The Probert Encyclopaedia of People

MALAGASY

A Malagasy is an inhabitant of or native to Madagascar. The Malagasy language has about nine million speakers; it belongs to the Austronesian family. Despite Madagascar's proximity to Africa, Malagasy contains only a small number of Bantu and Arabic loan words. It seems likely that the earliest settlers came by sea, some 1,500 years ago, from Indonesia. Primarily rice farmers, the Malagasy make use both of irrigated fields and swidden (temporary plot) methods.
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