Formations and Relations of Ethnic Groups in Madagascar

在这个研究项目中，根据对马达加斯加三个民族的实地考察，即中央高原南部的贝齐莱奥人、马达加斯加西北部的齐米赫蒂人和首都塔那那利佛东北部的阿拉奥特拉地区的西尔哈纳卡人，努力收集有关民族形成的叙述和邻近民族之间日常互动模式的具体数据。官方和半官方的关于马达加斯加民族的报告列举了这个大岛上18到20个已命名的民族。我们的研究旨在阐明这些命名群体形成的社会历史过程。我们研究的一个重要发现是关于扎菲曼人的文化差异，他们被认为是贝齐莱奥人的一个区域子群体，与后者的主体。为了促进中部高原南部的商业旅游，zafimanity这个名字越来越多地被调动起来。这反过来又在扎菲曼族本身中引起了某种程度的分离的种族意识。贝齐莱奥人和扎菲曼尼人栖息地之间的生态差异以及由此产生的扎菲曼尼人特有的文化特征加强了分化的过程。我们研究的另一个成果集中在齐米赫特人、西哈纳卡人和梅里纳人土地所有权的历史过程上，这说明了不同相邻民族成员之间的社会互动加剧了民族意识。

In this research project, the efforts were made to collect concrete data of the narratives concerning ethnic formations and of modes of daily interactions between adjacent ethnic groups, based upon field-work among three ethnic groups of Madagascar, that is, the Betsileo in southern Central Plateasu, the Tsimihety in Northwestern Madagascar an the Silhanaka in Alaotra region northeast to the capitol of Antananarivo. Official and semi-official accounts on ethnic groups in Madagascar enumerate 18 to 20 named ethnic groups within this large island. Our research intends to ellucidate the socio-historical processes of formation of such named groups. One of the significant findings of our research concerns the cultural differentiation of the Zafimaniry, who have been regarded as a regional sub-group of the Betsileo, from the main body of the latter. The name of Zafimaniry has been increasingly mobilised in order to promote commercial tourism in southern Central Plateau. This, in turn, has aroused a certain degree of separate ethnic consciousness among the Zafimaniry themselves. Ecological differences between habitats of the Betsileo and of the Zafimanry and the consequent cultural characteristics specific to the latter enhances the process of differentiation. Another outcome of our research centered around the historical processes of land ownership among the Tsimihety, the Sihanaka and the Merina, which ellucidated the intensification of ethnic consciousness through social interactions between members of different adjacent ethnic groups.