Merina

• Traditional Culture (1820)
  • Isolation
    Isolation

    Question	Response	Source
    Pre-Austronesian population	Possible: Disputed / ambiguous evidence of human occupation prior to Austronesian settlement	Blench 2007
    Christian influence on supernatural belief	No evidence of influence but in a region where contact is likely (No evidence of Christian influence on supernatural belief, but culture is known to have had (or is likely to have had) contact with Christian societies at or prior to the time focus in question.)	Larson 2000: 49-50
    Hindu / Buddhist influence on supernatural belief	No evidence of influence but in a region where contact is likely (No evidence of Hindu / Buddhist influence on supernatural belief, but culture is likely to have had contact with Hindu or Buddhist societies at or prior to the time focus in question.)	Adelaar 1995
    (Low) contact with other societies (SCCS v 787)	Frequent, through trade, warfare, travel, etc. (e.g. yearly or most years)	Ellis 1838: 121
    Islamic influence on supernatural belief	Evidence of influence (Evidence of Islamic influence on supernatural belief.)	Ellis 1838: 445; Ellis 1838: 2
    Distance to closest landmass inhabited by a different culture (km)	0	Ellis 1838: 114-115, 118
    Distance to nearest continent (km)	619.3	Calculator 2014; Kottak 1971: 133

  • Physical Environment
    Location

    Question	Response	Source
    Longitude of culture’s location (°)	47.5	2014; Larson 2000
    Latitude of culture’s location (°)	-18.9	2014; Larson 2000: 23

    Geographical Range of Culture

    Question	Response	Source
    Number of islands inhabited by culture	One	Larson 2000: 23

    Features of Island with Largest Culture Population

    Question	Response	Source
    Island type (island with largest culture population or largest island if unknown)	Continental island (an island situated on a continental shelf, e.g. Taiwan)	Goodman 2009: 577
    Maximum elevation (meters)	2876	Raxworthy et al. 2008: 1704
    Island Size (km²)	581500	Campbell 2005: 19; Goodman 2009: 577

  • Social Environment
    Social Environment

    Question	Response	Source
    Estimate of culture population size at relevant time focus	750000	Ellis 1838: 114; Larson 2000: xvii, 81
    Importance of Matrilateral descent (V.2)	Medium (Matrilateral descent plays an important role in determining social status and / or group membership, but is not the most important form of descent.)	Bloch 1986: 34-35
    Importance of Patrilateral descent (V.2)	Medium (Patrilateral descent plays an important role in determining social status and / or group membership, but is not the most important form of descent.)	Bloch 1986: 34-35
    Polygamy (SCCS 861)	Limited polygyny (< 20% of married males)	Sibree 1870: 195-196; Ellis 1838: 167-168
    Marital residence (SCCS 69)	Patrilocal or virilocal - with husband's kin	Kottak 1971: 134
    Kinship system (if applicable)	Hawaiian	Kottak 1971: 134
    Estimated population of largest political community	100,000 or more	Campbell 1991; Larson 2000: xvii, 23, 81
    Political Authority	Supralocal (encompasses multiple local groups)	Ellis 1838: 341-346

    Conflict

    Question	Response	Source
    (No) conflict (social or political) within the local community (SCCS v 767)	High (Conflict is frequent and often violent, but is not a pervasive aspect of daily life.)	Bloch 1986: 19; Sibree 1870
    (No) internal warfare (between communities of the same society) (SCCS v 773)	Occasional, at least every generation	Larson 2000: 23-24, 93, 121, 150-151
    (No) external warfare (with other societies) (SCCS v 774)	Common, at least every five years	Larson 2000: 23-24, 74, 93, 100, 217-222

  • Subsistence and Economy
    Subsistence and Economy

    Question	Response	Source
    Metalworking	Present	Ellis 1838: 305-314

    Land-based means of subsistence

    Question	Response	Source
    Animal husbandry as a source of food	Major	Ellis 1838: 45-46, 200-213, 264
    Land-based hunting performed by individuals	Minor	Ellis 1838: 200-213
    Land-based gathering	Medium	Ellis 1838: 200-213
    Land-based hunting performed by one or more groups	Medium	Ellis 1838: 45-46, 200-213, 264
    Agriculture / Horticulture	Principal (more important than any other source of food)	Ellis 1838: 203-204

