Royalty and chieftainship in Madagascar had many peculiar customs. It had a semi-sacred character; the chief was, in heathen tribes, while living, the high priest for his people, and after death, was worshipped as a god; in its modern development among the Hova sovereigns it gathered round it much state and ceremony. There were curious examples of the taboo, particularly seen in everything having to do with the burial of a monarch, and the foregoing description of native society is applicable, with local modifications, to most of the Malagasy tribes. But on the island becoming a French colony in 1896, royalty was formally abolished.
The chief employment of the Malagasy is agriculture. In the cultivation of rice they show very great ingenuity, the ketsa grounds, where the rice is sown before transplanting, being formed either on the margins of the streams or in the hollows of the hills, in a series of terraces, to which water is often conducted from a considerable distance. In this agricultural engineering no people surpass the Betsileo. No plough is used, all work being done by a long-handled spade; and oxen are only employed to tread out the soft mud preparatory to transplanting. The manioc root is also largely consumed, together with several other roots and vege tables; but little animal foods (save fish and freshwater Crus tacea) is taken by the mass of the people, except at festival times. Large herds of fine humped cattle are found almost all over the island.
The central and eastern peoples have considerable manual dex terity. The women spin and weave, and manufacture a variety of strong and durable cloths of silk, cotton and hemp, and of rofia palm, aloe and banana fibre, of elegant patterns, and often with much taste in colour. They also make, from straw and papy rus peel, strong and beautiful mats and baskets, some of much fineness and delicacy, and also hats resembling those of Panama. The people of the south and south-east make large use of soft rush matting for covering, and they also prepare a rough cloth of bark. Their non-employment of skins for clothing is a marked distinction between the Malagasy and the South African races, and their use of vegetable fibres an equally strong link between them and the Polynesian peoples. Although the clothing may, in general, vary a great deal, it is usually very scanty, generally. The
men wear a loin-clotL or salaka, and the women a kitamby or apron folded round the body, from waist to heel, to which a jacket or dress is usually added ; both sexes use over these the lamba, a large square of cloth folded round the body something like the Roman toga, and which is the characteristic native dress. The Malagasy are skilful in metal-working; they manufacture silver chains of great fineness, and filigree ornaments both of gold and silver. Their iron-work is of excellent quality, and in copper and brass they can produce copies of anything made by Euro peans. They display considerable inventive power, and they are exceedingly quick to adopt new ideas from Europeans.
There is a considerable variety in the houses of the different Malagasy tribes. In the interior, the houses generally well kept, are made of dried clay and covered with a roof of branches and thatch. In the houses of the forest dwellers the walls are of barn boo and the houses built on piles ; among the coastal tribes the bamboo structure predominates, and in the south this often forms a simple hut into which one has to enter by crawling. Among the Hova and Betsileo the old villages were always built, for se curity, on the summits of lofty hills, around which were dug sev eral deep fosses, one within the other.
Until lately, polygamy has been common among all the Mala gasy tribes. The position of women is much higher in Madagascar than in most heathen countries; and, the fact that from 1828 to 1897 there were (with a few months' exception) only female sovereigns, helped to give women considerable influence in native society. The men and women are on equal footing in sex con ventions. The old laws among the Hova were very barbarou3 in their punishments, and death in various cruel forms was inflicted for very trifling offences. Drunkenness is very prevalent in many parts of the island; and it can hardly be said of many of the Malagasy that they are very industrious. But they are courageous and loyal to their chiefs and tribe, and for short periods are capable of much strenuous exertion. They are affectionate and firm in their friendships, kind to their children and their aged and infirm relatives, very respectful to old age, most courteous and polite and very hospitable to strangers.