The Mikea Hunter-Gatherers of Southwest Madagascar:

Title Ecology and Socioeconomics

Author(s) STILES, Daniel

Citation African Study Monographs (1998), 19(3): 127-148

Issue Date 1998-11

URL https://doi.org/10.14989/68175

Right

Type Journal Article

Textversion publisher

Kyoto University
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African Study Monographs, 19(3): 127-148, November 1998 127

THE MIKEA HUNTER-GATHERERS OF SOUTHWEST MADA-

GASCAR: ECOLOGY AND SOCIOECONOMICS(1)

Daniel STILES
United Nations Environment Program

ABSTRACT This paper provides an overview of the habitat, natural resources, history, and
socioeconomy of a small group of foragers called the Mikea who live in a semiarid forest
environment of southwestern Madagascar. The flora and fauna of this forest are made up
largely of rare, endemic species to Madagascar and the fragile environment is at risk of
destruction by the process of desertification, particularly slash-and-burn agriculture and over-
grazing by livestock. It is hypothesized that the Mikea persist as hunter-gatherers as an eco-
logical and socioeconomic adaptation employing resource partitioning and mutualistic
specialization with neighboring agropastoralists. Suggestions are proposed how to mitigate
the detrimental affects of slash-and-burn cultivation.

Key Words: Mikea; Madagascar; Hunting-gathering; Natural resources; Socioeconomy.

INTRODUCTION

The Mikea are a little known group of between 1000 and 2000 people who live in
the semiarid Mikea Forest of southwestern Madagascar (Fig. 1). The Mikea area
includes the Conservation Priority Level 2 Lake Ihotry/Morombe Ecological
Complex and the Level 3 Mangoky riverine protected area, as defined by the
Malagasy government. Knowledge about the populace inhabiting this ecologically
important but fragile area, particularly in respect to utilization of the natural
resources, is critical to formulating a proficient conservation management plan.
Until recently, many researchers believed that the Mikea were a fantasy
(Lombard, 1973), and today the Malagasy general public still does. This paper will
review contextual evidence for their origins, history, economy, culture and why they
persist as hunter-gatherers, building on previous descriptions of the Mikea way of
life (Dina & Hoerner, 1976; Stiles, 1991, 1995).

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

The Mikea live on the eastern edge and in open pockets of a dry forest between
Morombe and the Mangoky River in the north and the town of Manambo in the
south, an area of about 2000 km2. The Route National 9 runs north-south to the east
of Mikea country through a relatively well-watered (800 mm mean annual rainfall)
and fertile valley occupied mainly by the agro-pastoral Masikoro people. This road,
though of poor condition, is the main communication with the outside world. The
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128 D. STILES

Fig. 1. The semiarid Mikea Forest of southwestern Madagascar.

main Mikea occupation area receives less than 600 mm of rainfall a year, declining
to 400 mm near the coast, where the fishing Vezo people live. The rainy season is
from mid-December through March, followed by a transitional period up to July
when the cool, dry season begins, running through September. October to the begin-
ning of the rains is a hot, humid season (Table 1).
The soil is mainly sand, covered by a surprisingly dense and rich tropophilic
woodland in the east grading into a xerophytic spiny forest nearer the coast.
Localized small basins contain richer soils and wetland reeds and grasses. The
Mangoky river on the northern boundary of Mikea country is the only permanent
fresh water source, though several seasonal streams and ponds are located in the
Namonty area. Lake Ihotry is a perennial saline lake. Over 60% of the plant families
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The MIKEA Hunter-Gatherers of Southwest Madagascar 129

Table 1. The Mikea annual cycle.

Month Season Climate Subsistence Settlement
October Faosa Hot, humid Collecting tubers,
November pig hunting, Kizo
burning filds
December Planting, hunting
January Litsake Rain tenrec, honey, Tana
February dried tubers, maize (Vohitse)
March harvest
April Limberano / Maize, tubers, Tana
May Fararano Transition tenrec (Tongalibaty)
June
July Clear fields,
August Asotry Cool, dry hunt lemur, birds, Kizo
September dry and stockpile
tubers

in the area are endemic to Madagascar, as are 90% of the species (Hoerner, 1986).
The climate is one that has many similarities with that found in the Sahel of Africa,
but the vegetation is much richer, due no doubt to less population pressure from
humans. Appendix 1 provides a list of what I have been able to gather concerning
the indigenous and botanical plant names and their uses by the Mikea, Masikoro
and/or Vezo.
Animals consist of a number of species of lemur, small hedgehog-like creatures
generically termed tenrec, viverrid carnivores (similar to civets), the African bush
pig, bats, snakes and other reptiles, and turtles. Most of these animals are found
nowhere else but Madagascar. There are a great number of birds, many species
endemic, along with the African Guinea fowl. Appendix 2 presents a list of fauna
and its uses. As recognition of this important area of biodiversity the northern part
of the forest, including the saline Lake Ihotry, has been designated a protected eco-
logical complex by the government. The area is under threat from the spread of a
type of degraded secondary bush, called hatsake-moka,(2) which is due to slash-and-
burn agriculture.
The sandy soil and lack of perennial streams results in most of Mikea country
being totally devoid of water during the latter half of the dry season, from about July
to late November. During and immediately after the rains, December-April, Mikea
find water in pools (vovo) and in tree hollows. The poor soils and lack of water offer
the Mikea some protection from invasion by neighbors, though cattle grazing by
Masikoro and Antandroy is increasing in the area, putting more pressure on the frag-
ile ecosystem.

ORIGINS AND HISTORY

The Mikea are considered by the other people of the area, and by most historians,
as tompontany, original inhabitants of the land preceding all the others. This does
not win them respect, however, as their agricultural neighbors look down on them
because they live in the forest and live off of the land. This is not considered civi-
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130 D. STILES

lized behavior, and the attitude is common to forager-farmer relations in many parts
of the world. But where did the Mikea come from and how long have they been
there?

