September 27 – Vincent de Paul Day in Madagascar

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n Of course, Madagascar is well known for having unique animals. But I already wrote about that here and here. Today I thought I would focus more on the people of Madagascar, who are called the Malagasy people.
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• Scientistsntell us that people first settled the island from far away Borneon(which is now divvied up by the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, andnMalaysia) – even though the mainland of Africa is a lot closer tonMadagascar. Of course, the first settlers were only the first wave –npeople have settled on the island since then from Africa, Asia, andnEurope. 

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This map contrasts the distance from Borneo to Madagascar (the red line) to the distance from mainland Africa to Madagascar (the black line).

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• LikenEngland and Hawaii, Madagascar has been ruled by queens at times. Thenlast ruler of the Kingdom of Madagascar was Queen Ranavalona III.

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• Duringnthe late 1700s or early 1800s, Madagascar was a popular spot fornpirates to hang out. As a matter of fact, a rumor exists thatnMadagascar was home to an independent pirate nation called Libertalianway back then!

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• Evennthough ecotourism is getting bigger – the better to enjoy all thatnbiological diversity, my dear! – most of the Malagasy people arenquite poor. About 90% of them live on less than $2 a day.

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• Withnall the Asian, African, and European influences in Madagascar, thenfood is pretty diverse. Rice is so important to the nation that thenMalagasy word “to eat” literally translates to “to eat rice.”nBut the ways to eat rice are extremely varied, with everything fromnzebu (beef from a kind of African cattle) to peanuts, green veggiesnto bananas, coconut milk to rum, garlic and onions to ginger andncurry, vanilla to cloves mixed into various recipes. Tomatoes, maize,ncassava, turmeric… loads of different flavors in enticing dishes.

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• n Septembern holidays

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• n Septembern birthdays

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• nn Historicaln anniversaries in September

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• Octobernholidays

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• nOctobern birthdaysn n

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• nHistoricaln anniversaries in October

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