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The Epic of Ibonia

In short: Explore how rhythm and speech carry the hero’s journey in Madagascar’s Epic of Ibonia.

The Epic of Ibonia · Measured speech FAIRY TALE ATLAS · № 123 The Epic of Ibonia Explore how rhythm and speech carry the hero’s journey in Madagascar’s Epic of Ibonia. Origin A Malagasy epic with several tellings. This record follows a Merina version. Atlas record 1877 First appearance Exact date unknown SIGNATURE MOTIF Measured speech Reach¹ 1/10 Suggested age² 8+ Member rating No votes yet 1 records · 1 countries or regions blackhorsestories.com

¹ Based on the number of Atlas countries, capped at 10. ² Editorial suggestion for reading this page. Discover Black Horse’s question

Origin and tradition

A Malagasy epic with several tellings. This record follows a Merina version.

Ibonia gives room to the hero’s speeches as well as his adventures. Lee Haring draws attention to measured lines in the Merina text published in 1877. Their rhythm offers a clue to how a teller moves a scene forward.

Dated records and sources

  1. 1877 · Madagascar · Merina tradition
    Lars Dahle · Anganon’ny Ntaolo · Ibonia · translation and study by Lee Haring · Published collection

Country pages

Origin
Black Horse. The Epic of Ibonia. https://blackhorsestories.com/en/atlas-tale-ibonia/