Fihavanana

"It is the fihavanana, the vital link, that unites the man from Madagascar to his neighbour, and, likewise, with the cosmos and the elements which form it. The prototype is the link which unites a child to his parents. The foundation is the single life which unites them, their vital union: "a child is a particle of life" of his parents; vitally united, the mpIhavana (those who are linked by fihavanana) live in communion of habitation, work, subsistence, assets, spirit and heart."