The most common explanation is the modern Malagasy translation of Sakalava meaning long ravines, denoting the relatively flat nature of the land in western Madagascar.

[11] His descendant Andriandahifotsy ("the White Prince"), after 1610, then extended his authority northwards, past the Mangoky River, aided by weapons obtained in exchange for slave trading.

The Merina oral histories and documents in Comoros mention series of annual expeditions by Sakalava slave raiders against their villages through the end of the 18th century.

The historical formation process of the Sakalava kingdom explains the great diversity among its constituents, who continue to perpetuate distinctive regional customs, both culturally and linguistically.

The Sakalava people are widely distributed, over about 128,000 square kilometers in a band along the coast from Onilahy River in the southwest to Nosy Be in the north.

[4] The traditional religion of the Sakalava people (60%),[5] called Fomba Gasy,[19] was centered around royal ancestor worship, aided by the noble dady lineage who preserved the remains of the deceased rulers.

The dady priests would conduct a ceremony called Tromba, whereby they divined the spirits of the dead ancestors and communicated their words back to the Sakalava people.

[11] Significant percentage of the Sakalava converted to Islam during the reign of Andriantsoly, while continuing their traditional religious practices such as spirit worship.

In early 19th century, the Sakalava sought military support of the European colonial powers in order to contain the reach of the Merina kingdom.

The French military power led by Captain Passot arrived on Sakalava ports, accompanied with Jesuit and Catholic Christian missionaries.

The island town of Nosy Be became their mission post, and by early 20th century, numerous Catholic churches had been built in the Sakalava region.

[25][26][27] The Sakalava have been pastoralists with large zebu cattle herds, traditionally allowed to graze freely over the grasslands in their northwest region.

Unlike the Merina and Betsileo people of the interior who became highly productive rice farmers, the coastal and valley region Sakalava have historically had limited agriculture.