Two large basins have been carved from the stone foundation of the compound.
Both constructed under Ranavalona I, one was a pool built in honor of the wives of soldiers of the ennobled Hova Tsimahafotsy clan of Ambohimanga, while the other was built for the wives of members of the elite military corps known as "the 500".
The pools were strictly forbidden for public bathing or drinking and contained fish from Lake Itasy and specially consecrated water.
Ranavalona I and her successors Radama I and Rasoherina used the larger royal pool for ritual purification during the annual fandroana new year festival.

Sacred zebu were kept in a sunken cattle pen (fahimasina) to the west of the kianja courtyard before sacrifice at royal events such as circumcisions and the fandroana festival.
Only the two most highly prized types of zebu were kept here: black zebu with white markings on the forehead, called volavita, and entirely reddish-brown zebu, called malaza.
In this way, the cattle were made to walk from the west toward the east (the direction of the ancestors and sanctity) before being slaughtered.
Another large pen for sacrificial zebu was located to the northeast of this courtyard before being filled in by the French Colonial Authority in the late 19th century.
Two large basins have been carved from the stone foundation of the compound. Both constructed under Ranavalona I, one was a pool built in honor of the wives of soldiers of the ennobled Hova Tsimahafotsy clan of Ambohimanga, while the other was built for the wives of members of the elite military corps known as "the 500". The pools were strictly forbidden for public bathing or drinking and contained fish from Lake Itasy and specially consecrated water. Ranavalona I and her successors Radama I and Rasoherina used the larger royal pool for ritual purification during the annual fandroana new year festival.
Sacred zebu were kept in a sunken cattle pen (fahimasina) to the west of the kianja courtyard before sacrifice at royal events such as circumcisions and the fandroana festival. Only the two most highly prized types of zebu were kept here: black zebu with white markings on the forehead, called volavita, and entirely reddish-brown zebu, called malaza. In this way, the cattle were made to walk from the west toward the east (the direction of the ancestors and sanctity) before being slaughtered. Another large pen for sacrificial zebu was located to the northeast of this courtyard before being filled in by the French Colonial Authority in the late 19th century.
Ambohimanga