Every seven years, the year of the Friday, the Antambahoaka who make up one of the eighteen ethnic groups on the island of Madagascar have been celebrating for centuries the biggest event that defines them: the Sambatra. This major moment in their lives is not just the ritual of the collective circumcision of the boys born in the seven years preceding it. It is also an initiation and integration rite practiced by the Antambahoaka boy that will permit him to make the passage from an asexual state to the statute of male. From this moment on, he will be integrated into the paternal clan and initiated into the life of the true Antambahoaka man. He, himself, will thus become a Zafiraminia, a son of Raminia, the founding ancestor of this ethnic group. But for this to happen, he has to symbolically relive the history of his ancestors, which was the exodus that brought them to Madagascar. During one month, the Sambatra lets the Antambahoaka remember their origins and so honour Raminia.
The Sambatra : the collective circumcision rite of the Antambahaoka. Photos and text ŠJacques Bock/LightMediation Contact - Thierry Tinacci Lightmediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry@lightmediation.com
1535-20: For the Sambatra, the floor of each Tranobe, made of mats of rush, must be done up like new. The Monday of the holy week, the women delegated by the mothers of the children to be circumcised, go off to a tsiatoro (secret) place to simulate gathering the rushes with which the new mats that cover the floors of the different tranobes will be braided. They return from this gathering towards eleven in the morning, in processions, waving the bunches that they brandish in their right hands all while beating out their march with chants and cries. The women take breaks during which they sit down to regulate the order of arrival of each procession to the different tranobes.
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-01: Aerial view of the town of Mananjary located on the Eastern coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. In the background you can make out the mouth
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-02: Portraits of eight Antambahoakan Ampanjakas (Kings). They are the chiefs of the Tranobe, those princely but also communal houses, that
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-03: Gathering of eight Ampanjakas (Antambahoakan kings) of Mananjary in font of the Valamena in the Masindrano neighbourhood (former
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-04: Another very rare photo. An Ampanjaka, whose clan is responsible for the keeping of the Sorabe (the great writings), accepts, after several weeks
1535-38: In the afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, young men (uncles of the circumcised children and their in-laws) who had also left very early in the morning to gather stalks of wild cardamom that will serve as projectiles, return in compact groups, bunches of Lakatra slung across their shoulders, faces masked by white earth or boughs. Their cuttings were gathered beforehand by a trustworthy man on his own authority. The lakatra is a palm leaf, which, once it is woven, is placed on the floor of the tranobes as a mat on which the meals will be placed. A big battle takes place between the returning uncles and the fathers of the circumcised boys. The former launch an attack on the tranobes in successive waves. These battles, whose violence is controlled, are not simply enactments; they are very violent and always ritually finish with a victory for the assailants. Some take advantage of these dangerous battles to settle personal scores with those they hate. In the case of injury during these enactments, even serious, the victims will not have the right to lodge a complaint.
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-05: This nighttime gathering is the Fangatsiatsiahana, a rite preliminary to the Sambatra. It is a purification rite that is carried out with water
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-06: A young Antambahoakan boy, starting at five in the morning with the sunrise and every day during the Sambatra, sounds the Antsiva, the royal conch,
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-07: From the first day of the Sambatra on, the Mirary rite is performed mornings and evenings. With the call of the royal conches and the horns, the
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-08: In front of her modest little hut, a woman illuminated by the day's last ray of sun gets ready to join the other women for the evening's Mirary.
1535-39: With the greatest secrecy, the men from each tranobe hollow out the mozinga in a tree trunk of great diameter. This cask, placed inside the tranobe, in the northeast corner, will continuously contain the betsa-betsa, beer made from sugar cane. The mozinga symbolizes the jug that contained the drinking water on board Raminia's boat.
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-09: bigger Mirary on the occasion of the different visits the clans make before the holy week of the Sambatra. / Madagascar / Mananjary - Ambalaromba
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-10: Everywhere in each neighbourhood, the women take enormous pleasure in and spend much time creating the different, successive coiffures for
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-11: Different coiffures made during the Sambatra. / Madagascar / Mananjary - Ambalaromba
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-13: A close-up shot of the lambas, those highly coloured fabrics in which the women dress to be able to participate in the Sambatra. In this dress they do
1535-46: This man is carrying on his head a calabash (Arivolahy) containing the holy water of the circumcision. This water would have been drawn in the greatest secrecy during the night from Thursday to Friday in the holy week by a man with an auspicious name. It is carried with great care by this man who must move along impervious and impassive. His head absolutely must not move during the whole procession.
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-14: Twice before the start of the holy week, the members of each tranobe, grouped according to the neighbourhood they belong to, organize formal visits.
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-16: Twice before the start of the holy week, the members of each tranobe, grouped according to the neighbourhood they belong to, organize formal visits.
