Know Madagascar’s south better |
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In general, vegetation of southern and south-western Madagascar is mostly prickly with small-leaved species. This kind of vegetation appears when annual average rainfall is less than 600 mm and dry season lasts at least 7 months. Rate of endemism is extremely high and there are even families like the didieracees that can only be found in this part of the world.
Many plants are still unknown because of the difficulty to penetrate this kind of vegetation. The most original and well-known tree is the baobab (seven species in Madagascar, just one in the African continent) :
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• Didiera madagascariensis • Euphorbia stenoclada • Aloe vaombe • Albizia polyphylla, Delonix adansonioides • Commiphora • Adansonia rubrostipa, Adansonia za • Delonix adansonioides, D. boivini • Pachypodium geayi, • Commiphora monstruosa
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Vezo : They are not a true ethnic group as they are Sakalava, Mahafaly and Masikoro. They are mostly fishermen and sailors semi-nomadic. They go to sea in outrigger canoes and utilize the same kind of sailing as the one used by the Indo-Malay ancestors of Malagasy people. They are quite good sailors, as the sea is the basis for their activities.
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In the fishing villages, everyone recognizes the authority of patriarchs: descendants of the first inhabitants are invested with sacred power. They supervise the various rituals related to economy, health and security of the population.
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They are assisted by a council of elders consisting of all the patriarchs of all lineages or lineage segments that form the community.
Today, this informal power – according to the administration - still weighs heavily on the socio-cultural relations between villages. The state officials can not find their legitimacy without the consent of the local "power".
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