page_title: Antankarana
section_title: Fady
hierarchical_section_title: Antankarana / Culture / Fady
caption_attribution_description: English: Ankarana Reserve tsingy at sunset in Madagascar 2014
context_page_description: The Antankarana are an ethnic group of Madagascar inhabiting the northern tip of Madagascar, around Antsiranana. Their name means "the people of the tsingy," the limestone rock formations that distinguish their traditional territory. The tsingy of the Antankarana may be visited at the Ankarana Reserve. There are over 50,000 Antakarana in Madagascar as of 2013.
  The Antankarana split off from the Sakalava in the early 17th century following a succession dispute. The group settled at the northern end of the island where they established sovereignty over and integrated the existing communities. During periods of conflict with Sakalava in the 17th century and the Kingdom of Imerina in the 19th century, the community periodically sought refuge in the natural stone shelters and caves of the modern Ankarana Reserve, eventually taking their name from the locale and holding it as sacred. In the early 19th century an Antankarana king signed a treaty with French envoys in Reunion that mobilized French troops to expel the Merina from Antankarana territory in exchange for French control over several small islands off Madagascar's west coast.
context_section_description: Numerous fady protect wilderness areas, particularly including the Ankarana massif. Excessive cutting of mangrove trees for wood or the setting of bush fires are both prohibited, as is the use of nets with holes less than 15 millimeters to prevent catching immature fish. Certain species are protected through fady that forbid hunting them, including sharks, rays and crocodiles. Many fady also exist to regulate relations between the sexes. For instance, it is taboo for a girl to wash her own brother's clothing. Conservative communities adhere to a fady against medical injections, surgery or modern medicines due to their association with their historic enemies the Merina, who were the first to use them widely; instead, tromba ceremonies and traditional herbal remedies are commonly used for healing. These taboos are most strongly applied in the center of Antankarana territory around the village of Ambatoharaña and less so in the villages at the periphery of the region.
caption: Numerous fady protect the Ankarana Reserve.
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