Madagascar, the island located beyond Africa, although geographically part of Africa, has unique features distinct from the African mainland.
It's the only "yellow race enclave" in Africa, a distinctive trait that catches attention.
If there's one word to describe skin color in Africa, it's "black and white."
For a long time, the division in Africa was clear, with the Sahara Desert marking the boundary between white territory to the north and black territory to the south.
However, Madagascar, adjacent to Mozambique, is an exception.
As the only country in Africa predominantly inhabited by people of Asian descent among the 54 countries, Madagascar is also the largest island in Africa and the fourth largest in the world.
Although not far from the African mainland, Madagascar lacks typical African features.
It's renowned for its unique natural environment and geographical location, often referred to as the "eighth continent."
The flora and fauna on the island are almost entirely unique, and its people are equally distinct.
For anthropologists, Madagascar appears more like a part of Southeast Asia.
The indigenous population consists of yellow-skinned Asians, while black Africans arrived later as immigrants.
Today, walking the streets of the capital of Madagascar, you'll see many locals with light brown skin, almost all of them being of mixed race.
In the island's interior rainforests, one can still find a significant population of indigenous yellow-skinned people, who bear resemblance to indigenous populations in Indonesia.
Legally, there are no discriminatory policies against people of Asian descent.
In fact, Madagascar's leaders almost all bear distinct Asian features.
In terms of religion, despite long-standing French colonial rule, Catholicism, the religion of the French, doesn't dominate here.
Islam also hasn't spread widely on the island.
To this day, Madagascar maintains some primitive worship beliefs.
Madagascar's history traces back to the arrival of the Polynesians.
These seafaring people departed from Indonesia around the 7th century AD, crossing the Indian Ocean to reach Madagascar.
They developed the island into a multiethnic nation, integrating people from various regions.
The Merina people, as the predominant ethnic group, controlled the central regions of Madagascar.
They established the Merina Kingdom and engaged in long-term conflicts with black kingdoms from the west.
Although later colonized by France, the locals resisted for sixty years.
Today, the Malagasy language, based on Merina, serves as the lingua franca, incorporating major languages of various ethnic groups.
However, its language is unrelated to Bantu languages of Africa and is closer to the Austronesian languages of the Pacific.
The Malagasy language can be considered part of the Austronesian language family, closely linked to languages in Indonesia and other areas.
Due to historical and colonial influences, Madagascar's ethnic distribution has been disrupted.
However, this island remains a product of cultural integration.
Despite its complex historical background, Madagascar will continue to evolve towards greater diversity.
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