Christianity (Protestant, Catholic) syncretic with Traditional Religion[2]
Related ethnic groups
Betsileo; other Malagasy groups; Austronesian peoples, Bantu peoples
The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, or Hova; "those from the country where one can see far") are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar.[3][4] They are the "highlander" Malagasy ethnic group of the African island and one of the country's eighteen official ethnic groups.[5][6] Their origins are mixed, predominantly with Austronesians arriving before the 5th century AD, then many centuries later[when?] with mostly Bantu Africans, but also some other ethnic groups.[7] They speak the Merina dialect of the official Malagasy language of Madagascar.[7]
The Merina people are most found in the center of the island (former Antananarivo Province). Beginning in the late 18th century, Merina sovereigns expanded the political region under their control from their interior capital outwards into the island, with their king Radama I ultimately helping unite the island under their rule. The French fought two wars with the Merina people in 1883–1885 and in 1895, colonized Madagascar in 1895–96 and abolished the Merina monarchy in 1897.[7]
They built innovative and elaborate irrigation infrastructure and highly productive rice farms in high plateaus of Madagascar by the 18th century.[3] The Merina people were socially stratified with hierarchical castes, inherited occupations and endogamy,[8] and one or two of the major and long serving monarchs of the Merina people were queens.[9]
^Jay Heale; Zawiah Abdul Latif (2008). Madagascar. Marshall Cavendish. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-7614-3036-0.
^Rebecca L. Green (1997). Merina (Madagascar). The Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 20, 28–29. ISBN 978-0-8239-1991-8.
^ abMerina people, Ethnic Groups of Madagascar, Encyclopædia Britannica
^Anthony Appiah; Henry Louis Gates (2010). Encyclopedia of Africa. Oxford University Press. pp. 104, 167–168. ISBN 978-0-19-533770-9.
^Bradt & Austin 2007.
^Ogot 1992.
^ abcJohn A. Shoup (2011). Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 180–181. ISBN 978-1-59884-362-0.
^Cite error: The named reference Campbell2005p120 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference green20 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
The Merinapeople (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, or Hova; "those from the country where one can see far") are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar...
The Kingdom of Merina, or Kingdom of Madagascar, officially the Kingdom of Imerina (Malagasy: Fanjakan'Imerina; c. 1540–1897), was a pre-colonial state...
ancestry but more Austronesian and slightly less Bantu) groups such as the Merina and Betsileo of the central highlands around Antananarivo, Alaotra (Ambatondrazaka)...
slave raids. The Merina then reversed the historical enslavement their people had faced, and began supplying slaves. Though the Merina were never to annex...
preserved. While the term and concept of Andriana is studied with the Merinapeople of Madagascar, the term is not limited to them. The use of the word...
leatherworker strata within the Zaghawa people is similar to those found in nearby Fur people. The Merinapeople are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar...
Antananarivo and the old heartland of the Merina Kingdom is located, speaks the Merina dialect. The Merina dialect is the basis of Standard Malagasy,...
meeting house of the Palauan people, with colourfully decorated gables Besakana of the Merinapeople Bahay kubo of the Tagalog people Māori pataka storehouses...
Consequently, there are 18 or more classified peoples of Madagascar, the most numerous being the Merina of the central highlands. Until the late 18th...
anti-French agitation and the independence movement. 2:3 Flag of the Merinapeople (since 1997) 2:3 Flag of the Chief of Army Staff in the rank of Brigade...
Makis, are based here. Antananarivo was historically the capital of the Merinapeople, who continue to form the majority of the city's 1,274,225 (2018 Census)...
unification of Madagascar under Merina rule. Andrianampoinimerina is a cultural hero and holds near mythic status among the Merinapeople, and is considered one...
works projects and develop a standing army of between 20,000 and 30,000 Merina soldiers, whom she deployed to pacify outlying regions of the island and...
this had historically been a key source of wealth and armaments for the Merina monarchy. Through aggressive military campaigns he successfully united two-thirds...
said: "Africans deserve to use medicines tested to the same standards as people in the rest of the world". The African Union has sought to test the technical...
slaves, were one of the three principal historical castes among the Merinapeople of Madagascar, alongside the social strata called the Andriana (nobles)...
Bezaha, where some of the Antanosy moved after the Merinapeople conquered Anosy. An estimated 360,000 people identify as Antanosy as of 2013. The Antanosy...
clashes and in the coastal provinces the Merinapeople were subject to attacks. Murders of people belonging to the Merina community were also reported. Peace...
a lover of his mother, Andriamihaja, a progressive young officer of the Merina army who the queen may have been tricked into putting to death by conservative...
Joseph Raseta (December 9, 1886 – November 5, 1979) was a Malagasy physician, politician, and intellectual who co-founded the Democratic Movement for Malagasy...
General Gilles Andriamahazo (5 May 1919 – 13 September 1989) was a Malagasy general and political figure. He served as the head of state of Madagascar...
to denote nobility in various ethnicities in Madagascar: including the Merina, the Betsileo, the Betsimisaraka, the Tsimihety, the Bezanozano, the Antambahoaka...
It was one of the most literate provinces and was dominated by the Merinapeople. Along with the other five provinces, it was abolished in 2007 after...
largest ethnic group in Madagascar after the Merina and make up approximately fifteen percent of the Malagasy people. They occupy a large stretch of the eastern...
nacionalni simboli, Alfa, Hrvatski institut za povijest, Zagreb, 2010. Merina local flag (Madagascar). Flags of the World (2015-05-20). Retrieved on 2017-10-17...
children. Their daughter Razafindrahety, who was born in 1861, inherited the Merina throne in 1883 and became Queen Ranavalona III. Her mother's lineage was...
culture in southern Poland and northern Slovakia Hill people, who live in hills and mountains Merinapeople, an ethnic group from the central plateau of Madagascar...
the sixth President of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009. Born into a farming Merina family in Imerinkasinina, near the capital city of Antananarivo, Ravalomanana...
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