# Africa by Élisée Reclus/Volume 4/Chapter 13

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CHAPTER XIII.
EAST AFRICAN ISLANDS.
Sokotra — Madagascar — Comoros — Seychelles — Amirantes.
F all insular regions in the Pacific Ocean, Sokotra, or Socotra may with the greatest confidence be regarded as a simple geographical dependence of the African mainland. Although separated from Cape Guardafui by a channel 150 miles broad, with intervening spaces fully 3,000 feet deep, the disposition of the island, with its main axis disposed in a line with the extreme point of Somaliland, together with a continuous row of reefs and islets stretching right across the channel, clearly shows that Sukotra is nothing more than a detached fragment of Africa.
But in its commercial and political relations this island has always formed part of Asia, and depends at present on the town of Aden, one of the British strongholds on the Asistic mainland. From 1835 to 1839 it was even occupied by an English garrison, but afterwards abandoned for Aden, a position of far greater strategic importance. In 1845 Sokotra wus declared a Crown colony, although its possession has always been more nominal than effective. The same remark applies to the suzerain authority claimed for the last five centuries by the sultans of Keshin, whose territory lies north-west of the island at the nearest point of the Arabian coast.
The very name of Sokotra attests the great antiquity of the memories and legends associated with the island. In the geography of the Hindus it was regarded as one of the petals of the great lotus-flower floating on the waters. It was the Dvipa Sukhatara, the Din-Skadra — that is, one of those "Fortunate Islands" which at all times people yearning for a happier fate have supposed must exist beyond the gilded clouds of the setting sun. The Greeks identified it as the Dioscoridi Insula, or "Land of the Dioscuri," while the old Hindu name has been more correctly preserved by the Arabs in its present form. ​
Inhabitants.
The island was visited by Greek traders, and tradition even speaks of a colony said to have been sent hither by Alexander the Great. during the first centuries of the present era the inhabitants of the island were converted to Christianity, a religion which at that time was professed by a great part of the people of Yemen. Towards the close of the thirteenth century, Marco Polo states that "all were baptised," and recognised the authority of an archbishop. They still called themselves Christians at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese, who made their appearance in 1503, and afterwards settled in the island in order to guard the approaches of the Red Sea and capture the Arab dhows frequenting those waters. According to
the local tradition, the Sokotrans had been converted by St. Thomas, Apostle of India; but they no longer understood the language of their ritual, although they still venerated the cross, placing it on their altars and wearing it as a pendant to their necklaces. Their rite resembled that of the Abyssinian Jacobites, and like them they also practised circumcision.
They were visited in 1542 by Francis Xavier, who baptised several of the natives. In the middle of the seventeenth century, the Carmelite friar, Vincenzo, was still able to detect some traces of Christianity amongst the people. They knelt before the cross, carried it in their processions, and gave their girls the name of "Maria." But they also sacrificed to the moon, and observed no "sacrament" except circumcision, which, however, is not even yet universally practised. At present Kollosea, or Gullonsir, the name of a village on the north-west coast, may possibly still recall the existence of an ancient church (ecclesia) in this part of ​418 SOUTH AXD EAST AFMCA. the island. If so, this name and the cross seen on the graves are all the vestiges that now remain of the Christian faith. Nearly all the population, although really of very mixed origin, call them- pelvcs Arabs, and profess the Mohammedan religion, but without fanaticism, although the Wahabites occupied the island in 1800, and for some years subjected it to their intolerant rule. Schweinfurth thinks that the heaps of stones met in some districts are ruined altars ; but he has discovered no other old monument except a few undecipherable Greek letters inscribed on a rock. The so-called " Bedouins" of the interior, who are distinguished by their tall stature, developed muscular system, and robust health, are evidently a different race from the people of the coast, who appear to be mostly Arabs, either of pure descent or else crossed with Xegroes. These Bedouins are supposed to represent the in- digenous element. Their language, which is dying out, is sufficiently distinct from Arabic to be absolutely unintelligible to any inhabitants of the Arabian peninsula, except those of the nearest coastland. The Sayeni or Kishin hillmen, near the capital, Tamarida, claim kinship with the Portuguese; while the Monie of the eastern district would appear to be partly of Abyssinian descent. Others again resemble the Jews, and in fact are said to be of Hebrew origin. Physical Features. Sokotra, which has an estijnated area of 1,000 miles, with a population of twelve thousand, has the form of un elongated triangle with its apex facing eastwards. The sides of the triangle, however, are not rectilinear, but towards the centre are deflected southwards, so that the south side has a convex, the north a slightly concave, curvature. Near the middle of the north coast rises the granitic mass of the Ilaggiar, or more correctly, Hajar, that is to say, " Rock," whose jagged cre*.ts attain an elevation of 4,700 feet. The other hills, which are much lower, consist of limestone recks, pierced by numerous caves occupied by large colonies of birds, and here and there converte;! into human dwellings. Ihe island appca?s to be geologically of very old formation, and botanists speak of it as a last retreat in which many primitive forms have take refuge. Of the WS known sjK'cies, including as many as 575 flowering plants, about one-fourth occur nowhere else.* Some districts, especially along the south coast, are covered with dunes disposed in parallel ridges. Elsewhere the island is very stony and consequenily far from fertile. Nevertheless in many places the surface is clothed with shrubs which assume a verdant mantle during the north-east monsoon. In the we>itern district a few valleys opening towards the north coast, are even shadcHl by large trees, and some of the more sylvan tracts are compared by Well- sted to the parklands of England. " In its splendid vegetation," says Schwein- furth, "Sokotra presents a marked contrast to the neighbouring shores of Asia and Africa." ^ ^ • Bayley Balfour, Botany of Sokotra. • ​SOKOTRA. 419 Climate. — Products. Thauks to the monsoons, and to the alternating breezes along the coasts, the climate of Sokotra is less sultry than that of the adjacent Arabian peninsula. But this alternating movement of the monsoons is less favourable for navigation with the Red Sea than was recently supposed; and although Marco Polo spoke long ago of its extensive commerce, Sokotra has in modern times been unable to acquire any great importance as an advanced station for Aden on the route to India. In these waters the alternating atmospheric currents set on the one hand between the Somali and Arabian coasts, on the other between the Gulf of Aden and the high seas. During the first half of the year the wind blows chiefly to the south-west, in the direction of Africa ; during the remaining six months it venrs round towards the Arabian peninsula, and to the north-east towards the Persian Gulf, The opposing currents thus prevail regularly first on one then on the other of the oppo- site seaboards. Hence Sokotra would be well situated as a convenient station at the narrowest part of the channel between the two continents, at least if it possessed any suflRciently sheltered haven. But between such almost desert and lifeless shores the traflBc is necessarily insignifiicant. Sokotra is visited on each voyage by scarcely a dozen Arab vessels, plying with the monsoons between Mascat and Zanzibar. At present, the natives of the island require to import little from abroad beyond some dokhn [penicilana typhdiden), when the date crop has been deficient, and their cattle, sheep, and camels have failed to yield a sufficient supply of milk for the local consumption. In return they export nothing but a little (jlii, or clarified butter, and dragon's blood, the product of a peculiar species of plant, besides 3,000 or 4,000 pounds of aloes {aloes spicnta), of the best quality known to the European pharmacopoeia. The Socotran aloe grows on the slopes of the hills between the altitude of 500 and 3,000 feet. The inhabitants are almost exclusively a pastoral people, possessing numerous cattle, sheep, goats, sure-footed asses, and camels accustomed to traverse rugged and stony ground. The horses alluded to by old writers appear to be extinct, nor are there any cassowaries, notwithstanding the statement of Wellsted to the contrary. The local fauna is, in fact, very poor, comprising no species of rapacious beasts, though reptiles, including some venomous snakes, are common enough. The birds belong exclusively to African species, whereas the molluscs for the most part represent Arabian types. Topography. Taman'da, towards the middle of the north coast, is the chief village in the island. Kolcssea, at the north-west extremity, formerly did a little foreign trade, but is at present a mere convict station. On the south side there at one time stood a large Portuguese stronghold, the ruins of which have been visited and described by Hunter. Till recently the inhabitants of Sokotra were free, independent alike of the ​420 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. Sultan of Keshiu and of England, and obeying no law except that of custom and traditional usages. But the sultanate of Keshin was lately divided between two brothers, one of whom reigns on the Arabian coast, while the other resides at Tamarida or in the neighbouring district, where he holds court and administers justice over the wliole island. Such, however, is the peaceful and even gentle disposition of the natives, that he is rarely called upon to exercise his judicial functions. Among them acts of violence or robbery are almost unknown, and they keep very few slaves, although numerous runaway Negroes are settled on the coastlunds. The small islands following to the west of Sokotra in the direction of Cape Guardafui, also belong to the sultanate of Keshin. But of these none are inhabited except Jiauder-Saleh {Samneh), and Abd-el-Kiiri, where a few wild goats browse on the scanty vegetation of the rocky soil. The natives, who are very poor, live mainly on the produce of their iisherios. A few miles farther north stand some steep islets covered with guano, which attract the rare visits of the local Arab dhows. II. — Madagascar. This great island of the Indian Ocean is one of the largest on the globe, yielding in extent only to Greenland, New Guinea, Borneo, and probably also the insular mass in the Antarctic waters. Lying at a relatively short distance from the south-east coast of Africa, not more than 230 miles at the narrowest part of the intervening channel, Madagascar stretches in a straight line from the northern headland of Cape Amber, for about 1 ,000 miles to its soutl^ern extremity at Cape St. ]SIury. The mean breadth east and west, as indicated by a line drawn from Andovorauto on the east side through Tananarivo to the Ya-Zimba coast, is about 300 miles ; while the shore-line, excluding minor indentations and inlets such as the Diego-Suarez Bay, has a total development of over 3,000 miles, giving a super- ficial area of 237,000 square miles, or one-sixth more than that of France. Its general configuration is somewhat regular, in its outlines greatly resem- bling Sumatra, the first large island met by the seafarer on the opposite side of the Indian Ocean. It presents the form of an elongated oval, disposed in a parallel line with the axis of the adjacent African seaboard. But the side facing seawards is nearly rectilineal f )r about half of its length, this formation being due to the equalising action of the waves, which have raised a false coastline of sands und mud across the bays and inlets indenting the primitive seaboard. The west side, facmg the mainland, is of far more irregular outline, being much diversified by projecting headlands and numerous little gulfs and havens. The present name of Madagascar seems to be due to a mistaken application or extension of the term originally attributed by Marco Polo to the city of Magdoshu (Magadoxo), on the Somali coast.* Nevertheless, by a curious coincidence, this ai)p«dlation bears a tolerably close resemblance to that of Malagasy, the collective • Col. H. Yule, The Book of Set Marco PoJo. • ​MADAGASCAR. 421 name of the inhabitants ; while the Ilova rulers of the island have under foreign influence adopted MadaguHcnr as its official designation. Thus this region has for them ceased to be the "Whole," as in the days before they were brought into contact with the outer world. Still older native terms, such as NoHni-Dambo, or " Wild Boar Island," have also fallen into disuse, although the inhabitants of the surrounding islands still speak of Madagascar as the Taiii-lie, or " Great land." Although lying nearly altogether within the intertropical zone (12° — 25° 30' south latitude), Madagascar belongs nevertheless to the temperate zone, thanks to the elevation of the plateaux which occupy the greater part of the island. On these plateaux are some extensive fertile and salubrious tracts, at many points protected from foreign invasion by an intervening zone of malarious coastlands. In some of the upland districts the population is tolerably dense, but the average for the whole island scarcely exceeds eight or ten per square mile, if, as seems probable, M. Grandidier's estimate of three millions for the entire population approaches nearest to the truth. Historic Rktrospect. This population is moreover greatly divided both by descent and by hereditary animosities, so that the Europeans, although represented by a very small number of persons, have easily succeeded in getting a footing in the country by setting one section of the people against the other. The disasters which have at various times overtaken the intruders were often caused less by the hostility of the natives than by epidemics, the want of resources, and especially the dissensions prevailing amongst the colonists themselves. But after long intervals of inaction, European influences, represented by the zeal and enterprise of British missionaries and traders, as well as by the military intervention of the French, have in recent times acquired. a decided predominance. Moreover, political unity has been esta- blished, at least officially, to the advantage of the Hovas, the most powerful section of the nation. The treaties with the European powers have even placed imder their rule independent communities which they had never been able to reduce. But on the other hand, the dominant people itself has been fain, in its relations with foreign states, to consent to be represented by the French Republic, thus virtually accepting the position of a protected state. A point on the west coast and some adjacent islands have even been surrendered to France. The references made by the ancient writers to the islands of the Erythrean Sea (Indian Ocean) are of too vague a character to decide the question whether the land now bearing the name of Madagascar was ever known to the Greeks and Romans. No certain mention of it occurs in the history of navigation before the period of the great discoveries of the Arabs. In the twelfth century it is alluded to by Masudi under the designation of " Jafuna Land," and it was subsequently known by several other names. It first became known to European mariners five centuries later, that is to say, two yenrs after the voyage of Vasco de Gama, who himself passed in the neighbour​^22 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. hood of the great island. After this first visit by Diego Dias in lo50, the island of &io.Louren90, as it was originally called by the Portuguese, received several other visits from explorers of the same nation, such as Fernao Suares, Uuy Pereira, and Tristao da Cunha, " whose name," says Camoens, " mil live et^'Hially in all that part of the ocean which washes the southern islands." But* finding neither gold nor silver in the new land, its discoverers soon abandoned it, Attracted towards India, the land of pearls, of diamonds, and costly stuffs. Not bi>ing numerous enough to hold possession of half the globe, the Portuguese were fain to relinquish the greater part of their conquests in order to concentrate their strength on those regions whence they derived most wealth. Hud their .Mozambique settlements become the centre of a considerable colony, no doubt the neighbouring island of Sao-Louren^o would have been brought within the sphere of Portuguese enterprise, if not actually annexed to the empire. The first map on which the outlines of Madagascar are figured with some approach to accuracy is that of Pilestrina, which bears the date of 1511. Early French Settlements. After the discovery nearly a hundred and fifty years elapsed before any serious attempt was made by Europeans to obtain a footing in the island. Flacourt relates that in I03o some Dutchmen landed on the shores of Anton-Gil Bay. Then in 1042 a French society, bearing the name of " I'Orient," received from Richelieu the concession of ^ladagasc^vr and the neighbouring islands, " in order to found settlements and trade." The following year a few settlers landed on the island, thus giving a first sanction to the " historic rights " over Madagascar claimed by the French Government in its subsequent discussions and negotiations with England One of the points at that time occupied was Anton-Gil (Antongil) Bay, a spacious harbour on the east coast. But the most important attempts at colonisa- tion in the strict sense of the term were first made on the south side, that is, the side lying nearest to Europe, by the Cape of Good Hope, the only route yet known to navigators. The French at first selected the bay of Manafiafa, or Saint Lucia, situated at the south-east angle of Madagascar; but they afterwards removed farther south to the peninsula of Taolanora, where they erected the stronghold of Fort Dauphin. The whole island even received the name of Dauphin, or East I"' ranee. By means of numerous foraging expeditions and occasional help from Europe, the French maintained their ground for some time at this point. Their forces would undoubtedly have sufficed to extend their power over all the southern part of the island, had the colonists not taken advantage of their ascendancy over the natives in order to convert them to Christianity, and afterwards incite them to war against each other. Slave-hunting expeditions were even organised against some of the surrounding tribes, and the unfortunate captives sold to the Dutch ])lanter8 of Mauritius Thus all the territory round about Fort Dauphin was at ​last completely wasted. Hundreds of villages bad been delivered to the flames, and the inhabitants who had escaped from the butcheries had been driven to seek refuge in other parts of the island. The French garrison, surrounded by solitudes, had no longer even the resource of plunder, and had to draw their supplies of cattle and rice from great distances and at a heavy cost.
