# Enforced crossing of ancestors from 'beyond the seas'  
On the west coast of Madagascar, the inhabitants continue to perpetuate the memory of their ancestors who came from 'beyond the seas'. ${ }^{7}$ Questioned during the 2000s, witnesses who identified themselves as Makoan had, for the most part, known grandparents or great-grandparents who were born on the continental mainland. The deportation of their ancestors dates back to the second half of the nineteenth century, when the slave trade between East Africa and Madagascar intensified. It would appear that the majority of captives introduced at that time were mainly from the Makhuwa-Lomwe societies of northern Mozambique. In his life story, Kalamba (circa 1853-1903) retraces the major stages of his journey: a childhood in a country located within present day Mozambique, his capture, the trip to the coast, his sea crossing in a dhow, being sold and subsequent enslavement in western Madagascar (Boyer-Rossol, 2013). Notwithstanding the relative proximity of the East African and Malagasy coasts, ${ }^{8}$ the sea crossing was fatal for large numbers of captives. Contemporary observers estimated that, on average, over a third of East African captives died before reaching the Great Island. ${ }^{9}$ Starvation, promiscuity and disease had a major impact upon the survivors of the crossing. Kalamba recalls the terrible conditions he endured on the dhow. Captives were deprived of food and water. Some jumped overboard, preferring suicide to the fear of being eaten by the Malagasy. ${ }^{10}$ Another testimony has reached us in the form of an account given by one Masombika, who describes the deplorable hygiene conditions and the survival strategies adopted by captives during the sea crossing. 'Horrified by the dirt and stink in the bowels of the boat', he managed to persuade the sailors to let him sit in the hold. This is how he witnessed the scenes of panic amongst the ship's crew as the dhow approached  
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