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The island republic of Madagascar, lying some 400 kilometers off the coast of east Africa, is touted as the only African country with a single language. Yet the peoples of each of its eighteen officially recognized Malagasy ethnic groups speak a distinct and often mutually incomprehensible dialect of the Malagasy language. Moreover, house types, hairstyles, and modes of dress are specific to each group. One item of clothing that is shared island-wide, however, is the "proverb cloth," or lamba hoany.
Cousins of the perhaps more familiar khanga from Kenya and the east coast of Africa, lamba hoany are rectangular factory cloths (measuring approximately 50'' x 65'') manufactured in either Madagascar or India (Fig. 1).1 They are generally made of cotton, rayon, or a cotton-rayon blend, and include an overall pattern of repeating designs, often with a central medallion, surrounded by a decorative border. The lamba hoany's most distinctive feature is its incorporation of a Malagasy proverb or other short saying just above the lower border.
The term lamba in its most general sense signifies cloth or clothing. It also denotes a particular rectangular shoulder wrap or scarf regarded as the national clothing, and for the peoples of the central highlands, it is particularly a powerful symbol of highland identity. Worn throughout a person's adult life, lamba, also called lamba fitafy (Fee 2002:78), are traditionally made of natural cotton, or better yet, of silk, and are preferably handwoven.2
There are numerous other subcategories of lamba, each designated by a particular name, shape, material, and use.3 The lamba hoany, however, is arguably the most pervasive textile in Madagascar and the only one that is historically and consistently factory-made. The term hoany itself does not have a direct translation, although ho any means "to" or "for" someone. It might therefore possibly be understood as referring to a cloth "for someone" or, perhaps, "for the people." Lightweight and inexpensive, the cloth is used and worn daily by virtually every adult in Madagascar's expansive rural landscape.
Although most often used as a work cloth that can be easily washed and quickly dried, the lamba hoany is not only beautiful but versatile. As clothing worn primarily by women, the cloth (or other lightweight cloths with similar decorative patterning) may be worn...