3 - Background to Merina social organisation and religion

Summary

The historical processes outlined in the preceding chapter have meant that present-day Merina society is extremely diversified. Many Merina live in towns, especially in the capital, Antananarivo; many live abroad in France and Réunion; but many still live in the countryside of Imerina or beyond, often in new lands they have colonised during this century.

The way of life of the Merina and their class affiliations are as varied as the places where they live. There are rich Merina businessmen and professionals and poor urban slum dwellers; there are wealthy merchants and small-scale agriculturalists. What links these people together is their reference to a common historical past, as well as their kinship system, which ensures that some of the ancient groupings are reproduced.

Fundamental aspects of Merina social organisation

The social division coming from the past that is probably still most relevant to them is that between the descendants of freemen and those of slaves. The descendants of freemen do not usually intermarry with the descendants of slaves. This has great significance in that since richer Merina are mainly of free descent, so the marriage barrier reproduces in terms of wealth the difference in precolonial status.

The distinction between slaves and freemen also has importance for kinship. The descendants of slaves tend to form a relatively undifferentiated group. They intermarry freely and kinship ties among them form the typical undifferentiated web of bilateral societies. They have no notion of descent groups.