Octave Mannoni, controversial theorist on colonialism in Madagascar and dependency complex.

I was reading about the Malagasy's "cult of the dead" following Tattum's post on Famadihana when I found this rather unusual opinion about the implication of the "cult of dead" by Octave Mannoni: (Born in Corsica, Mannoni is a former professor of philosophy in Madagascar who later focussed on psychology and social studies):

"Equality among the Malagasy stems from their belief in the cult of the dead. "The dead are the sole and inexhaustible source of all good things: life, happiness, peace, and above all, fertility". In Madagascar, the father is the natural interpreter of the will of the dead. The dead are superior to the living because they are the source of everything and as a result of this belief all living Malagasy are equal [..]An inferiority complex does not exist among the Malagasy "because he knows whom he can count on, as they are all his equals, and not his superiors"...For the Malagasy, dependence does not equal inferiority [...]"

At this point in my reading, I needed to step back and try to understand what Mannoni meant by the constant reference to "dependence and inferiority" complex.
It turns out that his book "Prospero and Caliban: the Psychology of the Colonization" mostly inspired from the massacre of March 1947 is based on 2 concepts (borrowed from Shakespeare's play"The tempest" hence the name "Prospero and Caliban"): the inferiority (Prospero) Complex and the dependence (Caliban) complex.
This topic is a little too controversial and too psycho-analytical for me to elaborate further. However, here are a few common thoughts on Mannoni's ideas:

1) "One theory Mannoni applies to his study is his belief that humans accuse others of faults they find in themselves."
2) "Mannoni states that Europeans in Madagascar exhibit the need to feel highly regarded by others.[..]This (inferiority) complex falls into place especially for the colonizer with self-esteem that is not quenched, or more specifically raised, while in the presence of his own people, where he feels that he can not compete."
3) "After being forced out of the stable routine of their tribal society by colonizers, the Malagasy tasted abandonment for the first time. Mannoni believes that the lack of stability caused a strong reliance on the colonizers.[..] The drive to avoid a sense of abandonment results in dependence."

His theories were highly criticized by renown authors such as Aime Cesaire and Frantz Fanon.
As I say, I will not comment further because of my lack of knowledge on the matter at hand but I would love to hear your opinion on Mannoni's work or if you have updated knowledge of the number of casualties from the March 1947 massacre (here estimated at 89,000 deaths).

For my part, I will leave you with a quote and a story. One is a Malagasy proverb from Mannoni's book; the other is a critic of Mannoni's conclusions on the dependency complex from a personal anecdote Manoni wrote in his book by Maurice Bloch (in French, apologies for the english-speakers only).

1) "Ny olombelona hoatra ny ladimboatavo, kara fotorana, iray ihany" (The living are like the branching of a pumpkin stem, at the base there is but one stem.)

2) "Apprenant un jour que son entraîneur de tennis souffre d'une crise de malaria, Mannoni se rend chez lui pour lui apporter des médicaments antipaludiques. Ce qui s'ensuit est, aux yeux de Mannoni, une vérification de sa théorie de la dépendance. Il se passe en effet qu'au lieu, une fois guéri, de lui manifester la reconnaissance attendue par Mannoni, le jeune moniteur ne va plus cesser de lui réclamer de menus cadeaux....

De prime abord, la conduite du jeune homme apparaît à Mannoni comme étant soit répréhensible soit illogique...
l est intéressant d'examiner ce que Mannoni manque de percevoir et de faire en aboutissant à cette conclusion[...] Il n'a pas une seconde l'idée d'aborder le sujet avec l'intéressé ou d'en parler avec un Malgache. Troisièmement, il ne songe pas à observer la façon dont les Malgaches se traitent entre eux. Au lieu de cela, dans la plus profonde ignorance des circonstances de la vie quotidienne malgache, il s'empresse d'élaborer un scénario psychologique susceptible de « cadrer » avec le comportement qui l'intrigue et il cherche du renfort du côté d'auteurs comme Adler dont rien n'indique qu'ils en savent plus que lui sur Madagascar ! [...]
Les demandes de dons, réciproquement adressées, ont pour fonction d'instaurer et de perpétuer une relation sociale égalitaire ; La parité sociale se manifeste par ce biais. [...] il (moniteur de tennis) attendait certainement de Mannoni que celui-ci se conduise de même et lui adresse, de semblable façon, des demandes de présents. Or Mannoni, par ignorance, a réagi exactement comme l'entraîneur de tennis craignait vraisemblablement qu'un Européen ne réagisse. Il a manifesté, aux yeux du jeune homme, son refus de l'établissement d'une relation d'amitié [...]"

Une demande de cadeaux reciproques comme forme d'amitie, c'est chose commune a Madagascar !?

Bio de Octave Mannoni en francais
Bio of Mannoni in english.
Manoni's book: "Prospero and caliban: the psychology of colonization".
La Critique du livre de Mannoni par Maurice Bloch ( London school of economics ) en francais.
Massacre de Mars 1947 : etats des lieux. et plus.