CONQUEST BY THE HOYAS. 
43 
imitative rather than constructive powers, and 
above all, the structure of their language, dis¬ 
tinctly point to affinity with the Asiatic rather 
than the African continent; and there are many 
words in the dialects of the natives of Sumatra, 
Borneo, and the islands of the Pacific, which are 
identical in sound and signification with words in 
common use by the inhabitants of Madagascar. 
Before the rise of the Hova power, the country 
was divided into five great kingdoms : the Saka- 
lava, a name given by the Hovas, and meaning 
“ long cats,” occupying the north-west; the Hova, 
holding the central province of Imerina; the 
Betsimisaraka (the great undivided), inhabiting 
the east coast; the Betsileo, with Fianarantsoa 
as their capital, dwelling in the south ; and the 
Antsianaka tribe, located between the Sakalava 
and Hova territory. The numbers of the various 
tribes have been roughly estimated as follows : 
The Hovas, 800,000; the Sakalavas, 1,000,000 
(including the Antsianaka); the Betsileo, about 
2,000,000; and the Betsimisaraka, 1,000,000. 
No census has ever been taken, however, and a 
correct statement of the population is impossible. 
It is generally supposed that the people are not 
by any means so numerous as in the days of the 
first Kadama; and the ruins of villages in all 
parts of the country, which were once centres of 
activity, and the existence of the remains of large 
