M is for Madagascar Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mozambique Channel

The Republic of Madagascar is located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of the African continent. The closest country is Mozambique, and the separating channel is named after that country. The largest island in the country, Madagascar, is the fourth-largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo. (Of course, this classification is one that considers Australia to be a small continent, rather than the largest island.) There are a lot of small islands around its coast, some of which it claims, others of which are ruled by France or claimed by neighboring archipelagic countries such as Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles.

The island of Madagascar was originally part of Gondwana. Around 135-165 million years ago, as Gondwana was breaking up, the island separated from Africa, but its northern end remained attached to India until around 65-88 million years ago.

Answer: Malagasy

Madagascar used to be called the Malagasy Republic, as the Malagasy ethnic group forms the vast majority of the population of the island. There are two main groups into which the twenty or so tribes are divided - highlanders and coastal. The former occupy the country's central plateau area, the others the coastal fringe.

The highlanders mostly originated with migrants from Borneo, who found the plateau a suitable climate for growing the rice and other crops they had brought with them. Later settlers from the east coast of Africa found the coastal plains more suitable for establishing their kingdoms.

Answer: Marco Polo

Marco Polo apparently landed on the island of Madagascar while returning from his voyage to the court of Kublai Khan. At least, that is what the third volume of his memoir, 'Books of the Marvels of the World', commonly called 'The Travels of Marco Polo', claims. This manuscript is claimed to be a truthful account, written by Rustichello da Pisa, of the stories recounted by Marco Polo about his travels over the years 1271 to 1291. There is no original manuscript, and authorities dispute the accuracy of many details. Some have even suggested that it should be treated as a work of fiction. In any case, it was a popular book that inspired many to participate in the subsequent centuries of exploration and colonization by Europeans.

In 1500, the Portuguese explorer Diogo Dias named the island Sao Lourenco, following the convention of naming discovered lands after the name of the saint on whose day it was first claimed. Since the Feast of Saint Lawrence is August 10, we can deduce that was the date on which Dias landed. Marco Polo's name, however, was more popular with the mapmakers, and became the accepted name. Since the Malagasy people had no other word for the island as a whole, as distinct from the smaller tribal territories within it, they eventually accepted the European name into their own language.

Answer: Mogadishu

Mogadishu is the capital of Somalia, and has been an important port for centuries. Marco Polo was a bit disoriented, since Mogadishu is located on the Horn of Africa, at roughly 2°N and 45°E. The main island of Madagascar extends between roughly 12°S and 26°S, and 43°E and 51°E. The longitude was close, but the latitude was quite a bit off!

Maidugiri is in Nigeria, Maputo in Mozambique, and Monrovia in Liberia. All of them are in the top 50 African cities by population.

Answer: Mahajanga

The city of Mahajanga, on the coast, was the capital of the province of Mahajanga, and is currently the capital of the region of Boeny. The process of decentralization of administration during the early part of the 21st century led to the replacement of the six provinces established under French administration with 22 regions. These regions are further subdivided into districts, communes, and fokontany (a French word for the traditional villages of the island, now used to denote the most local level of government).

The incorrect options are districts within the four regions formed from the area that was previously the province of Mahajanga. The reference to a non-existent Indian connection was a reference to the similarity between Mahajanga and Maharajah, the Sanskrit title meaning 'great king'.

Answer: Maromokotro

Maromokotro, located near the northern tip of the island in the Tsaratanana Massif (a word denoting a group of mountains that forms a distinctive part of a mountain range), is approximately 2800 m (9400 ft) high. Madagascar has three massifs, each containing one of the country's three highest points. Second-highest is Boby Peak on the Andringitra Massif near the southern tip of the island, and third-highest is Tsiafajavona on the Ankaratra Massif in the central area of the country.

The incorrect options are districts - Manjakandriana is in the Anamalanga region, Miarinarivo in the Itasy region, and Mahanoro in the Atsinana region.

Answer: Merina

The Merina Kingdom originated in the Imerina, the central highlands where the Merina people had established themselves. They are believed to have taken over the region around 1550, displacing the Vazimba people. Around 1800 they started to expand beyond their local tribal area, eventually controlling most of the island, and resisting colonization by the British and French, both of which sought to exert control over this strategically-located island.

In 1883 the French invaded, and a series of wars started that culminated in the French declaring the island to be the Malagasy Protectorate in 1896, followed by full annexation as a colony in 1897.

A peaceful transition to self-control occurred in the middle of the 20th century. In 1958 the Malagasy Republic was established as an autonomous state, and full independence was achieved on 26 June 1960.

Answer: Masoala National Park

The six parks, all located on the eastern side of the island of Madagascar, are Andohahela National Park, Andringitra National Park, Marojejy National Park, Masoala National Park, Ranomafana National Park and Zahamena National Park. They have been declared World Heritage sites because of the amazing and unique flora and fauna located there. (Whenever a question at Fun Trivia asks for the only place in the world where something can be found, the answer is usually Madagascar.) About 99% of the plants and animals of Madagascar are endemic, meaning that they are only found there.

These include lemurs, of which there are currently 99 known species and subspecies, most of which are considered vulnerable or endangered. Around 20 species have become extinct since the arrival of human settlers. One of the major environmental pressures on Madagascar's native species is the removal of nearly all of the island's native forests, from slash-and-burn agriculture, or commercial logging, or clearing the land to plant commercial crops such as coffee.

Answer: Mania

The Mania River flows from the central highlands to the west coast, emptying into the Mozambique Channel north of the city of Morondava, near the middle of the island. The rivers flowing to the east coast and emptying into the Indian Ocean tend to be short, steep and rapid, often including spectacular waterfalls. Those flowing to the west cover less steeply-inclined land, and are less impressive, although of greater significance as a means of transport.

Answer: Moraingy

Moraingy, sometimes also called moringue, is a traditional form of martial arts that originated on the west coast of Madagascar during the 18th century. As well as being popular in the coastal regions of Madagascar, it has spread to the neighboring islands of Reunion, Mayotte, Comoros, Seychelles and Mauritius. Contestants do not use weapons, but punch (and occasionally kick) each other until one of them is knocked out, or is deemed to be unable to defend himself due to injury or being clearly outclassed, or admits defeat by leaving the field of competition. Matches are carried out in an arena such as a football field, and are accompanied by music to contribute to the spiritual dimension of the competition, both for the combatants and for the spectators. Participation used to be limited to young males, but in recent years women have been allowed to enter competitions.