The settlement consequently began to dwindle, till the year 1672, when the few survivors were brought away bya passing vessel. Nothing beyond a few half-castes remained Fig. 130. — South east corner of Madagascar. in the country to keep alive the memory of the French occupation of Fort Dauphin. It was estimated that two-thirds of the troops and settlers were carried off by epidemics, war, and famine. The survivors served as a nucleus for the colony of Bourbon, which was destined two centuries later to become the base of operations in a fresh attempt at the conquest of Madagascar. One of the first governors of Bourbon was the historian De Flacourt, whose work is the most frequently consulted on the island and its inhabitants during the seventeenth century.
French and English Rivalries.
After the abandonment of Madagascar, frequent royal edicts recalled the fact that the "Crown" still maintained its prior rights of possession, although for fully a a century these purely formal assumptions were justified by no actual attempts at colonisation. During that period the only foreign visitors were corsairs or traders from the Mascarenhas Islands, who came to exchange woven goods and other ​424 SOXJTH ANT) EAST AFRICA. European wares for slaves. In 1750 the French East India Company endeavoured to obtain a monopoly of this commerce by occupying the island of Saint Mary, lyinjf to the south of Anton-Gil Bay, and a few years later the French Govern- ment resumed possession of P'ort Dauphin, without, however, securing any perma- nent results. The ambitious viceregal establishment set up in 1774 on Anton-Gil Hav by the pompous Polish and Magyar magnate, Maurice Beniovski, had also to bo abandent d two years afterwards ; and all vestiges have now disappeared of the capital, Luuisbourg, although some traces have been detected of the route con- structed north-east of Anton-Gil Bay towards JJ^gutsi by this adventurer, the ampakaHH^mbe, or " emperor " of the Malagasy, as he called himself. After three centuries of trade and partial occupation nothing was known of the great island beyond the coistlands. The first impulse to political and commercial expeditions on the inland plateaux was {riven by the rivalries of France and England. During the wars of the Empire, the P>nglish had seized the Isle of France (Mauritius), with the purjx)so uf converting it into a naval station for the conquest of Madagascar. But after discus.xiiig the terms of the various treaties, they were compelled to relin- (juish the theory which regarded the great island as a political dependency of Mauritius. They consequently allowed the French again to occupy the stations on the coast, and restricted their action to the development of an alliance with some powerful native prince, in order thus indirectly to secure the expulsion of the representatives of the rival power. Such an ally they expected vo find in the sovereign of the Ilovas, who both by the number of his subjects and his commanding position on the central plateau, seemed to have the fairest prospect of one day becoming master of the whole island. Radama, hailed by the English as "King of Madagascar and its depen- dencies," soon obtained possession of the port of Tamatave on the east coast, and the road to the interior was thus completely thrown open to the English. In the year ISJO they availed themselves of this circumstance to send to the capital some traders, missionaries, officers, and diplomatists, for the purpose of securing a permanent footing in the more fro(iuonted seaports, and obtaining the practical command of the soaboaid. Madagascar, the "Great Britain of Africa " as the missionary Ellis called it by anticipation, seemed at that time about to become an English colony, and it was expected that the forces of the Hovas would hence- forth ^ at the disposition of the stranger in effecting the reduction of the whole island. But these hopes were doomed to disappointment. In 1828 the accession of a now king brought about a change of policy, followed by the expulsion of the i:nglish, the destruction of their factories, and a general persecution of the Pro- testant converts. The Malagasy people, comprising all the razaha, or whites, in a common sentiment of hatred, endeavoured for a time to close the country from them, and to keep a strict watch over the traders settled in the seaports. Never- theless the eight years, from 1820 to 1828, during which the Europeans had
The system of political isolation adopted by the Hovs was enforced with the greatest rigour during the Fig. 131. — Chief routes of the explorers in Madagascar. period from 1845 to 1852. After an unsuccessful attempt of the English and French squadrons to avenge the wrongs of the plundered traders settled in Tamatave, the relations were completely broken off between the Malagasy and the Europeans of all nations. But on the west side the French had established relations with the independent Sakalavas and other populations, and had also taken possession of a number of nossi, or "islands," near the coast, such as Nossi-Bé, Nossi-Komba, and Nossi-Mitsio. They even claimed to have acquired sovereign rights on the adjacent mainland, although these pretensions were always strenuously resisted by the Hovas, and even by the local Sakalava chiefs.
When the Europeans were again admitted into the Hova kingdom, they soon again acquired considerable influence. But the international rivalries between the French and English were again revived, while the privilege which the whites claimed to establish themselves wherever they thought convenient, and to acquire absolute possession of real property, gave rise to endless discussions and bickerings. These troubles at last brought about the French war of 1883, which ended advantageously for France, without, however, securing for the subjects of the republic the right to purchase land. They can take it, however, ​^25 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. as leaseholders for an indefinite term, and are also henceforth permitted to reside and trade freely in every part of the Hova territory. The neighbourhood of two rich and thickly peopled islands such as Mauritius and Reunion could not fail gradually to draw the inhabitants of Madagascar within the sphere of European intercourse. Thanks to their rich colonial produce, the Mascarenhas have necessarily been brought into direct relations with the western markets ; but they also require to maintain a local traffic with the great island, on which they depend for the supply of cattle and provisions needed by the labourers on their plantations. From the economic standpoint, Madagascar and its two eastern satellites thus form a mutually dependent commercial group. Hence the commercial, if not the political, annexation of one to the other had become inevitable, and the recent action of France should be judged in the light of these conditions. In fact, there can be no doubt that this historic event would have taken place at a much earlier date, had Mauritius and Reunion themselves not belonged to two rival powers, occupied throughout the present century in thwarting each other's operations in this part of the Indian Ocean. But although Mauritius is a British colony, it was originally settled by the French, and its present French population co-operated even with armed volunteers in the expeditions which have secured the preponderance of France in Madagascar. Sooner or later the political centre of gravity must inevitably be shifted from the small geo- graphical group of the Mascarenhas to the almost continental island, abounding as it does in still undeveloped treasures of all sorts. EXPLORATIOX. But meantime much of the interior still remains unexplored. More than half of the Sakalava territory is altogether unknown, while the southern regions, where the French made their first expeditions, between Fort Dauphin and the Bara country, have never been scientifically surveyed. The best known districts are naturally those traversed by the traders between the east coast and the capital, Tananarivo. The routes of explorers round about this central point also cross each other in all directions, so that in many places nothing remains to be done except to fill up the minor details. In the work of general exploration, no traveller has been more successful than M, Grandidier, who was also the first to accurately determine the relief of the land. This naturalist has traversed the island from coast to coast, nughly surveyed a space some thousand square miles in extent, and fixed several hundred astronomical points, which with the surveys executed on the seaboard by the European maritime states, offer a network of fundamental lines for all future cartographers. Thanks to the observations taken by Grandidier, supplemented by those of Mullens, Cameron, and Roblet, it has been found possible to effect a fairly correct triangulation of the central province, Imerina, of which we already possess more accurate charts than have yet been designed for certain European districts, especially in the Iberian and Balkan peninsulas. The bibliography of the 'island ​PHYSICAL FEATURES OF MADA0A6CAB. 427 also comprises an extensive collection of over 1,500 books, pamphlets, maps, and documents of all sorts. Physical Features. Madagascar lacks the regular uniformity of structure attributed to it by the early explorers. The fanciful mountain range boldly traced by them from Amber Cape in the extreme north to Cape St. Mary in the extreme south, has no existence. Instead of a main range thus symmetrically disposed, the island presents in its northern and central parts various irregular mountain masses resting on a common pediment of elevated tablelands, and falling towards the sea in far from uniform slopes. Were the surrounding waters to encroach on the land in such a way as to encircle its mountainous parts, the island, thus reduced in size, would not present its outlines as they actually exist. The western incline, facing the Mozambique Channel, slopes far more gently than that of the opposite side, while in several districts along its base stretch extensive plains but slightly raised above sea- level. Towards the southern extremity of the island also the ground falls to a low level, mountains and hills completely disappearing, or else replaced along the coastlands by chains of shifting dunes. But on the east side the slope is in general extremely precipitous, and is here continued by the submarine cliffs down to depths of over 10,000 feet. According to Mullens,* the first lofty eminence met by the traveller advancing from the southern lowlands is the natural citadel of Ivohibd, in the Bara country. Beyond this isolated crag the ground rises to a rugged plateau, flanked by border ranges or escarpments. Towards the central region, but considerably nearer to the east than to the west coast, rise the Ankaratra highlands, culminating point of Madagascar. This group of mountains, whose main axis is disposed in the same direction as that of the island itself, has several peaks over 8,000 feet high, the loftiest being the Tsiafa-Javona, or " Snowy Mountain," which according to Sibree attains an altitude of close upon 9,000 feet. To the south the other summits average only half this height ; but towards the north several crests have been observed with an altitude of about 5,000 feet. Of all the mountains in Madagascar, the Ambinivini, standing to the west of Anton-Gil Bay, presents perhaps the most imposing aspect. Its upper flanks rise like a rocky wall some 2,000 feet sheer above the road winding through the valley below. Apart from the great mountain masses, the surface of the land has the appear- ance of an irregular steppe, stretching away in long billowy undulations of a red or greyish clay, interrupted here and there by abrupt masses of granite, gneiss, schists, or basalts cropping out in the form of towers and ramparts, or else piled up in chaotic heaps. The base of the highlands, some 3,000 feet high, is limited east- wards by escarpments and terraced slopes, which seen from the sea present the aspect of coast ranges with their promontories, headlands, and transverse gorges. These outer steppe-like walls of the plateaux are for the most part covered with forests. • Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, 1877. ​428 • SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. On the west side the uplands are also skirted by similar terraced formations and e:icarpmenU disposed in the direction from north to south in a line with the main axis of the island. As many as three of these parallel ramparts follow in succession between the plateau.x and the sea, themselves merging in secondary plateaux, wherever they are not separated one from the other by intervening fluvial valleys, plains denuded by erosion, or lacustrine tracts that have been gradually filled up by uUuviul deposits. Unlike the central mountain masses, the outer ridges are not of granitic formation, but consist mostly of secondary rocks. Here Grandidier, Richardson, and Ilildobrandt have found fossil remains ranging between the oolitic and the chalk periods, as well as the fossil bones of large animals now extinct. Some scattered boulders occurring at the foot of the mountains in various parts of the country are believed by Sibree to be erratic, so that Madagascar would also appear to have had its glacial epoch. , Volcanic Agenxies. . But however this be, the island has certainly had its period of volcanic activity, dating from times long antecedent to all historic records. Xear the edge of the eastern escarpments explorers have discovered hundreds of cones whence were formerly discharged copious lava streams. Several craters also occur near the granite formations in the central mass of Ankaratra, and the higher summits them- selves, culminating points of the island, are also igneous cones, the centres of former volcanic activity. From them lavas have been discharged in all directions, but especially towards the south. One of the streams on this side is no less than 24 miles long, the lavas ramifying far into the plains, where their dark colour presents a sharp contrast with the bright red tint of the surrounding argillaceous formations. Around the shores of Lake Ilasy, towards the north-west, Mullens reckoned as many as forty cones of all sizes, some still perfect, others with breached craters, some isolated, others clustered in separate groups. To their overflow was due the creation of the lake itself, whose waters were gradually collected in a single reser- voir behind this obstruction to the natural outflow. Farther south a whole plain, resimbling that of the " Plilegra^an Fields " in Italy, is thickly studded with mounds and hillocks, the flues of a vast but now extinct furnace. According to a vague local tradition, tho-se underground fires were still smouldering since the occupation of the country by the ancestors of the present inhabitants. Since the time of Mullens, the volcanic region grouped round Lake Itasy was again vi.%itedin I880 by Mr. U. Baron, who gives a detailed account of the typical volcano of Amboditaimamo, on the north side of the lake, and towards the northern verge of this igneous district. " It possesses a breached crater turned towards the east ; from this has issued a stream of lava which, following the direction of the lowest level of the ground, has swept through a small valley round the northern end of the mountain, and spread out at its west foot. This sheet of lava, which is hor- ribly rough on the surface, occupies but a small area of two or three square miles. ​RIVERS OF MADAGASCAR. 429 It has bc*en arrested in its flow iu front by the side of the low hills. It is cut through in one part by a stream, which in some places has worn a channel to the depth of 80 or 90 feet. Its surface, which is slightly cellular, is covered by some hundreds of mammiform hillocks, which must have been formed during the cooling of the liquid mass. The hillocks are mostly from 20 to 30 feet high, and apparently are heaped up masses of lava, and not hollow blisters. The lava itself is black, heavy, and compact, being porphyritic, with somewhat large crystals of augite." * The particulars collected by this observer tend on the whole tp show that the Lake Itasy volcanoes have been extinct for a longer period than had hitherto been supposed, and the chaimel 80 or 90 feet deep worn by fluviul action tlirough some of the hard porphyritic eruptive rocks certainly points at very great antiquity. In the northern part of the island volcanoes are also very numerous. North- east of Anton-Gil Bay rises one of these " burnt " mountains, whose crater is flooded by a tarn teeming with fish, and whose outer slopes are formed by refuse, white at the base, and red round about the highest crest. Amber Cape, at the northern- most extremity of Madagascar, is itself a volcano, whose lava sheets still rise above the surrounding waters. The neighbouring insular groups of Nossilie, Mayotte, and Anjuan, are likewise of igneous origin, and in many parts of the mainland occur thermal springs and jets of carbonic acid, fatal to insects and small animals. Earthquakes are also frequent iu several districts. Rivers. Being well exposed to the moist trade winds from the Indian Ocean, Madagascar everywhere abounds in running waters, except towards the extreme south, which is at times swept by the dry atmospheric currents from the South African mainland. The eastern slope of the island receives the heaviest rainfall, although the largest fluvial systems are not developed on this side. Here the prtcipitous slope of the hills, combined with their proximity to the coast, prevents the streams from acquir- ing any great size before reaching the sea. Most of them are in fact mere torrents less than sixty miles in length. One of the most copious is the Tengteng, or* Manompa, which rises in a longitudinal valley between two parallel chains, one of which it pierces through a deep rocky gorge on its course to the sea, which it reaches opposite the island of St. Mary. The Maningori also collects its head-waters on an upland plain between the main range and the barrier formed by the edge of the sustaining plateau. Its waters being hemmed in by this barrier, at first spread out in marshes, and are then collected in the broad but shallow basin of Ijake Alaotra. This flooded depression extends for some lo miles along: the longitudinal vallev before it finds an outlet in a deep rocky channel, through which its overflow finds its way to the outer slope and thence to the coast near Fenoarivo. Formerly Lake Alaotra formed a great inland sea no less than 200 miles long, • nature, Sfarch 4, 18SG. ​disposed parallel with the main range and the seaboard. Old terraced beaches encircling the upland Sihanaka and Ankai valleys clearly show that the lacustrine waters at one time stood fully 1,100 feet above their present level. South of Tamatave and Andovoranto the most copious stream on the east slope of the island is the Onibé River, which also receives Fig. 132. — Lagoons on the east coast of Madagascar. some contributions from the longitudinal valleys, but which is chiefly fed by the torrents descending from the great central mass of the Ankaratra highlands. Farther south, in the Betsileo territory, rises the Matitanana, or "Dead hand," a sacred stream smaller than the Onibé, and with a more obstructed course. One of its cataracts at the issue of the mountains is no less than 600 feet high, and near it rises an abundant thermal spring.
