What "horror stories" are not told about them to tourists arriving on the island of Madagascar! Allegedly, these undersized aborigines from the Wasimba tribe promise misfortune by their mere appearance. They hate strangers, spread diseases, steal from local residents not only food, but even children - they drag them right from the bank into a river or lake … The list of sins can be continued, because almost all troubles are blamed on vazimba. However, these people do not deserve to be blamed. Moreover, he is rather a victim himself - many trials have fallen to his lot, forcing him to stay away from civilization so far.
From Indonesia with greetings
The negative is all the more surprising, given that it is quite officially considered: it was the Wasimba tribe who were the first settlers on this once deserted island near South Africa. They sailed here from ancient Indonesia at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, and they can be considered the ancestors of the modern Malagasy, who make up the bulk of the population of the Republic of Madagascar.
The first wazimba villages were founded on the eastern coast of the island, where they settled without problems, and lived there until they were driven out by the militant settlers who came after them from other regions of Asia. From a quite comfortable region, the tribe was forced to move to the mountain plateau, which stretches from north to south of Madagascar. Of course, the climatic conditions are much worse here, but it was possible to grow rice, which was basically what they did in the new place. Plus fishing - wasimba settled along the Manguru River and adjacent reservoirs.
Nearby, the Betsileo tribes took a fancy to the terraces stretching into the mountains. They also raised rice and raised livestock. History is silent as to why enmity broke out between the tribes, but the Wasimba again did not defend their rights with weapons in hand, but moved even further to the west. Fortunately, as it turned out, it was also possible to develop rice plantations on the spacious intermountain valley on the Anala-manga hill.
Do they go barefoot here?
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However, in the first half of the 17th century, the king of Andrianzac - at that time the most powerful monarch on the island - ousted the wasimba from Analamanga, where he also founded the current capital of the Republic of Madagascar, Antananarivo.
This time, the transition was also to the west, but much harder and more dangerous than the previous one - the tribe found itself in unfamiliar conditions: the hard-to-reach Bongulava mountain range, scarce vegetation, food supplies are running out. The dead were first buried right there along the way (the graves have survived to this day), and then, when it became known from the scouts sent ahead of the caves ahead, the bodies were brought to these underground tombs.
Today it is difficult to imagine how the wazimba then managed to overcome the vast territory of the tsing - spiky limestone mountains. They are relatively low - 200-400 meters and only sometimes a little higher, but this is a solid palisade of spiers, between which it is still difficult to get through without special climbing devices. By the way, the word "tsingi" in translation from Malagasy means "a place where you cannot walk barefoot." Quite aptly said!
The end point of the difficult crossing was the picturesque canyon of the Monambulu River in the south of the present western province of the country of Mahajanga. Around untouched mangrove forests and lakes - a godforsaken corner, which was just what the vazimba dreamed of.
At first, the tribe lived in limestone caves: in some they settled, others were still used to bury the dead. Then whole families began to leave here, founding villages in the forests along the river. As a rule, they are hidden from view, and only small plots of cultivated land make it possible to determine that wazimba live nearby.
The current territory of the tribe is part of the Tsingzhi du Bemaraha National Reserve. Tourists get here from the capital Antananarivo via the Morundava airport, then four hours by bus on unimportant roads. But there are no routes to the villages of Wazimba - the guides do not lead anyone further north, although there are enough people who want to get to the settlements of the exotic tribe. One has to be content with a pilgrimage to the tombs of the wasimba.
They will punish and … help
These burials, both in open areas and in caves, are hardly noticeable, but recognizable: a stone is placed strictly perpendicularly above a small stone slab. Such a grave is not always visible. It is believed that accidentally stepping on it or tripping over a stone is a bad omen: the soul of the deceased will surely take revenge. As well as a plucked flower or branch from a bush growing next to the grave. If this happens, then the offender or his loved ones will face a serious illness, or even death - the buried person can take the soul of the guilty person to the next world.
Although there is a directly opposite custom: to ask the formidable spirit of the deceased wasimba for help. To do this, you need to come to the grave with an offering and make a request.
In other words, the wazimba spirits hovering over the graves inspire not only fear and even horror, but also respect. Therefore, in Madagascar it is impossible even to imagine any desecration of such burials. On the contrary, the older it is, the more revered.
Local healers, adhering to the ancient traditions of healing and fortune-telling, believe that one of the most revered gods of the wazimba, Ranoro, helps them in the difficult craft of healing. Supposedly it is he who gives strength and ability to help people. The more successful and respected the witch doctor, the more Ranoro support he enjoys.
By the way, healers from all over Madagascar, as well as French doctors and pharmacologists (for a long time the island was a colony of France), have repeatedly tried to get hold of recipes for natural medicines that healers in the villages of Wazimba possess. After all, they have ancient and proven remedies for the most serious diseases. The effectiveness of such drugs can be judged at least by the fact that the average life expectancy of the wazimba is significantly higher than that of other ethnic groups - on average in Madagascar it is 62 years for men and women. And among the Wasimba tribe, centenarians (and especially long-livers) for 100 years are by no means uncommon.
According to the laws of justice
How do the wazimba who have gone far from civilization live today? Mainly due to subsistence farming: they grow rice - here they are recognized masters, as well as yam - a tuberous culture similar to potatoes. Traditionally, they fish. Houses are built from coastal clay, roofs are covered with rice straw. Dwellings are erected throughout the village, often as a gift to a new family.
If someone due to chronic illness, loss of a breadwinner or old age is unable to cultivate their land or fish, then the whole community helps him. It is not customary for a wazimba to stand out - in any village, the headman's house looks no different from the rest. In a word, everything is fair.
Of course, there is a certain connection with the “mainland” today. However, it is quite peculiar. Although the wazimba still shy away from eating meat from domestic animals (the exception is lean years), they raise cattle and sell it through the intermediary of neighbors from the nearest bar tribe. The scheme is as follows: the wazimba give the meat, they sell it to the bar, and with the proceeds they buy goods on the request received. These are mainly tools (axes, shovels, hoes), clothes, shoes and, of course, salt. This is where contacts with civilization are limited. And if before, in places of long-term residence in the east and in the center of Madagascar, the wazimba had marriages with representatives of other tribes - usually girls were given in marriage - then for several centuries this has been excluded. Brides and grooms should be looked for in their own or neighboring villages. Therefore, the gene pool practically does not change, and the representatives of this tribe are still the same: undersized - 130-150 centimeters, with a very dark skin color, slender constitution, but very strong and hardy.
Happiness? OK
European researchers trying to determine the "level of happiness" in wasimba representatives were surprised by the results. It turned out that this people, who had not gone so far from the primitive communal system, ignored the slave-owning and never tasted the "joys" of the feudal, felt very well. They always have their daily bread, albeit obtained by hard work, but there is no social inequality that poisons the life of civilized nations. Add to this a rare unity with nature, the absence of stress exhausting us, the traditional care for children and the elderly. In a word, researchers have once again become convinced that happiness in our time is measured not only by the size of a bank account, the presence of a luxury car or an expensive yacht …
How long will the Wasimba people manage to maintain their way of life and resist the onslaught of civilization? Most likely, progress in our usual understanding will not reach the swampy forests of Madagascar soon. A rather poor country (115th in terms of GDP in the world) has neither the funds nor the economic interest to develop the area where the wasimba lives. And the prospects for tourism are not great: these villages do not favor visitors, and besides, getting into such a wilderness is not easy. This means that this corner of the island has a chance to remain unchanged for many years to come.
Oleg Nikolaev