I. Archaeology

The earliest evidence of human occupation of Madagascar comes from Mikea

country. Humanly worked hippopotamus bones from Ambolisatra and
Lamboharana, on or near the coast, have been dated to approximately 2000 years
ago (MacPhee & Burney, 1991). The hippo bone was worked by iron tools, indicat-
ing an Iron Age initial occupation, and explains the dearth of stone tools in
Madagascar. The earliest dated occupation sites are located in the north of the coun-
try at Lakaton’i Anja (4th and 8th centuries AD) and at Nosy Mangabe (8th century
AD). The pottery at these sites is undiagnostic of cultural origins (Dewar & Wright,
1993). The site of Sarodrano 3 in the southwest on the coast was dated by C-14 on
charcoal to the 5th century AD, but destruction of the site by a cyclone before it
could be properly excavated renders the date inconclusive of human occupation
(Battistini & Vérin, 1971). Sarodrano 1, dated to the 15th century, suggests that the
Vezo were practicing their current marine exploitation way of life by this time. From
the 10th century on, Madagascar along with the Comoros Islands nearby, became
integrated into the Indian Ocean trading network involving Swahili, Arabs, Persians,
and Indians (Vérin, 1986).
Evidence of the earliest human arrival by 2000 B.P. is bolstered by a dramatic
decrease in tree pollens and increase in tiny pieces of charcoal in old soil sediments,
indicating fires and deforestation, at exactly the same time, that suggests clearing for
agriculture (Burney, 1993). A few centuries later several species of large animals on
the island became extinct, such as the dwarf hippo (Hippopotamus lemerlei), the
elephant bird (Aepyornis), giant turtle (Testudo grandidieri), and several species of
giant lemurs (Battistini & Vérin, 1967; Dewar, 1984). It is thought that a combina-
tion of human hunting, habitat destruction, and climate drying led to their demise
(Dewar, 1984; Burney, 1993). It is possible that the ancestors of the Mikea were
involved in all of this.

II. Ethnographic and Linguistic Evidence

Today everyone on Madagascar, including the Mikea, speak a Malayo-Polynesian

language most closely related to a language cluster spoken in southern Borneo
called Southeastern Barito (Dahl, 1951), though there is extensive influence on the
vocabulary and phonetics of Malagasy from Bantu (Dahl, 1953), indicating an early
and long-lasting contact between the Asian and African populations. All glot-
tochronological studies conclude that Malagasy split from its related Southeast
Asian languages between the 4th and 7th centuries AD (Dahl, 1951, 1991; Vérin, et
al., 1969; Adelaar, 1991), and the Indonesian migration to Madagascar probably did
not begin until the 7th or 8th century (Adelaar, 1991; Dahl, 1991). Al-Idrisi con-
firmed that by the 12th century Indonesians were well established in Madagascar
and on the Mozambique coast (Chittick & Rotberg, 1975). Because of the relatively
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The MIKEA Hunter-Gatherers of Southwest Madagascar 131

late arrival of Indonesians I think it reasonable to hypothesize that the people who
landed in southwestern Madagascar 2000 years ago were Bantu Africans.
The tribes of all areas of Madagascar have oral traditions concerning an ancient
people called Vazimba. These Vazimba were in the rich central highlands and were
pushed out by immigrating Indonesians centuries ago. They moved west and today
there are several pockets of people still called Vazimba living south of Majunga and
north of Morandava. They are mainly fresh water fishermen, though some today
also cultivate and raise livestock. They used to speak a non-Malagasy language
(Drury, 1729, 1969; Birkeli, 1936), which I and others think was of Bantu origin
(Kent, 1970; Vérin, 1986). Birkeli (1936) collected non-Malagasy vocabulary and
clan names from Vazimba and the related Beosy hunter-gatherers who live north of
the Mikea. I found some of these words and clans present with the Mikea, and they
are not found in Masikoro, the Malagasy dialect most Mikea speak. From this I con-
clude, as Birkeli did, that there is a distant historical connection between the Mikea
and other Vazimba. These words have not yet been definitely identified as Bantu,
though Birkeli tried to demonstrate that some were.
Some have proposed that the Mikea are people who fled to the bush to escape
domination and exploitation by the late 17th and 18th century Sakalava dynasties
and the 20th century French colonialists (Dina & Hoerner, 1976), and that there
were no people living in the Mikea forest prior to the 17th century. We have already
seen that people were there 2000 years ago, but were they there in between?
In 1528, prior to any of the dynastic wars in western Madagascar, a Portuguese
named Nuño da Cunha landed at the mouth of the Mangoky river in present-day
Mikea country. He found that the interior immediately behind the coast was inhab-
ited by “blacks with fuzzy hair like those of Mozambique.” He noted that they lived
in small communities and had no chiefs, the latter being very un-Malagasy. He
traded with them for two days (Kent, 1970: 183). Robert Drury, a shipwrecked
Englishman taken as a slave from 1701 to 1718, encountered Vazimba and hunter-
gatherers in southern and western Madagascar (in fact, he lived himself as one for a
while). They seemed well established at the time, and there was no indication that
they were recent. He noted that they were people who just wanted to be left alone
and did not want to become part of the incessant wars that plagued the region. He
lived with a group of Vazimba near Morandava for six months. He spoke fluent
Malagasy, but the Vazimba language was completely different. They did not keep
cattle or have riches that others would want to plunder, and if slave raiders came
they simply disappeared into the forest.
Furthermore, Kent (1970: 135) states that the Masikoro did not originate until the
mid 17th century when a group from the Bara migrated north from around the Isalo
escarpment. They mixed with the Mikea and other Vazimba to become the
Masikoro, which means “inland people.” If the people seen by da Cunha were
Mikea, the Masikoro obviously could not be their ancestors.
Several cultural features distinguish Mikea from the Masikoro, whom many say
the Mikea originate from. The most important difference is in religion. Almost all
Malagasy have some sort of wooden post called a hazomanga, which represents the
ancestors and is kept by a senior clansmen for each clan. The Mikea and other
Vazimba do not have them, but rather the Mikea have sacred trees called hazofaly in
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132 D. STILES

