Mikea Forest, Madagascar - Map 01
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The Mikea are a group of Malagasy-speaking
horticulturalists Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...
and
forager A forager is a person who collects edible plants or fungi for consumption. Urban foragers may collect in city parks, private lands, and sidewalks. Urban foraging has gained in popularity in the 21st century, as people share their knowledge, exper ...
s who are often described as the lowland
hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...
s of
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
. They inhabit the
Mikea Forest The Mikea Forest (or Forêt des Mikea) is a forested region of southwestern Madagascar, between Manombo and Morombe. More specifically, it stretches from Route Nationale 9 to the west coast and from Mangoky south to the Manombo River. It li ...
, a patch of mixed spiny forest and
dry deciduous forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...
along the coast of southwestern Madagascar. The Mikea are predominantly of
Sakalava The Sakalava are an ethnic group of Madagascar. They are primarily found on the western edge of Madagascar from Toliara in the south to the Sambirano River in the north. The Sakalava constitute about 6.2 percent of the total population, or abou ...
origin, although the term describes a shared way of life rather than an ethnic group ''per se'', and individuals from a variety of Malagasy ethnic groups are found among the Mikea. The family encampments of the Mikea shift from prime corn planting territory at the edge of the forest in the rainy season to the interior forest rich with
tenrec A tenrec () is a mammal belonging to any species within the afrotherian family Tenrecidae, which is endemic to Madagascar. Tenrecs are a very diverse group, as a result of adaptive radiation, and exhibit convergent evolution, some resemble hed ...
s and other game in the dry season, when the community becomes highly dependent on spongy tubers to meet their daily demand for water. Their lifestyle is interdependent with that of their neighboring
Vezo The Vezo is a Sakalava Malagasy term for ''Bajo'', the semi-nomadic maritime or sea people from Central–Eastern Indonesia (esp. Flores Sea) who settled in southern Madagascar. They speak a variety of Malagasy language, Malagasy dialect continuum, ...
fishermen and the
Masikoro The Masikoro are a group of farmers and herders who inhabit areas surrounding the Mikea Forest, a patch of mixed spiny forest and dry deciduous forest along the coast of southwestern Madagascar in Toliara Province. Along with Vezo and Mikea, th ...
farmers and herders, with whom they trade products caught, foraged or cultivated in the forest. Many Mikea also occasionally engage in paid work such as guarding the
zebu The zebu (; ''Bos indicus''), also known as indicine cattle and humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of Bos taurus, domestic cattle originating in South Asia. Zebu, like many Sanga cattle breeds, differs from taurine cattle by a fatty hump ...
herds or tending the corn fields of others. The present-day Mikea are not a remnant of an ancient Malagasy hunter-gatherer society, but are instead descendants of individuals who took refuge in the forest beginning in the 1800s to escape military conflict, heavy taxation and other oppressive factors. Their way of life is perceived by villagers and city dwellers alike as ancestral, contributing to a mystique about them that has inspired various myths and legends. They are commonly believed to be the mythical
Vazimba The Vazimba (Malagasy ), according to popular belief, were the first inhabitants of Madagascar. While beliefs about the physical appearance of the Vazimba reflect regional variation, they are generally described as smaller in stature than the aver ...
, the original inhabitants of the island, although there is no evidence to support this view. They are distinct from the
Beosi The Beosi are short-statured hunter-gatherers of the central highlands of Madagascar. They are distinct from the Mikea hunter-gatherers and horticulturalists of the lowlands. Language The Beosi speak a dialect of the Malagasy language, which ...
hunter-gatherers of the highlands. While some 1,500 individuals are known to identify as Mikea, many Malagasy disbelieve that the community continues to exist in the present day.


