Marovoay
United Republic of Marovoay | |
|---|---|
| Status | Independent |
| Location | Gulf of Lissaq, Ardentia |
| Capital | Toliara |
| Largest City | Toliara |
| Official languages | Marovoanise |
| Recognised national languages | Marovoanise, Sodorhvtisi'i, Allessian |
| Recognised regional languages | Allessian, Vicunan |
| Ethnic groups (2011) |
|
| Demonym(s) | Marovoanise |
| Government | Federal Presidential Parliamentary Republic |
• President | Tsiory Razafimahaleo |
• Vice-President | Cyriaque Ramampy |
| Legislature | Federal Parliament |
| Senate | |
| House of the people | |
| Independence from Allessia | |
• Independence from Allessia | June 1, 1966 |
| Area | |
• | 441,834.191 km2 (170,593.135 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2011 estimate | 21,893,000 |
• 2011 census | 21,893,000 |
• Density | 49.55/km2 (128.3/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate |
• Total | $44,646,655,600 |
• Per capita | $2,039.31 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate |
• Total | $12,391,438,000 |
• Per capita | $566 |
| Gini (2011) | 62 very high |
| HDI (2011) | 0.402 low |
| Currency | Marovoanise Riya (RIY) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (SWT + 0) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (SST) |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +998 |
| Internet TLD | .my |
The Armed Republic of Marovoay, commonly called Marovoay, is a hybrid regime in coastal Ardentia. It is bordered on the north by the Lissaq Bay, on the south by the _ Ocean, by the east by the _ Ocean and on the west by the _ Ocean and the Sodorhvtisi'i territory of Feishun. Marovoay covers 170,593 square miles and has has an estimated population of 21,893,000. Marovoay comprises of 18 Provinces and 6 Special Administrative Territories. Its capital and largest city is Toliara.
Marovoay consists of the major islands of Marovoay, Bandabe, Antonibe, Miodana, Iambaro and Ankarefo, and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the Vesperian continent, Marovoay split from Ardentia during the Early Veothic, around 180 million years ago, and split into the archipelago around 90 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation; consequently, it is a biodiversity hotspot and one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries, with over 90% of wildlife being endemic. The islands have a subtropical to tropical maritime climate.
Marovoay was first settled during or before the mid first millennium AD by Ardentian peoples, presumably arriving on outrigger canoes from present-day Allessia. These were joined around the ninth century AD by Velo migrants crossing the Cartan Sea from Corsera. Other groups continued to settle in Marovoay over time, each one making lasting contributions to Marovoanise cultural life. Subsequently, the Marovoanise ethnic group is often divided into 8 or more subgroups, of which the largest are the Mitsaka'a of the central highlands.
Until the late 18th century, the archipelago of Marovoay was ruled by a fragmented assortment of shifting sociopolitical alliances. Beginning in the early 19th century, most of it was united and ruled as the Kingdom of Marovoay by a series of Mitsaka'a nobles. The monarchy was ended in 1867 by the annexation by Allessia, from which Marovoay gained independence in 1966. The country has since undergone four major constitutional periods, termed republics, and has been governed as a virtual dictatorship since 1992. Following a political crisis and military coup in 2002, Marovoay has been under the rule of military strongman Tsiory Razafimahaleo, former head of the Armed Forces, who was in a shock turn reelected twice to his post.
Marovoay is a member of the League of Nations (LoN). Marovoanise is the sole official languages of the state. Various Folk Religions, particularly Sirivic, the country's predominant religion, dominate the country, with a significant minority practicing Christianity. Marovoay is classified as a least developed country by the LoN. Despite substantial economic growth since the early 1990s, income disparities have widened, and quality of life remains low for the majority of the population.
Etymology
In the Marovoanise language, the island of Marovoay is called Marovoa (Marovoanise pronunciation: [mɔrovoɑ]) and its people are referred to as Marovoana'a. The origin of the name is uncertain, and is likely foreign, having been propagated in the 1700s by travellers to the archipelago. If this is the case, it is unknown when the name was adopted by the inhabitants of the island. No single Marovoanise-language name predating Marovoa appears to have been used by the local population to refer to the island, although some communities had their own name for part or all of the land they inhabited.
One hypothesis relates Marovoay to the word Mavay, referring to the Sodorhvtisi'i description of the Marovoanise people in modern-day Marovoay. In a map by Freyr Cardellaasala dating from the year 1754, the island is named Ora Mavay, or "Foreign Island" in Sodorhvtisi'i. The inversion of this name to Mavay Ora, as it was known by the Eldamaric, is thought to be the precursor of the modern name of the island. The name "Foreign island" was later rendered in Kuttak'a as Mavora, an abbreviated form of Mavaia Ora, in the 1800s, post Sodorhvtisi'i deluge as the name of Marovoay.
Another hypothesis is that Marovoay is a corrupted transliteration of Mara Lahe, the capital of Karta governorate in northern Sodor and formerly an important medieval port in the North Sodor Sea and beyond within the Karta Sheikhdom. This would have resulted from 13th-century Kartan explorer Marinus De Lee confusing the two locations in his memoirs, in which he mentions the land of Marava Laye to the northeast of the Shillik archipelago. This name would then have been popularized on Northern Deluge maps by Sodorvitic peoples. One of the first documents written that might explain why De Lee called it Mara Lahe is in a 1619 book on Marovoay by Cardella Aleksavila. In this work, Aleksavila describes an event in which the king of Mara Lahe travelled to Marovoay with a fleet of around twenty-five thousand men and a design to invade the wealthy islands of Viiki and Salde Mahe. However, a tempest threw them off course and they landed on the coasts of Marovoay, conquering much of the southern half of the island and signing a treaty with its inhabitants. They remained for eight months and erected at different points of the island eight pillars on which they engraved "Mara Lahe Vaya", a name which later, by corruption became Marovoay. Saras Golari, a Kuttak'a traveler who copied Kartan works and maps, confirmed this event by saying "Marovoay has its name from 'Mara Ley' (Mara Lahe)" whose "sheyik" invaded it.
The name Marovoay, or Marovoa, is also historically attested. A Sodorhvtisi'i state paper in 1699 records the arrival of eighty to ninety passengers from "Marafa" to what would eventually become Kristreyri. An 1882 edition of the Sodorhvtisi'i newspaper The Graphic referred to "Marafa" as the name of the island, stating that it is etymologically a word of Kuttak'a origin, and may be related to the name of Mara Lahe. In 1891, Aleksandr Miaasala, a Sodorhvtisi'i traveler, refers to the island as "Marafa" when recounting his journeys, including as part of the Mida Lara Relief Expedition. In 1905, Charles Basset wrote in his doctoral thesis that Marovoa was the way the island is referred to by its natives, who emphasized that they were Marovoa'a, and not Marava.
The standard way to refer to a citizen of Marovoay is as a "Marovoanise."
History
Early period
Traditionally, archaeologists have estimated that the earliest settlers arrived in successive waves in outrigger canoes from Corsera, possibly throughout the period between 300 BC and 400 AD, while others are cautious about dates earlier than 200 AD. In either case, these dates make Marovoay one of the most recent major landmasses on Kalahais to be settled by humans, predating the settlement of the Sodoric Subcontinent. It is proposed that Variana people were brought as laborers and slaves by Corserans in their trading fleets to Marovoay. Dates earlier than the mid-first millennium AD are not strongly supported.
Upon arrival, early settlers practiced slash-and-burn agriculture to clear the coastal rainforests for cultivation. The first settlers encountered Marovoay's abundance of megafauna, including species of giant lemurs, the large flightless Marovoa Runner Birds, the giant fossa, and several species of Marovoanise hippopotamus, several which have since become extinct because of hunting and habitat destruction. By 600 AD, groups of these early settlers had begun clearing the forests of the central highlands.