    Water-based means of subsistence

    Question	Response	Source
    Water-based gathering	Minor	Ellis 1838: 200-213
    Fishing and water-based hunting performed by one or more groups	Minor	Ellis 1838: 200-213, 264, 269
    Fishing and water-based hunting performed by individuals	Medium	Ellis 1838: 200-213, 264, 269

    Commercial Activity

    Question	Response	Source
    Trade / wage labour as a source of food	Medium	Ellis 1838: 51, 57-58, 200-213, 294

• Post Contact History (1820-2014)
  • Religious History
    Conversion

    Question	Response	Source
    Was a foreign religion adopted through a top-down (those high in the social hierarchy converted first, followed by the general population) or a bottom-up (the general population converted first, followed by those high in the social hierarchy) process?	Mixed / Neither (e.g. Both high-status individuals and the general population converted at the same time, or the religion was adopted through a mixture of top-down and bottom-up processes.)	Larson 1997: 971-995; Gow 1981: 229
    Use of force in conversion	Low (most communities adopted the new religion either voluntarily or due to pressure from other communities of the same culture)	Brown 1995: 241-268, 274-275
    Adoption of a world religion	Present and predominant (At one time or another during the post-contact period, at least 75% of the indigenous population practiced a world religion.)	Bloch 1986: 39
    Resident missionary involvement in conversion process	Present, and from non-Austronesian societies (Resident foreign missionaries, at least one of whom was from a non-Austronesian society, played an important role in the conversion process.)	Larson 1997: 971, 993; Campbell 1992: 417

    Syncretic Movements

    Question	Response	Source
    Syncretic religious movements	Present, but did not survive to the present-day	Bloch 1986: 20, 22-23

  • Secular History
    Demographic and Social Changes

    Question	Response	Source
    Replacement-level immigration	Low (Replacement-level immigration occurred. The immigrant culture had a population size more than 10% of that of the indigenous culture at one time or another, but this figure never exceeded 50%.)	Stobenau 2009: 2047
    Language shift	Medium (The indigenous language remained an important means of communication for the duration of the post-contact period, but at one time or another the indigenous population used a non-indigenous language to roughly the same extent.)	Bouwer 2005: 101, 102
    Foreign education systems	High (At one time or another during the post-contact period over 75% of children received some at least a basic non-indigenous education.)	Bloch 1986: 31-32; Agency 2014
    Foreign government systems	Present, and of high importance (At one time or another during the post-contact period the culture was subject to a foreign government system that controlled most important decisions.)	Bloch 1986: 27-30; Ploch 2012: 1-3; Agency 2014

    Economic Changes

    Question	Response	Source
    Changes in means of subsistence	Medium (Principal and major means of subsistence have changed from their indigenous states (e.g. through gain or loss of major and / or principal means of subsistence), but at least one of the major or principal means of subsistance has persisted.)	Ploch 2012: 6
    Exportation of goods to other cultures	Present and substantial (At one time or another during the post-contact period, exports were a primary focus of economic activity for over 10% of the population.)	Agency 2014

    Modern Infrastructure

    Question	Response	Source
    Vehicles and roads	Present and widely used (At one time or another during the post-contact period, motor vehicles were used by a substantial proportion of the population.)	Stobenau 2009: 2047; Barrett 1994: 452; Agency 2014
    Air travel	Present and long-distance (At one time or another, most members of the culture had access to international air travel.)	Peypoch et al. 2011: 1231
    Sea port	Present (At one time or another during the post-contact period most members of the culture had access to a sea port.)	Agency 2009: 146

    Loss of Autonomy

    Question	Response	Source
    Loss of autonomy during postcontact period	High (On at least one occasion during the post-contact period, the culture came under the political dominance of a foreign power, and this event resulted in considerable loss of autonomy.)	Bloch 1986: 27-28
    Nature of loss of autonomy – voluntary vs. forced	Largely involuntary (autonomy was lost largely as a result of external force)	Campbell 2005: 337-339; Bloch 1986: 27-30; Brown 1995: 217-240