Ethnic identity

The Mikea are
hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...
s (also called foragers) who practice limited farming. The ''Mikea'' label is applied to those who live this subsistence lifestyle rather than being tied to a specific
ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...
. There are numerous groups termed Mikea along the west and southwest coast of
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, with the majority living in and around the spiny
Mikea Forest The Mikea Forest (or Forêt des Mikea) is a forested region of southwestern Madagascar, between Manombo and Morombe. More specifically, it stretches from Route Nationale 9 to the west coast and from Mangoky south to the Manombo River. It li ...
on the southwestern coast between Morombe and
Toliara Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in southern Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of the national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name ...
, an area extending 2500 square kilometers. Historically this main concentration of Mikea may have extended as far south as the
Fiherenana River ''Fiherenana'' is a river in the region Atsimo-Andrefana in southern Madagascar. It flows into the Indian Ocean at Tulear. Due to a local '' fady'' (taboo), pirogue A pirogue ( or ), also called a piragua or piraga, is any of various smal ...
and as far north as the
Mangoky River The Mangoky River is a 564-kilometer-long (350 mi) river in Madagascar in the regions of Atsimo-Andrefana and Anosy. It is formed by the Mananantanana and the Matsiatra. Another important affluent is the Zomandao River. It rises in the ...
; another main cluster of Mikea live to the west and southwest of Lake Ihotry. They are typically considered a subset of the
Sakalava The Sakalava are an ethnic group of Madagascar. They are primarily found on the western edge of Madagascar from Toliara in the south to the Sambirano River in the north. The Sakalava constitute about 6.2 percent of the total population, or abou ...
ethnic group, although there are Mikea individuals who trace their origins to other ethnic groups. Their adherence to a way of life perceived by villagers and city dwellers as ancestral has contributed to a mystique and various myths and legends about them, and many Malagasy believe they are the descendants of
Vazimba The Vazimba (Malagasy ), according to popular belief, were the first inhabitants of Madagascar. While beliefs about the physical appearance of the Vazimba reflect regional variation, they are generally described as smaller in stature than the aver ...
, the original inhabitants of the island, although there is no evidence to support this view. The majority of Malagasy believe the existence of the Mikea to be a myth and are unaware that any Malagasy continue to live the Mikea lifestyle to the present day. The term Mikea is principally used by outsiders to label this group and is not often used by members of this community themselves. Most Mikea prefer to call themselves either Vezo-Mikea or Masikoro-Mikea, depending on their specific family lineages.


History

The Mikea are not remnants of an early hunter-gatherer society. Although researchers remain uncertain when the Mikea first adopted a forest-dwelling, hunter-gatherer lifestyle, they have determined that the Mikea were only recently established as a community. The current Mikea population is believed to be descended largely from
Masikoro The Masikoro are a group of farmers and herders who inhabit areas surrounding the Mikea Forest, a patch of mixed spiny forest and dry deciduous forest along the coast of southwestern Madagascar in Toliara Province. Along with Vezo and Mikea, th ...
villagers who fled into the forest to escape advancing
Merina The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, Borizany or Ambaniandro) formerly called Amboalambo are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar.
and Sakalava armies in the 18th and 19th centuries. Colonial French documents dating to 1901 describe hunter gatherers by the name of Mikea living in the southwest of the island. The population is believed to have swelled during the 1947 uprising against French colonial rule, when many Malagasy families left towns and villages to hide in forests across the country. Oil exploration in the 1950s and 1960s entailed cutting paths through the formerly untouched forests of the southwest, which further contributed to the migration of villagers into the forest to adopt the Mikea lifestyle.


