Culture of Mayotte

Bantu language group of the Comoro Islands

coat of arms and flag of the French overseas region/department of Mayotte

dialect of Comorian spoken in Mayotte

Malagasy language

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

demographics of region

The Chatouilleuses (English: 'Ticklers'), nicknamed the sorodas wa Maore (English:Soldiers of Mayotte) were a group of Mahoran women who used tickle torture on Comorian political leaders in the 1960s and 1970s, in order to reduce the influence of the other islands in the Comorian archipelago on Mayotte, and to keep Mayotte within the French Republic.