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-17: A man in traditional dress beats his war drum (Hazo lahy) while the singing women parade. / Madagascar / Mananjary - Ambalaromba
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-18: Young Antambahoaka girls, their beautiful smiles expressing all the meaning of the Sambatra: happiness. / Madagascar / Mananjary - Ambalaromba
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-19: A beautiful shot of a parade of women on the main street of Mananjary. We see that, as always, the feet are bare because the earth that is walked upon
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-20: For the Sambatra, the floor of each Tranobe, made of mats of rush, must be done up like new. The Monday of the holy week, the women delegated by
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-21: For the Sambatra, the floor of each Tranobe, made of mats of rush, must be done up like new. The Monday of the holy week, the women delegated by
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-23: For the Sambatra, the floor of each Tranobe, made of mats of rush, must be done up like new. The Monday of the holy week, the women delegated by
1535-19: Parade of women on the main street of Mananjary. We see that, as always, the feet are bare because the earth that is walked upon has become sacred, and this is so for all the different rites of the Sambatra. No one has the right to wear shoes.
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-24: Towards midnight on the Tuesday of the holy week, each tranobe sends off two pirogues aboard which a group of men with auspicious names (the
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-25: Towards midnight on the Tuesday of the holy week, each tranobe sends off two pirogues aboard which a group of men with auspicious names (the
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-26: On Wednesday morning of the holy week, the men prepare three timber frames, which represent the masts of their ancestor Raminia's boat and
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-27: On Wednesday morning of the holy week, the men prepare three timber frames, which represent the masts of their ancestor Raminia's boat and which
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-28: On Wednesday morning of the holy week, the men prepare three timber frames, which represent the masts of their ancestor Raminia's boat and
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-30: Portrait of a King in grand costume. / Madagascar / Mananjary - Ambalaromba
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-31: In the afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, young men (uncles of the circumcised children and their in-laws) who had also left very early
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-32: In the afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, young men (uncles of the circumcised children and their in-laws) who had also left very early in
1535-50: It is Friday, last day of the holy week of the Sambatra, the most important day. All the Antambahoaka clans get ready for the big procession, the Magnenatra (the exodus of Raminia). Descendants of the Kings, the boys to be circumcised each wear a robe and a hat in red with white stripes. These are the ethnic group's royal colours. Just before, they are admitted into the tranobe by the western door, to exit by the eastern door. White earth is put on their foreheads and behind the ears. Thus, each boy to be circumcised has been definitively recognized by the clan as one of its children. They are the descendants of the founding King (Raminia). They are the Zafiraminias and out of their generation will come one day the next Ampajaka (Kings).
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-33: In the afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, young men (uncles of the circumcised children and their in-laws) who had also left very early in
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-34: In the afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, young men (uncles of the circumcised children and their in-laws) who had also left very early in
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-35: In the afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, young men (uncles of the circumcised children and their in-laws) who had also left very early
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-36: In the afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, young men (uncles of the circumcised children and their in-laws) who had also left very early in
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-37: In the afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, young men (uncles of the circumcised children and their in-laws) who had also left very early in
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-38: In the afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, young men (uncles of the circumcised children and their in-laws) who had also left very early in
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-39: With the greatest secrecy, the men from each tranobe hollow out the mozinga in a tree trunk of great diameter. This cask, placed inside the tranobe, in
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-40: The mozinga is always carried on a stretcher. A child or a man with an auspicious name sits in it or straddles it as it's brought to the tranobe where a
1535-58: It is Friday, last day of the holy week. At noon, the Magnanatra, the big procession, departs, the long walk towards the mouth of the Mananjary River for the Antambahoakas of Mananjary, as well as for those who live in the farther away brush villages. The latter go the banks closer to the river. This long march recalls Raminia's exodus, the ethnic group's founding ancestor. All the clans, organized like armies, are going to go to the beach of Mananjary in the form of a long procession. The clan's oldest branch leads the way. The Kings do not participate but await, each one in their tranobe, the return of their respective clan at the end of the afternoon. Nobody wears any shoes; the ground has become sacred, as in every stage of the different rites of the Sambatra. This long march symbolizes most of all the suffering endured by Raminia during his exodus. Long pauses are imposed by the Loharangitra, the general of each army (understand by that clan). It is the rest during the exodus. The return to the different tranobes is by a route different from that of the procession.
