Betsileo people
Malagasy people |
The Betsileo are a highland
Territory
The Betsileo occupy the south of the Madagascar plateau. Their traditional territory extends from the north of the Mania River in the north to the foot of the Andringitra Massif in the south; to the west by the Bongolava chain and the east by the Eastern Forest, occupied by the Tanala tribe. Most of the Betsileo region lies within the boundaries of the Malagasy province of Fianarantsoa, where their capital city of the same name can be found.
Traditionally their territory and their people are divided into three major parts. The Northern Betsileo (or Fisakana) is defined by the Ivato and Manandona rivers in the north and the Sahanivotry and Mania rivers to the south. The Central Betsileo (or Manandriana) is found between the Ivato and the Matsiatra rivers. The Southern Betsileo is all the Betsileo territory to the south of the Matsiatra river (the Isandra, Lalangina, Iarindrano and Andringitra).
History
The different Betsileo kingdoms (Fandriana, Fisakana, Manandriana, Isandra, etc.) existed independently of each other with oral traditions dating back to the 17th century. They were all eventually conquered and reorganized by Radama I. A large portion of the Betsileo people were made into slaves and traded domestically or sold to European slave traders. Radama I made Fianarantsoa the administrative capital of the central and southern Betsileo people. The north was attached to Antsirabe. Thus the Betsileo as a group began in the 19th century as an administrative subdivision by the Malagasy government.[3]
Society
The Betsileo identity is closely associated with the Merina culture, since they are both highland-dwelling groups. The Betsileo social structure is determined by a very complex system of kinship. There is a close connection between family members permeating society to the level of administrative roles and jobs, as most Betsileo are obligated to join their relatives in the family occupation. There is also considerable emphasis on the role of elders as community leaders. Community elders often hold more authority than those in formal government positions.
Class affiliation
Betsileo society is influenced by a long history of slavery before its abolition during the French colonization. The Betsileo have a complex system of social organization determined through a number of stratifications. The status structure of the Betsileo is principally determined by the ancestry of an individual’s family. Status was historically split between andriana (nobles), hova (free commoners) and andevo (slaves), the latter being a highly stigmatized term for the lowest social class in contemporary Betsileo society.
Religious affiliation
Since the arrival of European missionaries in the nineteenth century, much of the Malagasy population has since been converted to
One of the most significant Betsileo ceremonies that still takes place is the
Culture
The Betsileo are, like the majority of Madagascar's population, largely a mix of Bantu African and Austronesian descent, although some sources claim that the Betsileo are primarily of Austronesian descent. However, their appearance resembles closer to Bantu populations than Austronesian. Traditionally they claim a common heritage with the
The Betsileo region of
Despite the prevalence of Christianity, the role of diviners, astrologists and
Language
The Betsileo speak a dialect of the Malagasy language, which is a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language group derived from the Barito languages, spoken in southern Borneo.
Economy
The Betsileo are known for their
Notes
- ^ Bradt & Austin 2007.
- ^ Ogot 1992.
- ^ Covell: Madagascar, Politics, Economics and Society. London: Frances Pinter, 1987. Page 12.
- ^ "Betsileo in Madagascar".
- ^ Bradt, Hilary. (2007). Death special: turning the dead. New Scientist, retrieved on January 4, 2011.
External links
Bibliography
- Bradt, Hilary; Austin, Daniel (2007). Madagascar (9th ed.). Guilford, CT: The Globe Pequot Press Inc. pp. 113–115. ISBN 978-1-84162-197-5.
- Diagram Group (2013). Encyclopedia of African Peoples. San Francisco, CA: Routledge. ISBN 9781135963415.
- Dubois, Henri (1938). Monographie des Betsileo. Paris: Institut d'Ethnologie.
- Evers, Sandra, J.T.M. (2002). Constructing history, culture and inequality. Boston: Brill.
- Kottak, Conrad P. (1980). The Past in the Present: History, Ecology and Variation in Highland Madagascar. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
- Legrip-Randriambelo, Olivia & Regnier, Denis. The place of traditional healers (ombiasa) in Betsileo medical pluralism. Health, Culture & Society 7(1): 28-37. http://hcs.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/hcs/article/view/188/219
- Ogot, Bethwell A. (1992). Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Paris: UNESCO. ISBN 9789231017117.
- Regnier, Denis (2012). Why not marry them? History, essentialism and the condition of slave descendants among the southern Betsileo. PhD thesis. London School of Economics and Political Science. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/362/
- Regnier, Denis (2015). Clean people, unclean people: the essentialisation of 'slaves' among the southern Betsileo of Madagascar. Social Anthropology 23(2): 152-168. Abstract and link to the article