Antandroy
The Tandroy also known as Ampatres in the 17th century are a traditionally nomadic ethnic group of Madagascar inhabiting the arid southern part of the island called Androy.
Since independence the Tandroy have suffered prejudice and economic marginalization, prompting widespread migration and intermarriage with other ethnic groups, and leading them to play a key role in protests that sparked the end of President Philibert Tsiranana's administration in 1972.
Also unlike most Malagasy ethnic groups they rely more heavily on tubers, yams, millet and other crops that are less dependent on water for cultivation than the rice so prevalent elsewhere on the island.
The name Tandroy means "people of the thorns" in reference to the spiny thickets of endemic plants that characterize the southwestern region of Madagascar.
[1] Their traditional homeland forms the modern Androy Region, which is roughly located between Amboasary and Beloha and between the ocean and Bekily; the population is most concentrated around Ambovombe.
[7] The toppling of the Tsiranana presidency and end of the First Republic in 1972 was sparked by the armed protest of Antandroy peasants in Toliara against corruption in tax collection.
[8] The Tandroy are a traditionally nomadic ethnic group of Madagascar inhabiting the arid southern part of the island called Androy.
[1] The harshness of the environment they inhabit has historically served to largely isolate and protect them from attack by other Malagasy ethnic groups; the French also struggled to exert authority over the Antandroy after colonization.
[10] The Tandroy share the common Malagasy beliefs in a creator god and the eternal life and power of the ancestors, who intervene in the affairs of the living and who must be respected.
Other staples include yams, taro root, and millet, generally boiled in water and occasionally served in whole milk or flavored with crushed peanuts.
[15] Whereas most dwellings in Madagascar are traditionally constructed from pliable plant materials, the Tandroy are one of the few ethnic groups to use wood plank to build their homes.
Tandroy homes are traditionally square (not rectangular, as elsewhere on the island), raised on low stilts, topped with a peaked roof and constructed of vertically-hung planks of wood affixed to a wooden frame.
[17] Fences are often constructed around Antandroy houses using prickly-pear cactus (raketa) or lengths of indigenous succulents from the surrounding spiny forests.
For this reason, fole velo is used in numerous Antandroy rituals such as the circumcision ceremony, and is tied around others' wrists by an ambiasa (healer) to offer protection.
The mandolina and gitara are the Antandroy names of a popular Southern chordophone similar to the kabosy but with nylon fishing line for strings and five or seven movable frets that facilitate modification of the instrument's tuning.
[26] The unique traditional dances of the Tandroy are performed with spears and accompanied by distinctive music punctuated with shrill whistles and fipple flutes.
