Sociopolitical Restructuring
Andriamasinavalona's reorganization and refinement of the subdivisions of the noble class took into account the precedents set by Andrianjaka and Ralambo. The Zazamarolahy ("Numerous Children") descended from Andrianjaka's children were designated princes and were given the sole claim to rule the kingdom. He authorized them alone to be shaded by the red parasol of royalty and decreed that their tombs should be topped with a tranomasina, a small wooden house without windows or hearth and containing their worldly riches, where their spirit could return to visit after death. Unlike other noble subcastes, the Zazamarolahy were not constrained to inhabit a particular neighborhood, as Andriamasinavalona acknowledged the privilege of future sovereigns to decree the proximity of these most influential nobles according to the particularities of changing circumstances. By royal decree, Andriamasinavalona also created a new sub-class of Zazamarolahy, which he named the Zanak'andriana ("Children of the Sovereign"). While all the children of the royal wives who had given birth to the king's four designated heirs were considered lords and had been assigned fiefs to rule, their children received the designation of Zanak'andriana. New rulers could only be selected from among this sub-class of nobles.
The Andriamasinavalona were declared the elders of the society entrusted with preserving the unity of the state. The four wives of King Andriamasinavalona whose children were not chosen to rule one of the four districts of Imerina were assigned this title and transferred it to their descendents. The king declared that members of this sub-caste would inhabit Ambatobevanja, at the southern limit of the neighborhood of Andohalo in Antananarivo, just outside the walls of the royal palace. Although not authorized to rule the kingdom, the Andriamasinavalona had the right to become "masters of the fief" (tompo-menakely) and were also allowed to construct tranomasina on their tombs. They were also assigned the honor of burying deceased sovereigns and carrying out sacrifices upon the request of the king. Outside of Antananarivo, the Zazamarolahy and the Andriamasinavalona settled throughout Imerina in the individual fiefs centered around a hill and its respective town that they governed. In this way, the royal family always lived in close proximity to the people they ruled, assigned the responsibility of ensuring their defense and providing for their livelihood.
A series of new rules were established by Andriamasinavalona to strengthen the authority of the tompo-menakely over their subjects. Inhabitants of the fief paid taxes (isam-pangady) to the local lord, and offered him the hindquarters of all slaughtered zebu as tribute. Parents who adopted or disowned a child paid a fee of one silver piastre to the lord, and the property of those who died without children would revert to the king, who would share it with him. The inhabitants of a fief were bound to execute any work or task ordered by the tompo-menakely. The authority of the lord was highly independent and interference of the king was infrequent, in part due to the close kinship ties uniting the king to the Zazamarolahy and Andriamasinavalona sub-castes.
The Zana-tompo (or Andriantompokoindrindra) were also considered elders, and Andriamasinavalona decreed that kings would henceforth select their wives and royal food tasters from among this caste. The rites pertaining to circumcision were another honor reserved for the Zana-tompo. The king decreed that they should inhabit the countryside south of the capital stretching from Ambavahadimitafo southward to Ambatolampy. Outside of Antananarivo, the Zana-tompo lived in the village of Ambohimalaza.
The Andriamboninolona (or Zanakambony), Andriandranando (or Zafinandriandranando) and Zanaralambo were considered junior nobles. They were excluded from most of the rules imposed on other noble castes and exempted from fanampoana (forced labor in lieu of monetary tax payment). Instead, they were made responsible for maintaining a key dike that supported irrigation of the capital's rice paddies, producing the silk used to make the king's clothing, and conscripting soldiers for the king's army. They were also responsible for gathering used hoes for the royal blacksmiths to melt down and then supervise the artisans as the metal was crafted into nails, shackles and other forged objects.
Within Antananarivo, the territory of the Andriamboninolona, designated generations before by King Andrianjaka, included the neighborhood of Ambatomasina (east of Andohalo) and extended from Ambohitantely eastward to Ambatolampy and north to the principal road that led to Ambavahadimasina. The neighborhoods reserved in Antananarivo for the Andriandranando, also decreed by Andrianjaka, laid to the northeast of Andohalo and extended from Ambavahadimasina in the west to Ambohimanoro in the east, and from the road to Ambavahadimasina northward to Ambatonandriankoto. King Andriamasinavalona decreed that within the capital city, the Zanaralambo would live in the area delimited by Ambohitsoa to the southwest, Ambodivoanonoka to the east, and Andohalokely in the north. Outside the capital, each group had its designated villages. The Andriamboninolona lived in Ambohitromby, Fieferana, Ambohipiainana and Ambohitriniandriana. The Andriandranando lived in Soamanandrarina, Betsizaraina, Ambohibe, Ihadiambola and Akadindramamy. Finally, the Zanaralambo inhabited Lazaina, Ambatofotsy and Masindray.
In addition to these new roles for noble sub-castes, Andriamasinavalona singled out the Antehiroka as sacred royal advisers and custodians of ancestral traditions related to circumcision. This clan was formed of the descendents of Andriampirokana and his two sons, themselves descendents of a vazimba king. Andriampirokana befriended King Ralambo and played an integral part in establishing the tradition of circumcision in Imerina. The collection of water gourds and arranging of freshly woven mats for use in the ceremony were made the responsibility of this clan. The Antehiroka were also tasked with delivering royal benedictions, receiving hasina (tribute) on behalf of the king, and wrapping deceased sovereigns in the traditional lambamena shroud. In Antananarivo, the Antehiroka were placed in Ampamaho, the location of their clan tomb. In the countryside, Andriamasinavalona decreed that they should inhabit Ambohitrinimanga and Amboditsiry.
Read more about this topic: Andriamasinavalona, Reign