254 MAN : PAST AND PRESENT. [CHAP. 



the east coast. But, strange to say, on the central tableland the 

 two seem to stand almost completely apart, so that here the 

 politically dominant Hovas still present all the essential charac- 

 teristics of the Oceanic Mongol, while their southern neighbours, 

 the Betsileos, as well as the Tanalas and Ibaras, are described as 

 " African pure and simple, allied to the south-eastern tribes of 

 that continent 1 ." 



Specially remarkable is the account given by a careful observer, 

 the Rev. G. A. Shaw, of the Betsileos, whose " average height is 

 not less than six feet for the men, and a few inches less for the 

 women. They are large-boned and muscular, and their colour is 

 several degrees darker than that of the Hovas, approaching very 

 close to a black. The forehead is low and broad, the nose flatter, 

 and the lips thicker than those of their conquerors, whilst their 

 hair is invariably crisp and woolly. No pure Betsileo is to be 

 met with having the smooth long hair of the Hovas. In this, as 

 in other points, there is a very clear departure from the Malayan 

 type, and a close approximation to the Negro races of the adja- 

 cent continent 2 ." 



Now compare these brawny African giants with the wiry under- 

 sized Malayan Hovas. As described by Dr A. 

 Vouchereau 3 , their type closely resembles that of 

 the Javanese short stature, yellowish or light leather complexion, 

 long, black, smooth and rather coarse hair, round head (85-25), 

 flat and straight forehead, flat face, prominent cheek bones, small 

 straight nose, tolerably wide nostrils, small black and slightly 

 oblique eyes, rather thick lips, slim lithesome figure, small ex- 

 tremities, dull restless expression, cranial capacity 1516 c.c., 

 superior to both Negro and Sakalava 4 . 



1 Rev. W. D. Cowan, The Bara Land, Antananarivo, 1881, p. 67. 



2 The Belsileo, Country and People ; Antananarivo Annual, 1877, p. 79. 



3 Note snr V Anthropologie de Madagascar &c., in P Anthropologie^ 1897, 

 p. 149-sq. 



4 The contrast between the two elements is drawn in a few bold strokes by 

 Mrs Z. Colvile, who found that in the east coast districts the natives (Betsi- 

 misarakas chiefly) were black "with short, curly hair and negro type of 

 feature, and showed every sign of being of African origin. The Hovas, on 

 the contrary, had complexions little darker than those of the peasantry of 

 Southern Europe, straight black hair, rather sharp features, slim figures, and 



