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Schlagwort-Archiv: Traditions Madagascar

Why the roots of the baobabs reach for the sky

Baobab Mutter des Waldes

A Malagasy legend tells that there were times when the trees could still walk. At that time there was also a large lake whose water was so clear and calm that it lay there like a mirror. Whenever they passed the lake, the baobabs stopped. They became sad when they saw their own appearance reflected in the water. The other …

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Ranoro, the Daughter of the Water

Many centuries ago, in the times of the Vazimba, there existed the Zazavavindrano, the daughters of water. One of them was Ranoro. This is her story. One day, a young man from the Betsileo ran to the Mamba River in the central highlands of Madagascar. The man’s name was Andriambodilova. In the middle of the river, he spotted a beautiful …

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Taboos and traditions: The Fady in Madagascar

Famadihana

As a traveller in Madagascar, you will hear about fadys sooner or later. Fady is the Malagasy word for taboo and probably derives from the Indonesian “pady”. But taboo is not the only meaning of this word, it is also used to call something sacred. Fadys are rules that concern situations as well as people, animals, locations or a certain …

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