BELON'I TSIRIBIHINA, MADAGASCAR

The history of Madagascar is completely unlike the rest of Africa.  First settled approximately 2000 years ago by sailors from Indonesia, Madagascar has had subsequent waves of immigration that are visible in everything from language to food to hairstyles to this very day.  Eventual waves of people from the Arabian Peninsula, Southern Africa, the Horn of Africa, and finally Europe brought their culture with them, resulting in a geographically segmented society of an entirely new people, the Malagasy.  The Malagasy language still reflects these influxes of people, with the word for people being based on the self-styled name of  their Proto-Malayo-Polynesian ancestor "boat people", while the word for hello is based on the Arabic "Salaam."

Much of Malagasy life is dictated by a strong belief in the importance of fady, or taboos, coupled with a common religious heritage of ancestor worship.  This shows itself in a wide variety of places, from the importance of not pointing at some rocky outcroppings in Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, where the peaks are the literal embodiment of ancestors, to the proscription of both live pigs and pork from the former home of the Prime Minister.  These beliefs are often integrated with Christianity or Islam, and blend to create what are in many ways religions unique to the island.

The people of Madagascar are incredibly unique, as much a product of the island's isolated geography and distinctive history as the famous baobabs and lemurs they celebrate.  While nearly all of the foreign interest in the country stems from a desire to see endemic species, it would be a mistake to visit without learning about and appreciating the special history and culture of the amazing people of Madagascar.