Malagasy Lore: The Hira Gasy

After doing some research in the library over the past few weeks, I stumbled upon a fascinating book called “The Lore of Madagascar” that was published in 1994 by Edward L Powe, who visited Madagascar for several months with the hopes of sharing his experiences globally. My goal is to create a series of blog posts based on this book to explore some of the more interesting aspects of Malagasy culture. I hope that these posts will enlighten our study of Island biology and geography by providing cultural context.

In my reading last night, I learned about Hira Gasy, a six-hour festival that takes place in Antananarivo. With over 153 Hira Gasy troupes in the capital city alone, this traditional festival has allowed the Malagasy people to pass their morals through song, dance, and speech over countless generations. The entire process contains ten steps, called the prelude, Kabary, Fisaorana An Andriamanitra, Fiarahabana, Renin-Kira, Famininana, Dihy, Vakon-Drazana, Zana Hira, and Fanaovam-Beloma, respectively. The most intriguing of these segments to me was Renin-Kira, a fourty to sixty minute segment during which the troupe sings, dances, and plays music to a tale of morals in the Malagasy society. The Hira Gasy featured in the book was titled “Respect your station in life, for it is short-lived,” and told of many stories. One in particular followed a woman named Christy who committed adultery when promised a Mercedes in exchange for breaking her marriage vows. The song continues to chastise Christy, recount her errors, and recommend alternative perspectives on being content with one’s lot in life. It is interesting to note the pervasion of Western culture into the names and characters of a tradition that, simultaneously, is distinctively Malagasy.

Some other interesting tidbits include that every Friday, a huge market place called the Zomá inhabits nine blocks in Antananarivo. While the current trip itinerary does not have us visiting the capital on a Friday, we should look forward to having the opportunity to shop and use our Malagasy in similar markets along our journey!