# Talk:Andrianampoinimerina

1.I have a feeling that Laidler's book may not get the details right... The family tree (one of the references) claims that Andriamiaramanjaka was not a king of Ambohimanga - instead it gives Andrianjafy as his predecessor as King of Ambohimanga. Andrianjafy is apparently the same person who Laidler has conspiring against Andrianampoinimerina. Doesn't make sense. In short, I'm unsure how Andrianampoinimerina become the king of Ambohimanga and what/whom/when he might have inhereted. I have followed and cited Laidler here, as it's my only reasonably good source, even though it only spends few pages for the early rulers.
2.I suppose technically there should also be redirect from Andrianampoinimerinandriantsimitoviaminandriampanjaka to Andrianampoinimerina.  Um, right...
3.Another problem is what exactly these early Merina monarchs were ruling over - what they should be called? Kings of Madagascar? Merina? Ambohimanga? Naming of the Merina monarch articles is not consistent now, and apparently some of the other tribes had kings, too, even after the French conquest. Sadalmelik 21:50, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

OK, found some sources. I'll fix it later Sadalmelik 23:51, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Dear Sadarmelik, 
Thank for your accurate start-work on Nampoina (I mean Kent is a very good reference). I'm a French-Malagasy historian amateur, highly interested in this epoch of Madagascar history, and I completed your work in a not always good English (thank you in advance for correcting!)...Yes, you guessed well about Andriamiaramanjaka! Accordng to various historical sources, he was not King of Ambohimanga, but of Ikaloy and Anjafy, two states (situated in the north of Ambohimanga Kingdom border) of the Alahamadintany Kingdom, not yet part of Imerina at that time, and a real menace for Ambohimanga (Imerina Avaradrano: Northern Imerina) and Imerina Kingdom in general. The wedding of Nampoina parents (a Zafimamy/Alahamadintany King at one hand  and a Merina Princess on the other) was, thus, a strategic alliance foo setting up a new great Dynasty which aimed to unify Imerina and Alahamadintany in a single great Imerina Kingdom : that was partly the destiny and mission of Nampoina.
Consequently, I have added some other Malagasy and French works in the bibliography. I invite you to read especially the Callet (1908) monumental sum, The principal unavoidable Reference about Andrianampoinimerina and Imerina Royalty in general, then also Rasamimanana & Razafindrazaka (1930), and Ramilison (1951) about other oral traditions on the same subject. Ramilison (1951) is the unique Malagasy historian who has written about those whom King Andriamasinavalona called the Alahamadintany (= the Northeasterns: Alahamady = Northeast in the Old Merina Astrology), best known today as the Zafimamy, from whom Dynasty descended King Andriamiaramanjaka, Andrianampoinimerina's father.
The Merina and Zafimamy Genealogies, as presented respectively in Calet (1908), Rasamimanana (1930), and  Ramilison (1951) are, far end, very clear: if summarized they show that Andrianampoinimerina descended, by both his two parents, from Andriantomara, one of the principal ancestor of the Merina and the Zafimamy Royal Dynasty. Roughly, at one part, you have the genealogy of Ranavalonandriambelomasina, the Merina mother of Nampoina, and on the other hand, you have the genealoy of Andriamiaramanjaka, the Alahamadintany/ Zafimamy father of Nampoina. Both genealogy begin in Andriantomara (probably a Rajput warrior and his clan, accompanied by Malay and Javanese warriors who called him by the Old Javanese title Rahadyan 'chief'  > Rahadyan Tomara), they probably came in from Sri Lanka (Ottino, 1974) or from another indianised Malay kingdom (Srivijaya?) which probably sent them  for colonizing/exploiting the Madagascar island in order to make them paying the tribut ksetra ('ricefield' in Sanskrit > became hetra in Malagasy). 
