page_title: Architecture of Madagascar
section_title: Zafimaniry traditions
hierarchical_section_title: Architecture of Madagascar / Wood-based construction / Zafimaniry traditions
caption_attribution_description: English: Wooden houses in a Zafimaniry village in central Madagascar. Français&#160;: Maisons en bois dans un village zafimaniry aux hautes terres de Madagascar.
context_page_description: The architecture of Madagascar is unique in Africa, bearing strong resemblance to the construction norms and methods of Southern Borneo from which the earliest inhabitants of Madagascar are believed to have immigrated. Throughout Madagascar and the Kalimantan region of Borneo, most traditional houses follow a rectangular rather than round form, and feature a steeply sloped, peaked roof supported by a central pillar.
  Differences in the predominant traditional construction materials used serve as the basis for much of the diversity in Malagasy architecture. Locally available plant materials were the earliest materials used and remain the most common among traditional communities. In intermediary zones between the central highlands and humid coastal areas, hybrid variations have developed that use cob and sticks. Wood construction, once common across the island, declined as a growing human population destroyed greater swaths of virgin rainforest for slash and burn agriculture and zebu cattle pasture.
context_section_description: The Zafimaniry inhabit the heavily forested, rainy and temperate region of the Highlands to the east of Ambositra.  Their homes are rectangular and large (15' long, 12' wide and 18' high) with a peaked roof, overhanging eaves, and wooden windows and doors.  Many of the same standards found in the aristocratic architectural traditions of Imerina are present in the Zafimaniry structures, including the central wooden pillar supporting the roof beam, exclusive use of a tongue and groove joining technique and the orientation of building features such as windows, doors and the interior layout. Zafimaniry houses are often elaborately decorated with carved, symmetrical, abstract patterns that are rich in complex spiritual and mythological symbolism.  The architecture of the houses found in this region are considered to be representative of the architectural style that predominated throughout the Highlands prior to deforestation, and as such, they represent the last vestiges of a historic tradition and a significant element of Malagasy cultural heritage.  For this reason, the woodcrafting knowledge of the Zafimaniry was added in 2003 to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
caption: The Zafimaniry construct wooden houses with solid doors and shuttered windows.
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