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Anganos, anganos … Kabary by Hôtel★★★ Restaurant gourmand Coco Lodge Majunga.

Texts and commentaries from tales and legends of Madagascar, by Rabearison – Trano Printy, 1992.

The master of the House shall pronounce this word of courtesy “kabary” whenever it receives a visitor.
This last answer: “tsy misy kabary”.
kabary means exactly: “What is the purpose of your visit?”
The response, “tsy misy kabary” asserts that the only intention of the newcomer is to visit.

The origin of this custom is vague. Here is a version number of Tsimihety were admitted.
Formerly, you say, Human – thinking animal – and animals – men without knowing – were treated on the same footing by Zanahary Ambonynote. One day yet, God descended on Earth and proclaimed the superiority of the male on the other creatures. Then God went up to heaven.

A week later, a pig died, This seemed normal. One month after a frog starved, Nobody surprised. A goose lost its goslings, a cow her calf, a his boar boar. It is not touched. But a woman also died and this was the confusion. How is it, asked men, that we, who climbed to the highest dignity, We who are so superior to anything that invented God, We also had to die, as for vulgar animals ?

This could be an error. It was necessary to find God to receive new instructions. It therefore sent to the Lord the great rider Kabary.
– What do you want? asked Zanahary Ambony as soon as he entered the Heavenly Palace.
– Death, that you have invented, makes no distinction between animals, our subordinates, and we, their superiors, you just to elevate to the highest rank, He replied.
– Good, said Zanahary Ambony, Here is the remedy.
He delivered a sheet to Kabary. Kabary left the Palace and went to the village. On the way back, He saw a tree big enough and high enough. He proceeded, and for reasons that the legend does not specify, It turned into droviky. The droviky is this bird of low intelligence who doesn't dare to fly high in the sky to night. The droviky have a cry performed by the Tsimihety youth as “tsy hitako” – i.e. “I found nothing”. Kabary, transformed into droviky pushed this cry. The death continued to hit men and Kabary returned more.

The confusion was great. It was therefore necessary to go mass cry unto the Lord. Thirty men were delegated to ask divine favor.
They arrived and God said them: “I submitted the miraculous sheet to your Kabary Envoy.”
Men therefore returned to Earth and parted looking Kabary. Each went to the South, other North, There are some who headed westward and other Eastern.
The separation became eternal and death continues to hit men.

A Tsimihety Patriarch had in a dream these recommendations:
“Task to interpret the meaning of the cry of the droviky and your men shall be saved.”
Pending the issuance time, sparing the drovoky because Kabary haunts their mind.
As for you venerable Hova of Antananarivo, never forget these words of hope “kabary, tompoko” whenever someone enters in your home.

Note Zanahary Ambony : This means “God from on high”. The Tsimitehy are polytheists.
The Zanahary / reign on Earth and Zanahary Ambony would reign in heaven.

Hôtel★★★ Restaurant gourmand Coco Lodge Majunga.