23/12/2025
Braids speak without words. In Malagasy culture, braids are a silent language, a coded system read by an entire village. They tell of age, status, and life’s passages. Learned from childhood and passed from mother to daughter, braiding has always been a privileged time for intimacy and transmission.
The story of the Zafimaniry, a Malagasy highland people of the Betsileo ethnic group, renowned for their UNESCO-recognized wood carving tradition, is not only carved into wood; it is braided into hair. Braids are living threads of their collective memory, worn on women’s and men’s heads. In this society, seventeen distinct styles are counted, each carrying a precise meaning and usage.
Through the exhibition Zafimaniry Doria by , dedicated to The Land of the Mist, we invite you to discover these Zafimaniry braided styles, revealed alongside precious works that tell the story of a culture that resists, adapts, and continues to shine.
Zafimaniry Doria Exhibition – TangalaMamy – 2025
đź“Ť IFM Madagascar Exhibition Gallery
📅 December 8, 2025 – January 24, 2026
