Andriamanelo

Andriamanelo (fl. 1540–1575) was king of Alasora in the central highlands region of Madagascar. He is generally considered by historians to be the founder of the Kingdom of Imerina and originator of the Merina royal line that, by the 19th century, had extended its rule over virtually all of Madagascar. The son of a Vazimba mother and a man of the newly arrived Hova people originating in southeast Madagascar, Andriamanelo ultimately led a series of military campaigns against the Vazimba, beginning a several-decade process to drive them from the Highlands. The conflict that defined his reign also produced many lasting innovations, including the development of fortified villages in the highlands and the use of iron weapons. Oral tradition furthermore credits Andriamanelo with establishing a ruling class of nobles (andriana) and defining the rules of succession. Numerous cultural traditions, including the ritual of circumcision, the wedding custom of vodiondry and the art of Malagasy astrology (sikidy) are likewise associated with this king.

==Early life== Andriamanelo was the oldest son of the reigning Vazimba queen (alternately given in the oral histories as Rafohy or Rangita) and her Hova husband Manelobe, who may have had origins in the Zafiraminia people of Anosy. At the time of the marriage between Rafohy and Manelobe, the Hova were a minority clan who had recently moved into the Vazimba-dominated highlands from their ancestral homeland in the southeast. The marriage produced two sons, Andriamanelo and his younger brother Andriamananitany, as well as a sister named Rafotsindrindramanjaka. In a bid to counteract further fracturing of their kingdom, Rafohy and Rangita decided that while the Vazimba had historically been ruled by queens, Andriamanelo would inherit the crown upon his mother's death and would be succeeded not by his own child but by his younger brother. This system of succession, ordered by the queens to be followed for all time, was called fanjakana arindra ("organized government") and applied to families as well: in any instance where there was an elder child and a younger one, the parents would designate an elder child to assume authority within the family upon their death, and that authority would be handed to the designated younger child in the event of the death of the elder child. The queen gave the village of Alasora to Andriamanelo to rule as his territory while she still lived, while Andriamananitany was given the village of Ambohitrandriananahary.