390 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
fancies, crude conceptions, superstitious fears, and a perti¬ 
nacious adherence to the opinions and decisions of their 
ancestors. 
In investigating the religious faith and practice of the 
Malagasy, a primary question is—do they believe in, or 
have they any knowledge of, the one true God, the Maker 
and Preserver of all things ? A cursory observation would, 
probably, induce a favourable answer; for they speak of 
God, they pray to God, they appeal to God, and they bless 
in the name of God. But if the inquiry be pursued—if it 
be ascertained what ideas they attach to the term God, 
their opinions, if indeed they merit that appellation, will be 
found so vague, contradictory, and absurd, that the inquirer 
will be disposed to conclude that the Malagasy have no 
knowledge of Him who created the heavens and the earth, 
and who clothes himself with honour and majesty.* 
The terms in the native language for God are—Andria- 
manitra and Zanahary, or Andria-nanahary. The first 
and last are in most common use in the interior of the 
island, and Zanahary on the coast. By Andria-manitra is 
probably meant Prince of heaven, though by the analogy 
of the language the word would then be Andrian-danitra. 
Strictly the word seems to be compounded of Andriana, 
“ prince,” and manitra, “ sweet-scented” or perfumed, which 
affords no consistent idea as applied to the Supreme Being. 
Zanahary means he who causes to possess—the source of 
* Radama, king of Madagascar, was a few years ago offered the knight¬ 
hood of the order of St. Patrick, which he declined, assigning as his reason 
that he could not take the oath which required him to say that he believed 
in God, or that he feared God, meaning the God of the Europeans. The king 
might have his concealed political reasons for this line of conduct, but his 
objection being founded on the popular faith of his country, illustrates the 
position that the real belief and opinion of the Malagasy concerning God 
falls far below what the terms in their language seem at first sight to imply. 
