Malagasy mythology: Zanahary, razana and island spirits
9 spirits documented in the Kunda Codex
Born from the meeting of Austronesian navigators and Bantu populations, the Malagasy tradition is unique. Zanahary, the creator, shares the world with the razana, deified ancestors, while the vazimba haunt springs and hills and tromba spirits still speak through mediums. The entries below document its figures with sources.
SoulallyANDRIAMAHILALA
Hero
Hero Spirit
SoulallyANDRIAMBAHOMANANA
Hero
Hero Spirit
SpiritallyIAMPELAMANANORO
Hero
Hero Spirit
SpiritallyIBONIAMASIBONIAMANORO
Hero
Hero Spirit
SpiritallyNDRIANANAHARY
God
Deity
SpiritallyRAIVATO
Hero
Hero Spirit
SpiritallyRANAKOMBE
Hero
Hero Spirit
SpiritallyRATOVOANTANY
God
Deity
SpiritallyZANAHARY
God
Deity
Frequently asked questions
Who is Zanahary in Malagasy mythology?
Zanahary is the supreme creator deity of the Malagasy tradition, a personification of the sky whose name means the Creator. Often masculine but with many aspects, celestial and earthly, he shapes humanity with the earth god Ratovantany and remains bound to the cult of the ancestors, the razana.
What is famadihana?
Famadihana, the turning of the dead, is the Malagasy rite that keeps the razana, the deified ancestors, present among the living. It expresses the bond between the living and the dead that runs through the whole culture of the island.