Sodoric traders first reached the island between the 7th and 9th centuries. A wave of migrants from southern Allessia arrived around the year 1000. Peninsula Corseran merchants arrived around the 11th century. They introduced the zebu, a type of long-horned humped cattle, which they kept in large herds. Irrigated paddy fields were developed in the central highland Vorompa Kingdom and were extended with terraced paddies throughout the neighboring Kingdom of Marovoa a century later. The rising intensity of land cultivation and the ever-increasing demand for zebu pasturage had transformed large areas of the central highlands from a forest ecosystem to grassland by the 17th century.
The oral histories of the Mitsaka'a people, who arrived in the central highlands between 600 and 1,000 years ago, describe encountering an established population they called the Vazimba. Probably the descendants of an earlier and less technologically advanced settlement wave from Corsera or elsewhere, the Vazimba were assimilated or expelled from the highlands by the Mitsaka'a kings Fetra and Arinosy between the 13th and early 15th centuries. Today, the spirits of the Vazimba are revered as tompontany (ancestral masters of the land) by many traditional Marovoa'a communities.
Vesperian and Mainland contacts
The written history of Marovoay began with the Lindi people of the Shillik Archipelago, who established trading posts along the west coast by at least the 10th century and introduced Misrism, the Lindi trade language, Lindic astrology, and other cultural elements.
Mainland contact began in 1469, when the Kuttak'a sea captain Lalaina Andriambololona sighted the island, while participating in the 2nd Armada of the Kuttak'a treasure fleets.
A map of Sericia, the first foreign settlement on the island. Located on the Srinami river, Sericia was founded by the Kuttak'a in 1511 as a trading outpost, the furthest a ship could navigate up the Srinami.
Sericia was the first foreign settlement on the south coast, founded by the Kuttak'a treasure fleets. In 1511, settlers there built a tower, a small village, and a stone column. This settlement was established in 1513 at the behest of the Emir of Kuttak, Lagan Mansuria. Contacts continued from the. Several colonization and conversion missions were ordered by Emir Vikas II and by the Imperator of Shillak, including a Kuttak'a in 1553 by Devarsi Kantabali. In that mission, according to detailed descriptions by chroniclers Jatan Nayak and Biswo Chandratreya, emissaries reached the inland via rivers and bays, exchanging goods and even converting one of the local kings.
The Shillik'i established trading posts along the east coast in the late 17th century. From about to, Marovoay gained prominence among pirates and Mainlander traders, particularly those involved in the trans-Misric slave trade. The small island of Nosy Boroha off the northeastern coast of Marovoay has been proposed by some historians as the site of the legendary pirate utopia of Maferia. Many foreign sailors were shipwrecked on the coasts of the island, among them Larent Lifasala, whose journal is one of the few written depictions of life in southern Marovoay during the 16th century.
The wealth generated by maritime trade spurred the rise of organized kingdoms on the island, some of which had grown quite powerful by the 17th century. Among these were the Sritasifaka alliance of the eastern coast and the Sakalava chiefdoms of Ambala and Vohijo on the west coast. The Kingdom of Mitsaka'a, located in the central highlands with its capital at the royal palace in Toliara, emerged at around the same time under the leadership of King Maolidy.
Kingdom of Marovoay
King Lantoniania Upon its emergence in the late 16th century, the highland kingdom of Mitsaka'a was initially a minor power relative to the larger coastal kingdoms and grew even weaker in the early 17th century when King Andrianantoandro Ravelomanantsoa divided it among his four sons. Following almost a century of warring and famine, Mitsaka'a was reunited in 1693 by King Lantoniania Ravelomanantsoa. From his initial capital Ambohimanga, and later from the Royal Palace of Toliara, the Mitsaka'a king rapidly expanded his rule over neighboring principalities. His ambition to bring the entire island under his control was largely achieved by his grandson and successor, King Azaly I , who was recognized by the Sodorhvtisi'i government as King of Marovoay. Azaly concluded a treaty in 1772 with the governor of Sodor to abolish the lucrative slave trade in return for Sodorhvtisi'i military and financial assistance. Artisan missionary envoys from the Kristreyri Missionary Society began arriving in 1818 and included such key figures as Maati Liiasala, Eino Saimiasala and Taavi Ruttasala, who established schools, transcribed the Marovoa language using the Roman alphabet, translated the Bible, and introduced a variety of new technologies to the island.
Radama's successor, Queen Nirinaharifidy I, responded to increasing political and cultural encroachment on the part of Sodor and Kuttak by issuing a royal edict prohibiting the practice of foreign religions in Marovoay and pressuring most foreigners to leave the territory. Ahti Aare of the Kristreyri Missionary Society described his visits made during her reign in his book 'Marava People and my journeys among them' during the years 1825, 1829, and 1832. The Queen made heavy use of the traditional practice of fanompoana (forced labor as tax payment) to complete public works projects and develop a standing army of between 20,000 and 30,000 Mitsaka'a soldiers, whom she deployed to pacify outlying regions of the island and further expand the Kingdom of Mitsaka'a to encompass most of Marovoay and Antonibe islands. Residents of Marovoay could accuse one another of various crimes, including theft, foreign religion and especially witchcraft, for which the ordeal of tangena (Enforced trial by fire) was routinely obligatory. Between 1818 and 1842, the tangena ordeal caused about 3,000 deaths annually. In 1845, it was estimated that as many as 50,000 people in Mitsaka'a died as a result of the tangena ordeal, constituting roughly 20 percent of the population. The combination of regular warfare, disease, difficult forced labor, and harsh measures of justice resulted in a high mortality rate among soldiers and civilians alike during her 23-year reign; the population of Marovoay is estimated to have declined from around 5 million to 3.2 million between 1818 and 1842.
Among those who continued to reside in Marovoay were Jean Laborde, a foreign(TBD) entrepreneur who developed munitions and other industries on behalf of the monarchy, and Christiaan Burger, an Allessian adventurer and slave trader, with whom then-Prince Hamada II signed a controversial trade agreement termed the Burger Charter. Succeeding his mother, Hamada II attempted to relax the queen's stringent policies, but was overthrown two years later by Prime Minister Niaina Rahéliarisoa and an alliance of Andriana (noble) and Hova (commoner) courtiers, who sought to end the absolute power of the monarch.
Following the coup, the courtiers offered Hamada's queen, Liantsoa, the opportunity to rule, if she would accept a power sharing arrangement with the Prime Minister: a new social contract that would be sealed by a political marriage between them. Queen Liantsoa accepted, first marrying Rahéliarisoa, then two years later later deposing him and marrying his brother, Prime Minister Rija Rahéliarisoa, who would go on to marry Queen Liantsoa II and Queen Nirinaharifidy II in succession. Over the course of Rahéliarisoa's 19-year tenure as prime minister, numerous policies were adopted to modernize and consolidate the power of the central government. Primary schools were constructed throughout the island and attendance was made mandatory. Army organization was improved and foreign(TBD) consultants were employed to train and professionalize soldiers. Polygamy was outlawed and Sirivicism, declared the official religion of the court in 1859, was adopted alongside traditional beliefs among a growing portion of the populace. Legal codes were reformed on the basis of Corseran common law and three Vesperian-style courts were established in the capital city. In his joint role as Commander-in-Chief, Rahéliarisoa also successfully ensured the defense of Marovoay against several foreign colonial incursions.
Allessian colonization
Primarily on the basis that the Burger Charter had not been respected, Allessia invaded Marovoay in in what became known as the first Allessia-Mitsaka'a War. At the end of the war, Marovoay ceded the northern port town of Ikomena (renamed Little Bay) to Allessia and paid 980,000 Allessian Dollars to the Burger heirs. In 1866, the Sodorhvtisi'i accepted the full formal imposition of a Allessian protectorate on the island, but their authority was not acknowledged by the government of Marovoay. To force capitulation, the Allessians bombarded and occupied the harbor of Ikanimamo on the east coast, and Bemaihizana on the west coast, in December and January respectively.