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-41: In the early afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, around each tranobe, the mothers of the boys to be circumcised wave about the red
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-42: In the early afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, around each tranobe, the mothers of the boys to be circumcised wave about the red
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-43: Many zebus are sacrificed and the meat shared amongst all the members of the clan. The bull belonging to the Loharangitra (the head of the
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-44: Three young girls carry on their backs braided baskets that each contain a piece of the sacrificed bull's right ribs. Choosing the right ribs means that they
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-45: A King comes to bless members of the clan with the holy water before the start of the procession towards the Mananjary river in Ambalaromba. /
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-46: This man is carrying on his head a calabash (Arivolahy) containing the holy water of the circumcision. This water would have been drawn in the
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-47: A group of mothers with their daughters in the beautiful dresses of the Sambatra for the big Friday afternoon procession. The people are often very
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-48: It is Friday, last day of the holy week of the Sambatra, the most important day. All the Antambahoaka clans get ready for the big procession, the
1535-53: The fathers carry their sons on their shoulder during this long walk that symbolizes the exodus. Often very young, the children fall asleep on their fathers' protective shoulders.
1535-66: So finally has come the important moment of the circumcision of the boys born in the last seven years. In each tranobe, after sunset, the circumcision begins. Today, it is purely symbolic in Mananjary. For
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-50: It is Friday, last day of the holy week of the Sambatra, the most important day. All the Antambahoaka clans get ready for the big procession, the
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-52: A family in traditional dress during the long walk along the beach of Mananjary in the direction of the mouth of the river of the same name. /
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-53: The fathers carry their sons on their shoulder during this long walk that symbolizes the exodus. Often very young, the children fall asleep on their
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-54: The fathers carry their sons on their shoulder during this long walk that symbolizes the exodus. Often very young, the children fall asleep on their
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-55: It is Friday, last day of the holy week. At noon, the Magnanatra, the big procession, departs, the long walk towards the mouth of the Mananjary
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-56: It is Friday, last day of the holy week. At noon, the Magnanatra, the big procession, departs, the long walk towards the mouth of the Mananjary
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-57: It is Friday, last day of the holy week. At noon, the Magnanatra, the big procession, departs, the long walk towards the mouth of the Mananjary
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-58: It is Friday, last day of the holy week. At noon, the Magnanatra, the big procession, departs, the long walk towards the mouth of the Mananjary River for
1535-23: For the Sambatra, the floor of each Tranobe, made of mats of rush, must be done up like new. The Monday of the holy week, the women delegated by the mothers of the children to be circumcised, go off to a tsiatoro (secret) place to simulate gathering the rushes with which the new mats that cover the floors of the different tranobes will be braided. They return from this gathering towards eleven in the morning, in processions, waving the bunches that they brandish in their right hands all while beating out their march with chants and cries. The women take breaks during which they sit down to regulate the order of arrival of each procession to the different tranobes.
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-59: It is Friday, last day of the holy week. At noon, the Magnanatra, the big procession, departs, the long walk towards the mouth of the Mananjary
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-60: An Antambahoaka man in traditional dress on the beach in Mananjary on the last day of the Sambatra. / Madagascar / Mananjary - Ambalaromba
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-62: Arriving close to their tranobes, the royal hut where the circumcision is going to take place, the crowd press around in a state of indescribable
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-63: So finally has come the important moment of the circumcision of the boys born in the last seven years. In each tranobe, after sunset, the circumcision
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-64: So finally has come the important moment of the circumcision of the boys born in the last seven years. In each tranobe, after sunset, the circumcision
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-65: So finally has come the important moment of the circumcision of the boys born in the last seven years. In each tranobe, after sunset, the circumcision
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-66: So finally has come the important moment of the circumcision of the boys born in the last seven years. In each tranobe, after sunset, the circumcision
Sambatra Antambahoaka. Rite de la circoncision / 1535-67: So finally has come the important moment of the circumcision of the boys born in the last seven years. In each tranobe, after sunset, the circumcision
1535-67: So finally has come the important moment of the circumcision of the boys born in the last seven years. In each tranobe, after sunset, the circumcision begins. Today, it is purely symbolic in Mananjary. For obvious reasons of hygiene, the great majority of the boys are circumcised at birth by a doctor. There had been many deaths when the circumcisions had been carried out in traditional fashion and this due to untreated infections. There will still be such circumcisions in the brush villages. Each boy to be circumcised is carried by his mother into the tranobe according to a very specific order. The scene that begins is quite incredible. Taking photos is something strictly prohibited. There is nothing more secret than the circumcision, but after being present for more than two months, negotiations permitted me to obtain the authority, exceptionally granted, to take a few rare photos. The children, most of whom are panic-stricken, the reigning ambiance approaching that of a riot, struggle to not be taken by the many adult hands that are going to force them to sit on the decapitated bull's head for the circumcision. The children are neither conscience of nor know that the moment they are about to live is only symbolic, which makes these scenes particularly emotional. Once the symbolic act of circumcision carried out by a doctor in his white coat is over, the child is handed over to his father by the Eastern door of the tranobe and goes back to his hut.
