The aloalo is a funerary pole sculpture that, along with the skulls of slaughtered

zebu The zebu (; ''Bos indicus'' or ''Bos taurus indicus''), sometimes known in the plural as indicine cattle or humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of domestic cattle originating in the Indian sub-continent. Zebu are characterised by a fatty ...

, is placed on the tombs of important people in the south-western region of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. Originally, aloalos were only available for wealthy individuals, but later the wealthy could purchase them. The memorial may help the deceased to join the community of ancestors, since the word ''alo'' means 'intermediary' or 'messenger' in Malagasy. These carved posts often tell the story of the person's life and generally take the form of a series of geometric or symbolic shapes topped by sculpted figures or objects evocative of the deceased's life, or desirable material possessions. The zebu represents prosperity and the aloalo usually has a combination of nude human figures and birds. They are chiefly associated with the

Mahafaly The Mahafaly are an ethnic group of Madagascar that inhabit the plains of the Betioky-Ampanihy area. Their name means either "those who make holy" or "those who make happy", although the former is considered more likely by linguists. In 2013 t ...

people, although they are also found on the tombs of some

Antandroy The Tandroy are a traditionally nomadic ethnic group of Madagascar inhabiting the arid southern part of the island called Androy, tracing their origins back to the East Africa mainland. In the 17th century however, the Tandroy emerged as a confe ...

and particularly the

Sakalava The Sakalava are an ethnic groups of Madagascar, ethnic group of Madagascar. They are found on the western and northwest region of the island, in a band along the coast. The Sakalava are one of the smaller ethnic groups, constituting about 6.2 pe ...

, whose carved figures are reputed for their often erotic imagery.Turner, J. (Ed.). (1996). "Madagascar," in ''The Dictionary of Art, Volume 20.'' London:

Macmillan Publishers Limited Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

. Traditionally, burial sites and aloalos were located outside of villages. After the 1896 French colonization, aloalos were exposed to the rest of the world where aloalos are now often found on the international art market.

References

Malagasy culture {{Madagascar-stub