Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license.
Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat.
We can research this topic together.
You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (July 2024) Click for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the French article.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Misplaced Pages.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Misplaced Pages article at ]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|fr|Ibonia}} to the talk page.
The Ibonia is an epic poem that has been told in various forms across the island of Madagascar for at least several hundred years. The Ibonia predates the introduction of the printing press in Madagascar in the early part of the 19th century and as such has long been part of the poetic and storytelling oral traditions of the island. The first known transcription of the story was recorded in the 1870s and rapidly gained canonical status in the African literary tradition, being reprinted in numerous collections across Europe.
Plot
The tale begins with the conception and birth of Ibonia (Iboniamasiboniamanoro or "he of the clear and captivating glance") who demands to be betrothed to Iampelasoamananoro ("Girl of Grace") while still in the womb of his mother, Beautiful-Rich. Before they can be married, however, Iampelasoamananoro is taken away by Revato ("Stone Man"). Before setting off to win her back, he engages in a verbal duel with Great Echo and beats him. Great Echo in return offers Ibonia advice on how to pass a series of tests that will confront him on his quest to regain his wife. Ibonia visits his parents before setting off on the quest and his mother spurs him to prove himself by successfully fighting a series of powerful animal and human adversaries. She then attempts to dissuade him from his quest by presenting him with other wives, which he refuses. Ibonia displays his wit and physical prowess to overcome the challenges he encounters, including dressing himself in an Old Man's skin to get closer to Stone Man and Joy-Giving girl until his unprecedented talent for playing the valiha (a traditional bamboo tube zither) and fanorona (a traditional game played with stones on a board) gives him away. Ibonia wins his confrontation with Stone Man and escapes with Joy-Giving Girl. The two remain married for about ten years before the relationship is ended by Ibonia's peaceful death.
Variations
Three similar versions of the story as described above were collected by folklorists in the 1870s. However, six distinct versions in total have been recorded by folklorists and the variation from the base story increases with the distance from the Central Highlands. Among the Tanala and the Antakarana, for example, major plot features, such as the fate of the Stone Man or the character of the Girl of Grace, can vary significantly.
Scheub, Harold (2013). Trickster and Hero: Two Characters in the Oral and Written Traditions of the World. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 111–128. ISBN978-0-299-29073-3. Project MUSEbook 21408.
Wells, Hallie; Ranalarimanana, Vony (2023). ""Man Is the Center": Centripetal Power in the Malagasy Epic Tale of Ibonia". In Lothspeich, Pamela (ed.). The Epic World. Routledge. pp. 444–457. ISBN978-0-429-28669-8.
