Culture of Madagascar

national anthem of Madagascar

thumbFamadihana is a funerary tradition of the Malagasy peoples of Madagascar. During this ceremony, known as the turning of the bones, people bring forth the bodies of their ancestors from the family crypts, rewrap the corpses in fresh cloth, and rewrite their names on the cloth so they will always be remembered. Then they dance to live music while carrying the corpses over their heads and go around the tomb before returning the corpses to the family tomb. They believe in celebrating the life lived by the dead person.

historic caste in the pre-colonial Imerina Kingdom of Madagascar

mechanical machine for igniting tinder by adiabatic compression

garment

thumb|Moraingy is a traditional martial art of Madagascar.

Hiragasy or hira gasy (hira: song; gasy: Malagasy) is a musical tradition in Madagascar, particularly among the Merina ethnic group of the Highland regions around the capital of Antananarivo. It is a day-long spectacle of music, dance, and kabary oratory performed by a troupe (typically related by blood or marriage and of rural origin) or as a competition between two troupes.

filmmaking in Madagascar

wide range of cultural prohibitions

overview of the architecture of Madagascar

Hills in Madagascar

pattern of human activity and symbolism associated with Madagascar and its people

thumb|Three antique aloalo The aloalo is a funerary pole sculpture that, along with the skulls of slaughtered zebu, is placed on the tombs of important people in the south-western region of Madagascar. Originally, aloalos were only available for wealthy individuals, but later the wealthy could purchase them. The memorial may help the deceased to join the community of ancestors, since the word alo means 'intermediary' or 'messenger' in Malagasy. These carved posts often tell the story of the person's life and generally take the form of a series of geometric or symbolic shapes topped by sculpted

The Fandroana, termed the Royal Bath by 19th century European historians, is the annual New Year's festival of the Merina people inhabiting the highlands of central Madagascar. The origins of the festival are preserved through oral history. According to folk legend, the wild zebu cattle that roamed the Highlands were first domesticated for food in Imerina under the reign of Ralambo. Different legends attribute the discovery that zebu were edible to the king's servant or to Ralambo himself. Ralambo is credited with founding the traditional ceremony of the fandroana to celebrate this discovery,

Concept of sanctity and imbued authority in Malagasy culture

thumb|A Malagasy woman wearing protective masonjoany and head-carrying laundry thumb|A Malagasy girl in Nosy Be wearing ornamental masonjoany Masonjoany () (or msindanu or msindzano in Comoros and Mayotte) is a cosmetic paste and sunscreen made of ground wood. It is worn as a protective and decorative mask by women and girls in Madagascar, Comoros, and Mayotte. In Madagascar, the paste has yellow and white forms, with yellow masonjoany being derived from the wood of the tabàky or Madagascar sandalwood (Coptosperma madagascarensis), and white masonjoany deriving from the wood of the aviavy or f