Le site funéraire d’Antsiraka Boira (Acoua, Grande Terre) : Islamisation et syncrétisme culturel à Mayotte au XIIe siècle

Abstract

This is a review of six excavation campaigns carried out from 2012 to 2017. They took place at Antsiraka Boira near Acoua village, (North-Western part of Mayotte, Grande Terre). It deals with a 29-graves excavation out of a set of 69. Our research documents the funeral practices of a fishermen/farmers community representative of the Mayotte population at the beginning of the second millennium AD. The burial places bring evidence of the islamization of the population during the twelfth century. Yet beside the usual and permanent marks of Islam, different signs not belonging to Islam such as funeray deposits and wooden coffins can be found. This undoubtedly shows a phase of Islamic syncretism observed for the first time in Mayotte. Those slight but unquestionable funerary practices hint a other cultural influences to be inquired about. They reveal connections to be found in the surrounding of the Comoros archipelago (Africa, Madagascar). They also set questions about the existence of a proto-malagasy cultural area.

Keywords

• Islam
• Mayotte
• Comoro islands
• proto-malagasy cultural area
• syncretism
• funeral practices