Taken from: Flacourt 1658: Histoire de la grande isle Madagascar.

foreword, p. 3

(The Malagasy) having had no communication or commerce with the inhabitants of the mainland of Ethiopia because of ignorance of navigation, have not received the changes in the Laws and Customs which have been introduced there from time to time; but they have only preserved those which were in use in the countries from which they came, which they brought with them when they passed through this island. Those whom I consider to have come there first, are the Zaffe-Hibrahim, or of the lineage of Abraham, inhabiting the island of Sainte-Marie and the neighboring lands, especially since having the custom of circumcision, they have no stain of Mohammedanism, not knowing Mohammed or his Caliphs, and, reputing his followers to be Kaffers and lawless men, do not eat and do not contract any alliance with them. They celebrate and worship the Saturday, but not Friday like the Moors, and have no name similar to those they bear. Which makes me believe that their ancestors passed through this island during the first transmigrations of the Jews or that they descended from the oldest families of the Ishmaelites before the captivity of Babylon, or from those who could have remained in Egypt around the time of the departure of the children of Israel. They have retained the name of Moses, Isaac, Jacob and Noah. Some of them may have come from the coasts of Ethiopia, but the whites named Zaferamini have been coming there for five hundred years and the Zafecasimambou of the Matatanes, who are the writers, have only been there for one hundred and fifty years.

P333

When women give birth on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, they throw the children away and abandon them in the woods, unless there is some woman who takes pity on them and suckles them, as I have seen several who have been fed by others. All these people call themselves the Great Zafehibrahim, named after the Isle of Saint Mary, which is called Nossi Hibrahim, from which they are all descended, as one might say, Isle of Abraham, and they the lineage of Abraham. This is what makes me believe that they are descended from some lineage of Jews or Arabs, who have long since come to take refuge in this country. Especially since they have Saturday as a good day, even there are here men, women and children, much whiter than around the Matatanes and Androbeisaha, and who have hair as straight.

Note: This only proves that the inhabitants of the island had had strong foreign influences (not that they are Jewish).

Taken from: MADAGASCAR AVANT QUE LES PORTUGAIS N’Y ARRIVENT; Manuel Alberto Carvalho Vicente.

Note: However, the only archeological work done on the island focused on the pirates of the late 17^th century.

In Serenambe a place on the main land above the northern tip of St Marie some small excavations took place and recently black-on-yellow Yemeni ceramics have been discovered (13^th to 16^th century).

The Island of St Marie stretches from 8.2 to 8.6 fingers of Nach (or 17.1°S to 16.7°S) and north of it is the Antongila Bay. Which is filled with big medieval settlements. Between St Marie and the bay, we still have Serenambe than at the beginning of the bay Sandrakatsy a bid further Fahambahy and deep in the bay the island of Mangabe. In most of these imported ceramics have been found. St Marie might well have been one more settlement further south.