Home of the Malagasy child, Madagascar is known not only for its land, but also for its spirituality. Throughout the red island, beliefs, legends and folk tales live on.
Home to some 18 ethnic communities, the island is also home to many collective tales and legends handed down from generation to generation.
These tales are based on tribal narratives, love stories, adventure stories, apologues and historical accounts.
As in all human cultures, Malagasy people love to tell stories, and appreciate the moment by the fire when our grey matter transmits a tale. In this article, we bring you a fragment of these tales.

The village that turned into a caiman.

In the arid, arid, arid regions of Madagascar, there lived a secluded village that made its living from the pottery trade, fishing and woodworking. The village was prosperous and thriving. The inhabitants spoke a good patois, and the village’s future was undoubtedly splendid.
One day, some travelers arrived in the village, having lost their way, and asked the inhabitants for water. They asked to be served in a beautiful jar made in the village.
The inhabitants consulted each other and unanimously decided to refuse the travellers their request, for fear of damaging the commercial arrangements they had.
At the refusal, the travelers argued and protested, then when they saw that it wasn’t possible to change the inhabitants’ minds, they decided to curse the village. They condemned the villagers to turn into caimans and left. Three days later, the travelers died of thirst and the villagers turned into caimans.

Separated twins on the red island.

In the south of the island, in the town of Mananjary to be precise, legend has it that all litters of twins from the town’s tribe bring peril. This legend is well known in the municipality and is widespread throughout the Red Island. It stems from a prophecy based on the superior luck that twins and people born under the Gemini astrological sign would have. The belief stems from this observation. The reigning queen was frightened by this fact, and decreed that twins should be killed at birth to counteract this fetishism, which could harm her and her descendants.
The curse laid down by the queen concerned multiple litters, and was further reinforced by the complications in delivering twins encountered in the town of Manajary. It is said that during the same period, several problems linked to the appearance of twins were observed.
The legend was so widespread during this period that the number of reported twin births in the Manajary region was lower than on the whole island.
Even today, twins are separated at birth in the town, although the phenomenon remains rare.

Trimobe, the creature who brings fertility to couples

The story of Trimobe has two morals, and we’re going to give them to you straight away. Clothes don’t make the man, and it’s important to take an interest in others if you want to be happy. The account is recommended for medical and criminology students on the big island.
In royal times, Trimobe was a deformed creature whose facial features did not reflect the vigor of his spirit. In addition to his great intelligence, he had the gift of giving fertility to couples he met by offering them talismans.
One day, a king called upon his services to have offspring to succeed him.
Trimobe agreed, on condition that he kept his first-born to devour. The king agreed, but when his first child was born, he replaced it with the child of one of his subjects. Trimobe saw through this ruse and went to the king with a new request: that the king’s first-born son should take an interest in other mothers and fathers and other children, so that they could live happily ever after.

Lake Tritriva

A symbolic lake in the Antsirabe region, Lake Tritriva is the setting of a well-known Madagascan legend. The lake is said to be the setting for a romantic story from the time of Andriamolomerina, the first king of all Madagascans. The lake is said to be a legendary place of love.
The small body of water is also said to be a sacred place on the big island, witnessing the important events that take place there. A tourist attraction, the lake can be visited and is said to be 160 metres deep. The lake is said to be a mystical place, the water is blue and authorized for bathing.