which ancestral spirits (koko) live. The true Mikea also do not have tromba and bilo,
involving spirit possession and curing, nor do they have circumcision ceremonies
(savatse) like the surrounding peoples. They are the only people on the island to
have the leg xylophone (kilangaa), made up of seven pieces of wood played on the
legs of a girl. There are several Mikea clans which do not seem to be found in the
Masikoro (e.g. Marofoty and Ndrabala), and one that is found elsewhere only in the
Vazimba of the north (Mangedrano). There are other differences as well. Because of
proximity and interrelations the Mikea speak like the Masikoro and have taken on
some of their clan names. This is very common with hunter-gatherers who interact
with neighbors (Stiles, 1981).
Aside from Bantu loan words found in other Malagasy dialects, I have not uncov-
ered any definite Bantu words unique to the Mikea, though I have found several
words not found in neighboring dialects, except in Beosy. Examples are dzahamoke
(man), boenga (big rat-like creature), bokahoko (dog) and angavo (bat). Since ‘man’
and ‘dog’ are pretty basic vocabulary this finding is significant. A trained linguist
would no doubt find out much more.
Because of the normal way in which people move around and mix with one
another I think it unlikely that the Mikea are direct descendants of the people who
worked the dwarf hippo bones 2000 years ago. I do think, however, that some
ancestors of the Mikea have been living in that area since well before the 17th cen-
tury, and that the Masikoro have little to do with Mikea origins as an ethnic identity.
It is more likely that the Vezo fishing people share in Mikea history.

SUBSISTENCE AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS

The Mikea are usually described by outsiders as primitive nomads, wandering the
bush in search of tubers and tenrec. I have found, however, that they have a quite
well-developed system of living in the forest, with a structured annual cycle. Locals
distinguish three different kinds of Mikea, and in general, they display different
ways of living and types of settlements. There are the Mikea-Masikoro, the Mikea-
Vezo and the ‘true’ Mikea. Because of trade and intermarriage, there is a certain
amount of mixing, however, but I will present an idealized version.
There are five types of house in which a Mikea could be found; the trano, or
semi-permanent, rectangular wattle-and-daub thatched structure common to the
Masikoro (though it can sometimes be made of wooden planks) found in agricul-
tural villages; the tsano (Vezo dialect pronunciation of trano), a flimsy hut made
from reeds, palm leaves and/or mats always located on the beach or coastal dunes;
the tongalibaty, a 1.5 meter high, small rectangular hut made of bark, usually of the
baobab tree; the vohitse, a small rectangular hut made entirely of ahidambo grass
(Heteropogon contortus); and finally, the tsangatsanga, a lean-to open at either end
usually made of bark, though it could be of grass. At a certain time of year the forest
Mikea sleep outdoors, simply digging into the sand or making a hollow in a termite
mound. These house types are related to settlement type and subsistence pursuit.
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The MIKEA Hunter-Gatherers of Southwest Madagascar 133

I. Seasonal Cycle (see Table 1)

The Mikea year begins in about October, when thunder sounds the approach of
the rainy season. This month and the next is called faosa, and it is hot and relatively
humid, with occasional scattered rain showers near the end. The forest Mikea are
living in the deep forest now, sleeping outdoors, doing what they call kizo. They are
living entirely from hunting and gathering, and the main purpose is to collect as
many edible tubers as possible, which they stockpile. The main tubers are wild yams
of the Diascorea genus which they call ovy, sosa, babo, etc., the ba, moky and
lalanda, all three Ipomoea sp., saonjo (Colocasia sp.), tavolo (Tacca pinnatifida)
and others. They dry the tubers they don’t eat and in November make several trips
to transport them to the band semi-permanent village (tana). Tubers are carried in
bark cordage net bags called koko. Wild pig and lemurs are the main animals hunted
during this period, as the tenrec species are hibernating in holes in the ground and in
tree hollows. The pig hunts, with spears and usually dogs, are called mangoro
lambo. Sometimes pits are dug with wooden stakes in the bottom (pongy) to spear
them. Lemurs and birds are usually killed with a blowpipe (porotsy/fintsiriky),
sometimes a sling, and birds sometimes trapped in a fitseboke. The Mikea no longer
use bows and arrows for hunting, though children play with them shooting insects
and birds.
The rainy season, December to late March or early April, is called litsake. The
tana are located in a clearing in the forest, and the fields to be cultivated are usually
in the vicinity. The forest was cleared before going into kizo and now the dry matter
is burned off. In December with the first rains maize and sometimes other crops such
as cassava are planted. The slash-and-burn system is called hatsake. The fields are
small and not really looked after; there will be from one to two weedings during the
whole growing period. The people hunt mainly tenrec during this period as they
come out of their holes and eat the dried tubers from kizo, as ones in the ground are
growing and are not good to eat until near the end of the rains in late March. When
Mikea dig out tubers, they usually leave a piece in the ground (amparahaly) to
regenerate. Tenrec, slow-moving creatures, are usually killed with a throwing stick
or club. Litsake is also a main honey collecting period. In April, the maize is har-
vested. The best ears are kept to eat and as seed, and the rest is sold. The tana marks
the central area of a band’s territory, and the village itself shifts around within it in
response to availability of tubers. During the rainy season most Mikea live in
vohitse, the grass houses.
Now comes a transitional period from late April to June, called limberano by the
Mikea-Masikoro and fararano by the Mikea-Vezo. People eat the maize harvest in
these months, and continue to forage. Many bands move away from the fields closer
to the forest and tuber sources (tubers have climbing vines which like trees), and
build or reuse the bark houses (tongalibaty). In June water starts to be a problem as
the water holes and tree hollows begin to dry up. From July to November the sole
source of water for many Mikea is the babo, a tuber. Other tubers are even cooked
in its water. I’ve taken its liquid on several occasions, and it is quite refreshing, and
surprisingly copious in the tuber, large ones giving a liter or more. The period
December through June in the camps is called antaniney, from tana.
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134 D. STILES

