# Sharing a common culture, imported from the continent and transformed on the Great Island  
The Makoa and Masombika shared a common culture that transcended their differences in status in Madagascar. Although they came from different regions in East Africa, all of the captives deported from the continent to the Great Island spoke Makoa amongst themselves, a dialectal variant of Emakhuwa, which is spoken extensively in North Mozambique. In Madagascar, Makoa became the language of servitude, probably acquired during the enforced crossing, and particularly during the period of incarceration in barracks on the Mozambique Channel coastline. The Makoa language remained in use for a prolonged period on the west coast of Madagascar, where the Makoa experienced a degree of group autonomy. The early captives born on the continent imported and adapted very diverse cultural practices (songs, music, dances, special drums, culinary and decorative practices, etc.), mainly originating from North Mozambique (Macaire, 1996). ${ }^{17}$ During the twentieth century, the gradual loss of the last Makoa born on the continent led to a decline in Makoan cultural practices and, finally, to the disappearance of the identity of the Makoa group itself. In an attempt to escape the stigma of servitude, the majority of the descendants of East African slaves on the Great Island forged links with other Malagasy group identities. Only a few inhabitants on the coast continued to perpetuate the memory of their ancestors.  
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[^0]:    17 On the western Malagasy coast, Makoan cultural practices were manifested in harvest festivals, funeral rites or ancestral cults.