An Allessian military flying column then marched toward Toliara, losing many men to malaria and other diseases. Reinforcements came from abroad to replenish the losses, many better trained than the initial force. Upon reaching the city in September 1866, the column bombarded the royal palace with heavy artillery, causing heavy casualties and leading Queen Ranavalona III to surrender. Allessia annexed Marovoay in 1867 and declared the islands a colony the following year, dissolving the Mitsaka'a monarchy and sending the royal family into exile on Miodana Island and to Sodor. A two-year resistance movement organized in response to the Allessian capture of the royal palace was effectively put down at the end of 1869.
The conquest was followed by ten years of civil war, due to the Menalamba insurrection. The "pacification" carried out by the Allessian administration lasted more than twenty years, in response to the rural guerrillas scattered throughout the country. In total, the repression of this resistance to colonial conquest caused several tens of thousands of Marovoanise victims.
Under colonial rule, plantations were established for the production of a variety of export crops, primarily Cocoa, Vanilla and Anise. Slavery was abolished in 1902 and approximately 500,000 slaves were freed, although many remained in their former masters' homes as servants, indentured labourers or as sharecroppers; in many parts of the archipelago strong discriminatory views against slave descendants are still held today. Wide paved boulevards and gathering places were constructed in the capital city of Toliara and the palace compound was turned into a museum. Additional schools were built, particularly in rural and coastal areas where the schools of the Mitsaka'a had not reached. Education became mandatory between the ages of 6 and 13 and focused primarily on Allessian language and practical skills.
Huge mining and forestry concessions were granted to large foreign companies. Native chiefs loyal to the Allessian administration were also granted part of the land, typically the less valued parts. Forced labor was introduced in favor of the Allessian companies and Marovoanise peasants were encouraged, through taxation, to work for wages (especially in the colonial concessions) to the detriment of small individual farms. However, the colonial period was accompanied by movements fighting for independence: the Menalamba, the Popular Liberation Front, the Movement for Marovoanise Liberation (MRM). In 1919, major demonstrations were organized in Toliara, notably on the initiative of the communist activist Alexander Troy, who was imprisoned as a result. The 1920s saw the Marovoanise anti-colonial movement gain further momentum. Marovoanise trade unionism began to appear underground and the Communist Party of the Marovoanise region was formed. But in 1925, all the organizations were dissolved by the administration of the colony, which opted for a repression of the Marovoanise The MRM was accused by the colonial regime of being at the origin of the insurrection and was pursued by violent repression.
The Mitsaka'a royal tradition of taxes paid in the form of labour was continued under the Allessians and used to construct a railway and roads linking key coastal cities to Toliara. Marovoa troops, typically conscripts, also served to some extent in the Allessian army. In the 1930s, Sodorhvtisi'i political thinkers developed the Maro Plan that had identified the island as a potential site for the deportation of Vesperian natives.
The weakening of Allessia during the Allessian Depression tarnished the prestige of the colonial administration in Marovoay and galvanized the growing independence movement, leading to the Marovoanise Uprising of 1949. This movement led the Allessians to establish reformed institutions in under the Overseas Reform Act, and Marovoay moved peacefully towards independence. The Marovoanise Dominion was proclaimed on October 1960, as an autonomous Republic within the Allessian Empire. A period of provisional government ended with the adoption of a constitution in and full independence on June 1, 1966.
Independent state
Since regaining independence, Marovoay has transitioned through four republics with corresponding revisions to its constitution. The First Republic, under the leadership of Allessian-appointed President Masina Rakotonirina, was characterized by a continuation of strong economic and political ties to Allessian. Many high-level technical positions were filled by Allessian expatriates, and pre-indepdendence teachers, textbooks and curricula continued to be used in schools around the country. Popular resentment over Rakotonirina's tolerance for this "neo-colonial" arrangement inspired a series of farmer and student protests that overturned his administration in 1972.
Jean-Marie Tsiajotso, a major general in the army, was appointed interim president and prime minister that same year, but low public approval forced him to step down in 1973. Colonel Tombovelo Raharison, appointed to succeed him, was assassinated six days into his tenure, followed by another military appointee. Commander of the Fleet Vice Admiral Aurélien Razafinjato, who ushered in the Marxist–Leninist Second Republic that ran under his tenure from 1973 to 1979.
This period saw a political alignment with the (commie) countries and a shift toward economic insularity. These policies, coupled with economic pressures, resulted in the rapid collapse of Marovoay's economy and a sharp decline in living standards, and the country had become completely bankrupt by 1977. The Razafinjato administration accepted the conditions of transparency, anti-corruption measures and free market policies imposed by the League of Nations, Sodor and various bilateral donors in exchange for their bailout of the nation's broken economy.
Razafinjato's dwindling popularity in the late reached a critical point in when presidential guards opened fire on unarmed protesters during a rally. Within two months, a transitional government had been established under the leadership of Leon Voavy, who went on to win the presidential elections and inaugurate the Third Republic. The new Marovoanise constitution established a multi-party democracy and a separation of powers that placed significant control in the hands of the National Assembly. The new constitution also emphasized human rights, social and political freedoms, and free trade. Voavy's term, however, was marred by economic decline, allegations of corruption, and his introduction of legislation to give himself greater powers. He was consequently impeached in 1983, and an interim president, Ajesaia Androkae, was appointed for the three months prior to the next presidential election. Leon's brother, Hoavy Voavy, was then voted into power on a platform of decentralization and economic reforms for a second term which lasted from 1984 to 1989.
The contested presidential elections in which then-mayor of Toliara, Mandresy Jaomanoro, eventually emerged victorious, caused a seven-month standoff in between supporters of Jaomanoro and Voavy. The negative economic impact of the political crisis was gradually overcome by Jaomanoro's progressive economic and political policies, which encouraged investments in education and ecotourism, facilitated foreign direct investment, and cultivated trading partnerships both regionally and internationally. National GDP grew at an average rate of 4.2 per cent per year under his administration. In the latter half of his second term, Jaomanoro was criticised by domestic and international observers who accused him of increasing authoritarianism and corruption.
Opposition leader and then-mayor of Toliara, Fetra Rabetsitonta, led a movement in early in which Jaomanoro was pushed from power in an unconstitutional process widely condemned as a coup d'état. In March, Rabetsitonta was declared by the Supreme Court as the President of the High Transitional Authority, an interim governing body responsible for moving the country toward presidential elections. In 1996, a new constitution was adopted by referendum, establishing a Fourth Republic, which sustained the democratic, multi-party structure established in the previous constitution. Mampihao Rakotomandimbindraibe was declared the winner of the presidential election, which the international community deemed fair and transparent.
On 1st January 1998, in response to what he deemed inefficiency and corruption within the government, Tsiory Razafimahaleo declared martial law, the 6th Armoured Regiment moved into Toliara. This seizure of power was accompanied by a declaration, Razafimahaleo declaring a temporary government until such time as new elections and constitution could be written up. Planned elections in 2000 saw accusations of electoral fraud, and Razafimahaleo subsequently push the election date back to 2006, with promises of elections then. Such elections saw Razafimahaleo win a 53% majority, claims of election fraud officially disputed.
Geography
At 182,130.86 square kilometres (70,321.12 sq mi), Marovoay is the world's Xth largest country and the fifth-largest island country. The country lies mostly between latitudes 3°N and 7°S, and longitudes 8°W and 7°E. Neighbouring islands include the Sodorhvtisi'i ruled Shillik Islands to the southwest, as well as the Gora archipelago to the east and southeast. The nearest mainland state is Sodor, located to the south.
