"2.- Words specially applied to Elderly Chiefs, that is, those who are too old to have their father and mother still living. When that is the case, there is a considerable change made in the names given to the parts of the body, as well as in certain words describing their actions and their condition. This will be seen by the following list:

Sacred, established, see p. 302.

An adult man (lit. Hova, orny andrian. Hova (see ante), or the prince. 'child of the

dahy

Hova,or ny andriam- Hova, or the princess.

word.

Antitra

Anakandríana

bàvy

house').

Kabéso

Brains (?)
Torcht

Fihainoana
Fandray
Fandia

Mifánjotra

Fifanjorona
Miárina

The listening (or listener)
The taker

Mandry, na Ma. To lie down, to sleep Miròtra

Be sacred, established, etc.

Akory anghareo? How are you?

[It will be seen from the above list that several of the words for the parts of the body—the eye, the ear, the hand, the foot-are simply words describing the actual office of these members, as light-giving, means of hearing, taking, treading, etc. Probably the very general practice of tabooing (making fády) words which form the names or parts of the names of chiefs (which we shall notice again further on) has had influence in producing some of these specialized words.]

*This phrase (the last one overleaf) is customary in public speaking as a mark of respect to the chief's children, when deprecating blame [as is always done in the opening sentences of a kabary].

[Cf. "The light of the body is the eye."]

Sometimes this salutation of the common people is substituted by the phrase: "Akory ny nandríangharéo? a phrase of the same meaning as the one addressed to the chief, only that the ordinary word màndry is here kept instead of the special one mirotra.

"3.-Words specially applied to Chiefs, whether Old or Young.

"The poles on which a chief's corpse is carried to burial are termed hàzomàsina, 'sacred wood;' and the water into which they are cast away after the funeral is called rànoàritra, 'water of endurance' (? àritra, endurance, patience, etc.). When the dead from among the common people are spoken of, the words Raivèlona ('Living father') or Rénivèlona ('Living mother') are prefixed to their names; but in the case of deceased chiefs, the word Zànahàry (God, lit. Creator) is prefixed to their names when they are spoken of; in the same way as the word Rabevoina ("The one overtaken by much calamity' ?, is employed by the Hova in speaking of the departed, or simply, Itòmpokolàhy (Sir,' or 'My lord'), or Itómpokovàvy ('Madam,' or 'My lady').

"These then are the special words used by the Betsileo with regard to their chiefs; but what can be the reason of their giving them such extreme honour? It is this:

"The chiefs of the Betsileo are considered as far above the common people, and are looked upon almost as if they were gods. If anything angers a chief and he curses, the people consider the words he speaks as unalterable and must surely be fulfilled; so the persons whom he may chance to curse are exceedingly afraid and in deep distress. And, on the other hand, if anything pleases him, and he thanks (lit. 'blesses') any one, then those who receive his blessing are exceedingly glad, because they suppose that that also must certainly be fulfilled. For the chiefs are supposed to have power as regards the words they utter, not, however, merely the power which a king possesses, but power like that of God; a power which works of itself on account of its inherent virtue, and not power exerted through soldiers and strong servants. Besides which, when a person is accused by another of having done evil, and he denies it, he is bidden to lick (or kiss) the back of the hand of the chief, or to measure his house,§ and to imprecate evil (on himself)

* [In Hova hòtraka means 'boiling,' but perhaps there is no connection between the two words.]

+ [Scarlet is the royal colour in Madagascar; at the funeral of Radama I. one of the large palaces was draped from the ridge of the roof to the ground with scarlet cloth; the sovereign alone has a large scarlet umbrella carried over her, and dresses in a scarlet lamba or robe.] [See Mr. Richardson's description of Betsilco funeral ceremonies; ANNUAL I. p. 71 (Reprint, p. 74).]

