1) In Madagascar, there are various rituals surrounding children and death. When a baby has its first haircut (ala-valon-jaza), the child is bathed and family members celebrate with food and games. 2) Ancestors are an important part of Malagasy culture. Bones are periodically removed from tombs and handled lovingly as elders teach children about their ancestors. 3) The Malagasy believe the boundary between life and death is permeable and rituals like famadihana allow the living to communicate with ancestors and seek their guidance. Ancestors are believed to possess magical powers.

1. MadagascarChildren in CultureDeath: Rituals and Beliefs

2. Children in CultureAla-valon-jaza: When the baby’s hair is cut for the first time. Antambahokagrandprents from the south perform the haircutting ceremony. The child is put in a basin and bathed. After the hair cutting, the family then sits to a meal of rice, zebu, milk and honey. Coins are put into a bowl and the older children in the family compete for the most amount of coins.Most children who live in Madagascar help their families raise rice and herd cattle, mainly ox-like mammals, and they measure their wealth by how many cattle they have. Toys for children in Madagascar are far removed from those available to children in more developed countries as they are made from discarded plastic bags, oil-drum lids and pebbles. Due to the child’s capacity and important contribution to the household, they are respected as active social participants in the family.The children’s respect seems to be based on parents’ authority, and the fear of breaking the culturally required rules connected to fàdy(taboo), tsiny(guilt/blame) and tódy(punishment/retaliation) constitutes an obstacle to child-initiated participation.In Madagascar, in the heartland of the ethnic group Antaboque, twins are rejected by their parents at birth, the victims of a tradition from another age. They risk abandonment, infanticide or child trafficking in this country where 85% of the population lives below the poverty line.

3. Children in CultureWithin families of any rank, elders possess greater hasina (life-giving power) young not only by virtue of the maturity and experience , but also because they are perceived as closer to the dead and thus share a pat of their power.In Merina households, each member of the family is expected to eat a meal in turn according to age; the youngest is served last. Family members are seated around the table in an arrangement that reflects age-rank, the father , grandfather occupying the “noble corner” (the northeast). Failure to honor the rank is considered violation of fady. Children who eat before their elders can be severly punished. Wildmadagascar.

4. Children in Culture ComparisonsChildren in the United StatesMalagasy Children

5. Death: Rituals and BeliefsAncestors are periodically taken from their tombs, and once the dancing stops the bundled corpses are put on the ground, family members lovingly run their fingers across the skeletal outline protruding through the shrouds. Bones and dust are moved about in an effort to sustain a human shape. Elders tell children about the importance of those lying before them.