fomba

LOCAL HABITS

At SAVA, custom is characterized in death veneration philosophy. Which appears in three types of ceremonies, each one based on a faith in ancestors supremacy: the Asahara¨na, thee Tsikafara and the Ras'haria¨na. Such feast is called Tsaboraha.

The Tsikafara is a zebu sacrifice ceremony in order to keep a promise made to an ancestor in the past, in exchange for the achievement of a wish. Wish may consist on getting riches, a child birth or on any other events wishes. In order to obtain such thing or such other, an individual who generally is descendant of an ancestor, prays to this one and asks him a blessing, in order to achieve his wish, then in exchange, that individual promises to do a zebu sacrifice as soon as the wish is achieved.

The Ras'haria¨na is a zebu sacrifice ceremony outstanding respect to a recently dead parent, generally very close parent, such as father, mother, grand parents or such as any other close parents whom the individual owes to respect and gratitude to. In fact, The Ras'haria¨na results from a fusion of two words: rasa which meanssharing and haria╪a(harena) in official malagasy speaking, which means wealth or merely gains. The general principle of Ras'haria¨na is to give to the dead parent, a part of one's gains. That idea is truest again if the dead parent had left wealth which he obtained during his live: as such, this is the price of an inheritance. Unlike the Tsikafara the Ras'haria¨na results only from the individual's will.

Those two shapes of ceremonies are typical of the north-east coast of Madagascar and constitute a real spirit of ancestors veneration.

Whereas theAsa hara¨na is a ceremony of a recently dead parent exhumation and turning, common custom of all Malagasy. Unlike the Ras'haria¨na and the Tsikafara, it doesn't result only from a will of a live parent, in addition it constitues a sacred obligation which falls to the death descendants. The Ras'haria¨na and the Tsikafara may result only from a person's will and the related expenses are, in principle, in charge of himself, contribution from other members of the community being still welcome. While Asa hara¨na is a responsability of all the dead descendants and related expenses are shared by any members of the live family.

Attend to the tsimandrimandry, a eve night before a ceremony day, during which local country songs, traditionnal dances and betsabetsa, the local alcohol will be at the appointment till the daybreak. On the day of the ceremony, go back the time among with the natives and eat rice with a piece of banana leaf or ravinalaleaf (the traveller's tree, endemic to Madagascar) as a spoon, rice put on a big banana or ravinala leaf. Drink the ranon'ampango, the rice juice, with a bamboo trunk as a cup: an unforgetable experience.

sacrifice de zébu

Zebu sacrifice

The night before, this is the great holiday tsimandrimandry during which local country songs, traditionnal dances and betsabetsa galore, is at the appointment..

danseur traditionnel

jeunes garde de tête de zébu

The head of the zebu is protected by young boys against flies.

A part of the dish, composed by rice and the best piece of the meat is put on

les crânes de zébu suspendues au sommet d'un arbre

Then the skull of the zebu is suspended from the top of a tree. Any successive tsaboraha being lead on a same place, then the pace is considered as sacred;

a makeshift table, made with branches of small tree in the intention to the dead parent..

it is not rare to see about many ten of zebu skulls hanging from the sacred tree.

*NATURAL RESERVES*	*WILD WALKS*	*DOWNHILL ALONG AND ON LOKOHO RIVER*
TSOLABE, TRADITIONAL SONGS AND DANCES	VANILLA: PLANTATIONS AND BEANS PREPARATION LINES	WITNESSING MORENGY, *SAVA TRADITIONAL FIGHTING*

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	Zebu sacrifice
The night before, this is the great holiday *tsimandrimandry* during which local country songs, traditionnal dances and *betsabetsa* galore, is at the appointment..		The head of the zebu is protected by young boys against flies.
A part of the dish, composed by rice and the best piece of the meat is put on		Then the skull of the zebu is suspended from the top of a tree. Any successive *tsaboraha* being lead on a same place, then the pace is considered as sacred;
a makeshift table, made with branches of small tree in the intention to the dead parent..		it is not rare to see about many ten of zebu skulls hanging from the sacred tree.