THE PEOPLE OF MADAGASCAR 



283 



in 1873 published a catalogue of their kings; it enumerated thirty-six, and the list was 

 incomplete. This evidence of tradition is confirmed by philology; for according to Cousins 

 the Malagasi language has been derived from an ancient Malay dialect. The modern 

 languages of Malaysia contain many Sanskrit words introduced by Hindu missionaries centuries 

 before the Christian era. But according to Keaue, whose opinion on philological questions is 

 weighty, "the Malagasi language is free from any foreign elements except a few Arabic terms 

 of relatively recent introduction. It follows that the Malay immigrants must have arrived 

 before the Hindus reached the Archipelago that is to say, at least 2,000, but most probably 

 3,000 or even 4,000 years ago." 



Ethnographically Madagascar can be divided into three divisions: an eastern belt, occupied 

 by the Tanisi, Taisaka, and Betsimisaraka; a central belt, occupied by the Tanala or forest 

 tribes in the north, by the Betsileo and Hova in the middle, and by the Bara in the south; 

 and a western belt, which is the home of the Sakalava, who, according to Sibree, are divided 

 into twenty-five tribes or clans. 



The leading tribe during the greater part of this century has been the Hova, who live in the 

 east-central part of the island around the capital Antananarivo. The name Hova is the name 

 of the citizens or middle class of the tribe, in contradistinction to the serfs and the nobles 

 or Andriana. The real tribal name is Autaimerina, or "people of Imerina," the province in 

 which they dwell. The Hova are the most intelligent race in Madagascar, and are remarkable 

 for their well-shaped heads, high foreheads, and European expression of countenance. 



The following description of the Hova by Ellis has been approved as correct by Sibree: 

 " The foreheads were always well shaped, even when the space between the eyebrows and hair, 

 as in some few instances, was comparatively narrow. The eyes were never large and projecting, 

 but clear and bright, and the eyebrows well defined without being heavy. The nose was 

 frequently aquiline and firm; it was, however, more frequently straight, and sometimes short 



By permission of Messrs. Newtvn <fc O., 3, Fleet Street, E.C. 



A NATIVE DANCE, MADAGASCAR. 



