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Madagascar Social Structure and Family
Traditional society is hierarchical in structure.
Kinship
groups are ranked precisely along a superior/inferior
continuum,
and individuals within these groups are ranked according
to age,
descent, and gender. This pervasive ranking reflects the
perceived power of ancestors as the source of
hasina
(life-giving power), which is distributed unequally among
individuals and family groups. Royal or noble persons are
supposed to possess a greater level of hasina than
others,
so that their descendants enjoy superior social status.
Within
families of any rank, elders possess greater hasina
than
the young not only by virtue of their maturity and
experience but
also because they are perceived as closer to the dead and
thus
share in part of their power. Rulers do not rule alone but
share
their offices in effect with their ancestors, who are, in
fact,
more powerful and influential than the rulers themselves.
Among
the Sakalava, it is believed that the soul or spirit of a
royal
ancestor can take possession of a person in order to make
known
its commands to the living.
Social values are highly conservative, demonstrating an
awareness of hierarchy and place that permeates the daily
life of
the people. Observers have noted, for example, that in
Merina
households each member of the family is expected to eat a
meal in
turn according to age; the youngest is served last. Family
members are seated around the table in an arrangement that
reflects age-rank, the father or grandfather occupying the
"noble
corner" (the northeast). Failure to honor the rank is
considered
a serious violation of fady. Children who eat
before their
elders can be severely punished. Within the village, the
local
notables and respected elders of kin groups, who are
usually
male, have preponderant influence in village affairs.
The society as a whole remains divided into a number of
unequal social groups based entirely on descent. Among the
Merina, Madagascar's dominant ethnic group, these are
referred to
as the andriana (nobles), the hova
(commoners), and
the andevo (slaves or, more properly, the
descendants of
slaves). The distinction between andriana and
hova
on the one hand and andevo on the other hand
corresponds
to the distinction between "whites" and "blacks" in Merina
society. Among the Sakalava, royal clans descended from
the
Maroserana occupy the highest social position, followed by
noble
and commoner clans; the descendants of slaves again occupy
the
lowest status. Noble and commoner clans possess histories
that
define their relations to the king and their different
social
roles. The social hierarchy of the Malagasy people,
however, is
actually far more differentiated than this system might
suggest,
because within each "caste" constituent clans or kin
groups are
also arranged in a precise hierarchy of superior and
inferior
that is well known to all individuals.
Among the Merina, the Malagasy people most thoroughly
studied
by anthropologists, the population is divided into a
number of
karazana (large kin groups) that are defined in
terms of
the common land upon which the family tomb is located.
They are
hierarchically ranked and usually named after a single
ancestor.
Members of the same karazana are described as being
"of
one womb." The general practice is for individuals to
marry
within the karazana or even within the same subunit
to
which they belong. Although endogamy carries with it the
taint of
incest, intermarriage is preferred because, in this way,
land
(especially tomb land) can be kept within the kin unit
rather
than being inherited by outsiders. Preserving the
boundaries of
the kinship unit through intermarriage preserves the
integrity of
the all-important link between the living and the dead.
Below the level of the karazana, the Merina are
divided into fianakaviana (family), which includes
close
relatives by blood and affiliation. The family is less
defined by
territory than by its role as the locus of feelings of
loyalty
and affection. Members of the same fianakaviana are
havana (relatives) but with a strong emotional
connotation. The ideal of fihavanana (amity,
solidarity)
is that havana should love and trust one another,
rendering mutual aid and sharing each other's possessions.
When a
man moves to new lands, his relatives will often come
after him
to claim parcels of land to cultivate. Persons who are not
havana are often considered untrustworthy. However,
fictive kinship, described as "those who are kin because
they are
loved," is a widespread Malagasy institution drawing
individuals
into an intermediate status between strangers and kin.
This
system can be very useful in daily life, particularly
outside the
tanindrazana.
Descent among the Merina is neither strictly
patrilineal nor
matrilineal. Instead, the practice of endogamy enables the
two
families involved in a marriage to define the situation as
one in
which they each receive a new child. The husband and wife
are
equally deferential to both sets of in-laws. Although
women have
occupied social roles inferior to those of men in
traditional
society, they are not completely subject to the will of
their
husbands or parents-in-law, as has been the case in
strictly
patrilineal societies.
There is some choice of which tomb group an individual
will
join and, thus, in which tomb he or she will be buried.
Tomb
groups consist of closely related fianakaviana
members who
own and maintain a tomb in common. The heads of tomb
groups are
local notables or government officials, and each member
contributes to the tomb's upkeep, often a heavy financial
burden
because the tomb buildings are large and in frequent need
of
repair. New tombs are built, and new tomb groups are
formed with
the passing of generations. Both social identity and
relationship
with the dead are determined by one's tomb group. The most
unfortunate persons are those who, because they are
strangers or
because of some other disqualification, cannot be interred
within
a tomb.
The difference between former free persons and former
slaves
remains particularly significant, despite the formal
abolition of
slavery by the French in 1897. Persons of slave origin are
generally poorer than other Merina and are expected to
perform
the most menial tasks and to be particularly deferential
to
others. One observer noticed among the Betsileo in a rural
household that during a meal to which a number of men had
been
invited, two persons of slave origin had to use a common
plate,
while free persons had their own plates. Former slaves are
also
often stereotypically described as rude, uncultured, and
ugly.
Marriages between persons of slave origin and other Merina
are
rare. When they do occur, the offspring are considered
part of
the slave group and are denied a place in the tomb of the
free
parent's family. In fact, the parent of the offspring may
also be
denied entrance. Former slaves do not possess links to a
tanindrazana and, thus, are apt to be more mobile
than the
descendants of free persons, because migration offers the
possibility of escaping from the stigma of slave descent.
It is
estimated that as much as 50 percent of the population of
Imerina
is of slave origin, whereas the percentage for the
Betsileo
territory is much lower.
Although the Merina social and kinship pattern is to a
great
degree common to all the peoples of Madagascar, there are
important variations based in part on different histories
and on
ecological variations between the rice-growing and
pastoral
regions of the country. The pastoral Bara and the
Tsimihety, who
are agriculturalists but place great cultural and
sentimental
significance on herds of zebu, base descent and
inheritance on
patrilineality more strictly than the Merina.
Data as of August 1994
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