Language

The Betsileo people speak a dialect of Malagasy named the Merina. This language was derived from the Barito language that was spoken in southern Borneo. Everyone in Madagascar speak some sort of dialect of the language Malagasy. The special dialect used by the Betsileo people is very unique to their group. The language only shares 21 letters with the English alphabet. When it comes to writing, it is very different then from how the language is spoken. Actually, Malagasy was not a written language until 1820.
Nowadays, the language is still not practiced a lot through writing. People pass information about history through verbal language more than anything else. Reports have found that 62% of the population is literate to this language. The language is now in a state of development as people are using it more and more to communicate verbally together.


Joshua Project
Betsileo in Madagascar. Electronic Document, http://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/10818/MA,     accessed March 25, 2015.

Encyclopedia Britannica Online
Betsileo People. Electronic Document, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/63532/Betsileo accessed March 25, 2015.

Religion

The Betsileo people of Madagascar are very spiritual people. Although missionaries converted many of the people to Catholic and Protestant beliefs, some still practice their pre-Christian Beliefs. Part of those beliefs incorporates deities, souls, and ancestral spirits. They believe in a creator god Zanahary. Like the Christian belief they also believe in a man-like force called hasina

The Betsileo also take care of the dead through re-burial services called famadihana.  This elaborate ceremony takes place during the agricultural off-season and is usually a large and elaborate service. It is an occasion where the tribe members enter ancestral tombs, remove the corpses and rewrap them. These events are usually large where many people come and watch. After the ceremony there is usually a large celebration where they slaughter an animal and the meat it cooked and eaten.


Countries and Their Cultures
2014 Betsileo- Religion and Expressive Culture. Electronic Document,Accessed March 24, 2015
http://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Betsileo-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html
   

Education

The betsileo are a group of people that are from the southern part of Madagascar. The starting of Education in Madagascar started with the French where they established a public school system

         The education that we are use to learning here in the United States is not nearly the same type of education the Betsileo are taught. Besides the normal school knowledge, many of these people are taught to learn an elderly’s wisdom and learn to respect them which is just as important to learning as part of their education as it is with the basic knowledge. In other words many of these people believed more in the traditional ways of education their kids such as family values from the elders.

    Throughout history, for the betsileo pertaining the higher education was not as emphasized but from 1966 to 1991 there was a huge literacy increase, from 38% to 80%. Between these years the gradual expansion in education increased and allowed many people or students to attain university education.

     As for today, the Betsileo follow the normal educational system which is still divided differently but more up to date than it was back then. Education is mandatory for many of these people from ages six to fourteen. It then leads to the Secondary education lasts for seven years and is divided into two parts: a junior secondary level of four years from ages twelve to fifteen, and a senior secondary level of three years from ages sixteen to eighteen. At the end of the junior level, graduates receive a certificate, and at the end of the senior level, graduates receive the “high school diploma”. With the expansion, many people continue with the college degree as well.


Reference:

1) Colburn, Lisa. N.d. "Countries and Their Cultures." Culture of Madagascar. Accessed March 25, 2015. http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/Madagascar.html.

2) Butler, Rhett. N.d. "The People of Madagascar." The People of Madagascar. Accessed March 25, 2015. http://www.wildmadagascar.org/overview/the_people.html.

Economy

         The people of Betsileo are known for their agriculture. They are skilled farmers whose economy is supported through primarily rice cultivation, which serves as a staple food in Madagascar. Though, this has changed in recent years in which the old economy mainstay was cattle. While some Betsileo still breed and raise cattle, it is primarily used to store wealth as a means of production of rice. Tobacco, another production of the group, is used as a cash crop. On average, the Betsileo expend about 1,700 hours of human labor annually to farm one hectare (~2.5 acres) of rice land, and about 1,400 hours for the average household rice holding. A division of labor by age and gender is marked in the cultivation and preparation of rice. Men usually take on the more difficult tasks while women offer assistance. Women are also responsible for removing the rice husks, cooking and serving.
          Betsileos are also involved in trade and market sales. Cattle are often traded for weapons, such as, muskets, bullets, and gun powder. Market towns in the Central region of Madagascar date as far back to the 19th century. Today products and produce, including beef and bread, are sold at weekly markets held throughout Betsileo country. Market towns usually have market on the same day each week, and a particular village typically have access to at least two such market towns.

1) Countries and their Cultures. Betsileo- Economy. N.d. Electronic Document,http://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Betsileo-Economy.html, accessed March 24 2015

Family and Kinship

The family and kinship of the Betsileo can be characterized by the traditions of both the Eskimos (bilateral descent) and the Omaha (patriarchal descent) systems. Although they put a great emphasis on the nuclear family, they tend to lean towards a more patriarchal society. Farmland and other rights can traced through the father’s lineage and children are linked more to their fathers than to their mothers. The Betsileo also tend to place extra emphasize certain relationships to prove that they descended from someone of great importance. The only instance in which matriarchal lineage is used is in the case of families that descended from slaves. In this instance, the mother assumed all rights belonging to her children so the lineage is traced through the mother.

Dating back to the beginning of the Betsileo culture, polygamy was practiced and men with multiple wives were seen as having a high social class. These men would run large farms and have many children and wives. However, this practice is no longer used in the Betsileo society. When a woman marries a man, the man gives an ox as a gift to the bride’s family. Many of the Betsileo go through arranged marriages, which are decided on by the older women of the family. Only after the bride and groom are married and have their first child does the bride move into the groom’s village. The only exception is if there is an opportunity to gain more land at the bride’s village, in that case, they move to the bride’s village. Whenever a baby is born, a huge ceremony is performed by the men in the father’s village to welcome the baby and mother into the father’s home. Divorce is allowed in this society, but it is very uncommon.

Kottak, Conrad Phillip

   1971 Social Groups and Kinship Calculation Among the Southern Betsileo. Electronic Document, http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/671820.pdf?acceptTC=true, accessed March 24