The size of these camps can vary widely. The true forest Mikea, who have little to
do with the villages, live in settlements of from two to six houses and 10-25 people,
including children. Andranohazo-Betampy, one of the bands I studied, is such a
type. These are very simple settlements with bark huts and lean-tos, with virtually
no furniture. Another I worked with, which was Mikea-Masikoro, called Benofy,
was larger. It had eight huts and perhaps 40 people. They had left the forest a few
years previously to move to Vorehy, a village with a European missionary, health
clinic, permanent well and market. But they survived poorly trying to cultivate, so
they had returned to the forest and hunting-gathering, which provides a more reli-
able and varied food supply, and in addition, forest trade products. But they had
brought metal water drums, an ox cart, two oxen and four goats with them. They
had also set up an iron-working forge, and made their own digging spades, knives,
etc. from scrap metal. Other Mikea-Masikoro camps, such as Bedo, were even
larger.
Late June through September is called asotry, the cool, dry season. In June and
early July many bands spend time cutting the forest in preparation for the rains.
Others wait until October-November. The determining factor is the time they plan to
spend in kizo. Most bands leave tana and go into kizo in late June or July to go for
manetseky (‘the hunt’). The tenrec go into hibernation now, but life is similar to that
of faosa. The tenrec holes are cleverly dug, with many twists and changes of direc-
tion so that they cannot be found, though every once in a while a Mikea can spot the
breathing hole and will dig the poor creature out.
Each band has a distinct, named kizo territory that is unoccupied the rest of the
year. It has to contain a good quantity of babo, as this is the only source of water,
except in the Namonty area where there are more permanent ponds from phreatic
waters. Fishing is even done in this area was told that the Mikea had never known
famine, even when people in the agricultural villages were suffering from drought.
The forest provided all the food, and more, that they ever needed.
The Mikea-Vezo on the coast and Mikea-Masikoro living in larger mixed villages
such as Vorehy and Ampalabo do not normally go on kizo for long periods. They
might only go into the forest for a few days at a time, for a specific purpose―to find
a tree for making a boat, to collect honey, medicinal herbs, or a few tubers to fill a
shortage. The Mikea-Vezo do not make forest camps, and spend the majority of their
time fishing and collecting sea produce. They, along with the Vezo proper, carry out
a type of hunting-gathering on the reefs at low tide, called mihake. The asotry sea-
son is particularly important for this, and the people move camps often along the
beach. Some move to offshore islands, living under their sails as tents, and special-
ize in collecting and drying trepang (sea slugs) for export to the Far East.
There is, therefore, a great range in subsistence pursuits and settlement patterns
with the Mikea. I was told that south of the Namonty area there were even one or
two groups that were in kizo all year, i.e. complete subsistence hunter-gatherers,
very rare in the world today. At the other end of the spectrum we have Mikea who
are full time agriculturalists living in trano and villages like the Masikoro.
Individuals and groups, such as Benofy, also change their emphasis on how they
will make a living in response to what seems the better deal. In short, most Mikea
are opportunists, a common theme amongst foraging peoples anywhere.
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The MIKEA Hunter-Gatherers of Southwest Madagascar 135

Unfortunately, hatsake is destroying the Mikea forest, and although much of it

still remains, a natural resource management plan is urgently needed to both con-
serve the rich biodiversity and look after the long term interests of the Mikea and
other Malagasy who benefit from it.

II. Trade

Trade is very important for the Mikea. The most important thing men want is
tobacco snuff (paraky). They can’t live without it and will go into sidze, a nicotine
fit, if they can’t get it, during which they will do anything to obtain it. Other wanted
items are metal tools, cloth or clothes, rice, salt, and rum (needed for religious cere-
monies). In return, they trade honey, wild tubers, and meat (tenrec and lemurs
mainly). In the past silk cocoons (koohok and landi) and wild rubber (pira) were
important. The forest Mikea trade mainly with Mikea-Masikoro or Mikea-Vezo, as
they dislike outsiders, and the Mikea-Masikoro will trade with Masikoro and other
tribes living in the villages on the R.N. 9. This small trade, often barter, is called
kinanga. The people of Benofy use their oxcart to haul tubers to Vorehy. I was told
one man could fill a cart with tubers in only six hours of digging. Honey is the most
important trade item, however, and the Mikea construct simple hives (tohoke) from
hollowed out logs which they leave on the ground. They are individually owned.
Much of the small maize harvest is also sold.
Mikea-Masikoro will exchange wild tubers with Mikea-Vezo or Vezo on the coast
for dried fish, and in turn trade the fish with Masikoro for cassava. In effect, they are
trading wild tubers for cultivated tubers, with a great deal of time and energy
involved. It would be difficult to explain this particular trade in terms of nutrition,
and I believe it is carried out by young men as an excuse to travel east and west
across Mikea country in search of brides. In addition, foragers are known to carry
out trade with dominant neighboring peoples in order to foster good social relations.
The Mikea-Vezo have a wide range of sea products they trade with Indian mer-
chants (Karani) or their agents (duka, from Swahili). These include various fish, sea
food (lobster, crab, prawns), sea slugs (to Hong Kong), mother-of-pearl, and an
incense (fimpy) taken from the opercula of the mollusk Murex trunculus that the
Karani particularly value. Salted fish and octopus are traded with the Masikoro for
cassava or maize. The Mikea-Vezo differ from the Vezo in that the latter do not
exploit forest products. It is the Mikea who procure all of the different kinds of
woods, cordage and caulking materials from the forest for the construction of the
Vezo outrigger boats, and some Mikea are expert boat builders (Koechlin, 1975).
As said, the young, unmarried men do much of the transporting of the trade items,
and they move around frequently from camp to camp and to the villages. They call
this moving around tsangatsanga, which gives the name to the lean-to, as this is
what they usually sleep in.

