Africa, Madagascar, Ambalavao. Women making Antemoro paper. The Antemoro (or Antaimoro) are an ethnic group of Madagascar. This ethnic group traces it

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Africa, Madagascar, Ambalavao. Women making Antemoro paper. The Antemoro (or Antaimoro) are an ethnic group of Madagascar. This ethnic group traces its origins back to Arab settlers who arrived from Mecca in the 15th or 16th century. Upon settling in Madagascar, these Arabs converted the Antemoro to Islam; the religion was soon abandoned in favor of traditional beliefs and practices associated with respect for the ancestors The Antemoro soon developed a reputation as powerful sorcerers and astrologers, in large part owing to their monopoly on knowledge of writing, termed “sorabe”, which uses the Arabic script to transcribe the Malagasy language. The community's historic production of Antemoro paper, a flower-embedded paper traditionally used to record secret knowledge using sorabe, is another major source of income as the paper is commonly exported overseas.

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Size: 3712px × 5568px
Photo credit: © Alison Wright / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: africa, ambalavao, craft, madagascar, paper, women, working