|
If a child will not play, let him pass on to manhood If a man is tired of amusement, let him join the elders If an elder does not chatter, let him go down to the ancestors If an ancestor will not give blessing, let him rise and unearth the potatoes. |
|
|
 Madagascar is often called the Isle of Ancestors, so great is the influence of the dead upon the living. The Malagasy will not undertake anything without obtaining the agreement of the elders and the blessing of the ancestors. Each individual in the society is known by the name and the group of his ancestors, or razana, who are present in daily life although they are invisible.
|
|
