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• Burial Sites
In Madagascar, funerals are organized differently depending on the region.
According to local customs, the objective is the same, which is that of
honouring the deceased by marking, as solemnly as possible, his passage
to a higher level of the Malagasy social hierarchy: that of becoming an
ancestor.
Fasana
,
tranomanara
,
tembotrano, lolo
and
kibory
are the most commonly
used words for tombs, the protection of which has been the subject of long
discussions with the communities throughout the whole duration of this
study.
Regions affected by Ambatovy have two different types of burial places. In
the Bezanozano area around the mine, tombs are built in plain view on the
hillsides. They stand out from their surroundings by their earthen mounds,
which were used for the older tombs, and the stone or concrete masonry of
the most recent ones. All openings face west.
In the Betsimisaraka areas, cemeteries are built in remote areas and if
possible out of sight, covered by thick vegetation. People living in areas of
widespread deforestation have managed to preserve the intimacy of these
burial places. However, they are easy to locate on aerial photographs. It
is not advisable to visit these sites without a special motive, and certainly
not without the presence of a notable from the community. Unlike in the
Bezanozano area, the bodies are not buried, but lie instead in wooden
coffins in the shape of a canoe. Everything is placed under a shelter and
covered with grass, leaves or corrugated iron.
