Traditional name for Madagascar's earliest highland inhabitants, associated with the central highlands (Imerina/Vakinankaratra) prior to Merina consolidation; largely absorbed into the Merina and other Malagasy populations by the reign of Andrianjaka (r. to c. 1630), with Vazimba ancestor-spirits retaining ritual significance afterward.
Absorbed, displaced or assimilated by later Malagasy polities; remembered in Merina tradition as the island's first inhabitants.
General narrative history of Madagascar covering the Vazimba tradition, Merina state formation, and the Sakalava kingdoms in sequence.