page_title: Tsimihety people
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Tsimihety people / History
caption_attribution_description: Title: Berlin, Staatsbesuch aus Madagaskar&#160; People in the image: Brandt, Willy: Bundeskanzler, Vorsitzender der SPD, Regierender Bürgermeister Berlin-West, Bundesrepublik Deutschland (GND 11851444X) * Tsiranana, Philibert: Präsident, Madagaskar (GND 118763083) For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Factual corrections and alternative descriptions are encouraged separately from the original description. Additionally errors can be reported at this page to inform the Bundesarchiv. Alemannisch&#160;| Boarisch&#160;| беларуская&#160;| беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎&#160;| català&#160;| čeština&#160;| Deutsch&#160;| English&#160;| Esperanto&#160;| español&#160;| suomi&#160;| français&#160;| हिन्दी&#160;| hrvatski&#160;| magyar&#160;| italiano&#160;| 한국어&#160;| македонски&#160;| Plattdüütsch&#160;| polski&#160;| português&#160;| română&#160;| русский&#160;| sicilianu&#160;| slovenčina&#160;| slovenščina&#160;| svenska&#160;| українська&#160;| 中文&#160;| 中文（简体）‎&#160;| 中文（繁體）‎&#160;| +/− Original historic description:&#160; Staatsbesuch Madagaskar: Ankunft Berlin-Tempelhof Begrüßung durch Bgm. Brandt
context_page_description: The Tsimihety are a Malagasy ethnic group who are found in the north-central region of Madagascar. Their name means "those who never cut their hair", a behavior likely linked to their independence from Sakalava kingdom, located to their west, where cutting hair at the time of mourning was expected. They are found in mountainous part of the island. They are one of the largest Malagasy ethnic groups and their population estimates range between 700,000 and over 1.2 million. This estimation places them as the fourth-largest ethnicity in Madagascar.
context_section_description: The anarchist system prevailed among the Tsimihety people before the 19th century. However, in 1823, Radama I, the Merina king, brought the entire island under one rule, including the Tsimihety, and abolished the international slave trade.
  The French colonial rule absorbed the Tsimihety in 1896, as a part of French Madagascar. The Tsimihety have been an active part of Madagascar politics ever since. Philibert Tsiranana, a Tsimihety from near Mandritsara, was the first president of the Malagasy Republic, when it became a semi-autonomous region within the French Union in 1959, and remained president for 10 years after it gained independence from France in 1960.
caption: Philibert Tsiranana, from the Tsimihety ethnic group, was the first president of post-colonial era Madagascar.
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