From the Sakalava of Madagascar to the Montagnards of Indochina
DNA analyses carried out in recent years confirm that part of the Malagasy population is thought to have originated from migrations from southern Borneo between 3,000 and 2,000 years ago. This origin can be seen, among other things, in the Austronesian linguistic roots of Malagasy, in the Malay features of many inhabitants of Madagascar, and in the outrigger canoes of the Vezo fishermen on the Mozambique Channel, identical to those with which their ancestors managed to reach the great island after a one-way journey. Another manifestation of this kinship with Southeast Asia can be found in funeral practices and the funerary sculptures erected for the occasion. Those of the Sakalava on the west coast of Madagascar often bear an uncanny resemblance to the Hampatong funerary posts of the Dayak of Borneo, and also have counterparts among the Montagnards of Vietnam and Cambodia. This presentation will show the striking similarities between customs that connect societies living thousands of kilometers apart. About the speaker: Bertrand Goy: Art historian
Source: paris.fr — photo: MEP