♥MADAGASIKARA♥
Sorabe, or Sora-be, is an alphabet based on Arabic used to transcribe the Malagasy language (belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian language family) and the Antemoro Malagasy dialect in particular dating from the 17th century. Researchers are still hypothesizing about the origins of this transcription system. "Sorabe" means literally "large writings" from Arabic "sura" (writing) and Malagasy "be" (large). This denomination might point to the existence of a previous writing system with smaller characters of Sanskrit origin used in South East Asia as it is evidenced in some Malagasy words. Traditionally, a large number of researchers have speculated about the fact that this writing system was introduced through commercial contacts of Malagasy with Muslims. However, more studies claim that this writing scheme might have been possibly introduced by Javanese Malagasy ancestors. There are striking similarities between "Sorabe" and "Pegon" writings (the Javanese version of Arabic script).What is the Sorabe alphabet in association with the Malagasy language?
From the 15th century to 1823, Malagasy was written with the Arabic Ajami script or Sorabe.
The only Malagasy with a written language are the Antaimoro tribe of the south-east, keepers of the Sorabe. The languague was used to transcribe the Malagasy language and the Antaimoro Malagasy dialect. Researchers are still hypothesizing about the origins of this transcription system. "Sorabe" means literally "large writings" from Arabic "sura" (writing) and Malagasy "be" (large). This designation might point to the existence of a previous writing system with smaller characters of Sanskrit origin used in South East Asia as it is evidenced in some Malagasy words.
Researchers have speculated that this writing system was introduced through commercial contacts of Malagasy with Muslims or it might have been possibly introduced by Javanese Malagasy ancestors. There are striking similarities between "Sorabe" and "Pegon" writings (the Javanese version of Arabic script).
A couple hundred old manuscripts have survived to this day, though the oldest may have been written no earlier than the 17th century. Those "Sorabe" are bound in leather and the texts are named after the colour of the skin. Most of the texts contain magical formulas, but there are also some historical texts concerning the origin of some of the tribes of the south east of Madagascar, tracing them to Mecca or the Prophet Mohammed, even though the practice of Islam is nowhere seen in the texts.
Sorabe eventually spread across the island beginning in the 17th century and the Merina king Andrianampoinimerina called for Antemoro scribes to teach the children of his court to read and write. This is how the future king Radama I could read and write from his childhood.
The only Malagasy with a written language are the Antaimoro tribe of the south-east, keepers of the Sorabe. The languague was used to transcribe the Malagasy language and the Antaimoro Malagasy dialect. Researchers are still hypothesizing about the origins of this transcription system. "Sorabe" means literally "large writings" from Arabic "sura" (writing) and Malagasy "be" (large). This designation might point to the existence of a previous writing system with smaller characters of Sanskrit origin used in South East Asia as it is evidenced in some Malagasy words.
Researchers have speculated that this writing system was introduced through commercial contacts of Malagasy with Muslims or it might have been possibly introduced by Javanese Malagasy ancestors. There are striking similarities between "Sorabe" and "Pegon" writings (the Javanese version of Arabic script).
A couple hundred old manuscripts have survived to this day, though the oldest may have been written no earlier than the 17th century. Those "Sorabe" are bound in leather and the texts are named after the colour of the skin. Most of the texts contain magical formulas, but there are also some historical texts concerning the origin of some of the tribes of the south east of Madagascar, tracing them to Mecca or the Prophet Mohammed, even though the practice of Islam is nowhere seen in the texts.
Sorabe eventually spread across the island beginning in the 17th century and the Merina king Andrianampoinimerina called for Antemoro scribes to teach the children of his court to read and write. This is how the future king Radama I could read and write from his childhood.
