Tribes: Antaimoro

Madagascar is a wonderful island with rich different tribes. There
are 18 different tribes in Madagascar. In this essay I will talk
about the Antaimoro. Antaimoro are one of the tribes of Madagascar—I
will discuss the origins of this tribe, their tradition and their
culture.

The meaning of the word Antaimoro is "the people in the South." They
are about 3.4 % of the population of Madagascar. Antaimoro people
live in the southest of Madagascar near Manakara and Vohipeno. In the
end of the 15th century, the Antaimoro arrived in Madagascar from
Arabia. Antaimoro speak the dialect Antaimoro. This is their
dialect—each part of Madagascar has its own dialect.
As we have seen, the Antaimoro have Arabic origins so this tribe has
Arabic and Islamic traditions. The way they wear their clothes is
decorated by the Koran. In the case of writing, Antaimoro have a form
of writing we call "sorabe" and this kind of writing is a form of
Arabic writing. It appeared before the Latin, however the "sorabe" is
disappearing. In their tradition, they have many "fady" or taboos—for
example they do not eat pork. Also, if a chicken is not cut by a man
the Antaimoro do not eat it. Also women are prohibited to cut the
animals such as chicken oxen and duck. Men and women live
separated—especially in Vohipeno it exists like this.
Antaimoro have a high talent of culture. There is a traditional art
which is very unique to this tribe that we call Antaimoro paper. They
make this paper with bamboo and sometimes they make it by pressed
metals. Most of the generations of these tribes know how to do this.
This tribe has a lot of knowledge also about traditional medicine. T
Hey can use plants to take care of their health—this does not mean
that they do not go to the hospital or to doctors but it is a cultural
way to take plants as medicine. They eat rice, like all Malagasy
people, and most of them are farmers especially of cattle.

To sum up, the tribes in Madagascar have great importance—even though
as Malagasy people we are one people. Each tribe has a different
culture, tradition and dialect. This particular tribe is exceptional
as the Antaimoro have a reputation to be the most respectful. They
way of wearing the "sorabe", their taboos and their paper are all
things that make this tribe different.