Once having an empire that ruled over almost half of the island, one factor that separates the Sakalava people from other Malagasy groups is that they do not dig up and rebury their ancestors under the ceremony known as the famadihandy.

Occupying Madagascar’s western coastline, the Sakalava people, founded in the 15th century by Andriamisara, were the first to form an empire in Madagascar in the late 16th century, which developed along the southwestern coast.

With their guns, the Sakalava people had power over other coastal Malagasy groups, enabling them to capture more slaves in the Comores, East Africa and the highlands of Madagascar.

But in the late 18th century, the Sakalava state began to decline and was later overthrown by another Malagasy ethnic group – the Merina.

Among the Sakalava people, royal ancestors, or tromba, who are the spirits of dead royalty, form the basis of their religion.