SOCIOCULTURAL FEATURES

The Mikea are patrilineal and when women marry they move to their husband’s
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136 D. STILES

band. Although my research is very limited here, bands seem to be made up largely
of kin-related families and individuals. The ideal is to marry outside of the clan, but
I have recorded people of the same clan married, which could have two possible
causes. The first is that there is a shortage of eligible potential spouses of the appro-
priate clans, and the second is that some clan affiliations are fictive. It is common for
hunter-gatherers to adopt the clan names of more powerful neighbors in order to
build good relations with them. Several clan names are shared by Mikea and
Masikoro. One of the spouses of a married couple sharing the same clan name might
not actually be genetically of the lineage.
Mikea can marry first cousins on the male side, but not the female (i.e. two sis-
ter’s offspring). They often intermarry with Vezo, but apparently never with
Masikoro (but this needs more checking, there is a very fuzzy line between
Masikoro and Mikea-Masikoro).
I have recorded seventeen Mikea clan names, at least five of them also found with
the Masikoro. A Mikea-Masikoro of the Sambeymangetse clan told me that they
shared a common ancestor with the Masikoro Sambeymangetse, and that they were
of the same lineage. If true, this could be evidence that some Mikea and Masikoro
share common origins, though other explanations are possible. This particular infor-
mant, 65 years of age, knew of no Mikea married to a Masikoro, however.
The supreme god is called Ndranangahary, to whom tobacco or tubers are offered,
or even an ox might be sacrificed (soro). A male patron of the hunt, Ndrianabolisy,
is evoked as an ancient hero at the time of successful wild pig hunts. The more
important quotidian sacred symbol is the hazofaly, the sacred tree. (Hazo means
‘tree’ and faly means ‘taboo’; fady in most of Madagascar). These are usually fony,
a species of baobab (Adansonia fony), or a tamarind tree (kily). The Mikea believe
ancestral spirits (koko or komba) live in them. For all Malagasy, ancestors are the
base of traditional religion. As said previously, most Malagasy have a wooden post
(hazomanga) for the purpose of worship.
Another interesting cultural feature is the taboo of eating certain domestic ani-
mals. One clan will not eat chickens, though they keep them, and others will not eat
sheep. A sheep/goat faly is common amongst many clans of the neighboring
Sakalava, Bara, and Vazimba people (Kent, 1970: 151). Even the Beosy have a goat
faly (Birkeli, 1936), suggesting the practice is quite ancient.
The Mikea, like other Malagasy, have ‘witch doctors’ called ombiasy. The Mikea
ombiasy, however, are believed by outsiders to have particularly effective powers of
healing with herbal medicines and of making charms (oly) for various purposes.
Ombiasy also use flat boards inscribed with patterns of holes which they use for
divining (sikily).

DISCUSSION

So why are there Mikea? I think they are there primarily due to what is called
resource partitioning. The Mikea could live further to the east on land with better
soils and higher rainfall, it is available (Dina & Hoerner, 1976). But they choose to
live in an area that is harsher, because it is in a forest that provides abundant food,
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The MIKEA Hunter-Gatherers of Southwest Madagascar 137

construction materials, trade products, and security. Farmers want the trade prod-
ucts, but are too far from the forests to regularly go get them for themselves. It is a
type of symbiosis, each giving the other what they lack. The economic argument is
strengthened by a cultural one. The Mikea are stigmatised by outsiders, and at times
treated harshly. This was more true in the past than today, however. The Mikea pre-
fer to live away from outsiders where they do not experience stigmatism as much.
The Mikea-Masikoro have taken on many Masikoro cultural traits to blunt some of
the causes of stigmatism. The Mikea-Vezo situation is different, as the Mikea are
terrestrial foragers and the Vezo are marine foragers, variants on the same theme.
Thus they intermarry and treat each others as equals.
I think that the Mikea situation has relatively deep historical roots. In fact, the
mechanisms which reinforce resource partitioning might have been stronger in the
past than today, when overseas traders from Indonesia, East Africa, and later the
Europeans made frequent calls to Madagascar’s shores in search of food, water and
trade goods, and inter-tribal warfare was very common. When one considers how
easy it is to make a living by foraging, it is surprising more people don’t take it up.
The hatsake system of agriculture is threatening the forest. The principle crops of
maize and cassava are needed to supplement food resources, particularly during the
limberano transitional season, and the maize is an avenue to other goods through
trade. It would not be feasible to forbid agriculture completely to conserve the for-
est, unless an alternative could be provided to maintain the Mikea standard of living.
Two solutions seem possible:
1. Develop trade in wild forest products and crafts and services based on them
to provide adequate income with which to buy supplemental food and neces-
sary goods. Feasibility studies could be carried out to investigate whether
there are markets for wild rubber, silk cocoons, aromatics, medicines and
cosmetics (volo hazo), or other sustainable offtake products in addition to the
ones already exploited. In essence, the Mikea would be encouraged to expend
the time currently employed in clearing the forest to collecting economic
products.
2. Identify inexpensive fertilizers that the Mikea could employ that would allow
them to reuse cleared fields over extended periods, thus reducing or eliminat-
ing the need to clear and burn additional forest. Government and/or NGOs
could assist the Mikea in this, and in developing an organized system of field
rotation consistent with their land tenure customs.
Much more research needs to be conducted with the Mikea to clarify other
research questions in both the anthropological and environmental domains.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to sincerely thank the Middleton Foundation for