The culture of all the Andriantomara descendants (both Zafimamy and Merina) at that time beared all the very features of an Indianised civilization: they planted Ficus Religiosa in all their noble domain (called Amontana and Aviavy in Malagasy, the last probably derives from an Old Malay ancestor of the current Malay zawizawi), they used big stone wheels (kodiambato) to close their portals, and these portals (vavahady) were roofed (vavahady mitafo) like in Indonesia, they used "house-shaped" (tranomanara) tomb (a tomb with a small house in the top) to burry their deads, they used metallic weapons and vessels (while the Hova/ Merina of the South used wood), they introduced a lot of Sanskrit terms (like asi (SKT) who became antsy (MG) 'knife' in current Malagasy language) in the former Vazimba/Hova/Merina vocabulary, and were clothed in silk (landy ) material (while the Vazimba-Merina of the South used hemp (rongony), they were organised in a clan system (fianakaviambe), living within forts (lapa) surrounded by high walls (tamboho), they mainly choose a top of rock (vato be < Malay batu) to settle their fort (like the Rajputs in Rajasthan), their cultivated wet rice in valleybottom ricefields (tanimbary an-dohasaha), etc. This Indian/Sanskrit culture was more pregnant in the Northeastern (the Zafimamy of Alahamdintany) than in the South (the Vazimba/Hova/Imerina), because the Northeastern Branch didn't mix so much with the Vazimba/Hova/Merina culture of the South. 
GENEALOGIES of ANDRIANAMPOINIMERINA parents starting in ANDRIANTOMARA (ref: Callet, 1908 ; RAsamimanana, 1930 ; Ramilison, 1951) :
1. The Southern branch of Andriantomara dynasty: The HOVA/MERINA DYNASTY (I made some shortcuts); this branch resulted of the wedding of the Andriantomara dynasty with the well-established Vazimba dynasty, the resulting was the Hova, then the Merina dynasty:
Andriantomara (born Tomara, ca 1280 Rajasthan/Gujarat, North India - 1350 Vohidrazana near Maroantsetra, Madagascar) - Andriantomaramanana - Andriantomarafefy - Andriandrambondanitra - Andriandravindravina - Andrianerinerina - Andrianamponga -...- RAFANDRANA (First VAZIMBA in Andriantomara Southern Dynasty, Married with a Daughter of the Andriantomara dynasty, here start the Hova Dynasty = mixed Andriantomara-Vazimba)-...-RAFOHY-RANGITA ("HOVA" Queens)- Andriamanelo (of Alasora, South of Imerina, whose Father, Manelo be, was Portuguese 'Manoel le Portuguais')- Ralambo The First Merina King (to qualify hie kingdom, he invented the name Merina = "Highlands", which surely derived from the same root as the Malay peMERINtah 'domination', the "Hova" kingdom became the "Merina" Kingdom)-Andrianjaka-...-Andriamasinavalona-Andriantsimitovoamainadriandehibe-Andriambelomasina-RANAVALONANDRIAMBELOMASINA= mother of Nampoina.
2. The Notheastern dynasty of Andriantomara: The ZAFIMAMY Kings Dynasty (a lot of shortcuts), this branch is an Andriantomara dynasty which not mixed with the Vazimba Dynasty of the South, until Andrianampoinimerina (whose mother had Vazimba blood from Rafandrana):
Andriantomara (hypothesis: born Tomara, ca 1280 Rajasthan/Gujarat, North India - 1350 Vohidrazana near Maroantsetra, Madagascar) - Andriantomaramanana - Andriantomarafefy - Andriandrambondanitra - Andriandravindravina - Andriambavimbe - ANDRIAMAMILAZABE (First King of Alahamadintany, in Ambatomanitrasina Vodivato, near the Angavo Forest, in the Norteastern of Imerina region)-Andriamangodohodoamintany-....Andriamamilaza II-....-King ANDRIAMIARAMANJAKA of KALOY= father of Nanmpoina.
In conclusion : 
1.Imerina was a territorial concept invented by the First Merina King, Ralambo (before him the central highlands lords were Vazimba, then Hova) it comprised, until King Andrianampoinimerina, the highlands territories between Ambohimanga in the North, Ambohidratrimo in the West, Ampandrana in the South, and Angavo in the East. All the Kings of any state included in this territory were Merina Kings. After Andriamasinavalona, Imerina has been divided in 4 parts : Imerina Toko IV (Imerina with IV parts), each part is a Principality, with a Merina King on rule: for example Ambohimanga Principality, ruled by the first Merina King Andriantsimitoviaminandriana...