The Sambatra : the collective circumcision rite of the Antambahaoka. Every seven years, the year of the Friday, the Antambahoaka who make up one of the eighteen ethnic groups on the island of Madagascar and live in the town of Mananjary and the surrounding bush villages, have been celebrating for centuries the biggest event that defines them: THE SAMBATRA. This major moment in their lives is not just the ritual of the collective circumcision of the boys born in the seven years preceding it. It is also an initiation and integration rite practiced by the Antambahoaka boy that will permit him to make the passage from an asexual state to the statute of male. From this moment on, he will be integrated into the paternal clan and initiated into the life of the true Antambahoaka man. He, himself, will thus become a Zafiraminia, a son of Raminia, the founding ancestor of this ethnic group. But for this to happen, he has to symbolically relive the history of his ancestors, which was the exodus that brought them to Madagascar. During one month, the Sambatra lets the Antambahoaka remember their origins and so honour Raminia. The Sambatra is not a folk festival. To miss out on this event means, for an
Antambahoaka, renouncing his own origins. All the members of this ethnic group, whether they live in Madagascar or in a foreign country, must get together during the Sambatra. It is their greatest point of reference, during which the memory of Raminia predominates. It was he who, for the first time, circumcised his own son Ndohaina on a Friday (day of the kings) and passed this practice down to his people. Concerning the origins of the Antambahoaka ethnic group, the most common version has Raminia coming from Mecca in the 12th or 13th century. But several researchers attribute to him Sumatran or Indonesian origins. There is a wide diversity of opinions concerning Raminia's place of origin. Some oral testimonies say he was from Morocco, others that he was Jewish. In reality, no one knows who Raminia was, a man or a woman, a wandering merchant or even a missionary. He did not die in Madagascar and before leaving he left a book for the Antambahoakas: The Sorabe, the sacred book of the "great writings" written with the Arab alphabet but in the Madagascan language. It contains the whole history of the ancestors (Antambahoakan and Antemoroan), and also magic medical formulas, prayers and verses from the Koran and the Bible and notions about astrology and theology. These books are interpreted by specialists in the ethnic group, the katibo who still continue today to transcribe more or less faithfully the significant events that they consider should go down in history. The Sorabe, the oral traditions, and also the very rare written works give very varied versions of the true history of the Antambahoaka. None of these three sources can claim to be complete or adequate. But all the same, we must take
into consideration all these versions, which despite their seeming contradictions complement one another. Still today the Antambahoaka have retained a traditional politico-religious structure. This social organization survived the MĂŠrina kingdom (ethnic group of the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo), the colonial powers and even the present-day democratic State. The town of Mananjary, where the greatest number of Antambahoakas are concentrated, is made up of neighborhoods marked out by strings. Each is given guidance by one or several Ampanjaka (the clans' kings) and by its fokonolona (a council of men). Each clan has a tranobe, the royal house where the Ampanjaka meets with his council to hold different ceremonies and make the important decisions concerning the ethnic group or the town. An Ampanjaka must at least once in his life celebrate the Sambatra to be considered by his people a good chief. Nearly all the most important phases of the Sambatra take place around or inside the tranobe. The Sambatra takes place in a warlike atmosphere. There are soldiers: the circumcised boys' fathers and their maternal uncles. There is a marching army, which is the whole clan, led by the Antambahoaka general for each clan: the loharangitra. In the course of the battles during the war enactments in the Sambatra(there are two) no complaints can be lodged in the case of injury, even serious. During the whole period of the Sambatra, no one can shed any tears for the dead, whatever their social rank. They will be buried discreetly and as quickly as possible. The festival must not be disturbed, this great moment of joy that is the Sambatra.
