Mahafaly

Mahafaly

Mahafaly children
Total population
c. 150,000 (2013)
Regions with significant populations
Madagascar
Languages
Malagasy
Related ethnic groups
Other Malagasy groups; Austronesian peoples

The Mahafaly are an ethnic group of Madagascar that inhabit the plains of the Betioky-Ampanihy area. Their name means either "those who make holy" or "those who make happy", although the former is considered more likely by linguists. In 2013 there were an estimated 150,000 Mahafaly in Madagascar. The Mahafaly are believed to have arrived in Madagascar from southeastern Africa around the 12th century. They became known for the large tombs they built to honor dead chiefs and kings. Mainly involved in farming and cattle raising, they speak a dialect of the Malagasy language, which is a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language group.

This ethnic group label has been used by other Malagasy and foreigners to describe the people who traditionally inhabited the southwestern coast of Madagascar, bounded inland by the Menarandra and Onilahy rivers. The people themselves do not use this label or identify as part of a single ethnic group, however, and prefer to identify along other kinship or geopolitical lines; the name Mahafaly holds no meaning for the people originating from this area and instead is a label imposed from the outside. The majority of the population is concentrated along the banks of the rivers that run through the otherwise largely arid territory.

According to oral histories, the Mahafaly people trace their origins back to an early Maroserana noble, Olembetsitoto, who emerged as a leader in the 1500s with the migration of the Maroserana into the southwestern part of Madagascar. Prior to the arrival of the Maroserana, people settled in this portion of the island lived in communities ruled by chiefly families called andriantsileliky. Maroserana migrants initially formed alliances with these families, but this eventually turned to conflict, with the Maroserana emerging as the victors; as the Maroserana came to power, they allowed the Andriantileliky to retain certain privileges and special status.

After reigning for some years, Olembetsitoto went into seclusion. His followers believed that he had become holy (faly) and made his land and people holy (maha-faly) through this act, which mirrored popular belief around the principal Maroserana deity Andriamaro, which could not be seen, communicated through a medium intermediary, and commanded obedience by inspiring fear and awe. The followers of this noble remained united in their allegiance to him through the ombiasy (holy adviser) who served as an intermediary between the ruler and his people. One of the earliest documented Mahafaly political actions was In June 1649, when twelve Mahafaly envoys visited the French settlement at Fort Dauphin to successfully obtain the paid services of French mercenaries to help fight the Masikoro people who had stolen their king's cattle.