Overview
Hiragasy is a performing art composed of song, dance and speech. Originating in the central highlands of Madagascar, the performance takes place in public spaces. It generally involves two troupes and lasts about one hour and thirty minutes, following a standard structure, including drumming, greetings, storytelling, dance and folk songs. The lyrics of hiragasy performances allude to moral, civic and cultural values, and the music is performed using traditional instruments. Hiragasy is present in all Malagasy festive and cultural events. A source of national identity, it is transmitted informally within families, with children following their parents on tour and joining in on the performances. During the royal era, hiragasy was used as a means of communication between rulers and the people to convey a message. With the advent of Christianity, it served as a means of expressing Malagasy...
This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.
Community and Authority
- Communities
- Madagascar
- Languages
- Not specified in UNESCO dataset
- Cultural territories
- Madagascar
- Countries
- Madagascar
How the System Works
Hiragasy is a performing art composed of song, dance and speech. Originating in the central highlands of Madagascar, the performance takes place in public spaces. It generally involves two troupes and lasts about one hour and thirty minutes, following a standard structure, including drumming, greetings, storytelling, dance and folk...
Sources and Evidence
Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.
Field-Level Provenance
- title
- UNESCO DataHub field title_en
- preferredTitle
- UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
- summary
- UNESCO DataHub field description_en
- type
- UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
- countries
- UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
- categories
- ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
- relationships
- UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
- sourceUrl
- UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
- rights
- UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url
Original Source Metadata
Why This Record Is Credible
This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.
Cultural Access
Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.
Relationships
Review and Corrections
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