The Sambatra always starts on a Friday because Raminia left Medina on a Friday in the month most favorable for migration. That is why Friday is a propitious day for the Antambahoaka, the day of the kings. Raminia's exodus will be symbolically represented in the following manner: the boat that brought him to Madagascar will be the tranobe, the royal hut. Raminia's battles will be evoked by enactments of war between the fathers of the circumcised boys and the maternal uncles. They are more than just enactments because of the violence of some participants who take advantage of it to settle old scores. The long march on Friday towards the mouth of the Mananjary river, or towards its banks for those from the brush villages, will recall Raminia's exodus. The Sambatra lasts four weeks. Each morning at five o'clock and every afternoon at five, to the sound of the sea conches and the royal conches that resound in all the tranobes, the women, led by the king's wife and old, initiating women of the community gather to sing the Mirary while going around the tranobe, sometimes for hours at a time. They address the ancestors to ask for happiness for the clan and that the Sambatra goes smoothly, proud as they are to have had sons. Regular breaks give them the occasion to "quench their thirst", either with the betsa betsa (beer made of sugar cane) or, more often, with the toaka gasch, the local rum measuring up to one hundred sixty proof. The Mirary is strict. Its path follows that of the sun at that season because the sun brings back life to the entire world. The last week of the Sambatra is the holy week. It starts on Monday. That day, the women go out to symbolically cut, in a spot kept secret, bunches of rushes that, once
dried, will be braided to make the floor mats of the tranobes. Tuesday, the men go into the forest to bring back Ramiavona, the tree of life. It is this tree that once bore the branch brought back by a bird sent off by Raminia, in the course of his exodus, to find out if land was near. This tree is set up on the north side of the tranobe. In the afternoon, the mozinga, the wooden cask that held the water for the great journey, will be immersed in the waters. Carried on a stretcher made of branches by the fathers of the circumcised boys of each clan, it is straddled either by a child or a man with an auspicious name. Arriving at the tranobe amidst a jubilant crowd, it is received by the king, placed to the northeast side and filled, in reality, with betsa betsa (beer made of cane sugar Wednesday morning, the women braid the mats as well the travelers bags that will carry, always symbolically, the seeds the most important to life, planted once the promised land is reached (by Raminia). During this time the men fashion the masts that symbolize those of Raminia's boat, and the birds that are placed on the roof of each tranobe. In the afternoon, the uncles of the circumcised boys and their in-laws go off to look for the lakatras, palm tree leafs on which the traditional meal is served. Upon their return to their respective tranobes, a first big battle will take place between them and the boys' fathers. The uncles represent enemies appearing out of the forest, armed with Longoza lances. Wanting to sow terror, they wear masks of white earth or leaves over their faces. The boys' fathers have to confront them unarmed, grabbing in flight the longoza
that are launched at them. It's a true war atmosphere, really quite dangerous. Some of the lances have a sharp end. It is one of the most important moments in the Sambatra, carried out to the singing of the women in a state of jubilation. Thursday, nothing happens. No festivities take place. Activities start again at midnight. They go look for the bulls that will be killed very early in the morning. The Loharangitra's bull is presented first, led three times around the tranobe, and then it is killed and cut up. The meat is shared amongst the members of the clan and its head will serve as a seat for the boys as they are being circumcised. The odour of blood arising from each neighbourhood is unbearable; the fervor of the men in the clutches of the local alcohol is disquieting and amazing. A piece of the bull's right rib is placed in the small baskets that the young girls carry on their backs during the long march. Towards eleven in the morning, another, very violent battle takes place without pretence between the enemies who attempt to attack the tranobe and the circumcised boys' fathers who must protect the boat bound to set off. The enemies are inevitably vanquished. Towards noon, the rite of integration takes place during which each child to be circumcised has white earth applied to his forehead as a sign of recognition by the clan as one of theirs. Descendants of the Kings, these young boys wear a vestment and a hat in red with white stripes: the royal colours of the ethnic group. Thus they become the descendants of the great founding King, they are Zafiraminia. From their generation there will come other ampanjaka, other Antambaohoaka kings. Then the great march begins, the
procession, symbol of the exodus, Raminia's great journey. The women make great efforts to dress themselves in beautiful, very colourful clothes and to wear hats with many motifs. The majority of these families are very poor and this represents for them financial sacrifices that will have after-effects for a long time after the Sambatra. For Mananjary, where the celebration of the Sambatra is the most spectacular but not the most traditional, all the clans head towards the beach. The organization is incredibly rigorous. The first clan is that of the youngest line of kings and they head the procession. The clan of the oldest line of kings brings up the rear of the processions in which thousands of people take part. The crowd is ranged like an army in combat with the aim of reaching that sacred spot that is the mouth of the Mananjary River. The Kings do not participate in this long march. They wait in their different tranobes. The town and the villages are completely deserted. The participants do not wear shoes, it is forbidden, as the ground is sacred. The small boys who are going to be circumcised are part of this long procession, carried along on their father's shoulders. Thus, they too share in the suffering that their ancestors have endured. The loharangitra, the general who commands each clan (army), makes the participants squat to induce them to rest. Upon arriving at the Mananjary river, they wash their faces, feet and hands as a gesture of purification. Then, in order, the clans go back to their tranobes along a different path. This procession thus symbolizes the journey made by the founding ancestor Raminia with his family and servants to arrive at the promised land, the present
day Mananjary. This procession also symbolizes life and its difficulties. With their circumcision, the boys are going to begin their adult life. The road is long and everything must be done to survive. The different processions return to their respective tranobes for the collective circumcision, which starts towards six in the evening. The mothers, gathered before the Western door of the tranobe, wait to be called in turn to enter and present their little boys to an exclusively masculine welcome committee. There is a barely describable atmosphere. The women sing and cry. The little boys scream with terror because they are forced to sit on the bull's head, decapitated for the occasion. A doctor in a white coat, armed with a surgical knife simulates the act of circumcising. Today, the great majority of the children are circumcised at birth, for obvious reasons of health and hygiene. The traditional circumcision had caused a lot of deaths when it was still practiced. But in some of the bush villages it still goes on. The moment of the circumcision is the most secret of all in the Sambatra. I was only able to take photos at that moment in time, very few in fact, because I had just spent more than two months with the Antambahoaka and I had thus been able to create a relationship of trust. But despite that, the moment quickly became quite dangerous for me: my presence was not accepted by all. The ethnic group has now been renewed. Their proper identity rediscovered and the ancestral values found again. These are the messages of the Sambatra for the Antambahoaka.
