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<li>[[Zafimaniry]]<br>
South-central Madagascar: highlands near Ambositra</li></ul>
== African origins of the Malagasies ==
It is assumed that the population of Madagascar was formed through successive migrations of peoples from southeast Asia, the Arabian peninsula and East Africa and were grafted onto an aboriginal population of unknown origin, called the ''Vazimba''. Once established, all these groups created a common language known as Malagasy, spoken and practiced throughout the island.
According to some assertions, the Malagasy are Africans as their country is not far from the African continent, but this is only true for some groups and not the entire population despite the existence of Bantu and Swahili words in the linguistic vocabulary of north western Madagascar. This may be explained by the fact the individuals from the other side of the Mozambique Channel were the objects of the slave trade carried out by Arab and Indian merchants, who came to sell slaves in some ports of the Big Island. Snatched from the African coastal regions such as Somalia and Zanzibar, these slaves intermarried with the indigenous population continuing to speak their own language while practicing that of the host country.
From the early part of the 19th century eminent scientists from several countries around the world suggest it would be a mistake to consider that all those who have dark skins in Madagascar are of African descent, as among the migrants from southeast Asia there were numbers of Melanesians whose skin colour is similar to that of Africans.
Designated under collective name of ''mozambika'', the Africans sold in Madagascar were emancipated by a royal edict signed by Queen Ranavalona II in 1877 forbidding their sale and immigration to Madagascar and those released could choose between staying as free men in Madagascar or going home. But as many did not know where they came from they remained and integrated themselves into the population, forming part of the nation's lineage.
