Merina

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The three million Merina form the largest Foko in Madagascar . They speak a Malayo-Polynesian language and live in the central highlands around the capital Antananarivo in the Imerina area . Their ancestors, the Malays , immigrated from the Malay Archipelago at the turn of the ages. To this day, the Indonesian characteristics of the Merina are visible. With around 26%, the Merina represent the largest group of the Malagasy population.

Map of the 18 ethnic groups of the island of Madagascar

Like most of the tribes in Madagascar, the Merina practice a syncretism of Christianity and traditional religion .

In the late 18th century, Andrianampoinimerina founded the Kingdom of Madagascar . It stretched over much of the island and was continued by his successors until it was ended by the French invasion in 1896.

literature

  • Rebecca L. Green: Merina. The Rosen Publishing Group, New York 1997, ISBN 0-8239-1991-9 (English; part of the Heritage library of African peoples; excerpt in the Google book search).
  • Pier M. Larson: Desperately Seeking "the Merina" (Central Madagascar): Reading Ethnonyms and Their Semantic Fields in African Identity Histories. In: Journal of Southern African Studies. Volume 22, No. 4, December 1996, pp. 541-560 (English; Professor of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison ; doi: 10.1080 / 03057079608708511 ).

Web links

Individual evidence