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INTRODUCTION BY KAREN MIDDLETON Some 1,600 km long, lying off the east coast of Africa, Madagascar has been dubbed a 'little continent' or 'not an island, but an archi- pelago' (Covell, 1987: 9) on account of its immense diversity and great size. The striking variety of its landscapes, ranging from rainforest through savannah to sub-arid zones, is matched by a complex array of religious and socio-cultural practice, encompassing politico-historical traditions as diverse as the C 19th kingdom of Imerina, one of the largest indigenous states to have developed in sub-Saharan Africa, and peo- ples who have elaborated an egalitarian ethos in conscious rejection of hierarchy (e.g. Wilson, 1992; Astuti, 1995b). And yet there is a sense of a 'Malagasy culture' or 'pan-Malagasy themes' (e.g. Mack, 1986; Southall, 1986).' Like all so-called 'culture areas,' then, Madagascar poses problems for the scholar: of acknowledging what is held in com- mon while not obscuring the very real differences that exist. The six essays in this and the following issue, I think, will give the reader a fair sense of an island whose peoples, both literally and metaphorically, share one language, but speak in many different dialects. It is often said that
Journal of Religion in Africa – Brill
Published: Jan 1, 1997
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