TRIBAL APPELLATIONS. 171 



called the Vdro-mahery, " the powerful birds," the birds known 

 by that name being a species of large hawk or small eagle, 

 and used as a kind of crest or emblem by the Hova Govern- 

 ment. To the north of these are the Taimiamboholdhy, " the 

 men not turning their backs," i.e., on an enemy ; farther north 

 still, at Ambohimanga, the old capital and sacred town, are 

 the Tsimahafdtsy, " those not turning pale " (with fear) ; while 

 to the north-east are the Mandiavato, those " treading the 

 rock," standing firm. 



In the names of two tribes on the eastern coast of Mada- 

 gascar are preserved traces of the Arab settlements made 

 several centuries ago in that part of the island, as already 

 described in the chapter on the Origin and Divisions of the 

 Malagasy people. These are the Zafy Tbrahima, i.e., the 

 grand-children or descendants of Ibrahim or Abraham ; and the 

 Zafy Rumania, or, as some writers give it, Zafy Rahimina, or 

 descendants of Imina, the mother of Mohammed. 



As already mentioned in the preceding chapter, the 

 custom of fddy or tabooing certain words has had in some 

 parts of Madagascar a most unsettling effect upon the 

 nomenclature of places. But this remark does not apply to 

 much of the central and eastern portions of the island ; and 

 in the names of mountains, rivers, districts, and towns there 

 is a field of research as yet unexplored, and which would pro- 

 bably yield some information as to the settlement of the 

 country. A cursory glance over a list of villages shows 

 many parallels to English place-names. Thus, we have 

 Malagasy " Sunnysides " in Ambohibemasoandro, " the place 

 of much sun ; " " Oxfords " in Ampitanomby ; " Holytowns " 

 in Ambohimasina ; " Stonebridges " in Antatezambato ; while 

 very numerous places called Ambohimanjaka and Ambohit- 

 riniandriana are the " Kingstowns " and " Princetowns " of the 

 central provinces, denoting the village of the headman of 

 many small tribes at a time when the country was still 

 divided with numerous petty kingdoms or chieftaincies. 



Some interest attaches to the name of the largest lake in 

 Madagascar, the Alaotra, a sheet of water of about twenty- 

 five miles long, in the Antsihanaka province. Among the 

 Sakalava, Alaotra means " ocean " or " sea," so that its name 