The Malagasy have a pre-colonial writing system which is an adapted form of the Arabic script. The writing system is called Sorabe, which derives from soratra ‘writing’ and be ‘big’. The name Sorabe and some of the adaptations in its system indicate that the concept of writing, and possibly also the actual writing system of the Malagasy, were introduced by Southeast Asians, and probably Javanese. One rather idiosyncratic adaptation is also found in Pegon, the Javanese version of the Arabic script. Sorabe uses Arabic dāl and ta respectively, both with a subscript dot, for d and t: these are the same symbols as used in Pegon for the Javanese retroflex ḍ and ṭ respectively. Javanese speakers make a contrast between a dental series d and t and a retroflex series ḍ and ṭ, and they perceive the alveolar consonants from other languages as retroflex consonants. Their perception of alveolars in foreign languages as retroflexes may have induced them to interpret Malagasy d and t as retroflexes, and to write these retroflexes as dal and ta but with a subscript dot, as in the Pegon script. This practice was taken over by the Malagasy, if it can be assumed that they learnt the Arabic script from the Javanese.
If they did, this probably happened during continued contacts after the period of migration. There is some lexical evidence that the Malagasy were still in contact with Malays or Javanese after the latter came under the influence of Islam. Compare the Antaimoro Malagasy sombidy ‘to slaughter’. This term derives from Malay “səmbəleh” or “səmbəlih” ‘slaughter according to Muslim ritual’, which in turn derives from Arabic b’ismi’llahi [bεsmεlæh] ‘in the Name of God’, an utterance made at slaughtering an animal according to Muslim law.
If they did, this probably happened during continued contacts after the period of migration. There is some lexical evidence that the Malagasy were still in contact with Malays or Javanese after the latter came under the influence of Islam. Compare the Antaimoro Malagasy sombidy ‘to slaughter’. This term derives from Malay “səmbəleh” or “səmbəlih” ‘slaughter according to Muslim ritual’, which in turn derives from Arabic b’ismi’llahi [bεsmεlæh] ‘in the Name of God’, an utterance made at slaughtering an animal according to Muslim law.
HISTORY
The history of Madagascar is distinguished by the early isolation of the landmass from the ancient super-continents containing Africa and India, and by the island's late colonization by human settlers arriving in outrigger canoes from Borneo between 200 BCE and 500 CE. These two factors facilitated the evolution and survival of thousands of endemic plant and animal species, some of which have gone extinct or are currently threatened with extinction due to the pressures of a growing human population. Over the past two thousand years the island has received waves of settlers of diverse origins including Austronesian, East African, Arab, South Asian, Chinese and European populations. Austronesian and East African populations have predominated in the peopling of Madagascar, however, and today the average Malagasy person's genetic makeup reflects an equal blend of these two origins. Other populations often intermixed with the existent population to a more limited degree or have sought to preserve a separate community from the majority Malagasy.By the European Middle Ages, over a dozen predominant ethic identities had emerged on the island, typified by rule under a local chieftain. Among some communities, such as the Sakalava, Merina the Betsimisaraka, leaders seized the opportunity to unite these disparate communities and establish true kingdoms under their rule. These kingdoms increased their wealth and power through exchanges with European, Arab and other seafaring traders, whether they were legitimate vessels or pirates. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, pirate activity in the coastal areas of Madagascar was common and the celebrated free pirate colony of Libertatia was established on Saint Mary's Island, originally populated by local Malagasy. The Sakalava and Merina kingdoms in particular exploited European trade to strengthen the power of their kingdoms, trading Malagasy slaves in exchange for European firearms and other goods. By the turn of the 19th century, the highly populous Kingdom of Imerina, located in the central highlands with its capital at Antananarivo, began to exert its authority over the island's other polities and populations. A series of Merina monarchs ruled over the Kingdom of Madagascar throughout the 19th century and engaged in the process of modernization through close diplomatic ties to Britain that led to the establishment of European-style schools, government institutions and infrastructure.