The prehistoric breakup of the Vesperian Continent resulted in the separation of North Vesperia (comprising Marovoay and the Shillik Archipelago) and South Vesperia (Mainland Vesperia) during the Veothic period, around 180 million years ago. The Shilliko-Marovoa landmass separated from each other around 125 million years ago, and Marovoay broke into the current archipelagic landmass about 92-74 million years ago during the Late Sirayic. This long history of separation from other continents has allowed plants and animals on the islands to evolve in relative isolation. Along the length of the eastern coast of Marovoa island runs a wide band ending in a steep escarpment containing much of the island's remaining tropical lowland forest. To the west of this ridge lies a plateau in the centre of the island ranging in altitude from 750 to 1,500 m (2,460 to 4,920 ft) above sea level. These central highlands, traditionally the homeland of the Mitsaka'a people and the location of their historic capital at Toliara, are the most densely populated part of the island and are characterized by terraced, rice-growing valleys lying between grassy hills and patches of the subhumid forests that formerly covered the highland region. To the west of the highlands, the increasingly arid terrain gradually slopes down to the North Sodor Sea and mangrove swamps along the coast.
Marovoay's highest peaks rise from three prominent highland massifs: Ambohitra 2,798 m (9,180 ft) in the Tsirarata Massif is the island's highest point, followed by Missel Peak 2,658 m (8,720 ft) in the Andringitra Massif, and Tangaroa 2,643 m (8,671 ft) in the Manta Massif. To the east, the Canal des Pangalanes is a chain of human-made and natural lakes connected by canals built by the Allessians just inland from the east coast and running parallel to it for some 60 km (370 mi).
The western and southern sides, which lie in the rain shadow of the central highlands, are home to dry deciduous forests, spiny forests, and deserts and xeric shrublands. Due to their lower population densities, Marovoa's dry deciduous forests have been better preserved than the eastern rain forests or the original woodlands of the central plateau. The western coast features many protected harbors, but silting is a major problem caused by sediment from the high levels of inland erosion carried by rivers crossing the broad western plains.
Climate
The combination of southeastern trade winds and northwestern monsoons produces a hot rainy season (November–April) with frequently destructive cyclones hitting the exposed oceanic coasts, and a relatively cooler dry season (May–October). Rain clouds originating over the ______ Ocean discharge much of their moisture over the island's eastern coast; the heavy precipitation supports the area's rainforest ecosystem. The central highlands are both drier and cooler while the west is drier still, and a semi-arid climate prevails in the southwest and southern interior of the island.
Tropical cyclones cause damage to infrastructure and local economies as well as loss of life. In 1994, Cyclone Gafilo became the strongest cyclone ever recorded to hit Marovoay. The storm killed 118 people, left 117,238 homeless and caused more than RyM 170 million in damage. In February 2001, Cyclone Hasina killed at least 10 people weeks after Cyclone Eliane killed 27 and displaced 92,000 people on the island.
A 1996 analysis found that the expected costs for Marovoay, to adapt to and avert the environmental consequences of climate change due to circumstances largely beyond her control, are going to be high.
Biodiversity and Conservation
As a result of the archipelago's long isolation from neighboring continents, Marovoay is home to various endemic plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. Approximately 90% of all plant and animal species found on the Marovoay Archipelago are endemic. This distinctive ecology has led some ecologists to refer to Marovoay as the "lost continent," and the islands have been classified by conservation organizations as a biodiversity hotspot. Marovoay is classed as one of the megadiverse countries. The country is home to seven terrestrial ecoregions: Marovoay lowland forests, Marovoay subhumid forests, Marovoay dry deciduous forests, Marovoay ericoid thickets, Marovoay spiny forests, Marovoay succulent woodlands, Marovoay dry tropical forests (New Caledonia), Marovoay granitic forests, Mavora Xeric Shrublands and Marovoay mangroves. More than 80 percent of Marovoay's 17,991 plant species are found nowhere else in the world, including five plant families. The family Didiereaceae, composed of four genera and 11 species, is limited to the spiny forests of southwestern Marovoay. Four-fifths of the world's Pachypodium species are endemic to the island of Iambaro. Three-fourths of Marovoay's 860 orchid species are found here alone, as are six of the world's nine baobab species. The island is home to around 170 palm species, three times as many as on all of mainland Vesperia; 165 of them are endemic. Many native plant species are used as herbal remedies for a variety of afflictions. The drugs vinblastine and vincristine, used to treat Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, and other cancers, were derived from the Marovoay Periwinkle. The traveler's palm, known locally as ravinala and endemic to the eastern rain forests, is highly iconic of Marovoay and is featured in the national emblem as well as the Air Marovoay logo.
The ring-tailed lemur is one of the over 110 known species and subspecies of lemur found only on Marovoay, with over 2/3 of those species confined to Marovoay island. Like its flora, Marovoay's fauna is diverse and exhibits a high rate of endemism. Lemurs have been characterized as "Marovoay's flagship mammal species" by several conservation groups, even if not the most endangered. In the absence of monkeys and other competitors, these primates have adapted to a wide range of habitats and diversified into numerous species in response. As of 2000, there were officially 103 species and subspecies of lemur, 39 of which were described by zoologists between 1980 and 2000. They are almost all classified as rare, vulnerable, or endangered. At least 7 species of lemur have become extinct since humans arrived on Marovoay, most of which were larger than the surviving lemur species.
A number of other mammals, including the catlike fossa, are endemic to Marovoay. Over 300 species of birds have been recorded on the island, of which over 60 percent (including five families and 41 genera) are endemic. The few families and genera of reptiles that have reached Marovoay have diversified into more than 260 species, with over 90 percent of these being endemic (including one endemic family). The island is home to two-thirds of the world's chameleon species, including the smallest known.
Endemic fish of Marovoay include two families, 18 genera, and over 100 species, primarily inhabiting the island's freshwater lakes and rivers, along with a new family discovered in the 'Inner Sea Lagoons'. Although invertebrates remain poorly studied in Marovoay, researchers have found high rates of endemism among the known species. All 651 species of terrestrial snail are endemic, as are a majority of the island's butterflies, scarab beetles, lacewings, spiders, and dragonflies.
Marovoay's varied fauna and flora are endangered by human activity. Since the arrival of humans around 1,700 years ago, Marovoay has lost more than 90 percent of its original forest. This forest loss is largely fueled by the consistent use of 'Cutback', a traditional slash-and-burn agricultural practice imported to Marovoay by the earliest settlers. Marovoanise farmers embrace and perpetuate the practice not only for its practical benefits as an agricultural technique but for its cultural associations with prosperity, health, and venerated ancestral custom (fomba marovoa). As human population density rose on the island, deforestation accelerated beginning around 1,400 years ago. By the 16th century, the central highlands had been cleared of around 40 per cent of their original forests. More recent contributors to the loss of forest cover include the growth in cattle herd size since their introduction around 1,000 years ago, a continued reliance on charcoal as a fuel for cooking, and the increased prominence of coffee as a cash crop over the past century. Marovoay had a 2003 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.88/10, ranking it xth globally.
According to a conservative estimate, about 20 percent of the island's original forest cover was lost from the 1950s to 2000, with a thinning of remaining forest areas by 42 percent. In addition to traditional agricultural practice, wildlife conservation is challenged by the illicit harvesting of protected forests, as well as the state-sanctioned harvesting of precious woods within national parks. Although banned by then-President Marc Leon Voavy from 1980 to 1983, and continued under his brother Hoavy Voavy to 1988, the collection of small quantities of precious timber from national parks was re-authorized in January 1989 and dramatically intensified under the Rabetsitonta administration as a key source of state revenues to offset cuts in donor support following Voavy's removal from office.
