Malagasy mythology

thumb|Artist's interpretation of 16th century Vazimba village in highland Madagascar (1978) The Vazimba (Malagasy ), according to popular belief, were the first inhabitants of Madagascar. While beliefs about the physical appearance of the Vazimba reflect regional variation, they are generally described as smaller in stature than the average person, leading some scientists to speculate that they may have been a pygmy people (and therefore a separate Malagasy ethnic group) who migrated from the islands that constitute modern-day Indonesia and settled in Madagascar over the course of the period b

mythology of the Malagasy people

Zanahary (also Andrianahary or Ndranan Ahary) is the personified sky and supreme deity of Malagasy mythology and folklore. He (usually male, but sometimes considered genderless) is considered a creator god, having collaborated with the earth god Ratovantany to create humanity; upon death, the soul migrates to the firmament, while the body returns to the earth. For this reason, Zanahary is closely associated with the soul in the indigenous theology as well as ancestor worship. He is a national god of the Merina people, and frequently henceforth appealed to by Malagasy nationalist groups; most n

The Kalanoro is a humanoid cryptid, who are believed to live as spirits on the island of Madagascar. Tradition states that they used to live corporeally in the rainforests, but habitat destruction cause their corporeal forms to go extinct.

The Ibonia is an epic poem that has been told in various forms across the island of Madagascar for at least several hundred years. The Ibonia predates the introduction of the printing press in Madagascar in the early part of the 19th century and as such has long been part of the poetic and storytelling oral traditions of the island. The first known transcription of the story was recorded in the 1870s and rapidly gained canonical status in the African literary tradition, being reprinted in numerous collections across Europe.

Andriambahomanana is the first man in Malagasy mythology.

According to some versions of the genealogy of the Merina people of the central Highlands of Madagascar, Andriandravindravina is the name of the first sovereign of the Highlands. He was not Merina but rather a vazimba, the mysterious first inhabitants of Madagascar that successive waves of settlers encountered upon arrival there. The Tantara ny Andriana eto Madagasikara, the famed genealogy of the Merina aristocracy, states that Andriandravindravina ("Prince of the Leaves", an allusion to the eastern forests he would have needed to traverse to reach the central plateau) ruled over Ambohitsitak

According to one of several competing origin myths of the Merina people of Imerina in the central Highlands of Madagascar, Andrianerinerina is the incarnation of the son of God (Zanahary) from which the line of Merina rulers is said to have descended.