Captions. 1535-01: Aerial view of the town of Mananjary located on the Eastern coast of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean. In the background you can make out the mouth of the Mananjary river from whose waters the Antambahoakas are going to draw the sacred water that will serve throughout Sambatra./// 1535-02: Portraits of eight Antambahoakan Ampanjakas (Kings). They are the chiefs of the Tranobe, those princely but also communal houses, that can be found in all neighbourhoods, whether it be in Mananjary or in one of the most remote bush villages. The kings' authority is recognized by everyone and prevails, sometimes, over that of the laws of the Madagascan State./// 1535-03: Gathering of eight Ampanjakas (Antambahoakan kings) of Mananjary in font of the Valamena in the Masindrano neighbourhood (former name of the town of Mananjary). This place is considered as the most sacred spot for Antambahoakas and that white stele, done anew for the Sambatra, marks the exact spot where Ravalarivo (the ancestor Raminia's grandson) landed to found the town of Mananjary. This photo in which the eight Ampanjakas are gathered is truly exceptional and had required nearly a month of negotiating because the kings do not have the right to don their ceremonial dress outside of the rituals. It was to make us understand the importance of the spot that they accepted. /// 1535-04: Another very rare photo. An Ampanjaka, whose clan is responsible for the keeping of the Sorabe (the great
writings), accepts, after several weeks of negotiating, to leaf in front of a foreigner this very sacred work several centuries old. The Sorabe contains Madagascan texts written in Arab that recount the history and the origin of the Antambahoakas, and also verses from the Koran and the Bible./// 1535-05: This nighttime gathering is the Fangatsiatsiahana, a rite preliminary to the Sambatra. It is a purification rite that is carried out with water drawn in the very early hours from the mouth of the Mananjary River and carefully kept in a pirogue near Valamena, the sacred spot of the Antambahoakas. This water is destined for the Ampanjakas' ablutions and afterwards anyone who wishes can come take some. All the Zafiraminia kings and all the Zafiraminia people (descendants of their ancestor Raminia) participate, in a really incredible effervescence, in this precise moment that signals the official opening of the Sambatra. This very important ceremony always takes place in the middle of the night. /// 1535-06: A young Antambahoakan boy, starting at five in the morning with the sunrise and every day during the Sambatra, sounds the Antsiva, the royal conch, to call the women to the Mirary. In each neighbourhood he will be there every morning and every evening at 5pm. Thursday is an unlucky day, so no work is done until sunset./// 1535-07: From the first day of the Sambatra on, the Mirary rite is performed mornings and evenings. With the call of the royal conches and the horns, the women, whose children will be circumcised, as well as their assistants, gather in front of each tranobe in every
neighbourhood. Then they walk in procession, led by the Ampanjaka's wife and the old, initiating women of the community. For hours sometimes, they move around the tranobe, singing and dancing to express their pride in having had sons and celebrating virility. The Mirary's path follows that of the sun in this season: East, North, West, South, because the sun brings back to life the entire world.///
1535-14/15/16: Twice before the start of the holy week, the members of each tranobe, grouped according to the neighbourhood they belong to, organize formal visits. In large processions, these visits from one tranobe to another are the occasion for ceremonial exchanges of words, songs, rum and money. The processions go several times around the tranobe and, after the refreshments, are accompanied back home by their hosts.///
1535-08: In front of her modest little hut, a woman illuminated by the day's last ray of sun gets ready to join the other women for the evening's Mirary.///
1535-17: A man in traditional dress beats his war drum (Hazo lahy) while the singing women parade.///
1535-09: A bigger Mirary on the occasion of the different visits the clans make before the holy week of the Sambatra./// 1535-10: Everywhere in each neighbourhood, the women take enormous pleasure in and spend much time creating the different, successive coiffures for the Sambatra./// 1535-11: Different coiffures made during the Sambatra./// 1535-12: In this total jubilation, the men in turn are invited to participate in the Mirary to the beat of the Hazolahy drums./// 1535-13: A close-up shot of the lambas, those highly coloured fabrics in which the women dress to be able to participate in the Sambatra. In this dress they do not have the right to dance the Mirary nor take part in the processions in the neighbourhoods. For many of them, very poor, it is a real sacrifice to purchase this fabric. But the Sambatra is more important then anything else for the Antambahoakas.///
1535-18: Young Antambahoaka girls, their beautiful smiles expressing all the meaning of the Sambatra: happiness./// 1535-19: A beautiful shot of a parade of women on the main street of Mananjary. We see that, as always, the feet are bare because the earth that is walked upon has become sacred, and this is so for all the different rites of the Sambatra. No one has the right to wear shoes./// 1535-20/21/22/23: For the Sambatra, the floor of each Tranobe, made of mats of rush, must be done up like new. The Monday of the holy week, the women delegated by the mothers of the children to be circumcised, go off to a tsiatoro (secret) place to simulate gathering the rushes with which the new mats that cover the floors of the different tranobes will be braided. They return from this gathering towards eleven in the morning, in processions, waving the bunches that they brandish in their right hands all while beating out their march with chants and cries. The women take breaks during which they sit down to regulate the order of arrival of each procession to the different tranobes.///
