To this day, the "animal and cultural riches" of the Malagasy people are recognized, such as goats for mohair carpet production. One might sometimes wonder what part imagination plays in travel accounts written by navigators of past centuries. Unless they are novels concocted from earlier books! This is the case, for example, with Thomas Herbert (1663) who describes Madagascar as "the greatest island in the entire World, divided into four tetrarchies, governed by four kings who are independent and very jealous of each other's greatness."
Describing the inhabitants, he claims that on the coasts, they are all Mohammedans while the "Mediterraneans" are all pagans and have no laws other than those nature has given them. "They punish murder with death, adultery with public infamy and theft with banishment." He notes, however, that these "Mediterraneans prefer fishing to farming, not from laziness but rather from lack of agricultural knowledge."
Continuing his description of the Malagasy people, Thomas Herbert affirms that they are generally very courageous and skilled. "Men accustom themselves from childhood to war, to cover their naked bodies with great massive shields, and their right hand to wielding a long ebony pike, armed with iron as sharp and shining as silver, and by this means, they acquire such great skill in handling this sort of weapon that there is no nation in the world more adroit at it."
Their dark complexion is explained by the fact that the natives care little about covering their bodies against the sun's heat. On the contrary, they enjoy rubbing themselves with grease and tallow to make their skin shine, "which stinks by this means, so that one cannot bear to stand near them." With long black curly hair—those with the longest hair are the most beautiful!—they wear only a bit of leaf "to cover the parts that nature itself takes care to hide." Moreover, they have pierced and very large ears, "and it is one of their beauties to lacerate their skin and represent various figures on it"!
Regarding marriage, "they permit bigamy and marry very young. Boys at 12 years and girls at 10 years, so that they scarcely know what virginity is." This very young age doubtless explains why they love entertainment and novelty, going to "hunt dogs and birds" or fishing; or "making dances in their fashion by shouting and beating their hands and stomachs, while their women, with rather savage harmony, which they accompany with eyes and hand, regulate their dance to an exact measure so that the men, measuring their steps accordingly, do not overheat themselves in this violent exercise."
What of the soil? It is rich in all sorts of metals and minerals (gold, silver) and "according to Duarte Lopes, in iron and copper. But as soon as they learned of the cruelty and avarice of the Portuguese, they forbade its use and would no longer permit it to be mined, preferring to content themselves with herbs, drugs and grain, of which there is great abundance in the island, rather than expose themselves with their gold and pearls to the discretion of the Portuguese who, with their other bad qualities, have this particular trait that they are more avaricious than any other nation in the world"…
Addressing "animal and cultural riches," Thomas Herbert insists on the existence of camels, wild beasts, leopards, goats and milk, chickens and eggs, wheat, barley, rice "and all the other fruits that the earth is capable of producing" (orange trees, lemon trees, citron trees, "poneils," "plancs," sugar canes, ginger, "toddy," coconuts…) And doubtless running short of imagination, he concludes:
"We will say no more. Let us say that it is a pity to see this country possessed by a people who have no knowledge of God nor of virtue; who hide so many precious treasures and who cannot take advantage of so many beautiful ports, whose location promises them commerce with the entire world."
Pela Ravalitera