編者のことば (<特集>マレー世界のなかのマダガスカル)

Abstract

This special issue concerns a project entitled "Studies on Traditional Rice Culture in Madagascar in Relation to 'Malay' Agriculture, " which was conducted with the support of a grant from the Ministry of Education of Japan. Four papers and the record of a panel discussion are included here. Furukawa's paper, which deals with the dry zone of Madagascar, suggests the possible influence of Mesopotamian agriculture over the area in ancient times. Tanaka's paper shows two routes by which rice and rice culture were introduced into Madagascar : one from Southeast Asia and the other from India. Fukazawa's paper describes the tightly knit relation between man, rice and cattle in Tsimihety society. Maeda's paper, through an analysis of Befody society, points out the flexible nature of so-called ethnicity. A panel discussion aimed at building an overall view of 'Malay' agriculture is recorded under the title "Madagascar and the Malay World." It is our pleasant duty to thank for their various forms of assistance : Ministere de la Recherche Scientiffique et Technologique pour le Developpement, FOFIFA (Centre National de la Recherche Appliquee au Developpement Rural), the Embassy of Madagascar in Tokyo, and the Embassy of Japan in Antananarivo. Special thanks must be expressed to Mr. Rakotomalala and Mr. Rabarijoelina Armand, who cooperated with us as counterparts during the entire period of our field study.