The case of the creature named Kalanoro from Madagascar is quite unique. Its name is well known among lovers of animal mysteries, as a bipedal primate, and a tad aggressive. But on this ground, the file is quite thin. Few testimonies, no footprints, no blurry photos. Few relevant articles, except this one .

The Kalanoro simply unfolds elsewhere. It is in fact a worthy representative of the little people on this island, a "Malagasy elf" whose role in traditional medicine and religion is absolutely central, even today. The Kalanoro is alive and well, in its cultural context it represents the local equivalent of the elf in our fairy tales of yesteryear. The Kalanoro file on this ground is very thick.

text: "The Kalanoros: I am a Kalanoro, we are little elves from the forests of eastern Madagascar. We are not mean, we eat the fruits that the forest gives us, but our favorite dish is crayfish. Unfortunately, it happens that we get our fingers stuck under stones, we are then visible, be kind, do not be afraid, free us and then we will have the privilege of granting one of your wishes. But shush, do not tell anyone that we met."

The island of Madagascar is located in the Indian Ocean, near the east coast of Africa and the island is the fourth largest in the world.

The island broke away from the Indian peninsula about 88 million years ago and subsequently the flora and fauna of the island evolved in complete isolation. Due to this unique geological history, the island is home to an abundance of unique species and ecosystems that cannot be seen anywhere else on Earth.

Most Malagasy people live in the highlands and around Antananarivo, the capital. Despite the increase in population, much of the interior of the island is devoid of human activity and contact. It is a vast rainforest that has remained untouched for many centuries.

The population of Madagascar is composed of 18 ethnic groups, and can be classified as the result of extensive interbreeding between the first Austronesian and African occupants, and to some extent with Arabs. Genetically speaking, interbreeding is very vigorous, except among the populations of the Highlands, where endogamy has preserved the Indonesian phenotype. Although statistically 50% of Malagasy are Christian, a portion of the people still live according to ancient traditions, and religious belief in "spirits".

Approximate location of the habitats of the 18 different Malagasy ethnic groups.

In Madagascar, people who follow ancestral worship recognize the existence of a superior divinity, creator of the world, called Zañahary. This god is considered too distant, so requests are addressed to the closer spirits that are the ancestors, but be careful not just any. It was first the royal and princely spirits (because there were kings and queens in Madagascar from the 16th century , until colonization in 1897) as well as those of certain notables who played a more or less important role in their time and are then given the title of saints. According to this belief when indigenous people die, their spirits reside in many places, whether on the ground, on the stone or in the trunk. Thus, the natives of the past still protect the homeland and bless their descendants.

The vazimba refer to a category of intermediary spirits that have become divinities, benefactors or malevolent according to popular representations. Vazimba means "those of the forest" in proto-Barito of the South-East, an ancient Austronesian language that includes Malagasy and languages ​​spoken by Dayak peoples from the banks of the Barito River in Borneo.

 Popular beliefs define the vazimba as being secret characters who lived in the Highlands in a very distant time. They aroused among the Malagasy people both fear and respect. The vazimba is described as small, with copper skin, an elongated face, wide and hanging lips hiding very long teeth, to which is added a compressed forehead. All together gives it a very ugly and repulsive appearance to the point of inspiring visceral fear.

Waka - Austronesian "large outrigger canoe" (which gave the Malagasy word  vahoaka - "people"), the first  Austronesian Ntaolo  probably used similar ones to reach Madagascar from Indonesia.

The Merina, inhabitants of the region around Tananarive, in the Central Highlands, fear them: places likely to shelter them are respected by the observance of certain rites such as invocation, or the giving of offerings. Thus, currently, the places said to be "where there is a vazimba" are sacred: rivers, lakes, woods, mounds, caves, entire regions, etc. These places are reputed to be forbidden from pork, dead or alive, from onions, alcohol, and bad words and it is forbidden to have a complete sexual act. These little vazimba men apparently avoided any object that had contact with salt. It is said that their level of culture was quite limited. They were, it seems, far from mastering metallurgy and would have made weapons with clay and reeds.

Their disappearance, the absence of documents and of a sufficiently reliable oral tradition about them, as well as human imagination, have made these people into true anonymous divinities.

Statuette genius Mahafaly – Vazimba 1960/70

However, it is established that the Vazimbas really existed, they are the first inhabitants of Imerina, the interior of the island of Madagascar. The Vazimba gave their name to a period of Malagasy history that ended at the beginning of the 16th century  . They are in reality probably the descendants of the first Austronesian pioneers who landed in Madagascar at the beginning of our era around the year 1. The current state of scientific research confirms to date a human presence in Madagascar at least five centuries BC. The territorial conflicts between the Vazimbas and the Hova, who arrived later on the island, resulted in the relative domination of the territories by the Hova, characterized by their ingenuity and their organization. The Vazimbas probably blended into the population and it has become impossible to determine their original features outside of legendary stories. Traditionally, the Vazimbas, hunter-gatherers living in the forests, were considered wild men by the inhabitants of the coastal plains, herders and cultivators.

Vazimba women, due to their long hair, are often confused with the magical dwarves-Kalanoro and the mermaids-Zazavavindrano. Vazimbas and Kalanoro are often associated but despite their common points, they are in theory quite distinct: the vazimbas are civilized, human spirits, and therefore considered "positive", the Kalanoro are wild spirits, which must be tamed, seen a priori as "negative".

In the Angano, Malagasy tales and legends, we find many fantastic creatures forming the spirits of nature / Manankasina . For example, the bibiolona which are equivalent to centaurs, the spirits of water or  lolon-drano , (lake, river, stream, waterfall ...), including the  zazavavindrano , "daughters of the waters" (undines), and the  andriambavirano , or even the lolo vokatra / living dead or zombies. But the most important is the Kalanoro.

The word  Kalanoro  is based on the Sanskrit  kala , "black, blue-black," and the Arabic  nūr , "light"; literally,  Kalanoro  would be the black-luminous one. But it is not as simple as it seems.

It seems that the word  kala  has undergone a significant semantic shift in Imerina. Indeed, currently, no one associates it with a color;  kala , an everyday word in Imerina, now means girl, as opposed to  koto , a nickname for a boy . Etymologically, Kalanoro is "the girl who is called Noro" and Noro, which is read as Nour, is perhaps linked to this masculine Arabic name which means "light."

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