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CHAPTEE V. 



ORIGIN AND DIVISIONS OF THE MALAGASY PEOPLE. 



MALAYO-POLYNESIAN AFFINITIES — ALLEGED CONNECTION WITH AFRICAN KACES 

 — EUROPEAN AND AEAB ELEMENTS — AFRICAN INFLUENCE ON WEST COAST 

 — PRINCIPAL DIVISIONS OF THE PEOPLE — COLOUR, PHYSIQUE, AND LAN- 

 GUAGE — DIFFICULT PROBLEMS RAISED BY VARIATIONS IN THESE RESPECTS 

 — ATTEMPTED SOLUTIONS OF THESE — LIGHT AFFORDED BY TRADITION AND 

 PHILOLOGY. 



It has already been pointed out, in treating of the animal 

 life of Madagascar, that there are numerous most interesting 

 questions raised by the very exceptional character of the fauna 

 of the island, and that a considerable proportion of the living 

 creatures inhabiting the country have very remote affinities, 

 their nearest allies being found not in Africa, but in the 

 Malay Peninsula and Archipelago, and even in still more 

 distant regions. The same fact of dissimilarity between 

 island and continent meets us when considering the Eth- 

 nology of Madagascar. For it may be confidently said that 

 a considerable proportion of its inhabitants are not of African 

 origin, but are unmistakably connected with the races which 

 inhabit the Polynesian and Malayan Archipelagoes, and are 

 thus the most western representatives of that very widely- 

 extended division of mankind. 



This fact, although denied by one or two writers whose 

 opinion is entitled to respect, is now generally admitted by 

 ethnologists. The grounds for this belief are found in the 

 close connection between the languages of Madagascar and 

 those of the Malayo-Polynesian races, and in the similarity of 

 the customs, handicrafts, and mental and physical character- 

 istics of these now widely-separated peoples. These resem- 

 blances will be noticed more in detail in succeeding chapters 

 upon the language, customs, superstitions, art, and relationships 



