Ibonia
The great hero of Malagasy oral epic (the Ibonia / Andriambahoaka cycle). Miraculously conceived as a locust through the diviner Ranakombe by the barren queen Rasoabemananoro ('Beautiful-Rich' / Rasoa), wife of the Prince of the Center; he speaks, arms himself and demands his betrothal before birth, then wins back his bride Iampelasoamananoro from the 'Stone Man' Ravatovolovoay, and finally dies a peaceful death. Authored as a demigod (the marvellously-born culture-hero). His parents are firmly named in the epic but are not authored in this pass; per the in-batch resolution rule his parentIds are omitted and the parentage is recorded here and in his lifecycle. The text was first printed by Dahle (1877) and given its standard English edition by Haring (1994).
Domains
- heroism
- wit and cunning
- martial prowess
Powers
- Speaks and arms himself while still unborn
- Out-duels opponents in word-combat
- Disguises himself to deceive his enemy
Epithets
- Iboniamasiboniamanoro'He-of-the-clear-and-captivating-glance' — the full ceremonial name of the hero, of which 'Ibonia' is the short form.Lee Haring, Ibonia: Epic of Madagascar (1994) (secondary)
Relations
- spouse: IampelasoamananoroHis destined betrothed, demanded while he was still unborn and finally his wife: he wins her back from Stone Man and lives with her about ten years until his death.Lee Haring, Ibonia: Epic of Madagascar (1994) (secondary)
- enemy: RavatovolovoayHis great adversary, the 'Stone Man' who abducts Iampelasoamananoro; Ibonia infiltrates his household and defeats him to recover her.Lee Haring, Ibonia: Epic of Madagascar (1994) (secondary)