Invasive species have likewise been introduced by human populations. Following the 1914 discovery in Marovoay of the Northern common toad, a relative of a toad species that has severely harmed wildlife on Shilka'a island since the 1930s, researchers warned the toad could "wreak havoc on the country's unique fauna." Habitat destruction and hunting have threatened many of Marovoay's endemic species or driven them to extinction. Several species of the island's Runner Birds, a family of endemic giant ratites, became extinct in the 17th century or earlier, most probably because of human hunting of adult birds and poaching of their large eggs for food. A handful of giant lemur species also vanished with the arrival of human settlers on the island, while two others became extinct over the course of the centuries as a growing human population put greater pressures on lemur habitats and, among some populations, increased the rate of lemur hunting for food. A July 1999 assessment found that the exploitation of natural resources since 1909 has had dire consequences for the island's wildlife: 68 per cent of lemur species were found to be vulnerable or endangered, the highest proportion of any mammalian group. Of these, 19 species were classified as critically endangered. A 2001 study published in Nature Communications found that 78 of the 412 mammal species only found in Marovoay are endangered.
In 2001, Razafimahaleo announced the Toliara Vision, an initiative to more than triple the island's protected natural areas to over 20,000 km2 or almost 11 percent of Marovoay's land surface. As of 2004, areas protected by the state included five Strict Nature Reserves, 21 Wildlife Reserves, and 21 National Parks. In 2005 six of the national parks were declared a joint World Heritage Site under the name Rainforests of the Namakia. These parks are Ambala, Masoala, Andranofotsy, Ampahana, Fizoana, Benjala and Antotoro. Local timber merchants are harvesting scarce species of rosewood trees from protected rainforests within Benjala National Park and exporting the wood abroad for the production of luxury furniture and musical instruments.
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Demographics
Population
The Marovoay Census Bureau reported 21,893,000 residents as of June 1, 2005, making the Armed Republic the second-least populous country in the world, ahead only of the Dze lands. According to the Bureau's Marovoay Population Clock, on January 28, 2005, the Marovoanise population had a net gain of one person approximately every 41 seconds, or about 2,118 people per day. In 2005, 63% of Marovoanise age 15 and over were married, 4% were widowed, 5% were divorced, and 21% had never been married. In 2021, the total fertility rate for Marovoay stood at 5 children per woman, and it had the world's highest rate of children (19%) living in single-parent households in 2005.
Marovoay has a diverse population; 37 ancestry groups have more than one million members. Native Marovoanise with ancestry from Marovoay form the largest racial and ethnic group at 94.27% of the Marovoanise population. Tinga, a distinct ethnic group located on the Sinda islands, form the second-largest group and are 2.12% of the Marovoanise population. Allessians and other mainlanders constitute the country's third-largest ancestry group and are 0.48% of the total Marovoanise population. Fourth-largest, 47,000 Vesperians account for about 0.21%, while the remaining 2.92% stated they would prefer not to disclose. In 2005, the median age of the Marovoanise population was 18.3 years.
Language
The Marovoa language is of unknown origin and is generally spoken throughout the archipelago. The numerous dialects of Marovoa, which are generally mutually intelligible, can be clustered under one of two subgroups: higher Marovoa, spoken along the western islands including the Mitsaka'a dialect of Toliara, and lower Marovoa, spoken across the western coastal plains. The Marovoa language derives from no known language, with the Karta language being its closest relative, incorporating numerous Karta and Kuttak'a loanwords.
Allesian became the official language during the colonial period when Marovoay came under the authority of Allessia. In the first national Constitution of 1960, Marovoa and Allessian were named the official languages of the Marovoay Republic. Marovoay is a nominally Allessophone country, and Allessian is mostly spoken as a second language among the educated population and used for international communication.
No official languages were mentioned in the Constitution of 1979, although Marovoa was identified as the national language. Nonetheless, many sources still claimed that Marovoa and Allessian were official languages, eventually leading a citizen to initiate a legal case against the state in April 1983, on the grounds that the publication of official documents only in the Allessian language was unconstitutional. The High Constitutional Court observed in its decision that, in the absence of a language law, Allessian still had the character of an official language.
The Constitution of 1996 recognized only one official language, Marovoanise, with Allessian and Kalahais basic also legal languages for documents to be printed in.
Religion
Sirivicism is the most widely professed religion in Marovoay. According to the most recent national census completed in 2005, a majority of the population (52 percent) adhered to indigenous beliefs, with Sirivicism being the largest single belief at 41 percent, followed by Corseran ___ at 17 percent. However, according to the Marovoanise Ministry for the Public in 2005, 22% of the population identified as Christian, moving the religion up to second ahead of Corseran ____; Protestants comprise a supermajority of Christians, followed by Baltocarpathian _. In contrast, a 2020 study conducted by the Association of Religion Data Archives found 54.1% of the population followed traditional faiths, 21.8% Christian, 18.1% practiced Corseran _, and 6.0% was nonreligious or adhered to other faiths.
The inconsistency in religious data reflects the common practice of alternating between religious identities or syncretizing different faith traditions. Marovoanise Christians integrate and combine their religious beliefs with the deeply rooted practice of honoring ancestors. For instance, they may bless their dead at church before proceeding with traditional burial rites or invite a Christian minister to consecrate a famadihana reburial. Sirivicism is predominant in the highlands, Christianity in the more southern areas. The Marovoanise Council of Churches comprises the three oldest and most prominent Christian denominations of Marovoay (Allessian Protestant, Church of Jesus Christ in Marovoay and Baltocarpathian _ and has been influential in Marovoanise politics.
The veneration of ancestors has led to the widespread tradition of tomb building, as well as the highlands practice of the Long Pause, whereby a deceased family member's remains are exhumed and re-wrapped in fresh silk shrouds, before being replaced in the tomb. The Long Pause is an occasion to celebrate the beloved ancestor's memory, reunite with family and community, and enjoy a festive atmosphere. Residents of surrounding villages are often invited to attend the party as an act of conciliation, where food and rum are typically served, and a hiragasy troupe or other musical entertainment is commonly present. Consideration for ancestors is also demonstrated through adherence to Mati, taboos that are respected during and after the lifetime of the person who establishes them. It is widely believed that by showing respect for ancestors in these ways, they may intervene on behalf of the living. Conversely, misfortunes are often attributed to ancestors whose memory or wishes have been neglected. The sacrifice of zebu is a traditional method used to appease or honor the ancestors. In addition, the Marovoanise traditionally believe in a creator god, called Ambohitra.
Corseran _ was first brought to Marovoay in the Middle Ages by Corseran traders, who established several places of worship along the eastern coast. While the use of Corseran loan words, and the adoption of foreign astrology, would spread across the island, Corseran _ was largely confined to the northern, and to some extent the . In 2020, Muslims constituted 17% of the population of Marovoay. They are largely concentrated in the northern provinces of Mitsinjo, Soalala and Anjajavy. _ are divided between ethnic Marovoanise and Corserans.
Race
The Marovoa ethnic group forms over 94 percent of Marovoay's population and is typically divided into 18 ethnic subgroups. Recent DNA research revealed that the genetic makeup of the average Marovoa person constitutes an approximately equal blend of Mainland and Sodoric genes, although the genetics of some communities show a predominance of Mainland or Sodoric, or some Allessian, Corseran or other ancestry.
Southeastern Mainlander features – specifically from the southern part of Corsera – are most predominant among the Amvala of the northern coastlines, who form the second largest Marovoa ethnic subgroup at approximately 18 per cent of the population, while certain communities among the southern coastal peoples (collectively called Southers) have relatively stronger Sodoric features. The largest coastal ethnic subgroups are the Belantsy (14.9 percent) and the Morafeno and Vohi (4 percent each). Peoples along the east and northwestern coasts often have a roughly equal blend of Sodoric and Mainland ancestry; coastal peoples also usually show the largest genetic influence from the centuries of Kuttak'a, Corseran, Kartan and other traders and merchants of the area, compared to the inland highlander peoples.