Society

Mikea are subject to national laws like all Malagasy citizens but in practice national laws, government and social services do not reach this population while dwelling in the forest. Within Mikea forest encampments an egalitarian form of self-government predominates, with the eldest male family member having the main decision-making authority for the group. This is in contrast to certain ethnic groups, such as the Merina, who had a complex form of social organization that overlaid a caste system with specific social roles assigned to particular family groups. In 1991, an estimated 1,500 Malagasy were living the Mikea lifestyle, primarily around the
Mikea Forest The Mikea Forest (or Forêt des Mikea) is a forested region of southwestern Madagascar, between Manombo and Morombe. More specifically, it stretches from Route Nationale 9 to the west coast and from Mangoky south to the Manombo River. It li ...
, an area that receives limited rainfall. This number was estimated at several hundred in the 1950s, suggesting a growth in population. The true number of people living from forest scavenging is difficult to estimate with accuracy, as the label "Mikea" is very flexible, and the degree of reliance on scavenging as opposed to seasonal farming can vary significantly at any given time depending on economic and environmental conditions. The Mikea are subject to social stigma linked to their image as primitive or uncivilized people. Housing and social organization among the Mikea can vary from one individual or community to the next. Some Mikea remain in the forest their entire lives, while others live part of their lives in villages or towns. While living in the forest, groups of Mikea typically move seasonally between encampments nearest to critical resources. In the rainy season, they often live in groups of 30-50 people near tracts of virgin forest in proximity to their newly cleared and planted corn fields. The houses in this settlement are square with peaked roofs, as elsewhere in Madagascar, and are typically made of thatch and bark on a wooden pole frame. These houses are loosely clustered with generous space between each lodging. The rainy season encampment serves for three to five years as a base for forest foraging before resource depletion requires a move to a new location. Those working the corn fields may live in simple grass shelters alongside their crops until April or May, when they return to the bark houses. During the dry season from May to October, the encampment splits into smaller groups that relocate deeper into the forest to settle near ''babo'' tuber patches, with dwellings limited to brush shelters and thatch sunshades, and some individuals not living in shelters at all. In both types of settlements furniture is nearly non-existent and Mikea typically sleep in the sand or pits dug at the base of giant termite mounds. The Mikea struggle to ensure the quality of life they seek. While the forest has long provided for their basic needs, deforestation and population growth are straining resources. In addition, Mikea are increasingly seeking to obtain better quality material goods for themselves, such as clothing, which necessitates greater engagement with the external economy through trade and wage labor to earn
local currency In economics, a local currency is a currency that can be spent in a particular geographical locality at participating organisations. A regional currency is a form of local currency encompassing a larger geographical area, while a community curren ...
. Lack of access to social services such as education and health clinics are also taking their toll: with only one health clinic in the Mikea Forest area and low access to water for bathing, rates of diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy and skin disease are disproportionately prevalent.


Family affiliation

Mikea tend to trace their lineage back to specific villages within one or more of three main lineages, associated respectively with the northern, southern and central parts of the Mikea Forest. Most also have relatives living in Vezo and/or Masikoro villages in the region. Many Mikea families have established ''ziva'' (a "
joking relationship In anthropology, a joking relationship is a relationship between two people that involves a ritualised banter of teasing or mocking. In Niger it is listed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Structure A ...
", commonly found in southern and eastern Africa) with the Vohitse Vanovato clan of the Masikoro, which indicates a degree of familial closeness with this subclan. Mikea encampments are typically family groups. These consist of an elder couple, their married sons and daughters-in-law, the grandchildren of these marriages, and the elder couple's own unmarried children of any age. Adult daughters typically move to join their husband's family encampment upon marriage, but married couples often share their time between the husband's or wife's parents' encampments. Family unions are formed through a ''fandeo'' ceremony in which the man is presented to his intended bride's family, and the acceptance of her parents legitimizes the union. Children of the marriage are legitimized by the husband's bestowal of presents to his wife's parents. The relationship between the wife's brother (''renilahy'', "male mother") and her children can be very strong in Mikea marriages, and the renilahy will commonly adopt children that his sister's husband does not legitimize. Both the husband and the wife have the right to divorce at any time and remarry. Polygamy is also practiced.


Religious affiliation

Like other Malagasy, the Mikea spiritual belief system revolves around respect for ancestors. They also share the common Malagasy belief in a creator god, termed Andrianajanahary. Many Mikea believe in various types of forest spirits (''koko''), which are associated with certain natural spots in the forest deemed sacred; these sites serve as the focus of various ceremonies, in which rum has spiritual and symbolic significance. The greatest of the nature spirits is Ndrianazo, the lord of the forest. The extended family group, which spreads through multiple encampments, is united around a central priest figure, the ''mpitoka hazomanga'', who officiates over major family ceremonies dedicated to the ancestors. In addition, within each encampment is at least one ''ombiasy'' (wiseman) who interprets the will of the ancestors and spirits, and plays important roles in such ceremonies as marriage, circumcision, blessings, ancestral rituals, funerals, and ''tromba'' and ''bilo'' spirit possession ceremonies. Some also practice ''
sikidy ''Sikidy'' is a form of Algebra, algebraic geomancy practiced by Malagasy peoples in Madagascar. It involves Algorithm, algorithmic operations performed on Randomness, random data generated from tree Seed, seeds, which are ritually arranged in a ...
'' and other forms of divination, and provide spiritual advice on the best days or places to hunt, plant, shift camp, and other such events of daily life.


