ABSTRACT
Slave descendants among the Betsileo have so far been described in the ethnographic literature in rather monolithic terms, either as the land-poor clients or share-croppers of their former masters who exploit them while at the same time offering paternalistic support , or as landless migrants who provide exploitative tompontany with an easily disposable labour force. What is lacking in these otherwise important accounts is close attention to the details of the slave descendants’ genealogies, kinship practices and various trajectories in life, and to the differences that may exist between them and within slave descent families in terms of success, social status and attitudes towards their ancestral land or tombs. Some of Rainihosy’s descendants have yet another tomb in Beparasy. The reason for its existence is that Raboba’s grandfather was on such bad terms with his brother that he decided to be buried with his wife in a separate tomb.