Although the rivers flowing eastwards to the Indian Ocean are closed to navigation above their estuaries, these estuaries themselves, ramifying inland and connected together by lateral channels, present a great extent of navigable waters along the coastlands. A few cuttings made here and there across the sands and coral banks would enable small steamers to ply in smooth water all the way from Ivondru, near Tamatave, to the mouth of the Matitanana — that is to say. for a distance of over 300 miles, reckoning all the windings of the channel. Already, in 1864, Captain Rooke had thoroughly surveyed this water highway, which is here and there obstructed by mud banks and the stakes of the fishermen set all in a row. The ampanalana, or portages, occurring at various points of the future canal, which King Radama I. had already began to construct, have at high water a collective length of about 28 miles. ; ​Thus the eastern seaboard presents a double coastline: the outer shore, exposed to the fury of the surf; and the inner beach, washed by the still waters of the muddy winding channel, mostly fringed with mangroves. These estuaries, which receive about fifty small streams from tho interior, and which communicate with the open sea by a few easily accessible passages, present the appearance of a long chain of lakes or lagoons, lining the coast for hundreds of miles. In many places they merge in an inextricuble system of Fig. 133. — Erosions on the east coast and Anton-Gil bay. tortuous channels, which are sometimes quite dry in summer, and which are known only to a few pilots.
The outer line separating these lagoons from the ocean consists in many places of coral reefs covered by the action of the waves with sands and shells, and thus gradually transformed to a continuous dyke or embankment, which presents an effectual barrier against the encroachments of the sea. Forest trees have here struck root, affording a grateful shade to the numerous villages following continuously along the beach. Under the action of the marine current, which here flows close in-shore, the coastline has acquired a surprisingly regular form. From the inlet of Fort Dauphin, at the south-east corner of the island, for a distance of 540 miles northwards to Marofototra, the seaboard is almost perfectly rectilinear, and vessels frequenting these waters usually keep well off the coast in order to avoid the neighbouring reefs
North of Marofototra the beach no longer presents the same uniformity, and at Anton-Gil Bay even develops a deep inlet under the shelter of a bold volcanic promontory. But the island of St. Mary (Nossi-Boraha), which stretches like a spear-head in front of Tengteng Bay, appears to be the surviving fragment of an outer coastline, which formed a northern continuation of the southern rectilinear wall, and connected Marofototra with Cape Maseala. The ramifying bay of Diego Suarez at the northern extremity of Madagascar owes its existence to the volcanic headland of Amber Cape, which here encloses an extensive body of marine waters. ​482 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. On the west slope facing the Mozambique Channel some of the rivers, which have their sources on the eastern highlands near the Indian Ocean, develop fluvial basins of considerable extent. South of the Betsileo territory the Mangoka, or St. Vincent, drains a superficial area of not less than 20,000 square miles. Farther north the Tsijobonina is fed by the numerous streams descending from the Ankaratra volcanoes and from all the surrounding igneous districts. To this fluvial system also belongs the lacustrine depression of Lake Itasy, which finds an escu|)c in this direction for its penl-u]) waters. The Ikopa, largest of all the rivers of Madagascar, sends to the Bay of Bom- betok all the drainage of the province of Imeriua, in which is situated the capital of the Ifova kingdom. With its great tributary, the Betsiboka, it has a total length of not less than 500 miles, and according to Sibree, a steamer of light draught might ascend the Betsiboka branch for a distance of 90 miles from the sea. In the north-west part of the island all the more important streams discharge tluir waters into winding and ramifying marine inlets, which pre- sent a remote resemblance to the Scandinavian fjords, but which might be more correctly comimrcd with the indentations on the coast of Brittany. They Hvv ])robably due to an analogous cause, that is to say, the gradual disinte- gruti«)n of the granitic and other rocks along the lines of fracture or least resistance. Numerous islets, surviving fragments of the mainland, obstruct the entrance of the inlets, or continue the headlands seawards. One of these islands is Nossi-Be, evidently a geographical dependence of Madagascar, and famous for its groups of volcanic cones, some of whose extinct craters are now flooded by little lakes. Ac- cording to Grautlidier, the east coast, continually eroded by the marine currents, is gradually receding, except at the points where, as at Tamatave and Foulepointe (Marofototra), the beach is protected by banks of coral reefs. But the opposite process seems to bj at work on the west side of the island, where the land, through the action of the polyps, appears to be steadily gaining on the marine waters. Thus several bays have already bcvn enclosed by the encroachments of the shore-line and transformed to lakes. Climate.. Madagascar, which according to latitude belongs to the torrid zone, enjoys a temperate climate, thanks to the great mean elevation of the land. From the sea- board to the uplands of the interior, observers have recorded a normal decrease of temperature, while the summits of Ankaratra and of the other highlands, penetrate into the frigid zone, the surface of the lakes and tarns being here frequently icebound. But thanks to the surrounding marine waters, whose normal tem- perature is maintained by the warm currents, Madagascar enjoys on the whole a very equable climate, presenting no sudden transitions from heat to cold. At
21" F., while at Tamatave, on the sea-coast, it never rises in summer above 93°, and at the island of St. Mary, farther north, above 98° or 100° F.* Madagascar is entirely comprised within the zone of the south-eastern trade winds ; but, owing to the heating of the ground, these winds are generally deflected from their normal course, and usually set in the direction from east to west. Brault's charts, which embody many thousand meteorological observations, nhow that the atmospheric system is most regular during the dry season, that is to say, when the sun stands vertically above the north tropical zone, from April to September. But when it returns to the south, accompaiiiei by its attendant rain-bearing clouds and vjjpours, the winds often change their direction and character. On the coasts of Madagascar they take the form of monsoons, chiefly in the north-west, during the hot, wet seasons from October to Alarch. This is also the period of storms and hurricanes, although the true cyclones, so dangerous in the waters of the Mascarenhas Archipelago, seldom visit the great island. They occasionally, however, reach these latitudes, and in the beginning of 1888 a fierce gale wrecked eleven vessels en the coast of Tamatave.f The summer heats coinciding with the wet season, render a residence on the low-lying east coast extremely dangerous, more especially as this side of the island is more exposed to the vapour-charged clouds rolling up from the Indian Ocean. The ominous title of "graveyard of the Europeans," given to the eastern seaboard of Madagascar, is more particularly justified in the months of January and February, when the sky is overcast with heavy grey fogs. The intermingling of the fresh and salt waters in the estuaries, which receive the discharge of the swollen rivers from the interior, results in a great mortality of the organisms belonging to the two different mediums. The atmosphere, from this and other causes, becomes charged with dangerous exhalations, and to avoid the fevers here endemic, both Europeans and natives hasten to withdraw to the breezy and salu- brious uplands of the interior. But many a traveller has sacrificed his life to his love of science by lingering in the fever- stricken lowland districts. Flora. Like the climatic phenomena, the vegetation is imperceptibly modified with the relief of the land, the different species changing simnltaneously with the general aspect of the indigenous flora. The splendour of the dense tropical vegetation observed by travellers on the well-watered eastern seaboard has led them to suppose that the whole island everywhere possesses a rich soil, clothed with a gorgeous array of verdure. But such is far from being the case. The granitic
West Coast Plateaux . Fast Coast.
X^o 24' S. Lat ) 4,80U feet high.) 18° 10 S. Lat.) Lowest temperature . 60° F. (July) 42° F (June- August) 59° F. (July) Highest temperature 76° F. (January) 83° F. (November) 93° F. (Dec., January) Difference 26' F. 41° F. 34' F. t Mean rainfall at Tananarjvo (1881 -84), C2 inches. 125— AP ​rocks of the interior, as well as the plains of Tertiary formation, are for the most part unproductive, while vast tracts are entirely destitute of trees, and even of scrub, Boundless spaces occur in, which nothing grows except coarse herbaceous plants.
Bat in the central regions of the plateau there are also some rich and fertile valleys, where the vegetable
soil washed down by the running waters has been deposited in thick layers, and where the peasant receives a tenfold return for his labour. The geological constitution of Madagascar is revealed, so to say, by the distribution of its woodlands, which are disposed in a continuous belt round the periphery of the island, either on the low-lying coastlands or in the zone of the outer escarpments. On the east side the belt of forests is twofold, divided by an intermediate depression. On the west side there occurs a broad gap on the uninhabited plains which stretch to the west of the Ikopa River. Some wooded tracts of varying size are also scattered over the surface within the outer forest zone.
The Madagascar flora, which is better known than that of the opposite regions on the African mainland, presents several features of an original character. There are probably altogether about four thousand five hundred species, of which two thousand five hundred have already been studied and classified. Of these some have their analogies in the African and others in the South American vegetable world; but in their general physiognomy they approach nearest to the Asiatic kingdom. The vegetation is also most varied and exuberant on the eastern seaboard, that is,on the side facing the Asiatic continent. The southern and ​FLORA OF MADAGASCAE. 486 western slopes, with a dryer climate and more arid soil, have a correspondingly poorer vegetation. The plants of these regions, being subject to longer periods of drought and exposed to the hot winds from the neighlwuring continent, have a harder foliage and thicker roots. Nevertheless, thorny plants, such as abound in the badly watered parts of Africa, are nowhere met with in the districts of Madagascar possessing a similar climate ; nor are acacias anywhere seen. One of the most remarkable members of the insular flora is a species of baobab, first described by Grandidier. Without acquiring the colossal dimensions of its African congener, it excels in the grace and majesty of its outlines. The tamarind also is a very noble tree, but it occurs only on the west slope of the island, where the Sakalava chiefs usually construct their dwellings beneath the shade of its wide-spreading branches. The cocoanut-palm, which flourishes in all the maritime districts, is believed to be of exotic origin. According to some authorities, it was introduced, together with the bread-tree, by the Malays, from the Eastern Archipelago. But Madagascar also possesses some indigenous species of palms, amongst others the sago-tree, a variety of the hijphmna akin to the dum-palm of the Nilotic regions, and the raphia, noted for its large, thickset trunk, its masses of minute foliage, and enormous bunches of fruit, weighing as much as three hundred pounds and upwards. The pandanus (rakoa), with its spiral sword-shaped leaves, thrives on the more arid tracts along the seaboard, while the muddy estuaries and coast lagoons are everywhere overgrown with the widely diffused mangrove. The brushwood and herbaceous vegetation of the depressions, and occasionally of the hill slopes, is overshadowed by a magnificent species of cannacorus, remarkable for the perfect regularity of its broad fern-like leaves. This is the ravenala, or xtrania speciosa, more commonly known as the traveller's tree, because its foliage collects the rain-water in sufficient quantity to slake the thirst of passing wayfarers. But it occurs chiefly in well-irrigated regions where water is abundant, and its chief advantage is derived from the excellent building material which it supplies to the inhabitants of the rurul districts. The trunk is used for the framework of their houses, the larger branches for beams and rafters, the foli'.Jge for thatching the roofs. The endemic flora of Madagascar is represented by many other remarkable forms, such as the ovirandrona {urirandra fenestralis), an aquatic plant whose oval leaves are variegated like pieces of lace; the filao, or "club-tree" {casuarina laterifolia), whose enormous roots serve to bind the shifting sands along some parts of the seaboard ; the hrehmia spinosa, which, although a member of the poisonous strychnos family, nevertheless yields an edible fruit ; the angrcecum sesquipedale, a gigantic orchid which clothes with a mantle of verdure the huge stems of old forest trees ; the nepenthe, or pitcher-plant, whose large flowers affect the form of pendant vessels, and contain a considerable supply of water. Trees yielding useful timber materials, as well as fine cabinet- woods, are very numerous, including such valuable varieties as teak, ebony, matwood, violet ebony, and rosewood. Unfor- tunately, the process of disafforesting is carried on without interruption. It is ​^36 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. related by an English traveller that, in order to clear a pass.ige for a large tomb- stone, as many us twenty-five thousand trees were felled in a forest in the Betsileo territory.* Fauna. The Malagasy fauna, no less if not more original than the flora, excites the wonder of all naturalists, and causes them to indulge in all manner of speculations on the geological history of the island. The species peculiar to this insular region has given rise to the hypothesis, at first suggested by Geoffrey Saint- Hilaire, and afterwards more fully elaborated by the English naturalist Sclater, that Mada- gascar must be the remains of a continent which filled a part at least of the space now floo<lod by the waters of the Indian Ocean. This hypothetical continent even receied the name of Lemuria, from the characteristic members of the ape-like lemurian family, which is represented in Madagascar by a larger number of distinct species than in Africa or the Eastern Archipelago. Several men of science have accepted this suggestion in a more or less modified form, and Iliiickel himself at one time went so far as to ask whether this Lemuria, which has long ceased to exist, should not be regarded as the cradle and centre of dispersion of the various races of mankind. But Alfred Russell Wallace, after having for some time warmly upheld the theory that the Madagascar fauna attests the former existence of a vast Lemurian continent, now no longer believes in such enormous changes in the distribution of land and water on the surface of the glob-^. Nevertheless this writer must still feel compelled to admit that very considerable modifications have cert linly taken place in the relative positions of the continents and oceanic basins. In order to explain the presence of the African species which are also found in the island of Madagascar, Wallace supposes that the two regions must formerly have been uniterl, but that at that tiine Africa itself, still separated from the Mediterranean lands by a broad marine inlet, pi ssessed none of the animal species such as the lion, rhinoceros, elephant, giraffe, and gazelle, which afterwards arrived from the northern regions. In the same way he endeavours to explain, by tempo- rary isthmuses connecting continent with continent, or by seas separating them, the appearance in or the absence from Madagascar of diverse Asiatic, Malayan, Austmlian, or American animal tj-pes.f It is thus evident that even those naturalists who most strenuously maintain the long stability of the continental masses are themselves compelled to admit that the dry land has been profoundly mtKlified during the course of ages. While the oceanic islands are in general extremely poor in mammalians, Madagascar on the contrary possesses as many as sixty-six species of this order, a sufficient proof that this island must at one time have formed part of a much larger region. These mammals, however, are grouped in such a manner as to constitute • Banm, Autananarivo Annual, 1887, t Vvmparattvc Antiquity of ContinenU ; Geographical Dutnbution of Animals; Island Lift. ​FAUNA OP MADAGASCAR. 487 on essentially orij^inal fauna. Thus half of the insular species consists of lemurians, niukis, and others, which are distinguished hy their habits, resembling those of Hquirrels, their long tails, their enormous hands, their piercing cries and shrieks, like those of human beings ; and lastly, their way of bounding along like kangaroos. There is a propithccan, a member of the indris family, which when closely pursued by the hunter can clear thirty-two or thirty-three feet at a single spring. Thanks to its branchial membrane, forming a kind of parachute or hut's wing, it seems rather to fly than to jump from tree to tree (Grandidier) . All these species, each of which occupies a well-defined range, are easily tamed, and one of them, the babakoto {lichnuotm Incirm), is even trained to catch birds, like the hawks and falcons of medioDval times.* The aye-aye {chciromyH), best known of all these lemurians, remains dormant throughout the dry season, and builds itself a real nest ; while the catta inhabits rocky districts. The tendreks {tanrecs), or centetes, another family of mammals allied to our hedgehogs, and who sleep through the summer, are represented by several species whose congeners are found nowhere else nearer than Cuba and Haiti in the West Indies. The pint mla, or cryptoprocta ferox, a feline unknown elsewhere, and a few civet cats, are the only carnivorous mammals in the island, whose fauna also includes some rats, mice, and the potamochoerus larraius, or " masked " water-hog. The oxen and wild dogs often met in the forests or on the grassy steppes appear to be the descendants of domestic animals which have reverted to the savage state, and some naturalists include a species of cat in the same category. The European rats, which accompany the Western peoples in all their migrations, have also alr*>ady invaded Madagascar. More than half the species of birds are entirely peculiar to the great island, in their general physiognomy resembling the Malaj-an much more than the African forms. Till recent times — that is to say, within, perhaps, the last two or three centuries — there still survived the wpyornis maxinius, a gigantic member of the ostrich family, which was known to the Arab travellers of the Middle Ages, and which figures in some of the marvellous tales of the " Thousand and One Nights." This is the legendary roc, or griffon of Marco Polo, which was said to seize elephants in its talons and carry them off to the summits of lofty mountains. Some of the eggs of the acpyornis have besn found embedded in the alluvial soil und elsewhere, the largest of which, measuring nearly thirteen inches in length, was calculated to have a capacity of ten quarts and an eighth, or about as much ns six eggs of the ostrich, sixteen of the cassowary, and a hundred and forty- eight of the common hen. From the dimensions of the bones it is supposed that this gigantic bird must have been at least double the size of the largest ostrich. Grandidier, who first discovered the remains of the ODpyornis, has also brought to light the skeletons of a huge turtle and of a variety of the hippopotamus. The crocodile of Madagascar, which swarms in the rivers on both slopes of the island, appears to constitute an independent species, as does also a gigantic boa constrictor, which, according to the local legends, formerly attacked both men and cattle.