financially supporting the research. I am also grateful for the collaboration of Dr. Jean
François Rabedimy, director of the Centre de Documentation et de Recherche sur les Arts et
les Traditions Orales à Madagascar, and the field assistance of Mr. Tsiazonera of the same
institution. Mr. Andriatsafara Noel, the Olombentana (Elder) of Vorehy, was instrumental in
arranging contacts with Mikea groups and acting as guide, and the Lutheran mission of
Vorehy very kindly provided accommodation and water.
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138 D. STILES

NOTES

(1) This paper derives from a paper given at the 8th International Conference on Hunting and
Gathering Societies held at the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan, 26-30
October, 1998.
(2) I have used Malagasy spelling, which yields the following phonetics:
Malagasy English
o ou
ao o
e é
j dz
s s/sh
y a/i (or silent)

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22.
Battistini, R. & P. Vérin 1967. Ecologic changes in protohistoric Madagascar. In (P.S. Martin
& H. E. Wright, Jr., eds.) Pleistocene Extinctions: The Search for a Cause, pp.407-424.
Yale University Press, New Haven.
1971. Témoinages archéologiques sur la côte vezo de l’embouchure de l’Onilahy à
la baie des Assassins. Taloha, 4: 51-63.
Birkeli, E. 1936. Les Vazimba de la Côte Ouest de Madagascar. Notes d’Ethnologie.
Mémoires l’Académie Malgache XXII, pp.67.
Burney, D. 1993. Late Holocene environmental changes in Arid Southwestern Madagascar.
Quaternary Research, 40: 98-106.
Chittick, N. & Rotberg, R. (eds.) 1975. East Africa and the Orient. Africana, New York.
Dahl, O. 1951. Malgache et Maanjan, une étude linguistique. Egede Institutett III, Oslo.
1953. Le substrat bantou en Malgache. Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenkap,
17: 325-362.
1991. Migration from Kalimantan to Madagascar. Norwegian University
Press, Oslo.
Dewar, R. 1984. Extinctions in Madagascar: the loss of the subfossil fauna. In (P. Martin &
R. Klein, eds.) Quaternary Extinctions, pp. 574-593. University of Arizona Press,
Tucson.
Dewar, R. & Wright, H. T. Jr. 1993. The culture-history of Madagascar. Journal of World
Prehistory, 7: 417-466.
Dina, J. & Hoerner, J.M. 1976. Etude sur les populations Mikea du sud-ouest de Madagascar.
Omaly sy Anio, 3-4: 269-286.
Drury, R. 1729/1969. Madagascar or Robert Drury’s Journal During Fifteen Years Captivity
on That Island. Negro Universities Press, New York.
Hoerner, J.M. 1986. Géographie Régionale du Sud-Ouest de Madagascar. Association des
Géographes de Madagascar, Antananarivo.
Kent, R. 1970. Early Kingdoms in Madagascar 1500-1700. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New
York.
Koechlin, B. 1975. Les Vezo du Sud-Ouest de Madagascar. Mouton, Paris.
Lombard, J. 1973. La Royauté Sakalava, essai d’analyse d’un système politique. ORSTOM,
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Antananarivo.
MacPhee, R.D.E. & Burney, D. 1991. Dating of modified femora of extinct Dwarf
Hippopotamus from southern Madagascar: Implications for constraining human colo-
nization and vertebrate extinction events. Journal of Archaeological Sciences, 18: 695-
706.
Stiles, D. 1981. Hunters of the northern East African coast: origins and historical processes.
Africa, 51(4): 848-861.
1991. Tubers and tenrec: The Mikea of southwestern Madagascar. Ethnology,
30(3): 251-263.
1995. The Mikea, hunter-gatherers of Madagascar. Kenya Past and Present, 26:
27-33
Vérin, P. 1986. The History of Civilisation in Northern Madagascar. Balkema, Rotterdam.
Vérin, P., Kottak, C. & Gorlin, P. 1969. The glottochronology of Malagasy speech communi-
ties. Oceanic Linguistics, VIII: 26-83.

Accepted November 7, 1998

Author’s Name and Address: Daniel STILES, P. O. Box 5159, Diani Beach, KENYA.
([email protected])
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140 D. STILES

APPENDIX 1 MIKEA PLANT LIST

Mikea Name Botanical Name Uses

(h)afi(h)afy Avicennia marina Mangrove; timber for houses, make

mortars (leo), firewood; sap (loko) used
as antiseptic and for toothaches

ahidambo Heteropogon contortus Grass; house walls and roofs

akao Casuarina equisetifolia Boat masts

amaminomby Terminalia boivini Cart yokes and tool handles

amiana Urera radula Water in root; bark rope

anatsiko Securinega seyrigii Poles

andrarezana Celtis madagascariensis Bark, treat gum disease

angily Dioscorea sp. Edible tuber

antake Psophocarpus Smelly vine with edible seeds that are

longipendunculabus (?) boiled and can be sold

antaly Dioscorea antaly Edible tuber

antso Euphorbia antso Sap used as poison; in past, used to start

fire by friction

arofy Commiphora guillamini/ Bark used to treat wounds

mafaidoha

ba Ipomoea sp. Large tuber with much water

babaka Curcurbitacaeae(?) Squash, make containers; (Hoerner

1986: 21 mentions a grass by the same
name, Sorghum alepensa)

babo Dioscorea bemandy Water source in dry season

bakakely Tribulus terrestris Herb with spicy seeds

banakipaky Bauhinia grandidieri ?

