Majestic Madagascar

In case you missed Cedarbrae’s wrap-up event for Black History Month, Tsingory: Dances from Madagascar, here is a summary of what you missed.

A record sized crowd was treated to a lively presentation of the dances of Madagascar, where every dance tells a story about this country's rich heritage. The heady drum beats and celebratory atmosphere was infectious. Attendants got to join in afterward and learn more about the instruments and dance techniques of the Malagasy people.

 

 

To find out more about Tsingory dance, visit their website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not only does Madagascar have a strong dance tradition, it is also a country with a fascinating and vibrant history and culture. It also happens to be one of the most diverse and unique ecosystems on the planet. Below are some great resources if you're interested in finding out more.

Lords and lemurs : mad scientists, kings with spears, and the survival of diversity in Madagascar by Alison Jolly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The return to Treasure Island and the Search for Captain Kidd by Barry Clifford is hard to put down. Did you know that a small island off the coast of Madagascar was the model for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island? Undersea explorer Barry Clifford leads readers through his search for the wreck of the Adventure Galley, Captain Kidd's legendary pirate ship. His team’s search takes them to the exotic nation of Madagascar.

 

 

Madagascar: the land where evolution ran wild - Like BBC’s other acclaimed nature documentaries, this is narrated by David Attenborough. For 65 million years, Madagascar was lost to the world, isolated, undiscovered, and untouched by humans. Left to its own devices it became a hotbed of evolution, resulting in the greatest concentration of unique creatures anywhere on the planet. More than 80% of Madagascar's animals and plants are found nowhere else on Earth.

 

Female Caligula: Ranavalona, the mad queen of Madagascar by Keith Laidler chronicles the life and deeds of Ranavalona I, Queen of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861. As European colonists scrambled for control of Africa, a leader arose in Madagascar who, through ruthless determination, thwarted the combined ambitions of all the major world powers. Unfortunately she had a dark side as well: under Ranavalona's despotic rule, hundreds of thousands of her people, possibly one-half of Madagascar's entire population, were killed, starved or simply worked to death by her express command, while she enjoyed an eccentric and lavish lifestyle.