Several other ophidians aro includel in the Madagascar fauna, but according to most naturalists, none of these snakes appear to be poisonous, although this state- ment is doubted by Iloulder* and some other travellers. On the other hand, the natives stand in much dread of two species of spiders, whose bite is even said to be fatal. The world of insects and smaller animals is extremely varied, and like that of the mammals, includes types presenting striking analogies with those of all the other continents, from Africa to Australia and South America. No naturalist has thrown more light on this insular fauna than M. Grandidier, our knowledge of which he has enlarged by the discovery of six- teen mammalians, ten birds, twenty-five reptiles, and eighteen saurians, besides numerous in.sects and other small animals. Inhabitants. No stone weapons or implements have been discovered in Madagascar,t a fact which seems to justify the supposition that the island remained uninhabited till the arrival of already half-civilised settlers. Like the indigenous fauna, the human inhabitants of this region are of diverse origin, and through these various elements it is connected with the vast semicircle of lands which sweep round the Indian Ocean from Africa and Southern Asia to the Malayo-Polynesian archipelagoes. But although immigrants have certainly arrived from the west, north, and east, there can be no doubt that the dominant influence, if not in numbers at all events in their relative higher culture, belongs to the peoples of Malayan or Oceanic origin. A convincing proof of this is afforded by the language which is current amongst all the tribes, of whatever race, from one end of the island to the other. Whether they be of Negro, Arab, Indian, or Malay descent, all the Malagasy jKJoples speak a pliant, poetic, and melodious tongue, which careful philological research has clearly shown to be related to tlie great linguistic family spread over the whole of the Eastern Archipelago and the Polynesian islands. Their very collective name of Malagasy has even been connected by Vinson, De Froberville, and others with that of Malacca, in the Indo-Chinese peninsula. Numerous voca- bularies, the earliest of which were a Dutch collection of 1604 and that of Arthu- ►ius, dating from 1613, had already rendered this relationship more than probable, while more recent systematic grammars and complete dictionaries have placed beyond all doubt the hypothesis of the first scientific explorers. Of a hundred and twenty familiar terms in Malagasy, nearly one hundred are clearly of Malay origin, the rest being derived from Arabic, Swaheli, or some other Bantu dialect. According to Mullens, the most striking resemblances and analogies are found bttwern the dialect of the Betsimisarakas of the east coast and the Malays of the Indo-Chinese peninsula. All those agglutinated geographical names which occur on the map of Madagascar, and which are often of such
t Sibcee, The Great African likmd. ​astonishing length, are for the most part extremely felicitous compound forma, describing with graphic terseness the salient features of the locality.
The arrival of the Malayo-Polynesian immigrants must obviously be referred back to a somewhat remote period. When the French settlers first made their appearance on the south-east coust about two hundred and fifty years ago, Madagascar was already occupied by numerous independent states and tribal communities, without any political cohesion with each other or any elements of a common
civilisation except their Malay speech. The original racial or national unity, to which they were indebted for their common language, had long ceased to exist. No ethnical groups in the island were at that time distinguished above the others by any marked superiority of culture, except the small Arab population, belonging to a totally different race from the Malays.
But this Arab element, which had already been introduced in the very first century of the Hegira, was not strong enough to assimilate the indigenous populations, who had been brought earlier under more powerful influences. In the ​440 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. thirteenth century an Arab writer speaks of the inlanders as " brothers of the Chinese," and gives the name of " Malay " to one of their cities, and in the follow- ing century ullusion is made to the same city by the historian Edrisi. No authentic historical records can be appealed to in support of the various views entcrtuine<l on the subject of the period when ihe first immigrants reached the island and on the particular region whence they came. It is no longer possible to say with confidence what precise route they followed, although it would be difficult to suggest any other probable highway besides that of the marine currents, which, under the action of the trade winds, set regularly in the direction from north-east to south-west across the Indian Ocean. These currents, which in the year I880 brought all the way from Java the pumice ejected by the tremendous eruption of Krakatau in August, 1883, may also have easily enabled the native praus or light craft to reach Madagascar from the Sunda Islands. Such distant expeditions were even in remote times made by the Malay chiefs in the Eastern Archipelago, so that they were fully justified in assuming the proud title of "masters of the eastern and western winds and waters."* Possjibly the Chagos coralline archipelago, which, according to Darwin, has subsided in comparatively recent times, may formerly have served as a convenient station between the two regions. But in order to adapt themselves to their new Kurroundings, the immigrants from the east had to change their manner of life, and it thus happened that these roving seafarers gradually became settled tillers of the land in the great island. Penetrating inland from the malarious districts round the coast, they traversed the low-lying forest belt and climbed the slopes of the central plateau, where their descendants still hold their ground. The "silver canoe"— that is, the tomb in which the sovereign of the Ilova nation is always buried — recalls the time when the dead were really interred in a boat, as is still the custom amongst the Betsiraisarakas of the east coast, as well as amongst numerous Malayan communiiies.t So long have the Ilovas bsen settled on the elevated table- lands of the interior that they are no more able than Europeans themselves to endure the deadly climate of the coastlands. Leprosy and other ctitaneous diseases are prevalent amongst them. Viewed as a whole, Madagascar presents a considerable mixture of diverse jxjpulations, none of which have preserved the primitive types in an absolutely pure state. In some of the insular groups, notably those of the west coast, the Negro element is predominant, and here are met many individuals differing little from the true African, with robust frames, black or deep brown complexion, flat features, and crisp or woolly hair. In the central provinces most of the tribes approach the ordinary Malay type, being distinguished by a coppery colour, black lank hair, and beautiful white teeth. At the two opposite extremities of the island, that is to say, on the north-west and south-east sides, occurs the so-called "white," that is, the Arab type. According to Grandidier, the Indians of Malabar have also left numerous traces of their residence on the west coast, where several families • Cook, A Voyage to the Paeiflc. t Bev. Jiuoett Sibree, Antananarivo Annual, 1887. • ​of chiefs claim this Hindu descent. In many tribes the caste system prevails, and amongst these communities the physical appearance of the people differs no less than the social conditions. The rulers evidently belong to a different race from their subjects.
The Hovas.
The Hovas, who are at present the most powerful and, politically, the dominant people, appear to have preserved the original Malay type, at least amongst the
chiefs and higher circles. By some writers they are connected either with the Battas of North Sumatra and the neighbouring island of Nias, with the natives of Java and Bali, or with the Tagalas of the Philippine Archipelago. Resemblances have also been pointed out between the Hovas and the Siamese, the Samoans, the Tonga Islanders, and even the Japanese. Thus the various views held by observers
Marsden, History of Sumatra; W. von Humboldt, The Kawi Language; Crawfurd, Grammar of the Malay Languagr, Introduction. ​442 SOUTH AND EASTT AFWCA. thomsolves would seem to indicate a diverse origin of the Hovus. due no doubt to repeated arrivals from the Eust. At the same time all these eastern invaders, whether Sundanese, Samoans, Siamese, or Japanese, may ba regarded as belonging to the same family of mankind, at least when compared with the immigrants from Africa. In the middle of the seventeenth century, when the islund was first described bv Flacourt, the Hovas were still unknown as a separate nationality, or else con- founded, under other names, with the neighbouring tribes. In fact the " Oves " do not make their appearance in history till the second half of the eighteenth century, when they regained their independence from the Sakalavas, and when the present Ilova kingdom was founded by their chief, the "Lord who lives in the heart of Imerina." At that time the natives of the plateaux called themselves Ambanilamtra, that is to say, " People living under the heavens," or else Amba- uimulro, that is " People living under the light of day." These names they had adopted either because their country, Imeriuu, was for them the whole world, or beciuse it occupied the elevated upland regions above the surrounding low-lying coastlands. Even still the term Horn is applied only to the middle classes, the nobles taking the designation of Andnatm, while the slaves are collectively known either as Mainti or Andero. But at present the various conquered peoples affect the name of " Hovas," in order thus to identify themselves with the dominant races ; while the still unreduced tribes scornfully attribute to the inhabitants of Imerina the opprobrious epithet of Ainboalamho, or " Swine-dogs," which, however, is said to have b^en formerly taken in a complimentary sense. Thus the populations collectively grouped as Hovas increase both by the con- tinual reduction of neighbouring tribes and by the natural excess of births over deaths, which is considerable in these mountainous regions, where the women are very prolific. Owing to this increase, colonies of Hovas are constantly being founded in various parts of the island at great distances from their native plateau, but especially in the region north of Lake Alaotra, Travellers, for the most part English and French, differ greatly in their estimate of the llova character, a circumstance which must be attributed not only to the prejudices of political rivalry, but also to the differences in the social cla.s8es themselves with whom they have come in contact. Naturally the greatest contrasts are found to exist between the inhabitants of the large towns, and espe- cially of the capital, and those of the rural districts. The former have to live in an atmosphere of court intrigues, to temporize and tack about, so as to avoid giving offence to any of the rival parties, and thus preserve their influence, and even their lives. They thus become astute diplomatists, past-masters in the arts of deceit and cajolery ; while the latter, peaceful tillers of the land, have preserved the national virtues of courtesy, friendliness, and hospitality. The»peasantry are as a rule very industrious, kind to their wives and children, and much attached to " the land of their forefathers." They are no doubt accused by the foreign traders of being eager for gain, and inclined to drive hard bargains ; but this is a charge which the natives may justly fling back on their accusers. * ​According to Grandidier the Hovas, taking the term in the widest sense, so as to include all the tribes of the central regions who have adopted the name of the victorious nation, number altogether about one million souls, or, say, one-third of the whole population of the island. Thanks to the greater relative density of the inhabitants in their territory, as well as to Fig. 137. — Inhabitants of Madagascar. the commanding position occupied by them in the centre of the island, they have naturally acquired a decided superiority over the discordant tribal groups scattered over the low lying coastlands. Effect has been given to this natural superiority by their better organised administration, supported by troops trained to European methods of warfare by English and other foreign officers.
A vast part of the territory encircling the central province of Imerina is still almost uninhabited, especially in the western districts. In this direction stretch extensive wildernesses, where the traveller may journey for days together without meeting a single group of habitations. To these frontier tracts the English explorers have given the name of No Man's Land; according to Grandidier they neither are nor can be inhabited.
The Sakalavas.
