Twins Taboo in Mananjary: An Ancestral Tradition of the Dead that Strongly Dominates the Lives of the Living

Marcel Saitis ()
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Marcel Saitis: Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, Romania

RAIS Journal for Social Sciences, 2022, vol. 6, issue 1, 26-36

Abstract: On the southeast coast of Madagascar there wasan ancestral tradition called fadykambanaor thetabooon twins, which placeda curse on twins born in the Antambahoaka ethnic group. In the past they were exterminated, now they are only abandoned, but with a veryhigh mortality rate due to abandonment. This paper is a studyon this Antambahoaka taboo. This group could be accused of serious crimes against humanity if they werenot understoodin their context. That is why we want to understand what a taboo means in theMalagasy context. We will probe the historical roots of this taboo and the consequences of not respecting itin Antambahoaka society. We will have a look at the twins’sideto see what terrible trauma they are experiencing because of this curse on them. Internal pressure from other ethnic groups and international pressure from certain child protection agencies has led to the issue of Law 23/2007, which we will analyze in relation to the abuse of twins. Finally, we will analyze the long-term solutions to this long-standing conflict between ancestral tradition and civil law on the taboo on twins.

Keywords: fady kambana; taboo; twins taboo; Malagasy context; ancestral laws; Antambahoaka; Madagascar; abandonment; abandoningtwins; Manajary (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:smo:jornl1:v:6:y:2022:i:1:p:26-36

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