Antefasy
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (c. 150,000) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Madagascar | |
| Languages | |
| Malagasy | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Malagasy groups, Austronesian peoples |
The Antaifasy are an ethnic group of Madagascar inhabiting the southeast coastal region around Farafangana. Historically a fishing and farming people, the Antaifasy were heavily conscripted into forced labor (fanampoana) and brought to Antananarivo as slaves under the 19th century authority of the Kingdom of Imerina. Antaifasy society was historically divided into three groups, each ruled by a king and strongly concentrated around the constraints of traditional moral codes. Approximately 150,000 Antaifasy inhabit Madagascar as of 2013.
The origins of the Antaifasy are uncertain. Beginning in the 1680s, the Antaifasy entered into a conflict with the neighboring Antaimoro people. Skirmishes between the clans continued through the 18th century without either clan ever clearly achieving victory over the other. For a short time, the Antaifasy were dominated by the Antaimoro, but were liberated by an Antaifasy king named Maseba. During the 18th century the Antaifasy engaged in coastal trade. Ifara became the most important king during this period by monopolizing trade with European ships, becoming powerful enough to be seen as having control over all trade and travel on the Manampatra river.
In 1827, the Antaifasy kingdom was invaded by the Merina army and made a vassal state of the Kingdom of Imerina in the central highlands. Following years of Antaifasy resistance to Merina rule, Rainivoninahitriniony, later Prime Minister of Madagascar, led another military campaign in 1852 to strengthen Merina authority over the area. During this campaign the Antaifasy fled to an island called Anosinandriamba where they believed they would be safe, but the Merina army crafted rafts out of bamboo to cross the sea and captured the Antaifasy by surprise. In the Merina military conquests between 1820 and 1853, captured Antaifasy men were typically killed, but women and children were often taken as slaves back to Imerina. Over a million slaves were captured during this time, with the majority from the Antaifasy, Antaisaka, Antanosy and Betsileo ethnic groups.
The Antaifasy remained resistant to Merina domination and were never fully subjugated. In an effort to weaken them, the Merina provided support to the Zafisoro, a people who the Antaifasy had previously ruled. Despite French colonization in 1896 and the collapse of the Merina monarchy in 1897, animosity between the two groups has remained and occasionally flared up into violent conflict, as occurred in 1922, 1936 and 1990, resulting in dozens of deaths. During the Malagasy Uprising of 1947, the Malagasy leaders of the resistance movement against French rule (some of whom were aligned with Merina interests) took advantage of the unstable political context to act on old grudges by instigating the Zafisoro to attack the Antaifasy. Since 1990, this has manifested in competition for control of disputed territory, the most significant being in Vangaindrano prefecture.
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Wikipedia