We all know food is a crucial part of any culture. These food in the picture are really famous snack/dessert in the island. The one on the left is called koba. It is sweet and has a similar texture to puddings. It is a little drier if we still compare to pudding and it is made with peanuts and it is really yummy. The one on the right s shows a basket with pastries; they're very famous ones in Madagascar and most of them are sweet but there is one that is salty. One of them is called mofogasy which literally means "Malagasy bread" . If you are a food lover like me though, street foods are one sure way for you to find the best tasting food. Madagascar has so many varieties of street vendors you could find practically anything you are craving: snack, lunch, dessert, beverages etc. Restaurants are still there but they mainly serve foreign cuisine (Chinese, French, Italian etc) and they taste really good too they could make you feel like you traveled to that particular place just by the taste of the food you are eating. Let's get back to the wonder that is street food though. Street food vendors are everywhere you don't have to go far if you wanted to find one. If you are on the beach enjoying the sun, for sure there will be a vendor going up to you selling you food that could range from coconut candies to oysters fresh out of the sea that you would eat with vinegar that they will provide already in a bottle. You might be skeptical about that but you really should go for it, it is yummy and it brings you a lot of calcium ;) Food is a huge part of the Malagasy culture. Rice is the main food in Madagascar. It is a common sight in Madagascar when you travel outside the city to find rice fields everywhere you look and it is really pretty. It makes the ride even more enjoyable and somehow peaceful. Rice cultivation is a huge part of the Malagasy culture and in the past, they considered owning rice fields and cows signs of how wealthy you were, I'm sure in some parts of the country it has remained the same. A typical Malagasy household would eat rice just about three times a day, and sometimes even for snacks as well. You might think that sounds boring but boring is the last word I would describe it. Of course they have various ways to cook the rice but basically, the base of any meal is rice and it's what you eat it with that changes , and you could eat rice with anything, literally anything. One thing I found out recently too is that people find it very unusual that we use both a spoon and a fork when we eat. That does not change the fact that the food is still yummy though :) A landscape of rice fields in the South. I found this video from a food review channel on YouTube and I thought you might want to have a look too! I hope you enjoy viewing it, they did a great job.
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Salama e! That is how they will greet you in Madagascar. Like any other country in the world, Madagascar has its capitalctoo. The capital city is called Antananarivo and it literally means city (an-tanana) and thousands (arivo). The name goes way back when Madagascar still had its monarchy, and the names of towns, villages, people, and just about anything else have meanings; people believe that names are powerful, it is a huge part of the culture and they consider it a very serious matter. Antananarivo. This name refers to the thousand of soldiers who guarded the city in the time of the king Andrianjaka in the seventeenth century when they dislodged the first Malagasy population called "Vazimba" who settled there (not very nice of him). Antananarivo is located in the central highlands of Madagascar and that is where the royal palace was installed. The picture above shows the Manjakamiadana palace, where different kings and queens have reigned over the inhabitant of Antananarivo at that time. It is important to note that Madagascar that Madagascar has 18 different tribes, and Antananarivo is the place where the Merina tribe lives. Each tribe had their own kingdom and the Merina (consider the "highlander" at the time) tribe was the biggest one, you can imagine how powerful that kingdom was. Madagascar had a monarchy from 1500 until the French colonized the country in 1896. It got its independence back in 1960 but the French influence is still very much present. Now the country is ruled by a government that is at its fourth republic. Antananarivo is a place rich in culture. The landscape picture above shows the statue of a golden angel (it used to be painted in black but people have been calling this place "the Black Angel" ever since.) and the angel is surrounded by a lake which has the shape of a heart. It is an artificial lake that was constructed by Jean Laborde in 1830. Jean Laborde was a French diplomat that had a high place in the kingdom and had the lake constructed for the Queen Ranavalona I; many believe that he was in love with the queen to explain that gesture. The City of the Thousands has over 2,2 millions of inhabitants (2014 estimation). A large majority of the population in Madagascar (approximately 70 to 80%) of the population used to be part of the agricultural, making Malagasy people very savvy in growing their own crops and raising their own animals. That percentage is decreasing by the day as we see rural flight increasing more and more. Many people find themselves moving to the city which makes Antananarivo a very busy city. The city has a lot to offer and I am sure it will not disappoint you. Picture showing the busy market in the heart of Antananarivo.
I understand that many people may not know anything at all about Madagascar and I would share with you what a place worth visiting Madagascar is. I know that many people only know Madagascar because of that animated movie about those animals that traveled from New York and ended up on the island of Madagascar. “I like to move it move it” ever heard of that song? And King Julian? Madagascar is an island off the southeastern part of Africa, geologists believe that the island was attached to Africa about 165 million years ago but began to drift apart slowly and now it is an independent island on its own. The population is then now a mix of about 70% African and 30% Asian origin (mainly Malaysia, Indonesia); many believe that Malagasy people are Africans, and oftentimes many don't agree with that either. It is not unusual to see fair skinned, straight haired, small eyed individuals which are typical traits for Asians. It is surely a place of rich culture. I think any Malagasy person would want to brag about how Madagascar is very well known for its vanilla production since it is the first country that produce the most vanilla in the world. The island is very rich in terms of natural resources: gemstones, unique fauna and flora since a very high percentage of animal and plant species there are endemic, meaning you can’t really see them in any other places in the world. Conservation International (it is a global organization that empowers society to responsibly care for nature and take decisions on a long-term sustainable terms) classifies it as one of the 17 countries that are mega diverse in terms of their biodiversity. Isn’t that cool? People from Madagascar are called Malagasy, I figured you might want to know that too. The language they speak is called Malagasy as well, that is the national language, being considered the de facto language (in practice, in use) that people use in their everyday life: at home, in the store, between friends etc. The French language is very predominant there too. It is called the a de jure language and is used as the language of instruction in institutions. All of that to say you can still get by in the city if you know a little bit of French. Not a lot of Malagasy people know a lot English yet, but hotels and travel guides and anybody that are involved in the tourism industry should know enough English to be able to keep a clear conversation. I don’t think not knowing the language should stop you from going though. You can learn a lot from a place and its people even if both parties don’t share the same language. Even though language would help communication go smoothly, you still learn a lot just by observing how they live, they can teach you a great deal of things that you haven’t even heard of yet. There is just something about different cultures and how they open your mind to different perspectives. I could not agree more with that Mark Twain’s quote that goes like “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” Come along and I will show you Madagascar! Here is an infographic that sums it all up for you :)
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AuthorI am Mialy, I am from Madagascar and I would like to show you my island. ArchivesCategories |