The
Malagasy are the ethnic group that forms nearly the entire population of
Madagascar. They are divided into two subgroups: the "Highlander"
Merina,
Sihanaka and
Betsileo of the central plateau around
Antananarivo,
Alaotra (Ambatondrazaka) and
Fianarantsoa, and the "coastal dwellers" elsewhere in the country. This division has its roots in historical patterns of settlement. The original
Austronesian settlers from
Borneo arrived between the third and tenth centuries and established a network of principalities in the
Central Highlands region conducive to growing the
rice they had carried with them on their outrigger canoes. Sometime later, a large number of settlers arrived from
East Africa and established kingdoms along the relatively unpopulated coastlines.