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In the Rova of Antananarivo during the period of the Merina royalty, it was taboo to use any other construction materials apart from wood to build the royal house. On her accession to the throne, Queen Ranavalona II ended this tradition and introduced stone specifically for the construction of the Rova church. Because of the very nature of the construction entirely in wood, the Rova was annihilated during a fire on 6 November 1995 in a few hours, watched helplessly by the population. Only the stone walls of the church were capable of resisting this catastrophe, but everything in wood went up in flames (roofs, beams, furnishings, decoration). This was why out of all the buildings in the Rova, it was the first to be entirely restored and this was done fairly quickly when, ten years after the criminal fire, work on the reconstruction of the site began.
The word Rova ''rova'' designates the group of royal houses constructed within a wooden wall which no one dared to enter as it was the residence of the sovereign having the earthy status of God the Creator and stemming from this, everything connected with him (his house, his personal belongings, his herds of zebus, the water he drank, etc.) was considered sacred and violation of the prohibitions was punishable by death.
== Additional Information ==
* View all [[Manjakamiadana Rova photos]]
