Antaisaka people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (c. 600,000) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Madagascar | |
| Languages | |
| Malagasy | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Malagasy groups, Austronesian peoples |
The Antesaka, also known as Tesaka, or Tesaki, are an ethnic group of Madagascar traditionally concentrated south of Farafangana along the south-eastern coast. They have since spread more widely throughout the island. The Antesaka form about 5% of the population of Madagascar. They have mixed African, Arab and Malayo-Indonesian ancestry, like the western coastal Sakalava people of Madagascar from whom the clan derives. They traditionally have strong marriage taboos and complex funeral rites. The Antesaka typically cultivate coffee, bananas and rice, and those along the coast engage in fishing. A large portion of the population has emigrated to other parts of the island for work, with an estimated 40% of emigrants between 1948 and 1958 permanently settling outside the Antesaka homeland.
The group was founded by Andriamandresy, a Sakalava prince who was cast out of Menabe after engaging in violence upon being passed over in the line of succession. The Antesaka constituted one of the four largest kingdoms in pre-colonial Madagascar by the early 1700s, and a political party founded by two Antesaka brothers in the runup to independence n 1960 went on to produce several local and national leaders. As of 2013, an estimated 600,000 Malagasy identify as Antesaka.
Antesaka have mixed African, Arab and Malayo-Indonesian ancestry, and are descended from a royal branch of the coastal Sakalava people of western Madagascar.
Many Antesaka kings descended from the Zarabehava lineage, a royal Sakalava line that crossed to the east coast between 1620 and 1650. The ancestors of the Antesaka migrated from the Menabe Sakalava kingdom and arrived at Nosipandra (today called Vangaindrano) by the 1650s. According to oral history, the founder of the Antesaka clan was named Andriamandresy. He was born Repila in the village of Tsiarepioky, near Mahabo; he later changed his name to Ihazorango, and finally adopted the name Andriamandresiarivo in anticipation of being named king. When his arrogance and stubbornness led the people to support his younger brother's succession instead, Andriamandresy angrily departed and attempted to seize his uncle's rice field by force, mortally wounding him in the process. Outraged, Andriamandresy's mother exiled him from the territory, and Andraimandresy departed toward the east accompanied by warriors and slaves.
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