The Merina kingdom is one of the many chiefdoms that existed in Madagascar before the time it became a single kingdom. It was formerly formed by one or more fortified hill-top villages located in the highlands of Madagascar. In the early 17th century, small chiefdoms were unified to form the Merina kingdom. The founder of Merina kingdom, Ralambo, established social and political institutions to forge and reinforce the kingdom. He instituted the council of “sampy” which was formed by the guardians of state amulets that served to strengthen and protect the power of the court. There was also the village council known as “fokonolona”, an administrative system which enabled local nobles and elders to regulate elements of local life such as canals, swamp drainage, trade, and defense. Divine status was bestowed upon ancestral monarchs. Ceremonies such as royal circumcision were implemented. The creation of a new concept of social classes made the Merina kingdom different from others. Merina rulers created a class of noble. These are mainly people that are descendants of Ralambo, and were elevated to a higher caste of nobility. This is due to a religion ideology that was elaborated into a sacred kingship from the Maroseranana (or Maroserana in some literature), a dynasty class of rulers that emerged in the western and southern regions of the island. They also created the caste of artisans, which is a social class that was founded to stimulate industry.

The Merina kingdom created a series of fortification to maintain the control of their territories. They subsisted on trade and agriculture. They drained marshes to create land for rice cultivation. Leaders encouraged people to work in cattle husbandry.

In the late 18th century, the kingdom faced a civil war and was disintegrated into four warring kingdoms. In 1780, one of the descendant of king Ralambo, named Andrianampoinimerina managed to reunite the Merina kingdom after usurping one of the four kingdoms. After the reunification of the Merina kingdom, Andrianampoinimerina had a new vision, a vision of a unified kingdom. He expressed that through his famous word saying “Ny ranomasina no valam-parihiko”, which literally means “the sea is the limit of my rice field”. He was succeeded by his son Radama I, who came to achieve his father’s vision and became the first king of Madagascar.

These are some of the kings that succeeded in the Merina Kingdom:

• Ralambo, the founder of the kingdom. He was also the first king that taught people to eat zebu.

• Andriamanelo, the first king that taught people to forge iron.

• Andrianjaka, the king that changed the name of the Merina capital city Analamanga into Antananarivo.

• Andriamasinavalona, the one that divided his kingdom into four for his four sons.

• Andrianampoinimerina, the king that reunited Merina Kingdom into one and had the vision to unite all the kingdoms in Madagascar into one kingdom.

• Radama I, son of Andrianampoinimerina, who became the first king of Madagascar.

Sources: Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) / metmuseum.org / Francinet RATSIMAHOLY, “Tantaran’ny firenentsika”; Fahagola hatramin’ny taona 2004.