Taken from: Taken from: Madagascar, Comores et Mascareignes à travers la Hawiya d'Ibn Magid (866 H. /1462). Par François VIRE et Jean-Claude HEBERT.

 

According to the heading given (ENE = 67° 30'), the reverse course angle, from Reunion, would place this bandar Abya or Abaya, in orthodromy, at the latitude of Farafangana, but we cannot rely on this calculation in reverse, given the uncertainty that remains about Tiri-Raga and its position. Tibbetts who does not read the name agrees with Tomaschek; this one interprets the toponym as Wabaya, bringing it closer to Turabaya (= Turubaya - Fort Dauphin) by the ending -baya. This toponym offers multiple forms through relations and old maps; we thus find Turubaya (Barros, 1508), Turimbaya (Marmol, 1565), Torombaia (Thevet, 1575), Tumibaia (Belleforest, 1575), Torombaja (Megiser, 1609), then Tarobay, Turobaya, Turubaia, Torobaia, Turunbaia, Torunbaya , Torambai, Toranbai, Toraby .… (see A. Kammerer, The discovery of Madagascar … final folding table). According to the chronicle, the "kingdom" of Turumbaya took the name of its founder, a captain from Gouzerat or Java who was shipwrecked in these parts. For our part, we would see Abya further north and we would be tempted to compare it to the old Manayba / Monayba / Manajba of the portulans, which became Maïba on the maps of the 17th century and alternated with Aviboul (Aboboula at Gastaldo, 1567; Ababoda at Porcacchi, 1572). Kammerer identifies Manayba with a locality situated at the mouth of a Manatsimba river (?) at 23° 8, whereas there is nothing of the sort at this latitude; Lopary on the Mananivo River is lower, at 23° 15', and the wide Mananara Estuary, with Vangaindrano, five minutes further south. Finally, all these proposals remain within the domain of the hypothesis.

The exact place of Bandar Abyah is unknown but southwest of Taolagnaro (Fort Dauphin) many sites were discovered with medieval imported ceramics. These places are: Efangitse which is inland. And on the coast: Ambinanibe; Tsiandrora. All are close together.

 

Efangitse

 

Taken from: The Evolution of Settlement Systems in the Efaho River Valley by HT Wright · 1993

 

Also, the site of Efangitse, traditional capital of one of the southern Anosy chiefdoms, produced both the 15th-17th century ceramics of Tranovato and the 18th and 19th century ceramics of Ehoala. Several other kinds of ceramics were found, but though we suspected they might be earlier we had no way of dating them.

The Tranovato Phase Ceramics .

The pottery of Efangitse, parallels examples from Tranovato (Vérin and Heurtebize 1974), which was the first site to be reported and gives its name to the phase. Three wares occur.

-Vessels of fine ware have body colours ranging from dark brown to very dark gray. The most common vessel shape is a carinated bowl with thickened lip. Also common in fine ware are basins with heavy thickened rims.

- Coarse ware vessels of this ware have body colours varying from brown to dark gray. The most common vessel shape is a very restricted jar without a neck.

- Micaceous ware, with 10-30% coarse mica particles, is uncommon.

 

The north sector of the important later centre of Efangitse, in the middle Efaho valley, also produced sherds with incised decoration, appliqué, and lip forms of Ambinanibé type which indicates a limited utilization in the river terraces.

 

Also Ming celadon and blue-and-white porcelain, dated 16th to 18th centuries AD. Also found at Efangitse were pieces of iron slag, spindle whorls, a fragment of potsherd ground into a disc, a gunflint and glass beads. Shards of chlorite schist reveal links with the east coast.

Taken from: L'ancienne métallurgie du fer à Madagascar - Chantal Radimilahy · 1988

 

At the fortified site of Efangitse in the lower Fanjahira Valley, iron slag was also discovered as well as a circular ingot bottom. This site could date back to the 15th - 16th century given the remains concealed.

 

Tsiandrora

 

Taken from: The Evolution of Settlement Systems in the Efaho River Valley by HT Wright · 1993

 

Tsiandrora, is on the sand dunes between the estuary of Andriambe and the channels of the Efaho itself, about 6 km westwards of Ambinanibe. It is possible to grow tubers on the old dunes, and rice can be cultivated along the Efaho. The site is marked by a scatter of marine shell and potsherds of Ambinanibe type over about 1.5 ha. The uppermost 80 cm in the excavations produced many ceramics of Ambinanibé type (14th to 15th centuries), with only small and weathered sherds of Maliovola (11th to 13th centuries).

 

Imported Chinese celadons examined by both Pierre Vérin and Audrey MacBain can be dated from the 13th to 15th centuries. One local plate rim may be a copy of a celadon form. In addition to ceramics, a few other items occurred on these sites. Tsiandrora produced iron slag, coral abraders, and cut chlorite-schist fragments. These last must have been imported from the north.

 

Taken from: Madagascar: The Development of Trading Ports and the Interior. Philippe Beaujard 2019.

 

A shard of sgraffiato ware from western Asia has purportedly been found (hardly recognizable) at Tsiandrora (Rakotoarisoa 1998: 56).

