File:Antanosy tomb on the road from Fort Dauphin to Amboasary.jpg

Southern Madagascar ... at the start of the Spiny Forest ...

From Wikipedia - The Antanosy are a Malagasy ethnic group who primarily live in the Anosy region of southeastern Madagascar, though there are also Antanosy living near Bezaha, where they moved after the Imerina conquered Anosy. The Antanosy speak a dialect of the Malagasy language, which is a branch of the Malayo-polynesian language group derived from the Barito languages, spoken in southern Borneo.

Of the 18 ethnic groups in Madagascar, the Antanosy are among the smallest in both population and geographical range. Just 362,000 Antanosy exist in a country of 16.5 million, thus making up a mere 2% of the total population (Ministerio de Educatión 2003). Located in the far southeastern region of Madagascar, the majority of Antanosy people are subsistence farmers living in small, rural villages. They rely on the harvests of rice and manioc and forest products such as honey, wild game, roof thatch, fruit, and reeds to consume or sell at weekly regional markets.

The ancestors of today's Antanosy migrated from the north about 150–200 years ago. According to MAEP (2003), they are divided into three groups in the region: - The Antavaratra Region of Manantenina (an alliance between Antanosy & Antaisaka). - Those occupying the Antambolo Valley in the region of Ranomafana and Enaniliha, - The Antatsimo who live in the southwest region of Anosy, from Ranopiso to the Mandrare river.