Merina People of Madagascar: Culture, Highlands and Travel Customs

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The Merina are the political and cultural pivot of modern Madagascar. Understanding their highland landscape, social structure, and ancestral practices is the foundation for understanding the country as a whole — every traveller who lands at Ivato airport begins their Madagascar experience in Imerina, whether they recognise it or not.

Merina Identity and Historical Importance

The Merina represent approximately 26% of Madagascar’s population — the largest single ethnic group and historically the most politically dominant. Their language dialect became the basis of standardised official Malagasy, taught nationwide in schools, which is why a Merina speaker from Antananarivo can communicate effectively in every region of the country while the reverse is not always true. The 19th-century Merina Kingdom under King Andrianampoinimerina and his son Radama I unified most of Madagascar into a single state for the first time, establishing diplomatic and trade relations with Britain that introduced literacy, Christianity, and modern administration to the island.

Traditional Merina society was divided into three broad social classes: the andriana (nobility), the hova (free commoners), and the mainty (descendants of formerly enslaved populations). While the formal class system was abolished, these distinctions still subtly influence marriages, social circles, and political alliances in some communities — a layer of social geography that is invisible to most foreign visitors but heavily affects how Malagasy people read each other.

Rice, Terraces and the Imerina Landscape

Rice (vary) is not merely the staple food of Merina culture — it is the spiritual centre. The Malagasy phrase Efa nihinam-bary ve? (have you eaten rice today?) functions as a greeting equivalent to asking how someone is. The Imerina plateau is sculpted into terraced rice fields (tanimbary) that climb the hillsides around Antananarivo and Antsirabe. These terraces are individually owned, communally irrigated, and have been continuously cultivated for centuries — some plots are inherited through twelve or more generations.

The seasonal rhythm of rice cultivation still governs village life across the highlands. Planting begins in October–November with the first rains; harvesting peaks in April–May. Walking through Imerina villages during the green season (December–March), you’ll see communities mobilised for collective transplanting work that exchanges labour across families. Offerings of rice at Famadihana ceremonies and other ancestral rituals reinforce its sacred dimension — rice connects the living, the dead, and the land.

Merina Customs Every Traveler Should Know

Beyond the rules already covered in our broader guide to Malagasy architecture (the northeast-corner ancestor rule, doors facing east), several Merina-specific customs catch travellers off-guard. Never hand any object — money, a glass, a gift, a passport — to an elder using only your left hand. Use both hands together, or the right hand alone. The left hand is associated with hygiene tasks and using it alone signals disrespect. Never step over someone sitting or lying on the ground; walk around them.

In rural highland communities, sit lower than the village elder during conversations. If you visit a Merina family home, expect to be offered rice — refusing it without a culturally accepted reason is mildly offensive. A small gift of fruit, bread, or imported chocolate when visiting a family is appreciated and expected. Modest clothing is the norm in highland villages — bare shoulders or short shorts read as urban or foreign and create distance. The men’s wraparound lamba is still worn ceremonially in older communities and at funerals.

Visiting Merina Country

Antananarivo is the obvious starting point. The Haute-Ville historic quarter on the hill above the city centre preserves the densest concentration of traditional Merina architecture in active use. The Rova (royal palace complex) sits at the top of the same hill — partially restored after a 1995 fire. Ambohimanga, a UNESCO World Heritage site 25 kilometres north of the city, was the spiritual capital of the Merina kingdom and remains an active sacred site. Lemur Park, 22 kilometres southwest, offers an introduction to Madagascar’s wildlife in a half-day trip.

Antsirabe, three hours south on the RN7, is the second-largest Merina town and a centre of pousse-pousse rickshaw culture, thermal springs, and gemstone trading. The country’s elaborate family tombs are visible from the highway throughout this corridor — they outsize the houses in many villages, reflecting the cultural priority of the dead. Book your Antananarivo base early during dry-season travel: search Antananarivo hotels on Agoda. After Tana, continuing south puts you in Betsileo country — the cultural sibling of the Merina.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What percentage of Madagascar is Merina?

Approximately 26% of Madagascar’s roughly 30 million people identify as Merina — making them the largest single ethnic group. Their dialect of Malagasy became the basis of the official national language taught in schools, which is why standard Malagasy is intelligible to all regions but originally rooted in Imerina.

Where is the best place to experience traditional Merina culture?

Ambohimanga, the UNESCO-listed former spiritual capital 25 km north of Antananarivo, is the most concentrated traditional site. The Haute-Ville historic quarter of Antananarivo and the rural areas around Antsirabe also preserve active Merina cultural practice. For Famadihana season (June–September), book through a reputable Antananarivo cultural tour operator.

Are Merina social classes still relevant today?

Formally no — the andriana, hova, and mainty class distinctions were abolished. In practice, they still subtly influence some marriage choices and social networks in conservative families. Foreign visitors will rarely encounter this directly, but it remains part of how Merina society reads itself internally.

The Merina world is the on-ramp to all of Madagascar. Time spent understanding Imerina — the rice terraces, the tomb architecture, the social etiquette — pays back across every other region you visit afterwards. Base yourself in Antananarivo for at least three nights, take a day trip to Ambohimanga, and let the highlands set your reference point before heading south or west. Before flying, make sure your insurance covers Madagascar medical evacuation — costs reach $80,000. Get covered with SafetyWing before you fly — plans start from $1.82 per day.