They live in the forested mountains of the southern central highlands southeast of Ambositra, between the neighboring Betsileo and Tanala peoples.

[1] The Zafimaniry are descendants of both the Betsimisaraka and Tanala ethnic groups, but are differentiated from both primarily by the nature of the damp and cold mountain forests where they settled.

[3] The Zafimaniry people migrated to the dense forests of southeastern Madagascar in the 18th century due to increasing deforestation in other parts of the island.

As French forces "secured" various portions of Zafimaniry territory, they arrested the local inhabitants and sent them to concentration camps,[5] sometimes burning down the villages as well.

[8] The area sits at an altitude of 1,000-1,800 meters and the weather is usually cloudy, resulting in only around 100 rain-free days per year (2,000-3,000 mm of rain received annually).

[13] Young people's pairings are fluid and even a formal marriage can end without complications; it is the birth of children that serves to cement a relationship.

Rather, they were clustered in just two villages that had a historic role as hosting a sort of court where disputes were resolved,[18] the largest being Antetezandrotra.

[23] Beginning in the late 1800s, members of the London Missionary Society began converting free Zafimaniry villages to Protestantism.

Jesuit missionaries also conducted heavy outreach to the Zafimaniry in the mid-1930s, particularly including members of the recently freed slave class, who became the primary Catholic converts.

Houses and all other wooden household items including furniture, tombs and tools are decorated with symbolic geometric patterns that blend Arab and Austronesian influences.

[10] Unlike most other ethnic groups in Madagascar, the Zafimaniry place a much greater importance on building houses, rather than tombs, that are durable and well decorated.

[1] It is also believed that the Zafimaniry have retained other original Malagasy cultural practices and beliefs that have died out in other parts of the island.

[10] The average Zafimaniry man spends 22 days a year on clearing agricultural land through tavy, while the remainder of his time can be dedicated to other income earning activities like wood carving or migrating to find seasonal work elsewhere.

Cassava is the last crop to be grown in a field before it is allowed to go fallow During the fallow period, the Zafimaniry use the fields for other purposes, such as for grazing cattle, growing medicinal plants, and growing non-food plants, bushes and trees for fibers and construction material.

[35] They supplement their corn, taro and beans with wild products gathered in the surrounding forests, particularly including honey and crayfish.

[10] Rice cultivation in this historically cold region has been made easier in recent decades due to global warming.