During the last century the military preponderance belonged to the people of ​444 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. the west coast, collectively known as Sakalavas, or " Men of the Long Plains." * These Sukulavas, who were weakened by being divided into two independent kingdoms, besides several autonomous chieftaincies, are at present, if not actually reduced by the Ilovas, at least officially abandoned by iheir former French allies to the generosity of the dominant race. The stations already occupied by the Ilovas at all the strategical points in the Sakalava territory render the future conquest of the whole country a mere question of time. The Mahafali of the south-western regions, the Anti-Fiherenanas, Anti-Manas, Anti-Mahilakas, Anti-IJucni, and other tribes, all belong to the Sakalava family, which numbers altogether about half a million of souls.t Amongst these Mala- giisy peoples the Negro seems on the whole to prevail over the Malay type. The hair is neither straight, as in the latter, nor yet woolly, as in the former, but undulating and kinky; the nose broad and flat, the mouth protruding, with some- what thick and pouting lips. The calf is well developed and the foot of remark- ably shapely form, and the people are generally nimble, active, and of robust con- stitution, leprosy, so common amongst the Ilovas, rarely occurring amongst them. The purest branch of the Sakalava race are the Mashicores, who dwell in the interior, but in many of the seaboard districts they have become crossed with Arabs. The Vezos, that is to say " swimmers," or inhabitants of the sea-shore, in the still independent Sakalava kingdoms of Fiherenana and Kitombo, on the south- west coast, are of almost white complexion. They even claim to be whites, on the ground of their repeated interminglings with the Hindu immigrants, the English and French corsairs of the last two centuries, and the inhabitants of Reunion who come to trade in all the ports along the coast.J Notwithstanding the abundant evidence of black blood, the Sakalavas are connected by no direct records with any of the populations on the opposite mainland ; nor is it possible now to determine with any accuracy the precise time when the Negroes began to pass over to the groat island either in a body, or, us is more probable, in successive expeditions spread over long periods. The inhabitants of the coastlands, however, still possess little flotillas of outriggr^rs, with which fishermen and traders undertake long voyages, and with which, till rocontly, the corsairs paid yearly piratical expe- ditions to the Comoro Islands. In the year 1/^05 these Sakalava rovers even captured a Portuguese corvette near the port of Ibo, on the Mozambique coast. At the same time these Negroid Malagasy peoples may readily be distinguished from the pure Negro slaves introduced from time to time by the Arabs into the ports along the Sakalava seaboard. These slaves belong for the most part to the Makua (Ma-Kua) nation, a numerous Mozambique people whose tribal communities are scattered over the extensive region between the Zambeze and the Rovuma basins. According to Baron, they call themselves by the collective name of Za^a- Manga. • Thi» etymology, however, although given by the Sakalavas themselven, has been questioned. Ac«)niing to some authorities the word really means " Long cats," and was attributed to them in an oifeiutive aenite. t The prt'fix Attti, Anta, Ante, before ethnical names, has the meaning of here, people of here, that is, indignioua inhabitants. X »ibrt«. The Great African IiUnd. * ​THE BETSILEO AND BARA TRIBES. 445 The Betsileo, Bara, and NEioiiBorRiNo Tribes. The Betsilco, that is to say " Invincible," who dwell to the number of about three hundred thousand in the mountainous region bordering northwards on Imerinu, no longer deserve this national designation. They are at present, for the most part, peueeful agriculturists, amongst whom the black seems greatly to prevail over the Malay element. According to Sibree they are the tallest of all the Malagasy people, with average stature about six feet. Their neighbours the Baras, that is " Barbarians," who occupy the plateau further south, are in appearance more like the Sakalava people, and like them also have partly preserved their political independence. The section of the nation who have taken refuge on the banks of the lake which floods the highest depression on Mount Ivohibe, are able from that vantage-ground to defy the attempts of their assailants. Farther south, the Ant' Androi, who occupy the southern extremity of Madagascar, are also still unreduced. Like their western neighbours, the Mahafali, they keep careful I3' aloof from all strangers, and these two tribes are regarded as the rudest of all the Malagasy peoples. The Ant' Anossi, or " People of the Islands," or " Coastlands," with whom the early French settlers at Saint-Lucia and Fort Dauphin first came in contact, and whom they oppressed so cruelly, are now subject to the Hova loJe. The Ant' Aisaka tribe, which follows northward on the east side of the island, closely resembles the Sakalavas, and has probably been crossed by the same Negro elements. The tribal name means " Hand Fishers," in allusion to their former primitive way of capturing fif>h. Conteiminous with them, still going northwards, are the Ant' Aimoro, or " Moors," another coast people on the east side, who claim to be descended from the Arabs of Mecca. In support of this claim they show some ancient documents written in Arabic characters, which, however, cannot explain awj y the unmistakable evidence of intermixture. Above the Ant' Aimoro and Ant' Ambaboaka peoples the wooded upland valley:* are occupied by the Ant' Anala or " Forest People,'* who have for the most part been able to maintain their independence, thanks to the inaccessible position of the natural fastnesses where they have their camping-grounds. One of the>>e' strong- holds. Mount Ikiongo or Ikongo, which towers 1,600 feet above the surrounding lands, presents even more precipitous flanks than Ivohibe. It terminates in almost sheer rocky walls on all sides, except at one point scaled by a narrow path which might be easily defended by a handful of resolute men. Guard-houses or watch- towers have been erected at intervals round about the crest of the mountain ; while five hamlets, surrounded by fields and limpid brooks, are scattered over the upper plateau, which is eight miles long by four broad. The independent branch of the Ant' Anala tribe, who in time of war take refuge on the Ikongo heights, are commonly designated by the name of the mountain itself. Throughout the whole of the south-eastern part of Madagascar the populations ​446 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. appear to have been at some time much subject to Arab influences. The Zafe- Raminia, or " Whites," mentioned by Flacourt and other contemporary writers, were certainly either Arabs or Hindus professing the Mohammedan religion. Numerous chiefs amongst all the local tribes claim Arab descent, while the onibias or priests, corresponding to the omasai of the Sakalavas, disseminate usages and ceremooios which are undoubtedly derived from the precepts of Islam.* The Betsimisarakas and Sihanakas. Of all the nations on the eastern seaboard, the most numerous are the now reduced lietsimisarakas or " United People," well known to travellers, who have to cross their territorj' on the route from Tamutave to Tananarive, capital of Madagascar. Both the Betsimisarakas and their neighbours, the Betanimenas, or " People of the Red Land," who claim to be descended from the Babakoto Indris, are tall and robust, but of a gentle, patient disposition, in other respects differing little from their Ilova rulers. They number collectively about three hundred thousand souls. Prominent amongst the other peoples of the eastern seaboard are the Ant' Ankai, or " Gladesraen," and the Bezanozano, or " Bushmen " (?) t who occupy the long narrow Ankai Valley between two parallel ranges of forest-clad mountains. These tribes have become intermediary agents, a sort of middlemen, for the trade between the Hovas of the plateau and the Betsiinisaraka coast- landers. Nearly all the merchandise is transported by them over the difficult mountain trucks and passes, and their habit of cairying heavy loads on the bare shoulders has gradually developed fleshy welts which protect the shoulder-blade from sudden shocks. The children are all born furnished with these protecting excrescences. J Farther north, in the depression now flooded by Lake Aloatra, dwell the Ant' Sihanakas, that is, the " Lake People," or according to William Ellis, the '* Independent," flshers and shepherds, who tend the herds of their Hova masters. Nearly all the utensils used by this tribe are made of reeds. During the rainy season the inhabitants of some of the riverain and lacustrine villages do not take the trouble to retire to the higher grounds rising above the level of the inunda- tions. They simply embark, with their household goods and matting, on stout rafts also made of reeds, and thus drift about with the current till the waters subside. The Sihanakas belong to the same tribal group as the Betsimisarakas ; but farther on, the northern extremity of Madagascar is occupied by quite a different people, the Ant' Ankuras, that is, either v Men of the North" or " Men of the Rocks," who are distinguished from all the other inhabitants of the island by their distinctly KuHr-like appearance, with wonlly hair and thick lips. Of all the • Max Leclerc; A. Walen, Antananarivo Annual, 1883. t So Jurgcnsen explains the word, which others interpret in the sense of " Anarchists " or ••Rebels." t Mtm9%r$ oftkt Anihropolojfieal Sofiety, 1877. ​THE SIHANAKAS AND KIMOS. 447 Malagasy nations they have also bc>?u brouglit most under the influence of the teachings of Islam. During the late political complications the Ant* Ankaras sided with the French against the Hovas, and have in return reaped the same reward as their Sakalava neighbours. They have been deserted by their foreign allies and bunded over to the t<?nder mercies of their hereditary enemies, the present masters of the island. Such at least is the practical result of the treaty of 1885, which, while nominally reducing the Hovas to the position of vassals, really strengthens their claims to the political supremacy over all the Malagasy peoples. The Kimos and other Aborigines. Besides those of the chief nations that divide the Madagascar territory between them, many other tribal names figure on the maps, which must be regarded either as the designations of mere clans, castes, and other smaller sub-divisions, or else synonymous with the better-known appellations. But mention is also made of certain dwarfish peoples, such as the Kimo", who are said to dwell amongst the Baras in the southern parts of the island. The early French travellers who refer to them — the naturalist Commerson, and De Modave, Governor of Fort Dauphin — dcFcribe these pigmies as blacks with large head, crisp hair, long arms, very brave, and skilful in the use of bow and arrow. But during the course of the present century no trace has been discovered of their existence by any European explorer. Flacourt also believed in the existence of a cannibal tribe, the Ontoysatroihas, who were said to devour their sick and aged relatives. Amongst these Malagasy natives, possibly kinsmen of the Sumatran Battas, " the only graves of the fathers and mothers are their children." * Allusion is also made to the Behosi, said to dwell in the woodlands of the western slope about the uninhabited borderlands, and described as a black people, springing like monkeys from branch to branch and living on fruits, roots, and lemurs taken by snares and then " fattened for the market." But nothing beyond a vague tradition would appear to survive of this tribe, as well as of the ancient Va-Zimba Negroes, who were said to T)e the true aborigines of Madagascar, and who would seem to have been unacquainted even with the use of fire. Who were these Va-Zimbas, whoso very name suggests their Bantu origin ? A small tribe south of Majunga in the Sakalava territory is still known by the same designa- tion, and may possibly belong to the same race. This at least is rendered probable by the fact that they are regarded as having a Fort of pre-eminent right to the land, and that on their journeys they are entitled to help themselves without paj- ment to the produce of the soil, as if they were envoi's of the sovereign. The Va-Zimbas may perhaps be kinsmen of the Ba-Simba or Cimbeba people on the west coast of Africa, about the Cunene basin. Their graves, stones heaped up like cairns or else disposed in circles, are scattered over various districts of the central plateau, and are approached by the present Malagasy inhabitants with fear
and tromblinj^. Hero sacrifices are even occasionally offered in order to conjure the evil spirits hovering about these ill-omened sites. Social Condition. In a country like Madaga8c:ir, which is passing through a period of rapid trans- formation, and almost of revolution, the social condition necessarily presents the greatest discrepancies, according as the various tribes and castes take part in or still hold aloof from the onward nationjl movement. The influence of the whites is prc<lominant in the high places, and amongst a large number of tribal communi- ties the leading families boast of their descent from Europeans, just as their pre- decessors plunud themselves on their Arab blood. Like the Japanese — and herein may be noticed another point of resemblance between the two races — they have plunged with a sort of frenzy into the broad stream of European culture. Dress, ornaments, furniture, style of dwellings, ceremonies, military parades, polite phraseology, religions themselves : all has been eagerly adopted from their English or French visitors, and the work of assimilation thus gradually spreads in ever widening circles from the capital to the remotest extremities of the empire. Even during the interval of reaction, when all foreigners were expelled, the movement still continued, and those who were temporarily banished from Tana- narivo were surprised on their return after the war to find a large increase in the number of buildings constructed in the European style of architecture. At pre- sent the whites, whether traders or missionaries, freely traverse the island from end to end, and hundreds especially of the dealers from Mauritius and Reunion, are hospitably welcomed by the still independent people on the seaboard and central plateaux. Under all these influences schools have been multiplied in the towns and villages. The Ilova language, henceforth fixed by the adoption of the Roman writing system, has become a literary tongue, and possesses a yearly increasing number of printed books and periodicals.* English, French, arnl Portuguese terms are freely bor- rowed, although in a greatly modified form to suit the phonetic system and struc- ture of the national speech. Christianity, represented by four different Protestant sects and the Roman Catholic form, has been the State religion since the year 1861), and the Queen now bears the title of "Head of the Assembly of Believers." Madagascar has also its learned societies. Radania II., who on ascending the throne in 1861, began by declaring in a great la bari, or national council, that henceforth all the whites " formed part of his family," had even the intention of founding an Academy of Sciences. He fancied, like so many other sovereigns, that he could thus create genius. But beyond the influence of the ruling class the peoples of the more secluded • The Antananarh'o Annual and Mndagaiear Magazine, a learned, scientific, and literary publication, hw regularly appeared for many years in the capital. It is written in English, chiefly by the members of the London Missionary Stxacty, but entirely set up and printed by native craftsmen, on who.se skill and intelligence it reflects much credit. The first number was issued in 1875 under the editorship of the RcT. Jarocs Sibree, by whom our knowledge of the island and its inhabitants has been greatly enlarged. — EuiTOb. ​MALAGASY CUSTOMS. 449 districts of the empire have still partly preserved the primitive usages and customs inherited from tht*ir Mulay or Bantu ancestors, as well as the religious rites and ceremonies of the olden times The Malagasy who have not yet adopted in part or altogether the European dress, or the long white cotton robes introduced by the missionaries, wear nothing but the lamhn, a sort of skirt which amongst the populations of the interior is made of bast pounded with the hammer. Malagasy CustroMs. The natives of many districts also still tattoo the face or raise scars or welts on the body, like their African or Polynesian ancestors, or dress the hair with clay and grease, like most (# the tribes along the Upper Congo. Thus the Baras fashion the hair in the form of a great ball by means of wax and fut kneaded into a sort of yellowish pigment. The dwellings of the uncivilised natives are merely wretched hovels made of beaten earth, reeds, and the foliage of the ravenala plant. Amongst some communities firearms are still unknown, the warriors using nothing but their primitive spears, bows and arrows, or else the still more primitive blow- pipe. The rite of circumci!?ion is universally practised amongst all the populations not yet converted to Christianity. In the Sakaluva communities the operation is performed at the age of six or seven, after which the victim is henceforth consi- dered as a man. On this occasion he fires his first shot, and is also knocked about and well shaken by the assistants, to give him a forecast of the arduous life- struggles for which he must now prepare himself. In general the Malagasy children enjoy a considerable degree of freedom, and in most of the tribes the young men and women are allowed to contract temporary unions without exposing themselves to censure. They come together on trial before making up their minds to a permanent alliance Until he is married the Malagasy remains a minor, incapable of inheriting property. The marriage itself usually takes the form of a purchase, and, as in so many other countries, is accompanied by a show of abduction. In some districts the purchaser is not allowed to carry off his prize until he has gallantly fought for her, and made a sufficient display of tact and bravery against the young men of the neighbourhood. Amongst the Sakalavas the alliance cannot be settled by the parents without the consent of their children ; but they always take prece- dence at the wedding feast. At this festive gathering bride and bridegroom eat out of the same dish, after which they dip their finger in a vessel containing the blood of an ox slaughtered in honour of the occasion, and then smear the breast of the guests with the blood. The Sakalava unions are as a rule much respected, and divorces, euphemistically called " thanksgivings," are of rare occurrence. Cases are also said to be common enough of the survivor comnntting suicide through grief at the death of his or her companion in life. But amongst the ^lahafali, the women are on the contrary universally regarded as inferior beings, bound to serve man in all things and 126— AF ​450 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. enjoying no personal rights of any sort. They are not even allowed to eat with him. or to be pre-^^nt at his meals When ill they must keep carefully secluded, and after death the remains of the wife are never deposited in the sacred place reserved for her husband. The adulteress is often put to death, even by her own kinsfolk, while amongst the Sihanukas the widow is subjected to real tortures. (^Ioth<Ml in her most sumptuous roba and decked in all her finery, the wretched woman awaits in the mortuary house the return of the solemn funeral procession. After the ceremony, friends and relatives fall upon her, tearing off her jewels, rending her garments, imbinding her hair, hurling at her some broken vessel and damaged or soiled clothes, and the like, all the time heaping curses on her as the cause of the calamity. She is forbidden to utter a word ; all are free to buffet or beat her at pleasure, and this period of " mourning " lasts ^r months, occasionally even for a whole year. It ends with a formal divorce pronounced by the relatives of the dead, in order to sever all ties with the remains of her departed husband. The brotherhood of blood, known by diverse names amongst the several tribes, is a custom still commonly observed all over the island, and most European travellers have by this means acquired several " brothers," who have aided them in the work of exploration. The two friends inflict a slight wound on each other nnl mix the blood flowing from the cut. But amongst the Ant' Anossi, the IMMctico is to prepare a drink with the blood of an ox mingled with some "holy water," in which are thrown divers articles, such as a leaden bullet and a gold bracelet. Trials by ordeal also still survive in the unreduced parts of the country, at>d till neently these "judgments of God" were nowhere more terrible in their elFect than amongst the Ilovas. The yearly victims of the procedure were reckoned by the thousand. The most usual trial is that of boiling water, into which the accused are compelled to plunge their hand. Sometimes a bar of red-hot iron is placed on the victim's tongue ; or else he is made to drink the poison prepared from the fruit of the tanghin (Taiit/Ziinia retirnt'fera), or perhaps he is compelled to swim across some crocodile-infested stream. In this case the wizard strikes the water thrice, and then addresses the terrible saurians in solemn language : " It is for you, O crocodiles, to decide whether this man be guilty or innocent ! " The /t7ii( drnza, that is, the common law or custom, as it is called by the Saka- lavas, is everywhere scrupulously observed in the provinces not yet subjected to the Hova government. 