Vazimba

The Vazimba (Malagasy [vaˈʒimbə̥]), according to popular belief, were the first inhabitants of Madagascar. While beliefs about the physical appearance of the Vazimba reflect regional variation, they are generally described as smaller in stature than the average person, leading some scientists to speculate that they may have been a pygmy people (and therefore a separate Malagasy ethnic group) who migrated from the islands that constitute modern-day Indonesia and settled in Madagascar over the course of the period between 350 BCE–500 CE. Scientific evidence confirms the first arrival and subsequent increase of human settlers on the island during this period, but the pygmy theory has not been proven. Stories about the Vazimba form a significant element in the cultural history and collective identity of the Malagasy people, ranging from the historical to the supernatural, inspiring diverse beliefs and practices across the island.

The facts surrounding the initial settling of Madagascar by oceanic explorers from the region of modern-day Indonesia, including the precise timing and nature of this colonization, remain a subject of ongoing debate and study. It has been theorized that there may have been successive waves of early settlement in Madagascar. According to this theory, the waves originated from the same region of southeast Asia, spoke the same language and shared the same culture. When the second wave arrived, they found the island sparsely populated by descendants of the first wave whose culture and way of life had evolved from relatively primitive roots, reflecting centuries of adaptation to local surroundings in total isolation from outside threats. According to popular belief, the Vazimba did not possess knowledge of metallurgy or rice farming and used weapons made of clay. After Bantu-speaking settlers from East Africa migrated to the island and brought their culture of zebu cattle herding with them, the Vazimba were said to have herded their zebu without eating them for meat. If the multi-wave settlement theory is correct, the indigenous (first-wave) population that the more technologically advanced second-wave settlers would have encountered upon arrival in Madagascar would provide the historic basis for stories of the primitive nature of the Vazimba societies they are said to have encountered there.

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