The standard anthropological
view is that the Mikea are simply transformed refugees in
the forest of neighbouring populations such as the Vezo and
Masikoro (Tucker 2001 & Mikea website)
The evidence is that they have
similar rituals, social organisation
Indeed there is no
doubt that the Mikea lifestyle incorporates such individuals,
just as the gypsies of Europe incorporate
travellers.
Nonetheless, note the location
of the Mikea, exactly where the migrants form the African
mainland landed and the persistence of unetymologisable
vocabulary
Some of this is ‘avoidance’ vocabulary, i.e. manipulated speech, but there are words that
seem to have mainland cognates