In countries that were Westernized in the past (against their will), there’s always been a struggle between the traditions of the culture and the Western culture and ideals that were brought in. One African country that was able to successfully combine those two cultures into one cohesive unit is Madagascar. No, not the movie! The beautiful island country off the continent of Africa.
Madagascar Colours | Mariusz Kluzniak
Madagascar has many different cultures that originally were separate from each other, but came together over time, especially during and after colonization. In fact, Madagascar is one of the few African cultures that didn’t fall into a civil war after decolonization, as no arbitrary lines drawn by Europeans split ethics groups or tribes. There are approximately 18 different ethnic groups in Madagascar. Each group is vastly different, and live very different from each other. But one thing they all have in common; a combination of traditional culture and Western culture into one.
The lamba is one of the more well-known traditional outfits of Madagascar, coming from the Northern tribes. It is rarely worn by men outside of traditional ceremonies, but about half of the women that live there can be found wearing a lamba. The lamba isn’t particularly defined, rising to an insane about of different combinations that you can see people wearing. In general, it’s a piece of cloth wrapped around either the waist or chest, with a matching piece wrapped around the shoulders or head. Many tend to wear Western clothes underneath their lamba.
The patterns and fabrics that make up the outfits of the Malagasy people are their own work of art. These fabrics made them very interesting to visiting Europeans. The high quality and beautiful colors made it a commodity. But to the people of Madagascar, the fabrics they make have a special meaning socially, ethnically, and spiritually. Depending on the tribe group, these meanings can vary.
In the northern region of the Merina Kingdom, the color red determined prestige and authority. With this reference, you can see that depending on where you look, you can find different meanings and styles across the island.
Akotifahana cloth, Merina, Bombyx silk, natural and aniline dyes | Royal Ontario Museum
For this week’s painting, I drew a Malagasy woman wearing a Western shirt and a lamba. Her lamba matches the colors of the flag of Madagascar. Watch the speed paint here!
It is so fascinating to learn about other cultures. Too often we get caught up in the things that go wrong to recognize when something goes right. I think that’s the case with Madagascar here, civil unrest and wars are just more tempting to study than successful integration of cultures. But perhaps we should take better care to learn from Madagascar to see if we could share even a fraction of their success in our own polarized nation. Fantastic painting as usual!