1535-24/25: Towards midnight on the Tuesday of the holy week, each tranobe sends off two pirogues aboard which a group of men with auspicious names (the Tsaranarana) will silently go into the forest to bring back a tree of majesty (the Ramiavona). This tree, which the Zafiraminias (name given to the Antambahoaka descendants of Raminia) turn into the tree of life, can be very tall. It reminds them of the small branch brought back by a bird that their ancestor Raminia had sent off from his boat during his exodus, showing that land was near. The first two birds had not come back, land still being so far away. Before setting up the tree on the north gable of the tranobe, the men circle three times the royal hut, before a jubilant crowd. Then, guards are going to take turns night and day protecting the Ramiavona from any attack so that the Sambatra ceremony can take place without danger.///
1535-26/27/28: On Wednesday morning of the holy week, the men prepare three timber frames, which represent the masts of their ancestor Raminia's boat and which will be topped by two birds that symbolize those that came back by boat after the exodus. These birds are very often painted and turned towards the East, which is, according to collective memory, the direction of the country of origin of the Antambahoaka ancestors. During this time, the women braid the mats in the tranobes and make the rushes dance./// 1535-29: At noon on this Wednesday of the holy week, everything must be finished. It's the time for King's war dance;
dressed in red, armed with an assegai (in reality a tree branch), he represents the founding ancestor happy to be able to leave, because the boat (of Raminia) is ready for the exodus. 1535-30: Portrait of a King in grand costume./// 1535-31: In the afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, young men (uncles of the circumcised children and their in-laws) who had also left very early in the morning to gather stalks of wild cardamom that will serve as projectiles, return in compact groups, bunches of Lakatra slung across their shoulders, faces masked by white earth or boughs. Their cuttings were gathered beforehand by a trustworthy man on his own authority. The lakatra is a palm leaf, which, once it is woven, is placed on the floor of the tranobes as a mat on which the meals will be set. A big battle takes place between the returning uncles and the fathers of the circumcised boys. The former launch an attack on the tranobes in successive waves. These battles, whose violence is controlled, are not simply enactments; they are very violent and always ritually finish with a victor for the assailants. Some take advantage of these dangerous battles to settle personal scores with those they hate. In the case of injury during these enactments, even serious, the victims will not have the right to lodge a complaint. /// 1535-32/33/34/35/36/37/38: In the afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, young men (uncles of the circumcised children and their in-laws) who had also left very early in the morning to gather stalks of wild cardamom that will serve as projectiles, return in compact groups, bunches of Lakatra slung across
their shoulders, faces masked by white earth or boughs. Their cuttings were gathered beforehand by a trustworthy man on his own authority. The lakatra is a palm leaf, which, once it is woven, is placed on the floor of the tranobes as a mat on which the meals will be placed. A big battle takes place between the returning uncles and the fathers of the circumcised boys. The former launch an attack on the tranobes in successive waves. These battles, whose violence is controlled, are not simply enactments; they are very violent and always ritually finish with a victory for the assailants. Some take advantage of these dangerous battles to settle personal scores with those they hate. In the case of injury during these enactments, even serious, the victims will not have the right to lodge a complaint. /// 1535-39: With the greatest secrecy, the men from each tranobe hollow out the mozinga in a tree trunk of great diameter. This cask, placed inside the tranobe, in the northeast corner, will continuously contain the betsa-betsa, beer made from sugar cane. The mozinga symbolizes the jug that contained the drinking water on board Raminia's boat./// 1535-40: The mozinga is always carried on a stretcher. A child or a man with an auspicious name sits in it or straddles it as it's brought to the tranobe where a jubilant crowd awaits, along with the clan's King. Once installed in the tranobe, just like with the Ramiavona, a sentinel of lahianakas (fathers of the boys to be circumcised), take on the task of guarding mozinga out of fear that enemies will pour poison into it./// 1535-41/42: In the early afternoon on this Wednesday of the holy week, around each tranobe, the mothers of the boys to
