Sakalava

(noun)

An ethnic group of Madagascar that occupies the western edge of the island from Toliara in the south to Sambirano in the north. The term denominates a number of smaller ethnic groups that once comprised an empire, rather than an ethnic group in its own right. During the Middle Ages, their influence extended across the area that is now the provinces of Antsiranana, Mahajanga, and Toliara. However, with the domination of the Indian Ocean by the British fleet and the end of the Arab slave trade, they lost their power to the emerging Merina threat.

Related Terms

Examples of Sakalava in the following topics:

  • The Kingdoms of Madagascar

    • The influence of the Sakalava extended across the area that is now the provinces of Antsiranana, Mahajanga, and Toliara.
    • The true founder of Sakalava dominance was Andriamisara.
    • Like the Sakalava to the west, today's Betsimisaraka are composed of numerous ethnic sub-groups that formed a confederation in the early 18th century.
    • The Merina oral histories mention several attacks by Sakalava raiders against their villages as early as the 17th century and during the entire 18th century.
    • Though the Merina were never to annex the two last Sakalava strongholds of Menabe and Boina (Mahajanga), the Sakalava never again posed a threat to the central plateau, which remained under Merina control until the French colonization of the island in 1896.