1 his law is vry severe, especially where it rests on no moral sanction beyond the mere fear of the unknown. The Sakalava code includes as many things said to be fadi, or forbidden, as there are tabooed according to Polynesian usage. All Sakalavas are forbidden to sleep with the head turned in the direction of the south, to lie on the wrong side of a mat, to sweep the house on the north side, to peel a banana wi;h the teeth, to eat eels or a cock, to leave a mirror in the hands of a child, to spit in the tire, and to do a thousand other things which to those not swayed by the fear of wizards or evil spirits must seem perfec'ly indifferent acts. Each tribe, eich clan, each family has its special "fad," which must be 1 ​MAI.AOAST CUSTOMS. 461 attended to under peril of some dire mishap Such and such places arc unlucky, and must be carefully avoided by everybody. Such and such dates are (similarly declared to be unpropitious, and on those days all work must be stopped, all under- takings postponed. No one would dare to start on any adventure without first calling in the magicians to consult the fates by the game of hazard known as sikili, which Grandidier believes to have been introduced by the persecuted Jews, refugees from Arabia. '• The day of the month is a lottery," says a Malagasy proverb; and there are certain terrible days in the Ant' Anossi and Ant* Anala community when the new-born babe must l)e delivered to the crocodiles or buried alive. In order to enlarge his colony the adventurer IJeniovski made the people surrender to him all those who were doomed by their supposed destiny to some misfortune. Amongst the Vezo branch of the Sakalavas the families, while out- wardly observing the custom, come to a mutual understanding to save their off- spring from its consequences. The little victims are duly taken to the woods, but no sooner are they deposited on the ground than some kinsman steps forward to rescue them from certain death. Recourse is frequently had to saciifices in order to propitiute the evil spirits. All the manifestations of nature, such as thunder, rain, and the v inds, are personi- fied by minor genii, children of Zjnahar-be, a superior being who cannot be directly invoked, so far is he removed above mortals. The hills, the rocks, and great trees are also venerated spirits, and certain gigantic baobabs or tamarinds, towering high above the plain, are covered with scraps of cloth, adorned with animals' heads, or coated with coloured clays, attesting the veneration and homage of the faithful. But the evil spirits, still more numerous than the beneficent gejiii, hover in the air, ever whirling round and round in search of their victims. They it is that kindle the conflagration, destroy the crops, sweep away man and beast. " The ox hath therefore stretched his yoke in vain, The ploujrhman hjst hia sweat, and the green com Hath rotted ere his youth attained a beard ; The fold stands empty in the drowned field , And crows are fatt«l with the murrain flock." Hence, when he builds himself a dwelling or sows his field, the peasant, sur- n)unded by all his family, invokes one by one the genii of his kinsfolk, imploring ihein to tcare away their invisible foes. Against these adversaries song is the most potent weapon. To heal the ailing the women and young girls gather round their couch, singing and dancing and beating their hands at dawn and sunset. But should the spell fail and the patient die, it is because the demons have tri- umphed. Forthwith everything must be cleansed, and the very abode of the dead is left to the evil ones. The Ant' Anossi forsake the land itself, while most of the Sakalava tribes endeavour at least to baffle the fiends by changing their name. They thus hope that all trace of their wanderings may be lost. Amongst the Sakalavas it is also usual to hide away the sick in the woodlands, not more than two or three persons being in the secret of their whereabouts. If they thus succeed in concealing the sufferer from the demons he is sure to recover. ​46a SOUTH AND EAST AFBICA. Subvert. Nottnthstandinj? the introduction of foreign capital, agriculture can scarcely make much progress in a country where the soil is still cultivated by slave labour. Doubtless by eonct-nt rating all available hands on the development of colonial produce to the ueglect of alimentary plants, certain great planters may produce a deceptive show of agricultural prosperity. But these are precisely the conditions under which the bulk of the population suffers most grievously. The large land- owners on the east nide of the island are all ardent champions of slavery, on the plea that the landed interests of the country will thus be best furthered. The first settlers at Fort D.mphin already began by selling the men captured from their own allies; then, during the two subsequent centuries, Madagascar became a great dep.H where the slave- dealers came to procure servile labour for the plantations in the Mascarenhas Ar hipelago, on the African coastlands, in Arabia, and Egypt. On the other hand, the Makuas, or Mojambikas, names collectively given to the slaves brought from Africa itself, were landed in thousands on the Sakalava coast, liy the French planters in Mauritius these weie commonly called " Marmites," from the native word Jlai ami (a, that is, "forders,"in allusion to their passage from the mainland across the Mozambique Channel to the west side of Madagascar. Since the year 1S77 the import ition of Negroes has been rigorously suppressed, liut in the great island itself slavery still exists, and the servile class is estimated at no less than two-thirds of the whole population, consequently about two millions altogether. Ihc tribes conquered by the Hovas may also be said to be regarded by tlieir political masters as mere gangs of slaves, and are constantly subjected to forced or statute labour ("corvee"). In every tribal community the hereditary slave element itself still attests the original struggle between two classes or hostile nices. The crime of poverty is also punished by servitude, in so far as liabilities incurred by the Ilova debtors constantly involve loss of personal freedom to the profit of their creditors. * According to Mullens, the average price of a, slave in Madagascar is about forty shillings. Some of the grandees possess man}' thousands ; the ecclesiastical digni- taries themselves purchase slaves like ordinary citizens. Hence in their sermons the shepherds of the flock are obliged carefully to avoid all reference to the delicate question of the equal right of all men to freedom. Mateuial Pkogress. But notwithstanding all these drawbacks, Madagascar still remains an agricul- tural region of great value, us the chief source whence the neighbouring Masca- renhas group draws its supply of provisions. Rice is by far the most important cultivated plant, and although the portion of the soil under tillage cannot be esti- mated at a hundredth part of the total area, the annual crop, after amply supplying the local demand, contributes a considerable item to the export trade of the eountry. In some remote provinces, and especially amongst the Ant* Anala people, the ​PBOGBESS OP MADAGASCAR. 46S cultivated tracts arc regularly displaced every year. The herbage and brushwood of some favourable 8|K)t are cleared by fire ; then in the rainy season the ploughed ground is sown, and the harvest gathered in due course. Next year this temporary camping- ground is abandoned, and the same rude system of clearance repeated in some neighbouring district. Round about Tananarivo the irrigated lands laid out as rice-fields are prepared with great care, and never sown until first well manured. Besides rice, the Mala- gasy cultivate most of the alimentary plants of the tropical and sub-tropical regions, such as mmioc, sweet potatoes, yams, ground-nuts, and saonio, which is the same vegetable [arum esculcntum) that, under the name of taro, is so widely diffused throughout the Oceanic world. The Europeans lave also introduced into the central plateaux the cereals, fruits, and vegetables of the northern hemisphere. The tea shrub has made its appearam e on the uplands of Imerina, and for some years planters on the seaboard have turned their attention to the cultivation of cotton, coffee, and sugar. The central plateaux of Madagascar, being destitute of forests and mostly covered with herbage, are amongst the regions best suited for stock-breeding. There are two species of oxen, the South African, and the zebu, or Indian buffalo, introduced from the East at some unknown epoch, and now numbering many hundred thousands, if not over a million head. The ox is the most attaehe<l companion of the Sakalava ; no ceremonj'^ takes place from which he is excluded, no legend is related in which he does not play his part. The Malagasy sheep belongs to the fat-tailed fleecy variety. But nei^rly all the European live-stock thrives equally well on the Madagascar plains, except the horse, which for soine unknown reason frequently perishes. The hardy equine breed introduced from Burmah succeeds best. The pig, formerly loathed as an impure animal, is gradually spreading over the whole of the Ilova territory, but has not yet penetrated«nto the Sakalava country, where the people are still slightly affected by Mohammedan influences. All the European farmyard poultry have already become thoroughly accli- matised amongst the Hovas. Some rising agricultural establishments have begun to cultivate the Chinese variety of the silkworm, which is fed, as in Europe, on the mulberry-leaf. Some of the indigenous species also yield a stout silken thread. Under the influence of their European teachers, the Malagasy have already greatly modified the national industries, as shown by the dress of the people and the style of their domestic architecture. Nevertheless, most of the local crafts are still maintained on the old primitive lines. The native weavers make stout silken fabrics of bright colours, as well as cotton and linen stuffs which are used for the national costume. The fibre of the raphia palm is also employed in the preparation of garments, hats and sails. The mats exported from Madagascar, and woven of raphia, papyrus, or other kinds of reeds, are highly esteemed for their strength, durability, and brilliant colours. The various factories established by Laborde and ei^cournged by Radama II., ​454 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. wero all de.stroyod during the subsequent civil disorders, and the countiy lacks Buffieient iutornul resources to replace theni. The mineral deposits, which are described by the natives as very rich, but which have hitherto been only some- what 8Ui)crHcially surveyed by Europeans, have not yet acquired any economic importance, mining operations having long been severely suppressed by the Hova Government. Guillermin's researches have shown that Madagascar possesses a coal basin lying on the north-west coast over against Nossi-Be, and very rich, Specially in the AmbiKlinia liro district on the shores of Passandava Bay. But accurate details are still h.cking on the actual extent of this bisin, on its probable contents and the facilities for working it to advanta.^e. The sands of the Ikopa River are auriferous, an 1 a few gold and copp.T mines are now being worked for the benefit of the Government. The Ilova Government watches jealously over the commercial iiitore-sts of the countrv, nuiintaining an effective system of custom-houses at all important .stations round the coast, and even in the districts occupied by still independent papulations. An impost of from 8 to 10 per cent, is levied on all articles of the import and export trade, with the exception of books, stationery, and school furni- ture, which are aduiitted freely. A large part of the traffic, especially on the east coast, is carried on with Mauritius and Reunion, which islands require cattle, rice. UMi'i'/.Q, and provisions of all sorts for the hands employed on the plantations. The dirLct trade with Europe is concentrated in the hands of a few wholesale dealers, who introduce woven goods, draperies, hardware, rifles, and other arms, taking in return hides, suet, wax, caoutchouc, copal; which they obtain from the agents stationed in all the seaports round the coast and in the large villages of the interior. The United States also takes a large share in the foreign commerce of the island, which is estimated at about £1."200,00 a year. The French five-franc piece, whith here takes the name of " dollar," is the only current coin. It is cut into small factions, which have to be cin-rully weighed, so that dealers always carry their scales wi;h them. The development of eommer. e is much obstructed by the bad or deficient com- munications between the elevated plateaux and the seaports on the coast. Specu- lators have aire idy prop )sed to construct railways along the seaboard and thence inland to the cential markets; but meantime the capital itself is connected only by rough tracks with Majanga and Tamatave, the two chief seaports, the former on the west, the latter on the east side of the island. liut the traditional policy of the state at last broke down under the pressure of growing trade, and even of the urgent requirements of the administration itself. Tananurivo is already connected by telegraph with its eastern port, Tamatae, while some of the narrow paths are being widened and otherwise improved. At present all merchandise is forwarded from Tananarive to Tamatave and Majanga by means of Betsimisaraka and other porters, whose loads weigh on an average from a hundred to a hundred and ten pounds. But the transport .charges increase enorraouJy in the case of bulky objects, which cannot be reduced to con​PROGRESS OF MADAGASCAR. 456 vcnient size or weight. Asa rule, a carrier takes about ten days to cover the dis- tiiuco of two hundred miles between the capital and Taraatave, and receives for this journey from twelve to twenty shillings. Neither Tamatave nor any of the French stations round about the island are yet connected with the telegraph systems of the outer world. But two regular lines of steamers, conesponding with Mauritius and lleuuion, touch at all the chief seaports on the coast. Topography. The capital of the Ilova kingdom, which no doubt is destined soon to become the metropolis of the whole island, has become a large city not so much because of its central position for trade, as through the centralising tendencies of the Govern- ment, concentrating in one place large numbers of officials, courtiers, troops, and slaves. Tananariro, or Anfananariro — that is. Ant' Ananarivo, or " Here the Thou- sand Villajfes" — consists in fact of a cousiierab'e nimiber of villages and hamlets grouped together within a comparatively small area. The population had already increased from ten or twelve thousand in 1820, to double that number in 1840, and according to the partial statistics prepared by some recent travellers and residents, the present population cannot be much less than a hundred thousand. Within the limits of the city are comprised over twenty thousand structures of all sorts, the houses boing generjlly so small that every wealthy family occupies several. The original site of Tananarivo crowned the summit of a hill 4,800 feet above sea-level, which stretches north and south at a height of about 500 feet above the valley cf the Ikopa. From this eminence the eye commands an extensive prospect of the river winding away to the west, and of a vast extent of gardens, riee-fields, and villages, dotted over the rolling plains. From the Cfipious springs in the neighbourhood the inhubitants derive an abundant supply of good water. The crest of the hill, on which stands the royal palace, terminates westwards in a precipitous blulf, which has been called the " Tarpeian Rock " of Tananarivo. From its summit were hurled all those who had the misfortune to incur the wrath of the sovereign. On the west side the slopes are too steep to afford space for the erection of many structures ; hence the dwellings are chiefly grouped on the gentler incline of the eastern side of the hill, where all are di<p!)sed on artificially levelled terraces, rising tier above tier. Stone and brick are gradually replacing wood as the building materials of the houses, which are generally surmounted by lightning conductors. They all face westwards, either as a protection against the cold winds which set from the south-east, or more probably in virtue of some mythical tradi- tions. But they are not disposed in regular lines of streets or built on any par- ticular plan. Nevertheless the city is divided into a number of unequal quarters by a few avenues or thoroughfares, the largest of which, paved with granite flags, is the rui mura of the myal family. ​Farther on the boulevard descends into the new town which has sprung up to, the north of the ancient city. Beyond this quarter it stretches away between the rice-fields for some twelve miles across the plain to the town of Ambohimanga, one of the "twelve holy cities," and the most venerated of all. Ambohimanga stands on an isolated gneiss eminence which is shaded by large trees, and at the foot of
But besides this "Versailles" of royalty, Tananarive possi'sses several other public pleasure-grounds, picturesque villages, lakes, and country seats, surrounded by parks and gardens. At the very gates of the city the waters of the Ikopa are dammed up so as to form a lake encircling an islet which is laid out as a pleasant resort for the public. The river is hero confined between strong embankments which prevent it from overflowing, and which have been attributed to one of the first sovereigns of the Ilova dynasty. A carriage road, eighteen or twenty miles long, leads from Tunanarivo to Mati' fauna, the group of industrial establishments founded by Laborde to the south-east of the capital. Before their destruction the?e factories turned out all manner of wares — woven goods, hardware, tiles, porcelain, sugar, soap, arms, guns, ammuni- tion, and even electric conductors. The workshops were surrounded by an exten- sive garden of acclimatisation. On the central plateau stands another city bearing the name of " capital." This is Fianarantfioa, the chief town of the Betsileo nation, nearly ISO miles due south of Tananarivo, and 4,300 feet above sea-level. It « stands on a lofty hill on the western slope of the island, and in the district where rise the farthest headstreams of the Mangoka river. In rank, if not in the number of its inhabitants, Fianarautsoa is reckoned as the second city of the realm, and has been selected by the English missionaries as the centre of their operations for all the southern provinces of Madagascar. The little traffic carried on between this place and the sea is all directed towards the east coast, which is three times nearer than the opposite side, but of more difficult access, owing to the rugged char;icter of the highlands and the impetuosity of the mountain torrents. The chief station occupied by the Hovas in the Ant' Anala territory bears the same name as the holy city of the dominant race. But the fertile region round about this southern Ambohimanga is still far from being completely conquered. The king of the Bara nation, who has his residence on the natural stronghold of Mount Ivohibe, has even hitherto refused to receive the Hova envoys. The southern harbours on the east coast facing the solitary waters of the Indian Ocean are but little frequented. The produce of this region available for export is not of sufficient value to induce skippers to venture amid the dangerous reefs of the southern waters. Fori Dauphin, which has resumed its old Malagasy name of Faradlfai, is now nothing more than a military station held by the Hovas at the south-eastern extremity of the island. Going northwards along the same seaboard, the traveller meets at long intervals a number of other little posts likewise occupied by the ruling people. Such are Amhnhi, or Farafanga, in the Ant' Aimoro territory ; Ambo/i'peno, at the mouth of the Matitanana river, within the northern frontier of the same country ; Masin- draiio, or Tsiatosiki, on another coast stream flowing from the Betsileo plateau ; Mahanoro, a Betsimisiraka town, on a headland which commands an estuary near the mouth of the Onibe, the most copious river on the east side of the i>laud ; Fatoniandri, which during the blockade of Taraatave had become the port of entry for goods destine^ for the capital. ​Andororante, or the "Slave Market," former capital of the Betsimisaraka. kingdom, stands on a tongue of sand amid a labyrinth of coast lagoons. Its position is the most important of any on this seaboard, being the point which
lies nearest to the capital. Hence travellers bound for Tananarivo follow the coast from Tamatave to Andovoranto, and then strike inland from a neighbouring estuary, whence they soon reach the escarpments of the central plateau. This would consequently be an excellent site for a great commercial or naval station, but for the dangerous character of the neighbouring coastlands and the difficult ​approaches, which render it quite inaccessible to vessels of heavy draught. Yet a few Creole traders have already settled at Andovoranto, defying the pestiferous atmosphere of the surrounding swamps and stagnant waters.