[Measuring the tomb of their master is, I am told, a practice followed by slaves here in Imerina as an invocation of evil on themselves if they have really done something of which they are accused.]

while doing it. In this way, so they say, it is found out whether he really has committed the offence, or not: if he did offend and yet still persists in denying it, then it is believed that the curse which he invoked when licking the hand of the chief, or when measuring his house, will return upon him; if, on the contrary, he is innocent, he will remain unharmed. In like manner also, the chief is supposed to have power which works of itself, on account of his sacred character, to convict of any secret fault. And when the chiefs die, they are supposed to really become God, and to be able to bless their subjects who are still living; and the reverence in which they are held is extreme, for when their name chances to be mentioned, the utmost respect is paid to it both before and after the utterance of it before it, the words Ny Zanahary (God) must be prefixed, and after it the following words are added: "May the mouth strike on the rock, and the teeth flow with blood, for he has gone to be God" (the speaker's mouth and teeth being meant). And when the chief's grave is cleared of weeds and rubbish, the people dare not do that unless they have first killed oxen and made supplication with outstretched hands to the deceased.

"The belief of the Betsileo that their chiefs are so sacred and exalted as here described is therefore the reason of their setting apart so many things specially for them, whether actions or words. It must, however, be said that it is the customs of the northern Betsileo which have mostly been here noted, although probably they do not greatly differ from those in the southern part of the province."

While considering the customs connected with Malagasy royalty and chieftainship, a word or two may be here said about the practice of tabooing-or making fady-the words or parts of words which happen to form the names of chiefs. This appears to be prevalent all over Madagascar, and is a custom the Malagasy have in common with many of the Oceanic races with which they are so closely connected. There are no family names in Madagascar (although there are tribal ones, and although also, one name or part of a name is often seen in a variety of combinations among members of the same family f), and almost every personal name has some distinct meaning, being part of the living and still spoken language, either as names of things-birds, beasts, plants, trees, inanimate objects, or names describing colour, quality, etc., or words which denote actions of various kinds. (There are a few exceptions to this a few names which embody obsolete or obscure words or forms of the verb-but they do not affect the general rule here laid down.) So that the names of the chiefs almost always contain some word which is in common use by the people. In such a case, however, the ordinary word by which such thing or action has hitherto been known must be changed for another, which henceforth takes its place in daily speech. Thus when the Princess Rabòdo became Queen in 1863, at the decease of Radama II., she took a new name, Rasohérina (or, in fuller form, Rasohèrimanjàka).

"Mikapoha amy ny vato ny vava, ary mandehana ra ny nify, fa efa lasan-ko Andriamanitra izy."

Thus, a friend of mine at Ambohimanga who is called Rainizaivèlo, has four daughters named respectively Razaivèlo, Raovélo, Ravèlonòro, and Ranòrovèlo.

Now sohérina is the word for chrysalis, especially for that of the silkworm moth; but having been dignified by being chosen as the royal name, it became sacred (fady) and could no longer be employed for common use; and the chrysalis thenceforth was termed zana-dandy, 'offspring of silk.' So again, if a chief had or took the name of an animal, say of the dog (ambóa), and was known as Ramboa, the animal would be henceforth called by another name, probably a descriptive one, such as fandròaka, i.e. 'the driver away,' or famòvo, 'the barker,' etc.

As far as we can ascertain, this tabooing of words in the names of chiefs seems hardly to have been carried out by the Hova to such an extent as it is, or has been, by the other Malagasy tribes; although possibly this seeming exception is only due to that centralization of authority in Imerina which has been going on for nearly two centuries, and which has gradually diminished the practice, and has thus reduced to a minimum the variety of nomenclature it would otherwise cause. With one sovereign, instead of a great number of petty chiefs or kings, the changes would of course be minute and would leave no great impression on the language. But we can easily conceive what a most annoying confusion and uncertainty would be introduced into a language by a very wide extension of such tabooed words, arising from a multiplicity of chiefs. It is as if we in England had had to avoid, and make substitutes for, all such words as 'geology,' 'geography,' etc., because they formed part of the name of King George; and such words as 'will', 'willing,' 'wilful,' etc., because they were part of the name of King William; or had now to taboo words like 'victory,' 'victim,' etc., because these syllables form part of the name of Queen Victoria. It can hardly be doubted that this custom has done very much to differentiate the various dialects found in Madagascar; and it is a matter for some surprise that there is not a much greater diversity among them than we find to be actually the case. Among the western tribes of the country, on account of the large number of petty but independent and absolute kings, a great deal of change in the spoken language does take place. Mr. Hastie, who was British. Agent at the Court of Radama I., says: "The chieftains of the Sakalava are averse that any name or term should approach in sound either the name of themselves or any part of their family. Hence, when it was determined that the mother of Ratàratsa, who came unexpectedly into the world, should be named Ravahiny [vahiny, a stranger], it was forbidden that the term vahiny should be applied to any other person except herself; and the worth ampainsick was instituted to denominate 'stranger.' From similar causes the names of rivers, places and things have suffered so many changes on the western coast, that frequent confusion occurs; for, after being prohibited by their chieftains from giving to any particular terms the accustomed signification, the natives will not acknowledge to have ever known them in their former sense."