be circumcised wave about the red bonnets with white braid worn by their little kings (the boys to be circumcised, because it is from amongst them, later on, that the future kings of the Antambahoakas are chosen). A the same time, other women make the six mats dance, the mats that should fill the tranobe with all the mercy and promises of life./// 1535-43: Many zebus are sacrificed and the meat shared amongst all the members of the clan. The bull belonging to the Loharangitra (the head of the fighters' army), is also sacrificed at dawn on Friday, the last day of the holy week; its head will serve as a seat, during the operation, for the children being circumcised./// 1535-44: Thee young girls carry on their backs braided baskets that each contain a piece of the sacrificed bull's right ribs. Choosing the right ribs means that they wish for the children the right to happiness, where there is no imperfection./// 1535-45: A King comes to bless members of the clan with the holy water before the start of the procession towards the Mananjary river in Ambalaromba./// 1535-46: This man is carrying on his head a calabash (Arivolahy) containing the holy water of the circumcision. This water would have been drawn in the greatest secrecy during the night from Thursday to Friday in the holy week by a man with an auspicious name. It is carried with great care by this man who must move along impervious and impassive. His head absolutely must not move during the whole procession./// 1535-47: A group of mothers with their
daughters in the beautiful dresses of the Sambatra for the big Friday afternoon procession. The people are often very poor, they don't all have family abroad who help them, and so it is a veritable sacrifice to buy the fabric that goes into the making of these clothes./// 1535-48/49/50/51: It is Friday, last day of the holy week of the Sambatra, the most important day. All the Antambahoaka clans get ready for the big procession, the Magnenatra (the exodus of Raminia). Descendants of the Kings, the boys to be circumcised each wear a robe and a hat in red with white stripes. These are the ethnic group's royal colours. Just before, they are admitted into the tranobe by the western door, to exit by the eastern door. White earth is put on their foreheads and behind the ears. Thus, each boy to be circumcised has been definitively recognized by the clan as one of its children. They are the descendants of the founding King (Raminia). They are the Zafiraminias and out of their generation will come one day the next Ampajaka (Kings)./// 1535-52: A family in traditional dress during the long walk along the beach of Mananjary in the direction of the mouth of the river of the same name./// 1535-53: The fathers carry their sons on their shoulder during this long walk that symbolizes the exodus. Often very young, the children fall asleep on their fathers' protective shoulders./// 1535-55/56/57/58/59: It is Friday, last day of the holy week. At noon, the
Magnanatra, the big procession, departs, the long walk towards the mouth of the Mananjary River for the Antambahoakas of Mananjary, as well as for those who live in the farther away brush villages. The latter go the banks closer to the river. This long march recalls Raminia's exodus, the ethnic group's founding ancestor. All the clans, organized like armies, are going to go to the beach of Mananjary in the form of a long procession. The clan's oldest branch leads the way. The Kings do not participate but await, each one in their tranobe, the return of their respective clan at the end of the afternoon. Nobody wears any shoes; the ground has become sacred, as in every stage of the different rites of the Sambatra. This long march symbolizes most of all the suffering endured by Raminia during his exodus. Long pauses are imposed by the Loharangitra, the general of each army (understand by that clan). It is the rest during the exodus. The return to the different tranobes is by a route different from that of the procession./// 1535-60: An Antambahoaka man in traditional dress on the beach in Mananjary on the last day of the Sambatra./// 1535-61: Two young children in traditional dress for the last day of the Sambatra. The families are so poor and so great are some of the families' sacrifices for the Sambatra, that many of the children, long after the Sambatra is over, will continue to wear these clothes./// 1535-62: Arriving close to their tranobes, the royal hut where the circumcision is going to take place, the crowd press around in a state of indescribable jubilation. Emotions at this long awaited for moment are at their height. A situation
barely imaginable if physically share in it.///
one
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1535-63/64/65/66/67: So finally has come the important moment of the circumcision of the boys born in the last seven years. In each tranobe, after sunset, the circumcision begins. Today, it is purely symbolic in Mananjary. For obvious reasons of hygiene, the great majority of the boys are circumcised at birth by a doctor. There had been many deaths when the circumcisions had been carried out in traditional fashion and this due to untreated infections. There will still be such circumcisions in the brush villages. Each boy to be circumcised is carried by his mother into the tranobe according to a very specific order. The scene that begins is quite incredible. Taking photos is something strictly prohibited. There is nothing more secret than the circumcision, but after being present for more than two months, negotiations permitted me to obtain the authority, exceptionally granted, to take a few rare photos. The children, most of whom are panic-stricken, the reigning ambiance approaching that of a riot, struggle to not be taken by the many adult hands that are going to force them to sit on the decapitated bull's head for the circumcision. The children are neither conscience of nor know that the moment they are about to live is only symbolic, which makes these scenes particularly emotional. Once the symbolic act of circumcision carried out by a doctor in his white coat is over, the child is handed over to his father by the Eastern door of the tranobe and goes back to his hut. Tradition will have it that the child's foreskin be put in a piece of banana and swallowed by his maternal uncle.