VOYAGE TO MADAGASCAR. 31 



tinguifhed by their fubjedts. The authority of 

 thefe chiefs is very much limited ; yet In the 

 province of Carcanoffi they are fuppofed to 

 be the proprietors of all the land, which 

 they diftribute among their fubje£ts, in 

 order to be tilled and cultivated. For this 

 they require a fmall quit-rent, which, in the 

 language of the country, is called foenfa^ 



Tbe people of the province of CarcanolU 

 are not entirely ignorant of the art of writ- 

 ing. They have even fome hiftorical books 

 in the Madecafle language : but their learn- 

 ed men, whom they call Ombiajfes^ ufe only 

 the Arabic charaders. They have among 

 them treatifes on medicine, geomancy, and 

 judicial afbology, Thefe OttlbiaiFes ate both 

 forcercrs and phyficians. The moft cele^ 

 brated come from the province of Matatane, 

 in which country magic is preferred in its 

 full glory. The Matatanes are dreaded by 

 the other natives of the ifiand, becaufe they 



excel 