Farther north follows a succession of sugar-cane plantations and cocoa-nut groves; but all attempts have been given up to cultivate the coffee shrub, which has been attacked and destroyed by hemileia vastatrix. Near the route leading from Andovoranto to Tananarivo is situated a far-famed and still much-frequented
thermal spring, where the Hovas formerly assembled to perform sanguinary rites.
Tamatave, or Toamasina, the St. Thomas of the early Portuguese navigators, although 60 miles farther from the capital than Andovoranto, is the busiest seaport in the whole of Madagascar. At this spot the coast develops a narrow promontory projecting eastwards and terminating in a coral reef which forms the parting-line between e northern and a southern bay. The former is further sheltered from the surf and breakers by another barrier reef, which stretches for ​400 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. Beveral miles seawards to a wooded islet known as the " Isle of Plums." The largest vessels tind commodious anchorage in the Tamatave roadstead, which can be easily reached without crossing any dangerous surf-beaten bars. The town itself is a small place consisting of depots, warehouses, cabins, and hovels inhabited by Betsimisarakas, blacks of various origin, and Creoles from the Mascareuhas. These dwellings are embowered in orange, lemon, mango, and cocoauut groves, while towards the west the " battery " and Hova village are masked by a curtain of tall trees. Formerly Tamatave was one of those " graves of Europeans " which are so frequently met in tropical regions. But the local climate has been considerably improved by the draining of some neighbouring marshes, which are now also planted with the fever-dispelling eucalyptus. Tamatave is the chief outlet for the cattle, rice, and other provisions intended for the Mascarenhas Islands, and for the hides and caoutchouc exported to Europe. The total exchanges average about £200,000. North of Tamatave the nearest station is the little-frequented seaport of Fouleimnfe. Maharelo, its native name, means " Much Health," but although salubrious enough for its Betsimisaraka inhabitants, the climate is nearly always fatal to Europeans. Farther north follows the port of Fcncrife, or Feuoarko, where vessels come chiefly to take in cargoes of rice. Fenerife is the natural outlet for the produce of the fertile Sihanaka territory and the Maningori valley. Towards the north-east stretches the long and narrow French island of St. Mary, the iV^o>.s< Boraha of the natives, which in 1883 had a population of 7,500. The early French writers also give it the name of Nossi Ibrahim, that is, Abra/iain's LsUmd, and speak of a Jewish colony settled here. Nevertheless, there is nothing Semitic either in the carriage or the features of its present Betsimis.iraka inhabitants, who are noted for their fine physical appearance. With its southern dependency, the islet of Naffes, St. Mary is 30 miles long from south-east to north-west, but so narrow that the whole area scarcely exceeds 60 square miles. Not more than one-fifth of this space is under cultivation, the chief products being cloves and vanilla. Over fifty thousand palms fringe the coast, on the west side of which stands the port, well-sheltered by the islet of Madame. Tintiuyne [Teng-Tciifj) and the other post on this coast lately occupied by the French have been abandoned, while the older French town of Loiiisboarr/, founded by the adventurer Beniovski, has been replaced by a Malagasy fort near Maroon f- setra. This is the chief outlet for the caoutchouc of Madagascar, which is yielded by a rahea or liana different from that of the East African species. On the north-east seaboard occur several ports, such as Angotsi, or Ngotsi, with a safe harbour and in a district yielding the best rice in the whole island ; Vohemar, like Angotsi protected by an islet, which forms an excellent port doing a brisk trade in live-stock and other provisions for' the Mascarenhas; Luquez (Lokia), occupied by the English for a short time after the Napoleonic wars; lastly, at the northern extremity of Madagascar, the great inlet of Antomboka, or
By the treaty of 1885, this inlet was ceded to France, which has made it a harbour of refuge and a victualling station for its navy. The whole basin, about two miles broad, is divided by the islet of Nossi Volane into two secondary harbours, approached by a channel from 20 to 25 fathoms deep and ramifying in all directions for many miles inland. The south-western branch is no less than
27 miles long, and most of these creeks are deep and thoroughly sheltered. On the south side, near the village of Antsinana, stand the French establishments, completed by groups of hovels largely occupied by runaway slaves. This is the capital of the French province of Madagascar, which also includes the two islands of St. Mary and Nossi Bé; and although it may never develop a large local trade, it occupies a magnificent strategic position, commanding at once both sides of the great island, as well as the Comoro and Mascarenhas groups. In 1888 steps were taken to found a health resort on one of the crests of Amber Cape, ​402 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. 3,780 feet above the level of the sea. The frontiers of the territory ceded to France round about Diego Suarez have not yet been officially determined. On the deeply indented north-west coast, the most frequented port lies on the volcanic ishnd of Nossi Be, which has been occupied by a French garrison since 1841. L'lrger and more fertile than St. Mary, but now completely treeless, Nossi Be was occupied by the French on account of the magnificent and perfectly sheltered roadstead at the south side, where it is protected on the east by the regular cone of Nonai Koinha, on the south-ejst by the Malagasy peninsula of Anfiki, on the west by a group of birrier reefs. The space thus enclosed affords room for the evolutions of hundreds of war-ships. On the north side stands Hellrille, the capital, a picturesque little place, which unfortunately suffers from the vicinity of some malarious swamps. On the east side lies Antonoro, an older settlement, iuhabiled chiefly by half-caste Malagasies, crossed with Arabs and Comoro IsLuidcrs. The whites, mostly from the Mascarenhas, are chiefly engaged in superintending the sugar, clove, and vanilla plantations, on which were till recentlv employed Makuu slaves from the African mainland. The other inhabitants of Xossi Be are Malagasies, namely, Sakalavas and Betsimisarakas, and the whole population, including the neighbouring islets, has varied from six thousand to sixteen thousand, according to the vicissitudes of wars and revolutions. The local trarle, being free from custom-house dues, is relatively considerable, averaging from £'320,000 to £.'3jO,000 annually. Nossi Be, which depends administratively on Diego Suarez, forms a commune with the adjacent islets of Sdkntia, N'ossi Komba, Nossi Fall, and the curiously compass-shaped Nossi Mitxio. The extinct craters to the north-west of Hellville are flooded with lakelets inhabited by voracious crocodiles. South of Nossi lie the busy market of AmbocUmadiro occupies the southern extremity of the deep inlet of Passandava, near the point where the Bavotabe coal mines have recently been opened. Farther south follow other deep and well-sheltered bays, the most frequented of which is the spacious inlet of Bom- botok {Ampombitokana), at the entrance of which stands the important seaport of Mojanga {Majungn Madsanga, or " Health Restorer"). The trade of this place is scarcely inferior to that of Tamatave on the east coast, and although it lies at a greater distance frtan the capital it has the advantage of being situated in the same basin of the river Ikopa, which is navigable for steamers beyond the Betsiboka confluence, and much higlier up for canoes. Before 1823, when it was still the capital of an independent Sakalava kingdom, Mojanga was a much larger place than at present, with a population of at least ten thousand, including many Arab traders. Farther up on the banks of the Ikopa stands the flourishing town -of Marovoni ( " Crocotlileville,") which was also formerly capital of a Sakalava state. Above the Betsiboka confluence lies the village of Maratamna, in an auriferous alluvial district, which the Government has at last allowed to be worked. Beyond Mojanga follow several other havens and inlets, which, however^ are rarely visited by skippers. Here the natural division between the two sections ​of the eastern seaboard iu indicated by the bold headland of Cape St. Andrew, beyond which stretches the little-known district of Menubé, fringed by coral reefs and desert islets. The south-west coast, although less provided with good harbours than that of the north-west, has nevertheless some frequented seaports. The most important is Tullear (Tolia or Ankatsaoka), on a fine spacious and well-sheltered haven some 12 miles north of the mouth of the Saint Augustine river. The surrounding district, which is remarkably healthy and fertile, yields for export cereals, cattle, wax, and dye-woods; and nearly all the orchilla used in
France comes from this place. A French resident has recently been stationed at Nossi Bé, a small island on the south side of the estuary of the St. Augustine, regularly visited by traders from the Mascarenhas Archipelago.
Administration.
The Hova Government is practically an absolute despotism, tempered by revolutions of the palace, and disguised by some constitutional fictions. The sovereign is master, and to him belong the lives, fortunes, and substance of all his subjects. ​464 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. Before the general acceptauce of Christianity, he bore the title of " Visible God," but now he is eonU'nt to claim supreme power " by the grace of God and the wiU of the people." Formerly he was the high priest of the nation, offered yearly sacrifices to secure the happiness of his people, and in return received from them the first-fruits of the soil. At his accession the courtiers took the " oath of the calf "—that is. after sacrificing one of these animuls, they swore by the swords buried in its body that the same fate should overtuke themselves whenever disloyal to their sovereign. His name, his image, all objects touched by him, are equally sacred ; he alone has a right to the red umbrella, and, as in other Malay languages, a special form of speech is reserved for the ruler. Terror precedes and follows him, and the highest in the land obey in silence at sight of the " silver assegai " ht'ld up by an attendant. Till recently officers doomed to death were invited to a banquet, where, after the feast, they drank the poisoned cup with acclamations in honour of the sender. Condemned nobles received an iron rod, with orders to voluntarily impule themselves; others were required to plunge into quagmires, where they disappearel in the mud; while some were burnt alive. But except in the case of slaves and the lower orders, care was taken to shed no blood, as a convincing proof of the royal clemency. Being onniipotent in principle, the king or the queen, overflowing with the " wisdom of the twelve kings " — that is, of all their ancestry — choose their own successors. Nevertheless, they do not escape from the court intrigues, and at present the real authority resides in the Prime Minister, husband of the Queen, and a sort of mayor of the palace. Other ministers are named by him, and all liave to obey his ordors. p]ven the dignitaries assembled in the kabari, or " great council," do little more than listen to the speech from the throne and signify their apj)roval. On grand occasions, when all the tribes with their chiefs are assembled according to the old feudal right, the minister addresses the multitude, which never fails to give its assent to his propositions. The ainlrinui, or baronial class, being t-tujtioned nearest to the palace and consequently more easily controlled than others, enjoy the least measure of freedom, and cannot even withdraw from the capital except on some special mission. But the old divisions into nobles, citizens, and slaves are being gradually replaced by the social classification according to ** honours," which is at once civil and military. The " first honour " is that of the simple soldier ; but from this it is possible to pass through all the intermediate grades up to the sixteenth, the highest rank in the social system. The trade in spirits has by recent enactments been prohibited throughout linerina, and 4,000 officials have been appointed to enforce the royal decrees, to keep the civil registers, and conduct the regular transfer of property. A penal code, far les3 rigorous than the old "common law," has been proclaimed, and henceforth the sentence of death is rarely inflicted. The army of "a hundred thousand men," although really comprising not more than thirty thousand, is recruited by a sort of conscription, the men being disbanded after five jears' service. ​With the exception of the school teachers, none of the Government officials, not
even the district judges, receive direct salaries. Hence they have to live on the ​466 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. revenue of the fiefs granted them by the liberality of the Government, or on the perquisites derived from the exercise of their judicial functions. Such is the consequent venality in the administration of justice, that all verdicts may be said to be knocked down to the highest bidder. On being presented to the sovereign all are expected to offer the hasina— that is, the tribute of vassalage, generally a piece of gold or silver. His subjects are also held to personal service, and there- fore liable to the fa iiompoana, or statute labour. The produce of the tithes and poll-tax, as well as the castoms dues, belong to the king, who is not required to account for their disposal. At present the customs in the six chief seaports are held in security for a first loan of £600,000 raised to pay off the indemnity claimed by France after the late war. The charges of the protectorate, however, represented by the resident at Tananarive, the vice-resident of Tamatave and other places, and the controllers of the customs are defrayed by the French Government. Christianity is the official religion, no favour being shown to one sect over another. The heaopij, or English episcopalian church, represented by the London Missionary Society, has the largest number of adherents, comprising in 1887 three hundred thousand members, four thousand one hundred and fifty preachers, and one thousand two hundred churches. The Roman Catholics number about one hundred thousand. The new religion was imposed upon the people, just as the courtiers and inhabitants of the towns were ordered to adopt the European garb. They are required under cert.iin penalties to observe the Sabbath, to assist at the services, and join in the prayers for the prosperity of the sovereign. But amongst the independent populations conversions are rare, and several Sakalava chiefs still call themselves Mohammedans, The p igan feast of the Fandroana, or Bath, cele- brated by the court in the holy city of Ambohimanga, has been gradually modified until it is now little m^re than a week of general festivities. Education is compulsory, and when choice is once made of a Protestant or Catholic school the pupils can never leave it, for another. English and French are taught in the schools, and scientific works have already been translated into Mala- gasy. Thousands cf copies are issued of the local periodicals, but no regular ]X)8tal service lu;8 yet been established, except between the French residencies of Tananarive and Tamalave. The central provinces of Imerina, Betsileo, Ant' Ankai, and Ant' Sihanaka, completely subjected to the Ilova government, are accurately defined and divided into administrative districts. But in the independent or partly-reduced regions, tbe districts expand or diminish according to the strength of the garrisons stationed in the military posts. At present the number of provinces is fixed at twenty-two. III.— The Comouo Islands. Lying midway between Madagafcar and the African mainland, the Comoro archipelago is equally separated from both by marine abysses some 500 fathoms deep. It comprises four islands with a few islets disposed like satellites round ​about, the whole forming an upheaved volcanic chain stretching about 150 miles in the direction from south-east and north-west. The Comoros thus belong physically neither to Madagascar nor to Africa, but constitute a distinct group, with partly original flora and fauna, and inhabitants also presenting some distinct features. Here the primitive African and Malagasy elements have received their culture, their language and social usages mainly from later Arab intruders.