From the 17th century through to the Scramble for Africa, the British and French colonial empires competed for influence in Madagascar. After a brief de facto protectorate period beginning in 1885 the island became a full formal French protectorate in 1890, then a colony in 1896, and gained full independence from France in 1960 in the wake of decolonization. Under the leadership of President Philibert Tsiranana, Madagascar's First Republic (1960-1972) was established as a democratic system modeled on that of France. This period was characterized by continued economic and cultural dependence upon France, provoking resentment and sparking popular movements among farmers and students that ultimately ushered in the socialist Second Republic under Admiral Didier Ratsiraka (1975-1992) distinguished by economic isolationism and political alliances with pro-Soviet states. As Madagascar's economy quickly unraveled, standards of living declined dramatically and growing social unrest was increasingly met with violent repression on the part of the Ratsiraka government. Tension over popular dissatisfaction with Ratsiraka's rule was brought to a head when presidential guards were ordered to open fire on unarmed pro-democracy protesters in 1989. By 1992, free and fair multiparty elections were held, ushering in the democratic Third Republic (1992-2009). Under the new constitution, the Malagasy public elected President Albert Zafy, President Didier Ratsiraka, and most recently President Marc Ravalomanana. This latter was ousted in March 2009 by a popular movement under the leadership of Andry Rajoelina, then-mayor of Antananarivo, in what has been widely characterized as a “coup d'etat”. Rajoelina has since ushered in a Fourth Republic and rules Madagascar as the President of the High Transitional Authority without recognition from the international community.
some clan from Madagascar
MERINA
The Merina are an ethnic group from Madagascar. The Merina are concentrated in the Highlands and speak the official dialect of the Malagasy language, which is a branch of the Malayo-polynesian language group derived from the Barito languages, spoken in southern Borneo. Their ancestors, the Austronesians, migrated from Borneo in the Malay archipelago around 1 BC. Today, the Austronesian features of the Merina are still quite visible. The Merina cultivate rice, cassava, potatoes, onions, and other crops and raise cattle and pigs. They constitute a large proportion of the educated middle-class and intellectual elite of Madagascar, serving as businessmen, technicians, managers, and government officials.
Beginning in the late 18th century, Merina sovereigns extended political domination over the rest of the island, ultimately uniting it under their rule. In 1895-96 the French colonized Madagascar and abolished the Merina monarchy by force in 1897.
BETSILEO
The Betsileo are a highland ethnic group of Madagascar, the third largest in terms of population, numbering around 1.5 million and making up about 12.1 percent of the population. Their name means "The Many Invincible Ones" which they chose for themselves after the failed invasion of Ramitraho King of the Menabe kingdom in the early 19th century. 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.
BARA
The Bara people are a Malagasy ethnic group living in the southern part of the central plateaus of Madagascar, in the Toliara Province, especially in the Ihosy-Betroka area. They are estimated to account for 3% of the overall malagasy population. Along with Sakalava, Bara are one of the two malagasy ethnic groups of clear bantu descent. They speak Bara Malagasy, 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.
TSIMIHETY
The Tsimihety are a Malagasy ethnic group located near the north-central coast of Madagascar. Their name means "those who do not cut their hair," in reference to their refusal to adhere to the customs imposed by the rule of Merina King Radama I., numbering around one million (approx. 989,000 or 1.200.000) in population.
Tsimihety society and economy, as in much of Madagascar, is agricultural in focus. The Tsimihety 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. Their particular dialect has Arabic and French elements as well.
According to anthropologist David Graeber, the Tsimihety exist almost entirely independently of the contemporary Madagascar nation-state, maintaining their own extremely egalitarian, non-hierarchical society. Their history of autonomy extends all the way back to the Maroansetra dynasty in the sixteenth century, up through French colonial rule and today.
ANTAMBAHOAKA
The Antambahoaka are the least numerous ethnic group in Madagascar. They inhabit a small region along the southeastern coast of Madagascar near Mananjary and share their origins with the partially Arab Antaimoro people.
GEOGRAPHY
Madagascar is an island in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of southern Africa, east of Mozambique. It is the fourth largest island in the world. The highest point is Maromokotro, in the Tsaratanana Massif region in the north of the island, at 2,876 metres (9,436 ft). The capital Antananarivo is in the Hauts Plateaux near the centre of the island. It has a total area of 587,040 square kilometres (226,660 sq mi) with 581,540 square kilometres (224,530 sq mi) of land and 5,500 square kilometres (2,100 sq mi) of water.
Madagascar originated as part of the Gondwana supercontinent. Its west coast was formed when Africa broke off from Gondwana around 165 million years ago. Madagascar eventually broke off from India about 65 million years ago.
