Estimated at between 200 and 250 works scattered across the world, Sorabe manuscripts are currently the subject of an initiative for their inscription in the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register.
The Sorabe could soon join the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register. The Malagasy National Committee for Memory of the World is leading this project, which aims to recognize and preserve this Arabico-Malagasy documentary heritage. In this perspective, a conference dedicated to the Sorabe was held this Thursday at the headquarters of the Malagasy National Commission for UNESCO in Behoririka, by Dr. Silvia Neposteri, a lecturer and researcher at the University of Milan, Italy.
The Sorabe is linked to the arrival of Islamized migrants from Arabia on the east coast of Madagascar in the 15th century. They contributed to fixing the Malagasy language in writing using the Arabic alphabet. The works containing these writings, called “fandraka,” notably contain historical accounts, genealogies, divinatory practices, and medicinal knowledge.
Today, between 200 and 250 Sorabe manuscripts are believed to be scattered in different regions of the world. For Silvia Neposteri, “Their preservation involves gathering them whenever possible, but also their census, study, translation, and publication.”
These various steps would allow for better conservation of this heritage and ensure its transmission to future generations. A researcher on the Sorabe since 2009, Silvia Neposteri has already dedicated a work to this heritage, titled “Here is the history of our Anakara ancestors.” The book is based on Sorabe manuscripts kept at the Academy of Overseas Sciences in Paris.
Through the project for inscription in the UNESCO register, the Sorabe is thus the subject of a process of recognition and safeguarding of a written heritage that bears witness to a part of Madagascar’s history and knowledge.
Captured & Published at: 2026-09-29 05:38:35 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/09/patrimoine-le-sorabe-avance-dans-sa.html