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Text
from
Passport
for
Madagascar
-
44th
edition,
January/February
2008
In
the
Rova
of
Antananarivo
during
the
period
of
the
Merina
royalty,
it
was
taboo
to
use
any
other
construction
materials
apart
from
wood
to
build
the
royal
house.
On
her
accession
to
the
throne,
Queen
Ranavalona
II
ended
this
tradition
and
introduced
stone
specifically
for
the
construction
of
the
Rova
church.
Because
of
the
very
nature
of
the
construction
entirely
in
wood,
the
Rova
was
annihilated
during
a
fire
on
6
November
1995
in
a
few
hours,
watched
helplessly
by
the
population.
Only
the
stone
walls
of
the
church
were
capable
of
resisting
this
catastrophe,
but
everything
in
wood
went
up
in
flames
(roofs,
beams,
furnishings,
decoration).
This
was
why
out
of
all
the
buildings
in
the
Rova,
it
was
the
first
to
be
entirely
restored
and
this
was
done
fairly
quickly
when,
ten
years
after
the
criminal
fire,
work
on
the
reconstruction
of
the
site
began.
The
word
rova
designates
the
group
of
royal
houses
constructed
within
a
wooden
wall
which
no
one
dared
to
enter
as
it
was
the
residence
of
the
sovereign
having
the
earthy
status
of
God
the
Creator
and
stemming
from
this,
everything
connected
with
him
(his
house,
his
personal
belongings,
his
herds
of
zebus,
the
water
he
drank,
etc.)
was
considered
sacred
and
violation
of
these
prohibitions
was
punishable
by
death.
The
founder
of
the
Rova
of
Antananarivo
was
King
Andrianjaka
who
reigned
there
from
1610
to
circa
1630:
there
he
first
built
two
houses
entirely
in
wood
for
himself
and
his
family
and
whose
architecture
had
remained
the
same
over
centuries;
subsequently
other
buildings
appeared,
each
bearing
a
name
as
at
this
time
writing
was
unknown,
this
was
the
means
devised
for
each
sovereign
to
mark
his
passage
on
earth.
The
Rova
with
its
wooden
houses
has
existed
for
six
centuries.
Each
new
sovereign
had
the
duty
of
repairing
these
houses
damaged
by
the
elements
or
to
build
a
new
one.
Out
of
respect
for
the
first
King
Andrianjaka,
all
his
successors
have
continued
to
maintain
his
two
houses
named
Besakana
and
Masoandrotsiora
which
survived
throughout
the
ages.
Two
sovereigns
have
contributed
to
the
present-day
aspect
of
the
Rova:
King
Andrianampoinimerina
and
Queen
Ranavalona
I.
The
latter
had
the
largest
mansion,
named
Manjakamiadana,
built
by
Jean
Laborde
as
well
as
the
surrounding
stone
retaining
wall.
The
site
of
Manjakamiadana
has
become
the
symbol
of
the
city
of
Antananarivo.
Manjakamiadana
This
great
royal
house
in
the
Rova
has
become
the
symbol
of
royalty
in
Imerina.
It
was
Queen
Ranavalona
I
(1828
-
1861)
who
conceived
the
idea
of
having
this
building,
constructed
entirely
of
rare
wood,
following
an
architecture
differing
from
other
existing
houses,
and
which
had
only
one
single
room
and
two
openings:
one
door
and
one
window.
The
palace
of
Manjakamiadana
(where
one
rules
in
peace),
as
this
was
the
name
given
by
its
owner,
possesses
two
floors
and
attics,
a
large
number
of
openings
and
the
whole
surrounded
by
a
wooden
balcony,
which
for
that
time
was
revolutionary.
In
common
with
all
wooden
constructions,
this
palace
rested
on
a
central
pillar,
a
giant
palisander
trunk
39
metres
high
and
this
piece
of
wood
was,
according
to
some,
brought
up
from
the
forests
of
the
southeast,
and
to
others
from
the
forest
of
the
east
by
ten
thousand
men.
The
sovereign
had
the
right
to
call
on
her
subjects
to
accomplish
difficult
tasks.
These
forced
labourers
were
not
paid
for
the
work
exacted
by
the
sovereign
but
received
rice
and
zebu
meat
from
the
royal
herds
for
the
duration
of
their
labour.
As
at
this
time
wheeled
vehicles
did
not
yet
exist,
this
trunk
of
wood
was
carried
by
foot
on
the
backs
of
labourers
as
it
could
not
touch
the
ground.
The
construction
of
this
palace
began
in
1839
and
the
surveyor
was
Jean
Laborde
who
deployed
all
his
genius
in
marrying
traditional
Malagasy
and
European
styles
by
the
sole
use
of
wood.
He
created
galleries,
three
huge
superimposed
halls
each
having
an
area
of
360
square
metres.
In
the
enormous
ground
floor
he
set
out
the
magnificent
throne
room
with
precious
woods
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