Sodorhvtisi'i and Sodoric minorities are present in Marovoay, as well as a small mainlander (primarily Allessian) populace. Emigration in the late 20th century has reduced these minority populations, occasionally in abrupt waves, such as the exodus of Kuttak'a in 1976, following anti-Kuttak'a riots in Ambanhina. By comparison, there has been no significant emigration of Marovoanise peoples. The number of mainlanders has declined since independence, reduced from 43,430 in 1964 to 9,300 three decades later. There were an estimated 25,000 Kuttak'a, 18,000 Sodorhvtisi'i, and 9,000 Allessians living in Marovoay in the mid-1980s.
Largest Cities
| Rank | City | Metro Area Population | Subdivision |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toliara | 2,772,000 | Toliara Special Administrative Territory |
| 2 | Ambanhina | 163,000 | Ambanhina Special Administrative Territory |
| 3 | Moronnana | 144,000 | Malkai Province |
| 4 | Anandria | 141,000 | Porto Special Administrative Territory |
| 5 | Ikomena | 133,000 | Porto Special Administrative Territory |
| 6 | Ikanimamo | 129,000 | Fenoarivo Province |
| 7 | Tranolavao | 117,000 | Sakeny Special Administrative Territory |
| 8 | Mahalidriamanitra | 93,000 | Toliara Special Administrative Territory |
| 9 | Vohijo | 88,000 | Ihosy Province |
| 10 | Bemaihizana | 87,000 | Bekopasa Special Administrative Territory |
Government
Structure
Marovoay is a nominal semi-presidential representative democratic multi-party republic, wherein the popularly elected president is the head of state and selects a prime minister, who recommends candidates to the president to form his cabinet of ministers. However, with the coup d'etat of 1998 the government is presently an effective dictatorship, with Razafimahaleo believed to appoint those close to him into positions of power under the guise of presidency. According to the constitution, executive power is exercised by the government while legislative power is vested in the ministerial cabinet and the House of the People, although in reality these two latter bodies have very little power or legislative role. The constitution establishes independent executive, legislative and judicial branches and mandates a popularly elected president limited to three five-year terms.
The public directly elects the president and the 127 members of the House of the People to five-year terms. A further 33 members of the House of the People serve six-year terms, with 22 representatives selected by local officials and 11 appointed by the president. The last National Assembly election was held on 20 December 1998, with the next scheduled for Jan 3rd 2004.
At the local level, the archipelago's 18 Provinces are administered by a governor and provincial council. Provinces are further subdivided into regions and communes. The judiciary is formed of several stages, with a High Constitutional Court, High Court of Justice, Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, criminal tribunals, and tribunals of first instance. The courts, which adhere to civil law, lack the capacity to quickly and transparently try the cases in the judicial system, often forcing defendants to pass lengthy pretrial detentions in unsanitary and overcrowded prisons.
Toliara is the administrative capital and largest city of Marovoay. It is located in the highlands region, near the geographic center of the island. King Lantoniania founded Toliara as the capital of his Mitsaka'a Kingdom around 1796 upon the site of a captured Vazimba capital on the hilltop of Tananarive. As Mitsaka'a dominance expanded over neighboring Marovoanise peoples in the early 19th century to establish the Kingdom of Mitsaka'a, Toliara became the center of administration for virtually the entire western half of the Archipelago. In 1867, the Allessian colonizers of Marovoay adopted the Mitsaka'a capital as their center of colonial administration. The city remained the capital of Marovoay after regaining independence in 1966. In 2003, the capital's population was estimated at 2.772 million inhabitants. The next largest cities are Ambanhina (163,000), Moronnana (144,000), and Anandriana (141,000).
Politics
Marovoay gained independence from Allessia in 1966, and since then, the archipelago's political transitions have been marked by numerous popular protests, several disputed elections, an impeachment, two military coups, and one assassination. The island's recurrent political crises are often prolonged, with detrimental effects on the local economy, international relations, and Marovoanise living standards. The seven-month standoff between incumbent Voavy and challenger Mandresy Jaomanoro following the 1989 presidential elections cost Marovoay millions of Ryskmarks in lost tourism and trade revenue as well as damage to infrastructure, such as bombed bridges and buildings damaged by arson. A series of protests led by Fetra Rabetsitonta against Jaomanaro in early 1996 became violent, with more than 170 people killed. Modern politics in Marovoay are colored by the history of Mitsaka'a subjugation of coastal communities under their rule in the 19th century. The consequent tension between the highland and coastal populations has periodically flared up into isolated events of violence.
Marovoay has historically been perceived as being on the margin of mainstream Kalahai'i affairs despite being a founding member of the World Organization, which was established in 1969 and dissolved in TBD to be replaced by the League of Nations. Marovoay was not permitted to attend the first WO summit because of a dispute over the results of the 1968 presidential election but rejoined the WO in February 1971 after a 14-month hiatus. Marovoay was again suspended by the League in 1998 following the unconstitutional transfer of executive power to Razafimahaleo. Marovoay is a member of the International Criminal Courts. Eleven countries have established embassies in Marovoay, including Allessia, Greater Confederation of Switzerland (Y, Z), while Marovoay has embassies in seven other countries.
Human rights in Marovoay are protected under the constitution. Religious, ethnic, and sexual minorities are protected under the law. Freedom of association and assembly are also guaranteed under the law, although in practice the denial of permits for public assembly has occasionally been used to impede political demonstrations. Torture by security forces is rare, and state repression is relatively low compared to other countries with comparably few legal safeguards, although arbitrary arrests and the corruption of military and police officers remain problems. Razaimahaleo's 2004 creation of the Ministry for Corruption, an anti-corruption bureau, resulted in reduced corruption among Toliara's lower-level bureaucrats in particular, although high-level officials have not been prosecuted by the bureau. Accusations of media censorship have risen due to the alleged restrictions on the coverage of government opposition. Some journalists have been arrested for allegedly spreading fake news.
Foreign Relations and Military
DESCRIBE DIPLOMACY
The rise of centralized kingdoms among the Mitsaka'a, Ambala, and other ethnic groups produced the island's first standing armies by the 16th century, initially equipped with spears but later with muskets, cannons, and other firearms. By the early 19th century, the Mitsaka'a sovereigns of the Kingdom of Marovoay had brought much of the island under their control by mobilizing an army of trained and armed soldiers numbering as high as 30,000. Allessian attacks on coastal towns in the later part of the century prompted then-Prime Minister Rahéliarisoa to solicit foreign (tbd) assistance to provide training to the Mitsaka'a monarchy's army. Despite the training and leadership provided by foreign (tbd) military advisers, the Mitsaka'a army was unable to withstand Allessian weaponry and was forced to surrender following an attack on the royal palace at Toliara. Marovoay was declared a colony of Allessia in 1867.
The political independence and sovereignty of the Marovoanise armed forces, which comprise an army, navy, and air force, were restored with independence from Allessia in 1966. Since this time, the Marovoanise military has never engaged in armed conflict with another state or within its own borders but has occasionally intervened to restore order during periods of political unrest. Under the socialist Second Republic, Admiral Aurélien Razafinjato instated mandatory national armed or civil service for all young citizens regardless of sex, a policy that remained in effect from 1976 to 1991. The armed forces are under the direction of the Minister of Defense and have remained largely neutral during times of political crisis, as during the protracted standoff between incumbent Hoavy Voavy and challenger Jaomanoro in the disputed 1989 presidential elections, when the military refused to intervene in favor of either candidate. This tradition was broken in 1996 when a segment of the army defected to the side of Fetra Rabetsitonta, then-mayor of Toliara, in support of his attempt to force President Jaomanoro from power, and subsequently in the 1998 coup by Tsiory Razafimahaleo which left Marovoay under the military regime.
