Tangena
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Tangena was a form of trial by ordeal practiced in Madagascar to determine the guilt or innocence of an accused party. The trial utilized seeds of the tree species Cerbera manghas, which produces seed
A 19th-century artist's depiction of tangena being performed in a forest glade in Madagascar
Cerbera manghas (known formerly as Cerbera tanghin), showing plum-like fruit, halved to reveal toxic seed - as depicted in a coloured plate from Köhler's Medizinal Pflanzen
Ranavalona I
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Ranavalona I, also known as Ramavo or Ranavalo-Manjaka I or Ranavalona reniny, was the sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861. After positioning herself as queen following the death
Tangena
…the deaths of as much as 2% of the population of the central province of Madagascar each year on average. Mortality peaked during the reign of Queen Ranavalona I (1828–1861), when the tangena ordeal was used extensively. The belief in the genuineness and accuracy of tangena was so strongly held among all that…
Posthumous portrait, 1905
Queen Ranavalona I with her son and heir Prince Rakoto. Posthumous circa 1875
Ranavalona traveling on her filanzana (palanquin), accompanied by her son Rakoto on horseback and a retinue of slaves and soldiers. Posthumous, 1895
Ranavalona built a wooden palace (upper right) called Manjakamiadana, the largest structure in the Rova compound of Antananarivo. It was later encased in stone during Ranavalona II's reign.