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Home | Ethnic Group | Betsimisaraka
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The Betsimisaraka ("the many inseparables") make up approximately fifteen percent of the Malagasy people and are the second largest ethnic group in Madagascar after the Merina. The Betsimisaraka speak several dialects of the Malagasy language, which is a branch of the Malayo-polynesian language group derived from the Barito languages, spoken in southern Borneo. They occupy a large stretch of the eastern seabord of Madagascar, from Mananjary in the south to Antalaha in the north. Like the Sakalava to the west, the Betsimisaraka are composed of numerous ethnic sub-groups united by historical circumstances under the same denomination. Most Betsimisaraka are of mixed Bantu African and Asian Austronesian descent. |