Hira Gasy is above all a street performance, held in any public space (street, sports field, church courtyard, rice paddy, etc.), as long as there is sufficient room and the troupe believes the location can draw a crowd. Typically, two troupes face off before an audience arranged in a circle. Taking turns, each troupe delivers an opening oration, performs philosophical songs and executes acrobatic dances. Spectators judge the performances by applauding and tossing coins! The authentic Hira Gasy is seldom performed today, except in rural regions—for instance during a trekking expedition through the Imerina countryside—and for special events, notably the "Hira Gasy Makotrokotroka" organized annually for the past 10 years by the Regional Tourism Office of Antananarivo (ORTANA).

The Origins of Hira Gasy

Hira Gasy is distinctly Merina, meaning it originates from the Highlands. The art is said to have been created during the reign of Andrianampoinimerina (1789-1810). After the unification of Imerina's kingdoms in 1803, the king sought every possible means to feed and entertain his people following a long period of war. The original purpose of Hira Gasy was to entertain and relax workers on construction sites and in rice paddies.

Attire and Musical Instruments

As a form of entertainment, costumes are highly colorful. For men: long red jackets with typically black trousers, a lamba (a piece of fabric, a sort of wide sash) worn diagonally across the upper body, and a panama-style hat. For women: long dresses in vibrant colors (orange, red, green, purple, blue, sometimes with floral patterns) with or without a lamba draped over the shoulders. As for musical instruments, these include drums (small and large), trumpets, clarinettes, sodina (a Malagasy flute), and lokanga (a Malagasy violin).

The Flow of a Performance

A Hira Gasy show can last for hours—at least one and a half hours. Each time the audience is delighted, amazed or captivated by a dance or lyrical passage, they applaud enthusiastically and sometimes shower coins on the performers. The audience forms a circle while the artists likewise arrange themselves in a circle so everyone can hear, as they sing freely without microphones. During the performance, they gradually rotate clockwise so all can see them face-on.

The first troupe takes the stage to the beat of drums and a thunderous round of applause. This is the sasitehaka! Everyone finds their place: spectators form a ring and the artists enter the center. The female performers may still take time to apply makeup!

Once everyone is ready, the oration begins, known as the kabary. The mpikabary opens the ceremony by removing his hat and delivering a long and elaborate speech filled with hain-teny (refined discourse), tonon-kalo (poetry), and ohabolana (folk proverbs of wisdom). Touches of humor always pepper the speeches and songs, especially when touching on the nation's political situation and marriage. At the end, he invites the next performers to take the stage.

This next entrance begins with soft music played by the troupe's musicians. The singers form a circle or face one another (men facing women) and begin to sing. The lyrics treat subjects like dissertations: politics, society, love, marriage… The aim is always to impart a lesson or moral, sometimes ending with a question the audience may answer silently or aloud. This phase is called the renihira.

The dancers then take over, performing with hand movements (latsi-tanana) for the women and foot movements for the men. These are movements from diamanga (traditional martial art), sometimes including acrobatics. This is the dihy !

The performance closes with the anakira, a final song shorter than the opening one. This section is also called the vakodrazana, which is often conflated with Hira Gasy. One is actually just a component of the other!

© Détours Madagascar - January 9, 2020