Local imitations of celadon bowls have been unearthed at Ambinanibe, Tsiandrora, and Efangitse.

 

Analapasy

 

This is the most eastern pre-Islamic Swahili settlement like Enijo is one. No foreign imports were found in the place.

 

Taken from: Les apports culturels et la contribution africaine au peuplement de Madagascar Pierre Vérin.

 

The Swahili of the archaic settlements.

They settled first in the far north and in the northwest. They are found as early as the ninth century at Irodo and in the twelfth century in the bay of Ampasindava, at Mahilaka and in the Ambariotelo islands. Their culture presents many analogies with that known on the eastern coast of Africa between the Lamou and Kiloa islands. The tight grip by a dynasty of Hadrami origin on trade at the turn of the fourteenth century is also felt in Madagascar.

The founders of these establishments had a stimulating role for the migrations of non-Islamized Bantu which began at this time and continued until the dawn of the historical period.

The ancient coastal civilizations of fishermen in the west and south:

Their favorite territory is located on the maritime fringe which goes from the mouth of the Betsiboka to the extreme south of Madagascar passing on the west coast by Maintirano, Lamboarana , Sarodrano, Bevoalavo (=Enijo), Talaky, Analapasy. Although this migration certainly dates back to a time contemporary with that of the archaic Swahili settlements, no sites of this culture prior to the twelfth century have so far been discovered.

The way of life of these populations, which was not without analogy with that of the present-day Antavelo and Vezo, depended very largely on fishing and the consumption of shellfish. Iron objects and combed pottery are very abundant in the sites. From these coastal installations, the settlement of the interior took place.

End of the Middle-Ages View of the Portuguese.

Taken from : Le Portugal et le Madagascar pendant le règne de D. Manuel Ier (1495-1521)

Auteur : Manuel Alberto Carvalho Vicente 2014.

Diogo Lopes de Sequeira : lettre, écrite à Turubaya et datée du 19 août 1508, au très magnifique Seigneur Jorge d’Aguiar, capitaine-major d’Arabie et de Perse.

 

Sir,

After the departure of Duarte de Lemos, as [he] had to report to your lordship, one night I saw this island of Saint Lawrence thirty or forty leagues west of Cape Saint Mary and running along the coast towards the cape, complying with the instructions [given] by the king, I happened to find Tristão [da Silva] who was bringing two blacks that he had taken from . . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . . .which he gave me as well as news of this island – which I already knew – and others [that I learned] once I arrived at the cape, to do what the king had asked, I found a lot of land of poor quality, without water and populated by wild people, without any good thing.

……………………….

Having passed this cape of thirty leagues, at the entrance of some mountains, I immediately began to see fires and large signals of the populations, and we launched the boats. An Almadia came towards me in which was a Christian who had remained on this island at the time when Tristão da Cunha had come [to explore it].

[He had come to the island] with the ship Judia of which João Gomes de Abreu was captain. With this Christian, four sons of the king arrived at an island where I went to speak to them. …………………..

This is what I learned from them and from the Christian: this kingdom is called Turubaia, and there is a very old house there made of stone and lime; there is no other on this earth and there is no one who could make [one like it]. It is in the middle of the woods on an island formed by the river. These same men of Turubaya are whiter than those of the whole land [farm] and the women are very white; [these people] say they came from another country to settle here and they remained in this caste, in this land where there are supposedly Moorish books illuminated with gold, but which no one knows how to read as well as a large book of inventory of all the things that can exist there as well as the people who populated this place; I only learned of the existence of this one after my departure. There are some porcelains and four or five chains of small pearls that date from the same period. They believe in Mohammed but their belief is so weak that it seems to me that with some other [preferable] [teaching] they would be converted to Christ. They are good people who only take one wife. Children inherit [the goods] of their parents. I was received by them where they had seen me, and received as if I were their lord. ………………….

 

The [productions] that there are [. . .] and that can be purchased are the following: a little silver, which is not a natural product of the country but comes from other people who come to exchange it for cows, and also a little gold like ‘frolym’ and a lot of wax. The ginger that exists in this kingdom is only intended for consumption. This kingdom is said to have an extent of twenty leagues on the coast and one finds there a lot of cotton fabrics. This man who came [on board] was certain that there was no clove at all, neither of bad nor of good quality, nor the benzoin that the blacks said was found there. There is nothing [of this] in the three kingdoms he crossed and in the other one located further forward which is the one where Tristão da Cunha had taken the blacks sent to Portugal on his account; [these three kingdoms] are close to this one. I returned in [bad] weather to this cape where I found this boat, and this storm was the strongest that I saw during this voyage on returning from making my route, I met [this boat] by chance. I hope, with the help of the Lord, to join Your Grace soon. I am in good health and may God be praised! If I do not abuse [your trust] [. . .], I and the two Christians who have been on this island for a long time [we] will kiss the hands of Your Grace. From this island of Saint-Laurent, August 19. In this land there is a lot of rice, sesame, and cows. Today I am dressed with the cotton fabrics that are found in [this] land. I give this news to your Grace, and I will give the other supplements of information with the help of the Lord.

 

Diogo Lopes de Sequeira

At your service.