I Totôry 7 H

Abstract

The material is the eighth part of the seventh of eleven texts (the fourth text and the second and third parts of the eleventh were not digitized) owned by Iaban’i Totôry, a diviner-healer (called ombiasy in Malagasy). Iaban’i Totôry belonged to the Anakara Clan and lived in a village called Vatomasina in the Antemoro region (in the valley of the Matatàña River). He was known to be the grandson of a famous religious chief in his village, and was close with the French colonial administration in his region, with whom he also shared the material. The original author of the material is unknown. The material was photographed between 1983 and 1990. The pages were made out of a local plant called harandrànto in Malagasy, likely of the genus Afzelia. The material was bound in zebu skin and sinew. While the exact content of material is unknown, it is believed to contain guidance for charms, divination, and healing through prayers, geomancy, and astrology.