Mystification of the Mikea: Constructions of foraging identity in southwest Madagascar

Cultural identity is shapen by focal understandings of sameness and differe nce, understandings that are affected by local, regional, and global socioe conomic patterns. The cultural identity of foragers in particular is also s ignificantly shaped by the meanings attached to a foraging lifestyle by loc al, regional, and international entities. This article examines the situati on of the Mikea, horticulturalists/foragers of southwestern Madagascar. Mik ea identity is flexible and complex, linked to living in the forest and usi ng forest resources; foraging and maize horticulture connect Mikea with loc al regional, and global economies. Being Mikea also entails managing connot ations of "primitivism" and the social and economic consequences of governm ent researcher, missionary, and tourist interest in hunter-gatherers.