One more point as to Malagasy royal names must conclude this paper. Among the Sakalava the chiefs' names are changed as well as among the Hova, not, however, at their accession to power, but after their death. A new name is then given to them, by which they are ever afterwards * In Dalmond's Vocabulaire Malgache-Francais pour les langues Sakalave et Betsimitsara, p. 5, I find this word thus given: "AMPENTZEK, S. Neuf, nouveau, nouvel arrivé."

known, and it is a crime to utter the name by which they were called when living. These posthumous names all begin with Andrian- (prince) and end with -arivo (a thousand), signifying that such a chief was a 'prince ruling over,' or 'loved by,' or 'feared by, or 'regretted by, thousands' of his subjects. Thus a chief called Raimósa, while living, was termed Andriamandíonarivo after death; another, called at first Mikala, was after death known only as Andríanitsòanarívo. M. Guillain says: "This custom was not confined to the Sakalava; it existed among the different populations of the south of the Island, in Fiherènana, Mahafaly and Androy." Drury also (in whose substantial accuracy I still believe, pace Capt. Oliver) says: "They also invoke the souls of their ancestors and hold them in great veneration; they call them by names which they give them after their death, and even regard it as a crime to mention them by that which they bore when living; and these names are principally characterised by the word arivou, which terminates them."

JAMES SIBREE, JUN. (ED.)

HAVE WE A POSSESSIVE CASE' OR A 'CONSTRUCT STATE' IN MALAGASY?

IN

N teaching the grammatical parsing of Malagasy sentences our pupils are instructed (by our grammars) to ignore altogether one of the regular forms of the language, and to treat, for instance, the phrase "Ny làmban' Andrianaivo" just as if it were written "Ny lamba Andrianaivo." And yet this disregarded inflection is so important that its presence may give a totally different meaning to a sentence in Malagasy. Here are examples: 1 Tsy mèty raha màka ný lamban' Andrianaivo. (It is not right to take Andrianaivo's lamba.) [the lamba,) 1a. Tsy mety raha maka ny lamba Andrianaivo. (It is not right for Andrianaivo to take 2. Misy manimba ny trànon' ny zànakao. (Some one is injuring your children's house.) 2a. Misy manimba ny trano ny zanakao. (Some one of your children is injuring the house.) In the former of the two sentences the subject is understood; I think, however, it will be agreed that this occurs commonly, especially in colloquial Malagasy where a general injunction is given.

No one can mistake the very different meanings of the two sentences in each group; and yet the inflection of the words lamba and trano-the sole difference between the sentences in each pair-is quite ignored in the parsing of these words, although the thing of which it is the sign, and the only sign, is, of course, recognised. In the "Concise Introduction to the Malagasy Language" (Mal.-Eng. Dictionary, p. xl.), this inflection or affix is called a pronoun. Is this a correct description? or is not the ny (or n') rather a euphonic addition for the purpose of more closely connecting the two nouns (viz. the governing noun and the genitive), and thus analogous to the 'construct state' in Hebrew? (Vide Rodiger's Gesenius's Hebrew Grammar, trans. by Dr. Davies; sect. 89, par. 1.) The manner of inflection is different in the two languages, the Hebrew changing the middle of the word, the Malagasy its ending; but with this exception, and omitting, of course, the examples, the paragraph above referred to from Gesenius appears to me to be wholly and thoroughly applicable to the Malagasy language. I venture to hope that this analogy may be recognised, and the 'construct state' find a place in future editions of Malagasy grammars, so that this important inflection of the nouns may no longer be ignored in their parsing.-A. P. PEill,