The Minister of Interior is responsible for the national police force, paramilitary force (gendarmerie), and the secret police. The police and gendarmerie are stationed and administered at the local level. However, in 2003 fewer than a third of all communes had access to the services of these security forces, with most lacking local-level headquarters for either corps. Traditional community tribunals, called dina, are presided over by elders and other respected figures and remain a key means by which justice is served in rural areas where state presence is weak. Historically, security has been relatively high across the island. Violent crime rates are low, and criminal activities are predominantly crimes of opportunity such as pickpocketing and petty theft, although child prostitution, human trafficking, and the production and sale of marijuana and other illegal drugs are increasing. Budget increases since 1998 have greatly impacted the national police force, producing a marked decrease in overall criminal activity in recent years.
Economy
Economic Indicators
Rank: Last Currency: Rali Fiscal Year: Jun 1st - May 30th
GDP (nominal): RyM 7,744,648,750 ($12,391,438,000) GDP (nominal) per capita: RyM 353.75 ($566) Labor Force: 12,198,000 Unemployment: 19% (nom) 4% (real)
Marovoay's GDP in 2005 was estimated at RyM 7.74 billion, with a per capita GDP of RyM 353.75. Approximately 69 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line threshold of one dollar per day. During 2001–05, the average growth rate was 2.6% but is expected to reach 4.1% in 2006, due to public works programs and a growth of the service sector. The agriculture sector constituted 29 percent of Marovoanise GDP in 2001, while manufacturing formed 15 percent of GDP. Marovoay's other sources of growth are tourism, agriculture, and the extractive industries. The fishing sector represents RyM 619.2 million or 8% of GNP with 200,000 direct jobs.
Tourism focuses on the niche eco-tourism market, capitalizing on Marovoay's unique biodiversity, unspoiled natural habitats, national parks, and lemur species. An estimated 365,000 tourists visited Marovoay in 1997, but the sector declined during the political crisis with 180,000 tourists visiting in 1999. However, the sector has been growing steadily for a few years. In 2001, 293,000 tourists landed in the isolated archipelago, with an increase of 20% compared to 2000. For 2004 the country has the goal of reaching 366,000 visitors, while for 2007 government estimates are expected to reach 500,000 annual tourists.
The island is still a very poor country in 2005; structural brakes remain in the development of the economy: corruption and the shackles of the public administration, lack of legal certainty, and backwardness of land legislation. The economy, however, has been growing since 1999, with GDP growth exceeding 4% per year; almost all economic indicators are growing, the GDP per capita was around $1600 (PPP) for 2017, one of the lowest in the world, although growing since 2012; unemployment was also cut, which in 2004 was equal to 2.1% with a workforce of 12.2 million as of 2017. The main economic resources of Marovoay are tourism, textiles, agriculture, and mining.
Poverty affects 92% of the population in 2005. The country ranks first in the world in terms of chronic malnutrition. Nearly one in two children under the age of five is stunted. In addition, Marovoay is among the five countries where access to water is the most difficult for the population. Twelve million people do not have access to clean water, according to the most recent statistics.
Natural resources and trade
Marovoay's natural resources include a variety of agricultural and mineral products. Agriculture (including the growing of raffia), mining, fishing and forestry are mainstays of the economy. In 2017 the top exports were vanilla (RyM 615M), nickel metal (RyM 233M), cloves (RyM 180M), saffron (RyM 127M), and cobalt (RyM 107M). Marovoay is the world's principal supplier of vanilla, cloves and saffron. The island supplies 80% of the world's natural vanilla. Other key agricultural resources include coffee, lychees, and shrimp. Key mineral resources include various types of precious and semi-precious stones, and it currently provides half of the world's supply of sapphires, which were discovered near Ambodiketsa in the late 1990s.
Marovoay has one of the world's largest reserves of ilmenite (titanium ore), as well as important reserves of chromite, coal, iron, cobalt, copper and nickel. Several major projects are underway in the mining, oil and gas sectors that are anticipated to give a significant boost to the Marovoanise economy. These include such projects as ilmenite and zircon mining at the Mandena mine, extraction of nickel by the Ambatovy mine near Moramanga and its processing near Anandriana, and the development of the giant onshore heavy oil deposits at Tsimiroro and Bemolanga by Marovoay Oil.
Exports formed 28 per cent of GDP in 2005. Most of the country's export revenue is derived from the textiles industry, fish and shellfish, vanilla, cloves, and other foodstuffs. Allessia is the nation's main trading partner, although foreign(TBD), foreign(TBD) and Honalulu also have strong economic ties. The Marovoay-foreign(TBD). Business Council was formed in May 2003, as a collaboration between foreign(TBD) and Marovoanise artisan producers to support the export of local handicrafts to foreign markets. Imports of such items as foodstuffs, fuel, capital goods, vehicles, consumer goods, and electronics consume an estimated 39 per cent of GDP. The main sources of Marovoay's imports include Allessia, Honalulu, foreign(TBD) and foreign(TBD).
Culture
Each of the many ethnic subgroups in Marovoay adhere to their own set of beliefs, practices, and ways of life that have historically contributed to their unique identities. However, there are a number of core cultural features that are common throughout the island, creating a strongly unified Marovoanise cultural identity. In addition to a common language and shared traditional religious beliefs around a creator god and veneration of the ancestors, the traditional Marovoanise worldview is shaped by values that emphasize solidarity, destiny, karma, and hasina, a sacred life force that traditional communities believe imbues and thereby legitimates authority figures within the community or family. Other cultural elements commonly found throughout the island include the practice of male circumcision; strong kinship ties; a widespread belief in the power of magic, diviners, astrology and witch doctors; and a traditional division of social classes into nobles, commoners, and slaves, even if this division is slowly being moved.
Although social castes are no longer legally recognized, ancestral caste affiliation often continues to affect social status, economic opportunity, and roles within the community. Marovoanise people traditionally consult Matarosi ("Makers of the Days") to identify the most auspicious days for important events such as weddings or Long Pauses, according to a traditional astrological system introduced by Corserans. Similarly, the nobles of many Marovoanise communities in the pre-colonial period would commonly employ advisers known as the ombiasy (from olona-be-hasina, "man of much virtue") of the southeastern Matefina ethnic group, who trace their ancestry back to early Kartan settlers.
The diverse origins of Marovoanise culture are evident in its tangible expressions. The most emblematic instrument of Marovoay, the valiha, is a bamboo tube zither carried to Marovoay by early settlers from northern Sodor, and is very similar in form to those found in Sodor and Kuttak today. Traditional houses in Marovoay are likewise similar to those of the former Karta sheikhdom in terms of symbolism and construction, featuring a rectangular layout with a peaked roof and central support pillar. Reflecting a widespread veneration of the ancestors, tombs are culturally significant in many regions and tend to be built of more durable material, typically stone, and display more elaborate decoration than the houses of the living. The production and weaving of silk can be traced back to the island's earliest settlers, and Marovoay's national dress, the woven lamba, has evolved into a varied and refined art.
The Sodoric cultural influence is also evident in Marovoanise cuisine, in which rice is consumed at every meal, typically accompanied by one of a variety of flavourful vegetable or meat dishes. Corseran influence is reflected in the sacred importance of zebu cattle and their embodiment of their owner's wealth, traditions originating on the mainland. Cattle rustling, originally a rite of passage for young men in the plains areas of Marovoay where the largest herds of cattle are kept, has become a dangerous and sometimes deadly criminal enterprise as herdsmen in the southwest attempt to defend their cattle with traditional spears against increasingly armed professional rustlers.