bararata Phragmites communis Reed

bevory ? Vine, soap made from roots

bokaby ? Vine, latex from fruit sold

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The MIKEA Hunter-Gatherers of Southwest Madagascar 141

borovy/dray Strychnos spinosa Edible fruit

boy Physena sessiflora Planks in construction; wooden cylinders

used in iron piston bellows

famata Euphorbia stenoclada Masikoro use sap (loko) to stun fish

famehifary Clitoria lasciva(?) Vine, sap a purgative

famoahalambo Dichrostachys sp. ?

fanamba Cadia elisiana(?) Bark, grind into fish poison

fantsiholotse/ Allaudia procera Similar to sono, no uses (not local)

fantsiholitra

fandsihotse Mimosoideae Bark cordage for nets

fany Entada chrysostachys Seeds used in divination (sikily)

farafake/ Givotia Boat construction; bark used by women

farafatse madagascariensis to make skin cream masks (tabaky)

fengoky Delonix bioviniana Wood too spongy to work

fiamy Ficus sp. Attracts sifakas

fony Adansonia fony Bark, make cordage (haftse or hafuke)

and roofing; fruits eaten and made into
juice; seed pods used as scoops; wood
boiled and drunk to treat fevers and
colds; sacred tree (faly) in which spirits
(koko) live

giradivahiny Flemingia congesta ?

hafihany Avicennia sp. ?

halimboro Albizia bernieri ?

hamafana Cissampelos pareira Vine

handy Neobeguea mahafaliensis Timber, construction; boil bark in water

to strengthen post-natal mothers, wash
infants, and treat back aches

harahara Phyloxylon ensifolius Construction

hatafa Terminalia catappa Tool handles

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142 D. STILES

hazo mafinto Stadmania oppositifolia Boat construction

hazo mafio ? Treat gonorrhoea

hazo malany Hernandia voyroni Planks for carts, floors, doors and
coffins; leaves and bark used to treat
jaundice and infected sores

hazo manitse ? Edible seeds

hazo mbalala Croton mahafaliensis No uses

hazomby Strychnos House construction; roots an anti-

madagascariensis inflammatory

hazo tsakorova Grewia sp. Boil leaves and drink for malaria

hola Dracoena reflexa No uses

intisy Euphorbia fiherensis Sap used as caulking

kapaiko Nelumbo nucifera (?) Lotus, boil tuber as food

katra/kata Cesalpinia dunducella Seeds used in board game

katrafay/katrasafa Cedrelopsis greivei House construction, digging sticks; bark

and leaves used to treat many problems-
rheumatism, back ache, diabetes or to
reinvigorate; bark used in toaka gasy

katramantse ? Bark, house walls and roofing

kidresy Cynodon dactylon Weed that harms cultivation

kily Tamarindus indica Some are sacred (hazo faly); sell fruit
pods

kinanya Ricinus communis Ombiasy keeps oil in cow horn and uses
in charms

kirondro Perriera Fruits highly toxic

madagascariensis

kiseny Cucumis melo Gourd

komokomoky Grewia grevei Poles, tool handles; edible fruit

lalanda Ipomoea pescaprae Edible tuber

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The MIKEA Hunter-Gatherers of Southwest Madagascar 143

lamoty Flacourtia indica/ramoutchi Boat caulking; edible fruit, toaka gasy;

bark is an antirheumatic

laro Euphorbia laro/ Sap as fish poison

Leucodendron sp.

latabarika Grewia cyclea Tool handles

laza Cyphostemma laza Vine

lombiri Cryptostegia Extract rubber (pira); “cotton” from fruit

madagascariensis used for blowgun dart fleches

lopingo Diospyros platycalix Black (ebony), make sagai shafts

maintifototse Diospyros sp. Leaves pounded and boiled as diarrhea

medicine for children, root is an anti-
inflamitory, and bark is used as tooth-
paste

mainte-mpo Indigofera depauperata Boat construction

makamby Nymphaea stellata(?) Waterlilly root, edible

mampandry Cedrelopsis gracilis Poles in construction; bark infusion

to treat fever

manary baomby Dalbergia greveana Construction, firewood; pieces of

branches cut to use for medicinal
purposes (volo hazo), rubbed on stones
with water to produce a paste which is
applied to the face (tabaky) for nume-
rous purposes; sacred tree for Mikea-
Vezo

manary fotse Dalbergia purpurescens Construction

manary tsiatondro Dalbergia trichocarpa Contruction, house poles

mandrofo Trachylobium Gum copal (not in area)

verrucosum

mangarahara/ Stereospernum rufus/ Boil bark to treat diarrhea; wood for

mangerahane euphoroides coffins

mangiliakeliky Brachylaena microphylla No uses

manjakabenitany Baudouinia Sacred tree

fluggeiformis
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144 D. STILES

mantaora Cedrolepsis Firewood and poles

microfoliolata

maro sarana Moringa drouhardii No uses

mita Cyperus articulatus(?) Reed, baskets and mats

moky Ipomoea sp. Edible small tuber

monongo Zanthoxylum Cart construction; bark infusion to treat

tsihanimposa fever

nato Sideroxylon sp./ Timber for coffins; fruits not eaten; bark
Capurodendron perrieri used for red-brown dye used on cloths
(lamba)

nonoke Ficus megapoda/melleri Bark cloth (in past); holds water in

cavities; boiled leaves treat many
illnesses

ovotra Typha augustifolia Reed

ovy Dioscorea ovinala Edible tuber

rafia Sagus rofia Raffia palm, basketry, mats, etc.

raketa Opuntia dillenii/inermis Cactus, eat prickly pear; cattle forage

ravinengitra/ Landolphis Vine, extract rubber

fingitry madagascariensis(?)