Politically the achipelago belongs to France, which occupied Mayotte in 1841, and the rest of the islands so recently as 1886. Notwithstanding its small extent the group is of considerable strategic importance, owing to its position in the
middle of the Mozambique Channel and on the west flank of Madagascar. It has a total area of 800 square miles, with a population estimated at about fifty thousand.
The agencies by which the islands have been raised to the surface appear to have been much more energetic in the northern than the southern part of the archipelago. Mayotte in the south-east has no summits exceeding 2,000 feet, whereas Anjuan, which with Moheli occupies the centre, rises to a height of 4,000 feet, and the active volcano of Kartal or Karadalla (Jungu-ja-Dsaha, or "Kettle of Fire"), in the north-western island of Great Comoro, to 8,500 feet. This imposing mountain, with its blackish escarpments towering above the blue waters and fringed with a green wreath of cocoanut palms, presents one of the grandest ​458 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. tures in the Indian Ocean. Occasionally a column of smoke shoots up from tlie crater, a yawning chasm 500 feet deep and over a mile in circumference. In 1858 copious lava streams flowed down the western slopes of Kartal, encircling like an island a village perched on an older eruptive rock. Several other cones, some perfect, some breached, also produce a striking effect with their headlands terminating in columnar basalt cliffs. But besides the igneaus rocks, there are also some granitic and sedimentary formations. In many places the beach, strewn with sandy or shingly lavas min<^kd with ferruginous ores, is of a bright black and reddish colour, forming a striking contrast with the dazzling white of the neighbouring coral reefs. These coralline masses present great differences of form in the different islands, in Great Comoro and Moheli lying close in shore, while at I^Iayotte they are disposed in an oval ring round the coast, with openings here and there giving access to shipping. At a certain height above the present sea-level, are seen layers of sand and of shells absolutely identical with those still inhabiting the surrounding waters, and consequently attesting upheaval in relatively recent times. The seasons are bettor regulated in the Comoros than in Madagascar, the islands not being large enough greatly to modify the system of atmospheric currents. The dry seasjn, lasting uniformly from May to October, is not very unhealthy for Europeans, thanks to the . comparatively low temperature, which oscillates between 68^ and 84° F. During this period the south-eastern trade- winds prevail ; daily, however, veering round with the sun to the south and south- west. In October begins the wet and hot season, when the glass ranges from 77° to 95° F. and when the north-west trades bring copious rains, causing a discharge of 1 20 inches and upwards on the slopes of the mountains. At times the currents from opposite quarters neutralise each other, producing either calms or cyclones, which, however, are never so violent as in the Mascarenhas waters. Despite the excessive rainfall caused by the north-western monsoon, Great Comoro has not a single perennial stream, all the precipitated water disappearing rapidly in the thick deposits of volcanic ashes and scoriae covering the surface. In the other islands a few rivulets wind through the verdant valleys. Such is the fertility of the volcanic soil that, before they were inhabited, the islands were completely covered with a dense forest vegetation ; but at present not more than one-sixth of the surface is clothed with large timber. A few forms appear to be indigenous, but the greater part have been introduced either directly by man (European vegetables), or by the marine currents and other natural agencies. During the southern monsoon a local counter-current occasionally causes the upper waters to flow back, generally towards the south, and in this way the seeds of many Malagasy plants have been brought to the archipelago. From Madagascar also comes the greater part of the insular fauna. Most of the species in the two regions are identical, or at least belong to the same genera. Besides one species of lemur, the group possesses a bat {ptcropus comorensis) which ranges thence eastwards to Australia, but is absent from Africa. There is also a
The Comoro or Korar group, a nume also at one time extended to Madagascar, has been known to the Arab navigators at least since the tenth century, and was also formerly visited by the Persians of Shiraz, who traded with Magdoshu and Kiloa on the African seaboard. During the eailydaysof Portuguese enterprise, mariners from Lisbon called at Great Comoro. But the first permanent settlers, mostly runaway slaves, came from Madagascar and East Africa, and even from Arabia, forming in the archipelago a mongrel race, which presents all the transi- tions from the almost pure Semite to the Malagasy and Bantu types. A few Banyan traders have also been attracted from Bombay ; but the bulk of the population, collectively called Ant'Aloch, represents a mixture of diverse African, Arab and Malagasy elements. The Ant'Aloch islanders are mostly tall, with a yellowish complexion, thick but not pouting lips, high but narrow brow. The hair, naturally crisp or kinky, is usually shaven in the Mussulman fashion ; the women also blacken their teeth with betel-chewing, while many are tattooed and wear a metal button or flower on the nostril in the Hindu style. At Mayotte, where the Malagasy element prevails, the people are of darker colour, but in the other islands of more Semitic appearance. The natives of Great Comoro are an exceptionally tall and stalwart race, and travellers speak with admiration of these men, whose robust constitution and freedom from disease are attributed both to their cleanly habits and to the salubrity of the climate. The Ant'Aloches and dominant Mahorri, or "Moors," are all Mohammedans of mixed descent, who endeavour in all things to conform to the usages and institutions of their Arab teachers. The Sultans draw up their decrees in Arbbic although the current speech is a variety of Ki-Swaheli mixed with a few Malagasy and numerous South African elements, introduced by Makua and other slaves from the mainland. These slaves still constitute nearly half of the population, although the Sultans have undertaken to abolish slavery. The French island of Mayotte (Maute) is three times smaller, but commercially more important, than Great Comoro. The roadstead, protected eastwards by the islet of Pamanzi, is very deep and spacious enough to accommodate whole fleets. But although it enjoys the advantage of free trade, Mayotte is too small to attract much traftic, and has failed to realise the hopes of those who expected it would become a great mart for Madagascar and the mainland. Besides cocoanuts it yields coffee, cotton and especially vanilla, and the planters, chiefly from Mauritius and Reunion, have recently taken to the cultivation of sugar and distillation of rum. The administration, at first established at Zaudzi, at the western extremity of Pamanzi, has been transferred to Mamutzu or Shoa, facing it on the east side of Mayotte. But the largest place in the island is JifSnpere, close to the hill of like name over a mile farther inland. Since the French annexation the popiUation of Mayotte has increased fourfold, having risen from three thousand three hundred in 1843 to about fourteen thousand in 1888. Anjuan {Johanna, Nsuani) has always enjoyed a considerable trade as an intermediate station between the Cape and India. The British cruisers employed in the suppression of the slave trade maintained a provision and coaling station ​on this island, which is the most fertile of the Comoro group, yielding good crops, especially of sugar. Its Arab sultan resides at Msamudu, called also Anjuan, a sort of mediæval fortified town situated on the north-west side, and with a population of nearly four thousand.
Moheli (Moali), smallest of the Comoros, is also very fertile and abundantly
watered. Its cocoanut, coffee, sugar, vanilla and clove plantations, chiefly owned by English capitalists, form a broad verdant zone round about the capital, Fomboni.
Great Comoro (Ngaziya), although the largest and most populous member of the archipelago, is little cultivated and seldom visited by traders, owing to the absence of water and good havens. The sultan resides at Muroni, a small place situated on a creek on the south west coast. ​THE SEYCHELLES. 471 A geographical dependence of the Comoros are the reefs running north-east of Mayotte parallel with Madagascar, and terminating in the little group of uninhahited Gtorieme islets. About 120 miles farther north lies the coralline group of the Cosmokdos, also uninhabited, but claimed by the English as a dej>endency of Mauritius. Under the same latitude, but seventy miles to the west, is the larger island of Aldabra, a true atoll divided into several secondary islets and reefs. Here a few Norwegian families, chiefly from Bergen, founded a fishing station in 1879. Aldabra is visited by gigantic turtles and myriads of aquatic birds. All these islets lying east and north of the Comoros have a total extent of little over sixty square miles. IV. — The Amirantes and Seychelles. North of Madagascar the main insular axis is continued over 120 miles sea- wards by a submarine plateau about 900 fathoms deep. Above this plateau rise a few scattered islets separated by a profound trough from the two archipelagoes of the Amirantes and Seychelles. All these insular groups belong politically to Great Britain as dependencies of Mauritius. Farquhnr, the nearest to Madagascar, is not quite uninhabited, a few fishermen mostly from the Mascarenhas having established themselves on the western island of Joao de Nova. Farther north follow some dangerous reefs, and beyond them the numerous islets of the Amirantes, so named by the Portuguese in honour of the great " Admiral," Vasco de Gama, who discovered them in 1502. Of the whole group, some one hundred and fifty altogether, not more than six are inhabited by settlers from Mauritius and the Seychelles. They rise but a few yards above sea-level, and are covered with cocoanut groves, and some grassy tracts affording pasturage to a few herds of zebus and sheep. The Seychelles, or better Secltelles, so named from Moreau de Sechelles, form a group of twenty-nine islets besides a number of insular reefs, nearly all bearing the names of French gentlemen of the eighteenth century. They are mostly disposed in circular form, as if resting on a submerged atoll about 90 miles in circumference. But between the coral formations granitic rocks identical with those of Madagascar have cropped out here and there. Such are those of ^lahe (3,200 feet), Praslin (3,000), and Silhouette (2,5o0). Mahe, the largest, has an area of 50 square miles, nearly half of the whole archipelago. Although lying within 300 miles of the equator, these islands are compara- tively healthy even for Europeans, the stagnation of air and water being prevented by the alternating trade winds, while the equable temperature, never excetnling 84° or falling below 78° F., renders this one of the most delightful climates in the world. Although not entirely free from cyclones, as was at one time supposed, the Seychelles are nevertheless rarely visited by these atmospheric disturbances. The local flora comprises altogether about three hundred and forty species, of which some eixty are endemic, including three varieties of the pandanus. But the archipelago is especially famous as the home of the celebrated fan-palm {lodoicea ​Scychellarum), whose fruit, however, ripens only in the two islands of Praslin and Curieuse. This fruit, consisting of two nuts in a single case, remains fresh for months, and is thus often borne by the currents to the coasts of India, and even
as far as Java and other Malay islands, where it was gathered as a priceless treasure, and supposed to come from the depths of the ocean, hence the name of "sea cocuanut" given to it by seafarers. The wood of the lodoicea is so hard that objects made of it are almost indestructible. ​Tho fauna of the Seychelles is extremely poor, comprising only one species of mammal not introduced by man. The reptiles and amphibia, till recently including a crocodile, belong to the same genera as those of Madagascar and the Mascarenhas. The same remark applies to the birds, of which there are fifteen species, and of these thirteen endemic. Insects also are surprisingly rure, but include a so-called "walking leaf" (phyllium siccifolium), 60 closely resembling a green leaf that naturalists spend weeks in hunting for a single specimen.
Foreign plants and animals have mostly been introduced from Mauritius and Réunion, whence have also come the inhabitants of pure or mixed European descent. Hence, although the Seychelles belong to England, the current speech is the French creole patois of Mauritius modified by some English words and expressions Negroes are also numerous, for the most part captives rescued by the British cruisers from the Arab dhows.
Sufficient tobacco, cacao, coffee, sugar, rice, and other produce are raised for ​474 SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. the local consumption. Goats also thrive, and are almost the only domestic animals. The exports are mainly cocoanuts under the form of coprah, and of late years vanilla, besides tortoise-shell and cloves. This trade, which has lately sufiFered from a disease of the cocoanut palm, is chiefly centred in Port Victoria, as the English have renamed Mahi, on the north side of Mahe Island, so designated from the Governor of the He de France, who took possession of the Seychelles in 174.'J. Mahe is a port of call for whalers and for the steamers plying between Suez and Mauritius. The Seychelles are administered from Mauritius, although distant over 1,000 miles from that colony. If they were ever geographically connected, the inter- vening lands or islands probably described a great curve south-east of the Seychelles, where the soundings have revealed extensive submarine banks, such as Saya de ^lalha, Nazareth and others. Towards the southern extremity of Nazareth occur the islets of Cargados or Garoyoa, called also St. Brendan, like the mysterious land associated with the legend of the Irish saint of that name. The Cargados have a total area of 13 square miles, and are covered with cocoanuts belonging to the people of Mauritius. About a dozen hands are employed in collecting the nuts, preparing the coprah, and curing fish. Within the vast semicircle of deep waters enclosed by Madagascar, the Amirantes, the Seychelles, Nazareth, and the Mascarenhas, there also occur a few islets representing the peaks of mountains rising to the surface from depths of 2,000 fathoms. South of the Seychelles, and beyond Plate Inland, a mere clump of palms, follow at a distance of 420 miles the Gakgas {Galega or Coi'tiri/), which from their extensive cocoanut forests take the title of the " oil islands" in common with the Cargados group. In Great Galega, 12 square miles in extent, a little community of over two hundred Mauritian Creoles is occupied in the preparation of the oil from the cocoanut plantations. Tromelin Island, about midway between the Cargados and St. Mary of Madagascar, is a mere sandbank rising 15 or -16 feet above the surface. On this bank, not more than 100 acres in extent, a slaver was wrecked in 1761, and fifteen years afterwards a vessel, somewhat tardily sent to the rescue, found seven negresses still alive.
* ↑ Histoire de la grande Ile de Madagascar.