| The Tsingy
Of Belo Sur Tsiribihina And The Royal Bath |
| In Madagascar |
| When you arrive
in Antsirabe, about 170km from Antananarivo (R.N. 7) you will change direction
heading to Miandrivazo, then you have to fill up the gas tank with gas
because there is no gas station within a 500 km range. The road is good
and panoramic. It crosses vast cultivated plains and picturesque little
villages. The wealth of this area is based upon a very developed agriculture,
hot thermal springs, a brewery and a big cotton mill. In that part of the
high plateau, the landscape is characterized by arid mountain ranges that
are crisscrossed with deep cracks caused by geological movements that date
back to ancient era. Betafo, about 25 km from Antsirabe, is the fist village
you will come upon on the road. It is an important agricultural centre.
The village’s streets are decorated with flowers. On Mondays, you can go
to the market. You can visit Lake Tatamarina (very close to Betafo). |
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In Mandoto
(90 km from Betafo), you will notice a very colourful market (many country
men and women come from neighbouring communities). The road has recently
been repaired and it is well maintained. You will be able to keep up a
good speed even if the landscapes’ beauty sometimes forces you to make
stops in order to take pictures. Close to that city, you will cross for
the first time the Tsiribihina River.
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The most important
city between Antsirabe and Morondava is Miandrivazo(half way between those
two cities)Miandrivazo is built along the Mahajilo River (tributary of
the Tsiribihina). |
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| Some tour
operators in Antananarivo will propose motorboat cruises down the Mahajilo.
The diversity of landscapes you will see (limestone plateau, age-old forests,
deep gorges haunted by legends) makes the boat trip a very interesting
experience. In this area, called the Menabe, you can find traces of the
former inhabitants who lived here during past centuries.
Many animals
live in the Tsiribihina River’s ecosystem, particularly birds and crocodiles
that you will often see basking in the sun on the river’s banks. They will
usually dive into the river’s water as soon as they hear your motorboat
approaching.
Those cruises
usually start in Antanambao (28Km from Miandrivazo). It will take you about
four days to reach Tsimafana (the end of your cruise). On your way downstream,
you will cross the Bemaraha Gorges and the Menabe Plain. |
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Offshore
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| From Tsimafana
you can continue on towards Morondava or go to the north to Bekopaka on
100 kilometers of poor tracks until you reach the Tsingy de Bemaraha. The
hotel Le Relais de Stingy, completed in 2000, is built on a hill in an
exceptionally beautiful panoramic position. The few bungalows overlook
the Gorges de la Manambolo. As the sun rises just behind the rock faces
of the river, a haze spreads over the plain and covers the trees: a magic
show.
The ANGAP
organization has been very efficient regarding the guides, the boatmen
and the laying out of Small Tsingy; the visit has been made easier and
safe. The rocky formations of the Tsingy are fascinating, but you must
face another hour and a half of poor and hole-pocked roads to visit the
karsic peaks and the exceptional vegetation growing in the deep canyons.
To organize the visit of the Tsingy from Morondava one can contact a number
of very well established organizations such as Menabe Evasion. If you chose
not to go down the Tsiribihina after Miandrivazo, a junction takes you
to Malaimbandy: the name of the former city means “ the place where King
Radama the I waited for his future wife ” whereas the latter means, “ I
do no like lies ”, which corresponds to the first sentence Princess Rasalimo
said to King Radama the I, her husband, who had been waiting for her in
Miandrivazo. |
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| As you get
closer to Morondava, vegetation will gradually reappear: you will notice
more and more cultivated stretches of land, most of them being dedicated
to the culture of rice in terrace fields. Thorny plants, baobabs and palm
trees, will from time to time interrupt the green of rice cultivation.
After a ten-hour
drive from Antananarivo, you will arrive at Morondava, a city built
on the mouth of the river: the roads of Morondava are muddy or inundated
with water at high tide. This phenomenon is due to the coast’s instability
in the Morondava area, which causes a continuous loss of land surface.