Culture

The Mikea are culturally and linguistically nearly identical to the neighboring
Vezo The Vezo is a Sakalava Malagasy term for ''Bajo'', the semi-nomadic maritime or sea people from Central–Eastern Indonesia (esp. Flores Sea) who settled in southern Madagascar. They speak a variety of Malagasy language, Malagasy dialect continuum, ...
fishing clan and Masikoro herding and farming clan of the Sakalava; only the traditional source of livelihood distinguishes the three groups. The popular association of the Mikea with the ancestral Vazimba clan has contributed to widespread belief that the Mikea possess Vazimba attributes, such as being small in stature, unclothed, shy and avoidant of contact with outsiders, and living in perfect harmony with the natural environment. None of these are borne out by evidence. The Mikea are known to make masks – a rarity in Madagascar – using human teeth and hair.


Dance and music

Music is a significant part of Mikea social and spiritual life. Specific songs are associated with a wide range of life events and ceremonies, including ''havoaza'' (funerals), ''bilo'' (magical healing rituals), ''tromba'' (spirit possession), ''ringa'' (martial arts matches), ''savatsy'' (circumcision ceremonies) and more. Most music is vocal - often making use of whistling, shouts and other vocal effects in addition to singing - with percussion accompaniment ranging from handclapping to djembe or ''langoro'' drums. Conch shells and the ''jejy lava'' (stringed instrument with a gourd resonator, played with a bow) are also performed; both of these ancient instruments are increasingly rare in Madagascar and among the Mikea the latter is performed by men for one another. Rarer and more costly instruments like the ''
marovany The marovany (formerly spelled marouvane) is a suitcase shaped, wooden, type of box zither from Madagascar, used in Malagasy music. It is strung on both sides with metal strings. The player plucks the strings with both hands, often with rapid alte ...
'' wooden box zither and the ''
valiha The valiha is a tube zither from Madagascar made from a species of Valiha diffusa, local bamboo; it is considered the "List of national instruments (music), national instrument" of Madagascar. The term is also used to describe a number of re ...
'' bamboo
tube zither The tube zither is a stringed musical instrument in which a tube functions both as an instrument's neck and its soundbox. As the neck, it holds strings taut and allows them to vibrate. As a soundbox, it acoustic resonance, modifies the sound and ...
are used for certain sacred rituals that invoke the ancestors. The marovany or valiha player is typically paid a ''fomba'' monetary tribute to perform the ceremonial music. Many songs are accompanied by specific dances and rituals that continue to be practiced among the Mikea in daily life.


Language

The Mikea speak a dialect of the
Malagasy language Malagasy ( ; ; Sorabe: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language and dialect continuum spoken in Madagascar. The standard variety, called Official Malagasy, is one of the official languages of Madagascar, alongside French language, F ...
, which originated in southern
Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
. Their dialect is close to that spoken by the
Vezo The Vezo is a Sakalava Malagasy term for ''Bajo'', the semi-nomadic maritime or sea people from Central–Eastern Indonesia (esp. Flores Sea) who settled in southern Madagascar. They speak a variety of Malagasy language, Malagasy dialect continuum, ...
fishing clan and Masikoro herding clan of the
Sakalava people The Sakalava are an ethnic group of Madagascar. They are primarily found on the western edge of Madagascar from Toliara in the south to the Sambirano River in the north. The Sakalava constitute about 6.2 percent of the total population, or abou ...
. Speculation that there may be remnants of a
Vazimba The Vazimba (Malagasy ), according to popular belief, were the first inhabitants of Madagascar. While beliefs about the physical appearance of the Vazimba reflect regional variation, they are generally described as smaller in stature than the aver ...
language in Mikea speech was investigated by Blench & Walsh (2009) and found wanting. They concluded, : " hedata is so exiguous and so scattered, that it is unlikely to constitute a significant record of a substrate vocabulary, as opposed to a set of idiosyncratic words, not untypical for a population of former foragers." The speech of the
Beosi people The Beosi are short-statured hunter-gatherers of the central highlands of Madagascar. They are distinct from the Mikea people, Mikea hunter-gatherers and horticulturalists of the lowlands. Language The Beosi speak a dialect of the Malagasy lang ...
, short-statured hunter-gatherers of the highlands, has a higher proportion of unidentifiable vocabulary.


