page_title: Lamba (garment)
section_title: Lambahoany
hierarchical_section_title: Lamba (garment) / In Malagasy culture / Types / Lambahoany
context_page_description: A lamba is the traditional garment worn by men and women that live in Madagascar. The textile, highly emblematic of Malagasy culture, consists of a rectangular length of cloth wrapped around the body.
  Traditional lambas used for burial were often made of silk and cow hides while those for daily wear were more often made of raffia, pig skin, cotton or bast. They could range in color from a tie-dyed mess or solid white cloth, to striped red, white and black cloth found in most parts of the island, the geometric patterns in unique shades of green and brown produced by a handful of Sakalava villages, or the brilliantly multi-colored, complex weaves favored by the pre-colonial Merina aristocracy. Today, it is common to find printed cotton or rayon lambas produced in India for the Malagasy market in addition to those fabricated locally.
  Besides its daily use as basic clothing, the lamba is also used for tying children to mothers' backs or as a cushion when carrying a heavy object on top of the head. The lamba is also used ritually to wrap the remains of the dead before placing them in the family tomb. Which after the ceremony are then
context_section_description: A printed cotton lamba typically featuring a proverb on the lower border of the design, identical to the kangas worn throughout eastern Africa.  The lambahoany is presently the most commonly worn type of lamba.  These are traditionally made of printed cotton featuring a repeated border design that encloses either a secondary pattern (often around a central medallion) or a large image depicting a pastoral scene from daily life.  A popular proverb, or ohabolana, is typically written just above the center of the lower border. 
  The uses of the ubiquitous lambahoany are numerous and varied.  They are often wrapped to attach an infant to its mother's back, freeing her hands for other uses.  They may also serve as light blankets, sheets, an apron, a transport sack, a tablecloth or a sunshade, and when tightly coiled they can be used as a cushion when carrying heavy objects on top of the head.
caption: Lambahoany reading Coming home is lovely
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