THE ANTSIVA
(marine conch)
The antsiva is a marine conch, a wind instrument of the aerophone family. Essentially, it is an instrument used to signal the arrival and departure of sailors. It summons citizens and the faithful of religious communities and warns of danger. In the Malaysian and Polynesian fashion, it always has a lateral blowing hole. Players often use codes to communicate from one village to another. On the west coast, it is called angaroa and is often used for royal festivals: ceremonies for washing and re-wrapping royal relics, circumcisions, funerals, etc. When the instrument is used in this way, it is considered to be sacred and can only be used by specially designated courtiers. On the other hand, the instrument is used to attract favourable winds in the extreme Southwest. The antsiva exists throughout Madagascar and is reserved for men. It seems that it is rarely used just for entertainment but in the extreme Southwest it can accompany fights. This instrument thus has a double role, one that is magic and
the other purely practical. But the magic role seems to have taken
precedence over any other.
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