Tribes: Mikea

Mikea is one of the most special tribes in Madagascar. It is a wild
tribe located in the south in the province of Tulear. This tribe was
born during colonization of Madagascar. To see more about what makes
this tribe special—let's look at the name Mikea, why they choose
wilderness, what is their cultures and how do they dress and eat?

During colonization, French people forced Malagasy people to work, to
pay money and do hard work like building big houses and roads. This
group of people tried to escape colonization and ran away from town.
They decided to live in a very thick forest where the French were
afraid to enter because this group of Malagasy people learned about
the forests and knew the secret of how to live in it.

While they were escaping from the French, they created a signal to
show each other if they are lost. They said, if you are lost while
you are escaping from French people, just "call"—To call means
"Mikeha" and after time it became Mikea without the H.

In order to hide from the other people, they did not build houses or
plant anything. The Mikea tribe lived by fishing, picking fruits and
hunting. Nowadays, the forest is disappearing more and more so they
do not get enough food from the forest. People have now started to
cultivate rice and other foods to survive. In the Mikea tribe there
are no schools or hospitals.

They still have a very wild style of life even now. We can see them
wearing nothing—children and older people alike. They put mud on
their face and have long hair and do not yet use toothbrushes. They
have begun to be more civilized because some people around them are
teaching them. Most of the time, people are afraid to visit the
forest of Mikea—a dry and thorny forest.