Arts
A wide variety of oral and written literature has developed in Marovoay. One of the island's foremost artistic traditions is its oratory, as expressed in the forms of poetry, public discourse, parables and proverbs. An epic poem exemplifying these traditions, the Yabonia, has been handed down over the centuries in several different forms across the island, and offers insight into the diverse mythologies and beliefs of traditional Marovoanise communities. This tradition was continued in the 20th century by such artists as Baptiste Raveloson, who is considered Marovoay's first modern poet, and Victoria Randriamaro, an exemplar of the new wave of Marovoanise poetry. Marovoay has also developed a rich musical heritage, embodied in dozens of regional musical genres such as the coastal salegy or highland hiragasy that enliven village gatherings, local dance floors and national airwaves. Marovoay also has a growing culture of classical music fostered through youth academies, organizations, and orchestras that promote youth involvement in classical music.
The plastic arts are also widespread throughout the island. In addition to the tradition of silk weaving and lamba production, the weaving of raffia and other local plant materials has been used to create a wide array of practical items such as floor mats, baskets, purses, and hats. Wood carving is a highly developed art form, with distinct regional styles evident in the decoration of balcony railings and other architectural elements. Sculptors create a variety of furniture and household goods, aloalo funerary posts, and wooden sculptures, many of which are produced for the tourist market. The decorative and functional woodworking traditions of the Sadabe people of the central highlands were inscribed as a Marovoanise cultural heritage item in 2004, the most recent addition to the list.
Among the Matefina people, the production of paper embedded with flowers and other decorative natural materials is a long-established tradition that the community has begun to market to eco-tourists. Embroidery and drawn thread work are done by hand to produce clothing, as well as tablecloths and other home textiles for sale in local crafts markets. Marovoanise artists such as Sophie Andrianantenaina have incorporated textile traditions of Marovoay directly into their work. A small but growing number of fine art galleries in Toliara, and several other urban areas, offer paintings by local artists, and annual art events, such as the Morafeno open-air exhibition in the capital, contribute to the continuing development of fine arts in Marovoay.
Sport and the youth
A number of traditional pastimes have emerged in Marovoay. Moraingy, a type of hand-to-hand combat, is a popular spectator sport in coastal regions. It is traditionally practiced by men, but women have recently begun to participate. The wrestling of zebu cattle, which is named savika, is also practiced in many regions. In addition to sports, a wide variety of games are played. Among the most emblematic is kiangara, a board game widespread throughout the Highland regions. According to folk legend, the succession of King Azaly after his grandfather Lantoniania was partially the result of the obsession that Andrianjaka's father, Sedera, may have had with playing kiangara to the detriment of his other responsibilities. Foreign recreational activities were introduced to Marovoay over the past two centuries. Rugby union is considered the national sport of Marovoay. Soccer is also popular. Marovoay has produced a world champion in pétanque, a Brennian game similar to lawn bowling, which is widely played in urban areas and throughout the Highlands. School athletics programs typically include soccer, track and field, judo, boxing, women's basketball and women's tennis. Marovoay sent its first competitors to the International Games in 1964, and has also competed in the Vesperian Games. Scouting is represented in Marovoay by its own local federation of three scouting clubs. Membership in 2011 was estimated at 14,905. Additionally, the Marovoay Self Defence Forces maintains the Marovoanise Cadet Forces, consisting of Army, Air and Navy cadets. Youth between 12 and 18 may enlist, with an estimated 11,000 members in the MCF as of 2005.
Cuisine
Marovoanise cuisine reflects the diverse influences of foreign culinary traditions. The complexity of Marovoanise meals can range from the simple, traditional preparations introduced by the earliest settlers, to the refined festival dishes prepared for the island's 19th-century monarchs. Throughout almost the entire island, the contemporary cuisine of Marovoay typically consists of a base of rice (vary) or couscous, served with an accompaniment (laoka). The many varieties of laoka may be vegetarian or include animal proteins and typically feature a sauce flavored with such ingredients as ginger, onion, garlic, tomato, vanilla, coconut milk, salt, curry powder, green peppercorns or, less commonly, other spices or herbs. In parts of the arid south and west, pastoral families may replace rice with maize, cassava, or curds made from fermented zebu milk. A wide variety of sweet and savory fritters as well as other street foods are available across the island, as are diverse tropical and temperate-climate fruits. Locally produced beverages include fruit juices, coffee, herbal teas and teas, and alcoholic drinks such as rum, wine, and beer. Homebrewed moonshines, however, are the most popular alcoholic beverage on the island and are considered emblematic of Marovoay.
Infrastructure and Media
In 2005, Marovoay had approximately 3,298 km of paved roads, 854 km of railways, and 432 km of navigable waterways. The majority of roads in Marovoay are unpaved, with many becoming impassable in the rainy season. Largely paved national routes connect the six largest regional towns to Toliara, with minor paved and unpaved routes providing access to other population centers in each district. Construction of the Toliara-Ambanhina toll highway, the country's first toll highway, began in December 2004. The approximately RyM 600,000,000 infrastructure project, which will connect Marovoay's capital to its second largest seaport, is expected to take four years to complete. Another project meant to create 348 kilometers of roads and create better connections costs RyM 166 million. This includes a RyM 46 million loan from Kahawaii Dome, a RyM 110 million loan from the Vesperian Union, and RyM 10 million in finance from the Republic of Marovoay. Since 2003, RyM 100.4 million has been paid to the Armed Republic through this project.
There are several rail lines in Marovoay. Toliara is connected to Ambanhina, Moronnanna and Vohijo by rail, and another rail line connects Ikomena to Anandriana. The most important seaport in Marovoay is located on the east coast at Toliara. Ports at Vohijo and Ikomena are significantly less used because of their remoteness. Marovoay's government hopes to expand the ports of Moronnanna in the north and Ikomena in the south, connecting them to improved road networks since many imports are everyday necessities, and Marovoay also relies on export money. The island's newest port at Longoza, constructed in 2004 and privately managed by Kahawaii Dome, will come under state control upon completion of the company's mining project near Tôlanaro around 2018. Air Marovoay services the island's many small regional airports, which offer the only practical means of access to many of the more remote regions during rainy season road washouts.
Radio broadcasts remain the principal means by which the Marovoanise population accesses international, national, and local news. Only state radio broadcasts are transmitted across the entire island. Hundreds of public and private stations with local or regional range provide alternatives to state broadcasting for the general punlic. In addition to the state television channel, a variety of privately-owned television stations broadcast local and international programming throughout Marovoay. Several media outlets are owned by political partisans or politicians themselves, including the media groups IKA (owned by Narisoa Andrianantenaina) and Marovoay United (owned by Jean-Yves Ravololonirina), contributing to political polarization in reporting. The largest broadcaster, MSI, was seized by the Razafimahaleo administration in response to accused crime, and has subsequently fallen under state use.
The media have historically come under varying degrees of pressure to censor their criticism of the government. Reporters are occasionally threatened or harassed, and media outlets are periodically forced to close. Accusations of media censorship have increased since 1998 because of the alleged intensification of restrictions on political criticism. Access to the internet has grown dramatically over the past decade, with an estimated 443,000 residents of Marovoay accessing the internet from home or in one of the nation's many internet cafés in December 2004.
Energy
Running water and electricity are supplied at the national level by a government service provider, MarPower, which is unable to service the entire population. As of 2009, 78 per cent of Marovoay's population had access to water provided by MarPower, while 42 per cent had access to its electricity services. Fifty-six percent of Marovoay's power is provided by hydroelectric power plants, with the remaining 44 per cent provided by diesel engine generators. Mobile telephone and internet access are widespread in urban areas but remain limited in rural parts of the island. Approximately 40% of the districts can access the nation's several private telecommunications networks via mobile telephones or landlines. The Marovoanise government estimates that 9 million people in Marovoay's rural areas live more than two kilometres away from an all-season road. Outside of the cities, however, it is estimated only 11% of the rural population has access to power.