inter-caste marriages socially ostracized.Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Gulnara Shahinian (December 2012), A/HRC/24/43/Add.2, United Nations General Assembly, Twenty-fourth session, pages 3-4, 16


Ritual and folklore

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 ...
'' feature prominently in Merina oral history and popular imagination. It has been speculated that the Vazimba were the original population of Madagascar, descended from Southeast Asian seafarers who may have had
pygmy In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a po ...
physical characteristics. Among some Malagasy, the Vazimba are not believed to be human at all, but rather a form of supernatural creature possessing magical powers (''mahery''). In the first seven years of their lives, boys are typically circumcised in a ritual wherein relatives request the blessings and protection of the ancestors. The Merina people also ritually kill their cattle with unusual violence, cook and consume beef prepared thereafter ceremoniously. The Merina believe their land to be ''tanin'drazana'' (the land of the ancestors) and show reverence to their ancestors by burying them in family tombs typically located in the ancestral village of origin. Many believe that ancestors can intervene in events on Earth, for good or for ill, and this belief shapes the actions and thoughts of many Malagasy.


Cuisine

The cuisine of the Merina is so heavily dominated by rice that the term for eating a meal is simply "to eat rice". This staple of the diet is so central to the Merina that it is considered to be ''masina'', or holy, and a common Merina belief holds that the eating of rice is the key to moral behaviour, and the French who occupied Merina lands were often looked down upon for eating bread over rice.Bloch, M. (1985). Almost Eating the Ancestors. ''Man, 20''(4), 631–646. Beef also plays a large part in the Merina diet, and according to Merina oral history, it was a servant of King Ralambo who discovered that cows were edible and shared this knowledge with the king, who in turn informed the rest of his kingdom.


Livelihoods

Rice, cassava and potatoes are staple crops of the Merina people. They also grow onions and other supplements, while cattle, pigs and animal husbandry is also a significant occupation. Many Merina people have moved into urban areas, where they operate factories and run businesses.


See also

*
Malagasy people The Malagasy ( or ) 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 ...
* Merina Kingdom


Notes


Bibliography

* *


External links


The Merina nation
{{Authority control Ethnic groups in Madagascar