renala Adansonia grandidieri Bark, cordage; edible fruit

robotsy Acacia morandaviensis Firewood

roitra/roy Acacia asperata Firewood

rombe Commiphora sp. Fragrant leaves and flowers, boil and

inhale vapors for colds

sakoa Poupartia sylvatica/ Wood, make mortars; edible fruit; fire

caffra resistant

sambalahy Albizia perrieri Bark used to treat asthma and leaf

infusion for stomach ache and fever

saonjo Colocasia sp. Taro, edible tuber

sarongaza Colvillea racemosa Beautiful red-orange flowers

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The MIKEA Hunter-Gatherers of Southwest Madagascar 145

sasavy Salvadora augustifolia Fruit; treat toothache with ground root

satsa/satrana Hyphaene shatan/ Basketry; fruit (lakoko), toaka gasy

Medemia nobilis house thatch

sogno Didiera No uses

madagascariensis

somotsoy Fernandoa Colonizes deforested areas; leaves in

madagascariensis infusion to treat fever, ground up to
treat diarrhea

songery ? Mangrove

sono Allaudia ascendens Remove spines and use for house poles

sosa Dioscorea sosa Edible tuber

talafotsy Rhopalocarpus lucidus Tool handles; bark cordage

talamena Apaloxylon tuberosum Bark cloth in old days

taly Terminalia tricristata No uses

tanga lahi Rhizophora mucronata Mangrove, tannin for trade

tanga vave Ceriops tagal Mangrove, boat masts

tapia Uapaca bojeri Fire resistant tree; leaves feed silk

worms

tavolo Tacca pinnatifida Arrow root- grind up and put in cloth,

pour water over it, use starch precipitate
in water as food

tongarivomena Sesbania rostrata No uses

tsanaoday Robetelia sp. Giant grass, no uses

tsiakondrokondro Augraecum superbum(?) Orchid

tsiana Sporobulus indicus(?) Grass, fodder

tsilaiby Stadmania oppositifolia Fire resistant

tsinefo Zizyphus vulgaris Jujube fruits and toaka gasy

tsingilofilo Calastrus linearis House and boat construction

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146 D. STILES

tsitake Rhus perrieri Resin used by girls as a depilatory and by

ombiasy in rituals

vahe mainte Secamonopsis sp. Rubber vine, latex strong enough to

patch tires

vahintana Albizia masikororum Construction, firewood

vaho Aloe vahombe Treat skin lesions with raw juice; boil
leaves and drink for yellow fever

vakakoa Strychnos vacacoua Medicine to treat leprosy

valotsy Breonia perrieri Found in humid depressions, wood

can be worked

vaovy Tertrapterocarpon geayi Cart frames and wheels, boats; boil

bark and drink as an anti-malarial

varo Cordia sp./ Boat construction

Hibiscus liliaceas(?)

vero Hyparrhenia rufa Tall grass around water depressions

voa manga Citrullus panatus Gourd

voandry Ficus sp. No uses

vondro/vondzo Typha augustifolia Reeds, house construction

voro Alleanthus greveanua No uses

vontaky Pachypodium geayi Soak sapwood in water as bush pig

poison; bark cloth

vory Alleanthus greveanus Construction

za Adansonia za Bark used as cordage; fruits eaten; pods

used as scoops

zaha/hazo foty Grewia microcyclea Shaft (voloso) for spear used in pig
hunting and tool handles; roofing; edible
fruit; bark string

zavy Ficus sp. No uses

Note: Toaka gasy is a home-made alcoholic brew.

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The MIKEA Hunter-Gatherers of Southwest Madagascar 147

APPENDIX 2 FAUNA

akanga Numida mitrata Guinea fowl, meat

akohoala Lophotibis cristata Crested wood ibis, meat

amboalava Chamaeleo sp. Chameleon

angavo Pteropus sp. Fruit bat, meat

aomby Bos madagascariensis Cow, almost never owned by Mikea; in

past “Hattoy’s cattle” feral and hunted

bengy Capra capra Goat, used mostly in ritual

boenga ? Large rodent(?), meat

boky-boky Mungotictus decemlineata Viverrid, meat

fosa Cryptoprocta ferox Largest carnivore in Madagascar, similar

to civet, meat

gidro Lemur fulvus Brown lemur, meat

hira Lemur catta Ring-tailed lemur, meat

kapiky Pyxis planicauda Turtle, meat

katrakatraka Eremialector personatus Sand grouse, meat

kibodolo Turnix nigricolis Small quail, meat

kituky ? Bee, wild honey

kivahy Canis canis Dog, used in pig and fosa hunts

lea; reny tantely Apis unicolor Honey bee

(‘mother of honey’)

mangoro lambo Potamochoerus larvatus Bush pig, meat

moky Anopheles sp. Mosquito

ongiky Cheirogaleus medius(?) Dwarf lemur(?), meat

rere Erymnochelys Sideneck turtle, food and offerings

madagascariensis

sakondry Fulgoridae Edible insect

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148 D. STILES

samaky Phoenicopterus sp. Flamingo, meat

sifaka Propithecus verreauxi Lemur,meat

sora Hemicentetes semispinosus Small Banded tenrec, meat

sotrosono Platelea alba African spoonbill, meat

tambotsike Echinops telfairi Tenrec, meat

tandraky Centetes ecaudatus Common tenrec, meat

tsangafiafy ? Caterpillar, can burn skin

tsingaokaoke Hippobosca maculata (?) Tiny fly that is numerous in dry

season in forest and sucks blood

valavo Rattus rattus Rat, meat

vivihy Dendrocygna viduata Whistling duck, meat

vorombengy Threskiornis aethiopicus Sacred ibis, meat

vositsy Hypogemus antimena Jumping rat, meat