5 Facts About Madagascar (Part 1)

Featured image: Madagascar and a map of a few countries of the world - photo by Any Madagasikara

#1 Madagascar is the oldest island in the world,

More than 300 million years ago, Madagascar was part of the Gondwana supercontinent. Then, Gondwana was separated, and Madagascar was detached from Africa, Antarctica, and India, and formed an island – the oldest one.

Edited photo of Pangaea, Laurasia, Gondwana, and present-Day Map – original photo by USGS with deutscher Beschriftung via Wikimedia Commons

#2 Malagasy name of the months, days of the week, and horoscopes are derived from Arabic words.

For example, Monday is ‘Alatsinainy’ in Malagasy. Alatsinainy is from the Arabic ‘Al-ithnain’. Tuesday which is ‘Talata’ in Malagasy is ‘Talathâ’ in Arabic.

Examples of Malagasy months with their English and romanised Arabic translation – Photo: Any Madagasikara

Malagasy astrology is rooted from the Arabs who moved to Madagascar centuries ago. In our almanach, we follow the cycle of the Moon. Our month consists of 28 days unlike the 30 or 31 days (except for February of course) in the Gregorian calendar.

#3 People from Madagascar are called ‘MALAGASY’ and not ‘Madagascan’.

‘Malagasy’ was originally spelled ‘Madagassi’. The French docked at Anosy – a region in the southeastern coast of Madagascar – in 1520’s. They used ‘Madagassi’ to name the place. The locals thought the French referred to them as ‘Madagassi’ every time the French pronounced the word. And following a linguistic habit (‘d’ is mostly pronounced ‘l’), the local people tweaked it, and it has become ‘Malagasy’ since then.

#4 In Madagascar, we use everything about a zebu. There’s no waste.

Zebu is a cattle breed with a hump on its back. Zebu transport goods and work in the field. They are used for sacrifices too. We eat their meat and organs. We drink their milk. We use their horns for making jewelry. We use their skin to make bags and belts. We use their dung as fertiliser and traditional construction material to keep the house warm. When dry, we use it as energy source when we run out of woods while cooking in the fields.

Zebu working on the field, Ambositra region, Madagascar (postcard) – Photo by Jacques Fernandez

#5 Madagascar has the biggest and smallest chameleons and lemurs on earth.

Parson’s chameleon – photo by Christian Boix sourced from Africa Geographic

The Parson’s chameleon is the largest chameleon in the world. The smallest is the dwarf chameleon – Brookesia. The biggest lemur is Indri. The smallest lemur is the mouse lemur.

mouse lemur – photo by Manfred Eberle sourced from German Primate Center

To be continued

By L.

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