Economy

The arid conditions of the spiny forest, which receives less than 600 millimeters of rainfall each year, largely shape Mikea economic activities. Nearly everything they consume is scavenged from the forest, and the average Mikea needs two hours or less to collect adequate food for the day. Their main source of food is tubers, particularly during the dry season when few other foods may be reliably available. Adults and children of both genders work to dig up using a metal-tipped digging stick (''antsoro'') and a digging bowl (''kipao''). The starchy ''ovy'' tuber is roasted or boiled before eating, while the Mikea eat the watery ''babo'' (or ''baboho'') raw for hydration or use its water for boiling other foods; the ''tavolo'' tuber is dried and ground to make a flour that is sold at village markets. They also gather forest fruits, melons and honey, with the latter a particularly important source of income for the Mikea during the rainy season. To obtain water during the rainy season the Mikea capture rain run-off from the rooftops of their houses using hollowed-out logs or transport water on foot or zebu-drawn wagon from the villages, while during the cool dry season the Mikea consume their store of water-engorged ''babo'' tubers and drink water from natural or man-made wells when possible. Key protein sources include birds and
tenrec A tenrec () is a mammal belonging to any species within the afrotherian family Tenrecidae, which is endemic to Madagascar. Tenrecs are a very diverse group, as a result of adaptive radiation, and exhibit convergent evolution, some resemble hed ...
s. Mikea adults and children of both sexes use clubs to kill the small tenrec (''tambotrika'', 0.4 kilograms), which is widespread year round, and the larger one (''tandraka'', 2-3 kilograms), which is mainly caught during the rainy season. To a lesser extent they also hunt or trap two to three species of lemur, feral cats, occasional wild boars, turtles and rodents using blowguns, spears and dogs, and use a hook and line to catch fish in saline inland lakes. Some Mikea raise animals such as goats, chickens and
guineafowl Guinea fowl () (or guineahen) are birds of the family Numididae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds. Phylogenetically, they branched off from the core Galliformes after the C ...
s for food or sale at market; tree nuts also provide additional protein. The principal crop of the Mikea is corn, which was introduced to Madagascar in the 1890s. They also occasionally grow manioc. The dry season is used to cut new corn fields, which are burned in October (
swidden Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. Th ...
agriculture, locally termed ''hatsaky'') and planted in November and December as the rains begin to fall. This corn is harvested three months later and consumed during the wet season; surplus is dried and sold, with some saved for the following year's planting and consumption. The traders who gather the maize from the Mikea process it for international export at a significant profit. The Mikea live in a symbiotic relationship with the neighboring Masikoro farmers and herders, and the Vezo fishing clan. The Mikea live primarily on food scavenged from the forest but also grow seasonal crops. Their mobility and reliance on scavenging as opposed to crop growing shifts in response to changes in environmental and economic pressures on availability of resources within the Mikea community as well as those of their Vezo and Masikoro neighbors. The Mikea sell their forest products, as well as woven mats and food animals they raise, at weekly Vezo and Masikoro markets in nearby villages to obtain the necessities they cannot scavenge, such as clothing and medicine. Some Mikea migrate for periods of time to work in local villages or the town of Morombe. They are also hired to work for Vezo and Masikoro villagers, such as by cutting forest for villagers or other Mikeas' corn fields, or guarding villagers' zebu herds. They occasionally acquire one or more zebu in addition to or in lieu of payment, as these are seen as a form of wealth and are mainly sacrificed in ancestral ceremonies rather than eaten as food. The rainy season is the time when Mikea are most likely to leave their scavenging encampments for wage labor opportunities in villages or for the corn harvest. This is also the time when Masikoro and Vezo villagers are most likely to move into the forest to grow corn.


Notes


Bibliography

* * {{authority control Vazimba Ethnic groups in Madagascar