The Antandroy (or Tandroy) are a traditionally nomadic ethnic group of Madagascar inhabiting the arid southern part of the island called Androy roughly located between Amboasary and Beloha and between the ocean and Bekily. Their name means "people of the thorns" in reference to the spiny thickets of endemic plants that characterize the southwestern region of Madagascar.[1] The Antandroy speak a dialect of the Malagasy language, which is a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language group derived from the Barito languages, spoken in southern Borneo.
The Antandroy consume less rice than the average Malagasy because of the extreme aridity of Toliara province. They have rather subsisted on a traditional diet of maize, sweet potato, manioc, and zebu milk and curd.
Whereas most dwellings in Madagascar are traditionally constructed from pliable plant materials, the Antandroy are one of the few ethnic groups to use wood plank in their homes. They build tombs similar to those of the Mahafaly.[1]
They are celebrated for their unique traditional dances, performed with spears and accompanied with distinctive music punctuated with shrill fipple flutes.
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