East coast
The east coast consists of a narrow band of lowlands about one kilometer wide, formed from the sedimentation of alluvial soils, and an intermediate zone composed of steep bluffs alternating with ravines bordering an escarpment of about 500 metres (1,640 ft) in elevation, which gives access to the central highlands. The coastal region extends roughly from north of Baie d'Antongil, the most prominent feature on the east coast of the island formed by the Masoala Peninsula, to the far north of the island. The coastline is straight, with the exception of a bay, offering less in the way of natural harbors than the west coast. The Canal des Pangalanes (Lakandranon' Ampalangalana), an 800-kilometre (497 mi)-long lagoon formed naturally by the washing of sand up on the island by the Indian Ocean currents and by the silting of rivers, is a feature of the coast; it has been used both as a means of transportation up and down the coast and as a fishing area. The beach slopes steeply into deep water. The east coast is considered dangerous for swimmers and sailors because of the large number of sharks that frequent the shoreline.
Central highlands
Village in the central highlands.
The central highlands, which range from 800 to 1,800 m (2,625 to 5,906 ft) in altitude, contain a wide variety of topographies: rounded and eroded hills, massive granite outcrops, extinct volcanoes, eroded peneplains, and alluvial plains and marshes, which have been converted into irrigated rice fields. The central highlands extend from the Tsaratanana Massif in the north to the Ivakoany Massif in the south. They are defined rather clearly by the escarpments along the east coast, and they slope gently to the west coast. The central highlands include the Anjafy High Plateaux; the volcanic formations of Itasy (Lake Itasy is in a volcanic crater) and the Ankaratra Massif, reaching a height of 2,643 m (8,671 ft). The Isalo Roiniforme Massif lies between the central highlands and the west coast.
Antananarivo, the national capital, is located in the northern portion of the central highlands at 1,276 m (4,186 ft) above sea level. A prominent feature of the central highlands is a rift valley running north to south, located east of Antananarivo and including Lac Alaotra, the largest body of water on the island, having a length of 40 km (25 mi). The lake is located 761 m (2,497 ft) above sea level and is bordered by two cliffs, rising 701 m (2,300 ft) to the west and 488 m (1,601 ft) to the east, which form the walls of a valley. This region has experienced geological subsidence, and earth tremors are frequent.
West coast
The west coast, composed of sedimentary formations, is more indented than the east coast, thus offering a number of harbors sheltered from cyclones, such as the harbor at Mahajanga. Deep bays and well-protected harbors have attracted explorers, traders, and pirates from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East since ancient times; thus, the area has served as an important bridge between Madagascar and the outside world. Silting up of harbors on this coast, caused by sediment from the high levels of erosion suffered inland in Madagascar, is a major problem. The broad alluvial plains found on the coast between Mahajanga (Majunga) and Toliara (Tuléar), which are believed to have great agricultural potential, are thinly inhabited, in many places covered with swamps of Madagascar mangroves, and remain largely unexplored, although they are the subject of mineral and hydrocarbon exploration activity. The giant oil fields of Tsimiroro (heavy oil) and Bemolanga (ultra heavy oil) lie towards the west of the island.
ISALO
Isalo National Park is a National Park in the Ihorombe Region of Madagascar. The park is known for its wide variety of terrain, including sandstone formations, deep canyons, palm-lined oases, and grassland. The closest town is Ranohira, and the closest city is Toliara. A local guide is required for visitors entering the park, and guides and porters can be hired in Ranohira. Treks in the park can last from several hours to a week or longer.The main threat to this park comes from illegal wildfires set in the park. The wildfires limit the extent of forest and maximize grasslands used by cattle.
The Tsingy are karstic plateaus in which groundwater has undercut the elevated uplands, and has gouged caverns and fissures into the limestone. Because of local conditions, the erosion is patterned vertically as well as horizontally. In several regions on western Madagascar, centering on this National Park and adjacent Nature Reserve, the superposition of vertical and horizontal erosion patterns has created dramatic "forests" of limestone needles.
The word tsingy is indigenous to the Malagasy language as a description of the karst badlands of Madagascar. The word can be translated into English as where one cannot walk barefoot.
NB: The 80 percent of this text are take in the Wikipedia
