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ball), vato mizana (scale weights), sotrobe (large ladle), famaky (ax), salasamby (iron grill), fantsika (nail), gadra (prisoner's chains), and lefona (lance). Animals necessary for this rite are on the outer wall of the house, identified by the color of their coat and divided by direction. In the north are ondrysheep of the colors sada mainty (mottled black and white), mara mena (mottled red), sada mena (mottled red and white), mena (red), vanda mainty (spotted), and manja fetsy volo (light brown with a white back); in the east, osygoats with the same colors as the preceding sheep, plus mainty (black); in the south, ondry mainty (black sheep) and omby mainty (black cattle); and in the west, ombycattle with the same colors as the sheep found in the north. And, finally, the black circles nearest the guardians of destiny represent the twenty-eight lunar days. |
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From this sketch we can see that the most critical work for the diviner is to situate the event in question temporally. This temporal orientation may be determined by the event itself (occurring on an auspicious or an inauspicious day) or by the individuals involved in the situation, as, for example, in the case of a husband and wife whose dates of birth revealed conflicting aspects in their destiny (mifanohi-bintana). But it is only through divination and the diagnosis of the ombiasy that the client may discover how to respond to the situation. |
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Vig (1977:1424) and Ruud (1960:3857) recorded the various situations which occur in the twenty-eight lunar houses or days, the kitsary.
14 These records give the results of a diviner's interpretation, with the days' advantages and disadvantages decoded; one can imagine which actions might be taken. But the charts Vig and Ruud constructed, remarkable as they are, constitute ethnological analyses; no ombiasy has such well-ordered charts at his disposal. The Arabico-Malagasy manuals are used by the ombiasy only for reference. The diviner's own interpretation, we must emphasize, remains very significant. |
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Berthier translated several texts containing interpretations of calendars concerning births and illnesses. For a child born in Alohotsy, we read this prediction: "(Boy) Maka, Soleiman, girl, Mary. Fridays are ominous for him. Azohora is contrary for him. Adalo compresses the nape of his neck. . . . There are three auspicious days: Thursday, Monday, Saturday" (Berthier 1933:63). Then comes a list of the auspicious days for those born in other astrological months. About a man who is ill in Alohotsy we read the following advice: "Do not let him be approached either by people coming from far away or by merchants; must refrain from eating red beef and the fruit from the 'badamier' tree" (64). |
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An Arabico-Malagasy manuscript from the Grandidier library, which is kept at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris, indicates that "illnesses are due to ominous actions (mahakeo), which vary according to the days of the month."15 The course of destiny was disturbed and a blunder led to a negative balance. But for present and future actions, people know very well that they must pay attention to destiny and choose with the ombiasy the right time to perform an action or to prevent a situation from happening. In a way, a code on how to manage one's life is established under the control of destiny, which is what the Grandidiers called "the rules which guided the life of the Malagasy." Among those rules is the list of the auspicious days to start an action, to go on a trip, or to start building |
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