It also very causes problems for the port that constitutes the only haven
within a 700 km range on the coast between Majunga and Tuléar.
Morondava,
which means long beaches in Malagasy, is the former Andakabe, the capital
of the very rich and powerful Menabe Sakalava Kingdom, created in 1400
by King Andriamisara the I. |
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| The city,
with its wide boulevards, its spacious houses, equipped with covered verandas
to protect people from the sun that shines all year long, is quite pleasant.
You can go to the schooner port, one of the quietest picturesque sights
in the city, and see the crews of sailing ships load goods that will be
delivered to different places along the coast between Majunga and Tuléar.
Not so long ago, the city still organized yearly regattas. A great many
schooners, representing different coast villages, used to participate in
that contest.
Morondava’s
beach is quite beautiful but having a dip in the sea, taking into consideration
the size of the waves and the short distance that separates the bungalows
from the port, is not too attractive.
This area’s
sisal and tobacco production is quite important for the country’s economy.
There are many varieties of rich local crafts. Among them, one can, for
instance, see silver jewelry (bracelets, necklaces and rings), raffia objects,
modern copies of traditional alo alo (exporting ancient alo alo is strictly
forbidden and local authorities make sure that law is respected), copies
of lances and so on. You can also find erotic little wood statues that
people in this area once used to make above ground tombs more attractive.
After leaving Morondava and about 15 km on the road that leads to
Antananarivo, you will find a junction on your left hand side that takes
you to Belo sur Tsiribihina. You will drive amidst a plain dotted with
thorny plants and a great many Baobabs until you reach Baobab Lane, a magic,
fascinating place, where the sand road is lined up with dozens and dozens
of those imposing trees (Adansonia Grandidieri).
This area is
famed for its al alo decorated and painted tombs. Most of them cannot be
visited nowadays because the Malagasy authorities have decided to take
emergency measures to avoid any further plundering of Madagascar’s cultural
heritage. As a matter fact, vandals have been plundering tombs for years
in order to find and sell alo alo in tourist shops. For some sakalava or
Vezo clans, those alo alo symbolize the link between God and Man or carnal
pleasure. Every five years, one of the most interesting and spectacular
ceremonies in Madagascar takes place in Belo sur Tsiribihina, the Fitampoha
or Royal Bath.
Fitampoha
Or Royal Bath
This ceremony,
which falls within the cult dedicated to ancestors, also has a political
meaning. For the Sakalavas, the Fitampoha gives them the opportunity of
getting together, finding their roots again and reconstituting the historical
unity of the former powerful Menabe Kingdom. Sages according to very strict
ancestral rules choose the date of this ceremony. It must be on a full
moon Friday (the king’s day) in the month of Asaramanitra when buds open
up and when the earth smells good - that is to say within a period that
goes from the end of August to the beginning of September.
The People
who take part in this ceremony submit themselves to the Prince and his
family. It is for the people of the Menabe area and an opportunity to revive
the link of subjection that links them to the Sakalavas; it strengthens
their power. The relics of the king that created the Menabe Kingdom are
venerated during this ceremony and they constitute an indisputable evidence
of this domination. That ceremony therefore has a religious and political
significance. Thousands of Sakalavas people come from the around the whole
country in order to participate in this rite. They hope that they, too,
will benefit from some of the blessings granted during this ceremony, an
account of the good services they have done for the Royal family. The Royal
Bath is a way to cleanse oneself from one’s faults or to heal clan or family
matters.
The officiating
priests all belong to the same family and their duties are hereditary,
the building of a temporary village on the river’s banks. They will provide
the zebus that will be sacrificed but also prepare and transport the tokadrazana,
the ancestral alcohol drunk during the ceremony. As for the Prince, he
will provide the cotton bands used by the men that will carry the relics
on their shoulders.
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