In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Ambalavelona [am-ba-la-VEL-n(a)]: a “disease” caused by possession by a malicious ghost, caused by witchcraft and often treated by spirit mediums. Anatra [AH-na-tr(a)]: admonitions (the verb is mananatra). A classic way of conveying ancestral authority. Andevo [an-DAY-v(oo)]: normally translated “slave.” It is something of a bad word, most people prefer euphemisms like “servant” (mpanompo), “soldier” (miaramila), “serf ” (menakely), etc. Andriana [an-DREE-n(a)]: normally translated “noble,” the word refers to the Sovereign and members of any ancestry Deme: Maurice Bloch’s term for endogamous Merina ancestries that are tied to specific ancestral territories. They have no generic name in Malagasy so I have retained Bloch’s usage. Doany [DWAN]: said to be from the French word for “customs office.” A sanctuary for royal spirits where they can be “made sacred” (see manasina), vows can be made, thanks rendered, and mediums possessed. Fady [FAD]: taboo. Something one is forbidden to eat or do. Often the result of ancestral ozona, or “cursing.” Pork and garlic are frequent objects of f ady. Fahaizana [fa-AY-za-n(a)]: skills, know-how, practical knowledge, often used either for foreign technological knowledge of Malagasy knowledge of f anaf ody. Famadihana [fa-ma-DEE-a-n(a)]: literally “turning.” A ritual, held in the winter, when all the descendants of the ancestors in a particular tomb or set of tombs assemble to hold the dead on their laps and then rewrap them in new shrouds. These are probably the most important, and certainly the most expensive, ancestral ritual in the area around Arivonimamo. Fanafody [fa-na-FOO-d(ee)]: medicine. The term can refer to anything from an herbal infusion to cure a stomachache to a collection of beads and scraps of wood invoked to bring lightning on the heads of one’s enemies. Fanahy [fa-NAY]: “soul,” or “character.” Fanampoana [fa-nam-POW-n(a)]: “service.” In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the term was used for the obligations all free citizens (hova and most andriana) owed to the sovereign, and only secondarily to the obligations slaves owed to their masters. Since the colonial era the two have tended to collapse together in the popular imagination ; especially since mpanompo (“servant”) has become a euphemism for slavery. 393 Glossary of Malagasy Terms Fanasinana. See Manasina. Fanekena [fa-nay-KAY-n(a)]: “agreement,” either in the sense of a formal contract, or agreement by a community to live by certain principles, or more broadly to a general state of concord existing in a community. Fatidra [fat-DRA]: “blood brotherhood,” a common form of agreement from Malagasy times to the present. Firaisan-kina [fi-RAY-san-Kee-n(a)]: “unity of purpose” Fitsitsihina (or tsiska) [fee-tsee-TSEE-a-n(a)]: an ordeal or ritual designed to establish guilt or expel evildoers through appeals to ancestral power and the pronouncement of imprecations. They are sometimes held at standing stones called vato fitsitsihina, “stones of imprecation.” There was a revival of such traditions in the area around Arivonimamo in the ’80s and ’90s. Fokon’olona [foo-koon-OOL-n(a)]: an assembly of everyone concerned with a particular issue, in order to make decisions through a process of consensus. Governments since the time of the Merina kingdom have tended to treat “the f okon’olona” as a formal institution or village council and attempted, usually unsuccessfully, to turn it into the base unit of administration. Fokontany [fook-TAN(ee)]: the smallest Malagasy administrative division. Betafo consisted of two f okontany. The eastern one had its offices in Belanitra. Fotsy [FOO-ts(ee)]: “white,” a term often used for those of either hova or andriana descent. Hasina [AH-si-n(a)]: a kind of force or power that operates through imperceptible means to achieve perceptible results. Ancestors, spirits, and medicine all have hasina. Hasina can be created, conveyed, built up, but also undermined or destroyed, by ritual means. The adjectival form, masina, is usually translated “sacred.” Hova [OO-v(a)]: the main class of free people under the Merina kingdom. Usually translated “commoner,” to distinguish them from andriana (“nobles”). Kabary [ka-BAR-(ee)]: a much-appreciated genre of formal oratory. Elders really ought to be good at kabary but they rarely are. Kalanoro [ka-la-NOO-r(oo)]: diminutive legendary creatures that can provide enormous wealth, but are also enormously demanding of their owners. Kianja [kee-AN-dz(a)]: an open space for public meetings Lolo [LOO...

Share