2.Alahamadintany  was a territorial concept for delimiting the independant northern Zafimamy Kingdom of he higlands not yet included in Imerina, the term is attributed to King Andriamasinavalona, it comprised the highlands territories between Ikaloy in the south, Ambohitsitakatra Avaratra in the North, and Ambatomanitrasina Vodivato in the East. all the King ruling within this territory where Zafimamy Kings, for example King Andriamiaramanjaka of Ikaloy.
3. After Nampoina: Imerina and Alahamadintany merged to become Imerina Toko VI  (Imerina with VI parts = Imerina TOKO IV + Alahamadintany + Imamo)
Sincerely
--Mounblow (talk) 15:32, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for this clarification. What it makes very clear is that wikipedia is missing many articles :) I didn't actually realize that so much is known about these early phases, to be honest. I do remember searching for english translation of Tantara ny Andriana, but I don't think it has been translated
To respond on your comments on my talk page: yes, a few figures would be nice. His hut house, or tomb. Why not ricefields too, like you suggest, especially if his role in expanding the riziculture in Madagascar is explained (I think I read about this in somewhere -- I cannot remember the reference, though. I have it probably somewhere still). I do remember searching in flickr for free relevant photos a year ago, but  could not find any. Some of the redlinks for the various historians I removed; they are probably not notable enough to have their own articles. Some like Tantara ny Andriana are clearly very notable topics and are just waiting to be written.
I agree the current section on historical background goes a bit beyond the scale of this article. I'm not really sure where it should go. History of Imerina would be one possibility, except we are not talking purely on Imerina... Of course all of the principalities regardless of whether they are Merina, Hova, Zafimamy or something else are notable and should have an article of their own. But what would probably be  even more usefull is an overview into this period. The best place for that would be History of Madagascar – essentially linking the principalities and main rulers to the general chronological flow of Malagasy history leaving the individual articles of states and kings free to concentrate on details.
Like you suggested, the reign should be expanded. One idea would be adding more details on the territorial expansion -- the conquest of other states -- in chronological order to the flow of the article. A little map would also be a nice addition, showing the expansion in territory and the main towns. Would you by chance remember seeing such a map in an article/book? We could not of course use it here for license reasons, but I could probably make my own version based on it. Another topic that could also be expanded is his struggle with Andrianjafy, which after all lasted several years. Cheers, – Sadalmelik ☎ 19:43, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

What is up with the ridiculously long name? This is clearly vandalism. --74.110.141.34 (talk) 15:08, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for the smile. :)  His most complete name, by the way, was Andrianampoinimerinandriantsimitoviaminandriampanjaka, which according to my weak Malagasy skills (please someone correct me if I'm off base) means "prince in the heart of Imerina, prince above (not like, incomparable to) all other strong princes."

I'm raising the importance level for the royalty working group from medium to high. He's generally considered the most important king in the history of Madagascar, so this seems like a no brainer. I hope he wasn't listed as medium just because he's "only" from an African country. - Lemurbaby (talk) 02:11, 4 July 2015 (UTC)

Is Hova Dynasty a correct term? Weren’t the kings of the Andriana class not the Hova class? It is mentioned in mostly all the infoboxes of articles on modern monarchs of Imerina but not actually mentioned in the article body. KAVEBEAR (talk) 00:43, 28 July 2020 (UTC)

@Lemurbaby: maybe you know better.KAVEBEAR (talk) 00:44, 28 July 2020 (UTC)