Bushi love poem

Love poem translated into Bushi (alternatives : Kibošy, Kibushi, Kibouchi, Shibushi, Kibosy, Shibushi Shimaore, Kiantalaotsi, Antalaotra, Kimaore, Kiantalaotse, Sakalava, Kiantalaotsy-Majunga, Kibuki, Kibushi-Kimaore), for all lovers of the Mozambique Channel.

In Mayotte, Malagasy is called Kibošy (Kibushi) or Shibushi by the Shimaore speakers. It is a language spoken by part of the population, about fifty thousand people, and which is close to the Malagasy dialects in the north-west of Madagascar.

If in Mayotte we find languages that linguists classify as ancient, for example Macua and Antalaote, the other languages are more recent languages due to immigration, generally Comorian and Malagasy languages.

These languages are obviously linked to the mixing of populations from very diverse backgrounds, Africa (Swahili, Makwa, Madagascar with its Indonesian origins (those who came to Mayotte from the northeast coast, for most of them the Sakalavas, but also the Betsimisarakas, Vezos and Antalotes)), India, Middle East (trade and Islam).

The most important languages in terms of number of speakers are in order Shimaore (85%), followed by French and Comorian (50%), and Kibushi (33%). Therefore, we still have 1/3 of the population who speak this Malagasy of Mayotte.

Kibošy is one of the two regional languages on the island of Mayotte. The predominantly shibushi areas where Kibushi is spoken are scattered, for example in Mstangamouji (in the north of the island) and in Mronabeja (in the south of the island).

Like Shimaore, Shibushi is a local language, important in families, which is also a bit used in the media; on the other hand, it is not taught at school. There is also no real written language Kibošy, so its transcription is without standard.

Malagasy is a Malayo-Polynesian language, made up of several dialects including Kibushi, and it is the Merina dialect which is used as the official language in Madagascar.

Since a Malagasy dialect, it is outcome from several languages, and due to its contacts with the surrounding languages (Shimaoré, French, Arabic), the Malagasy of Mayotte (Kibošy) has integrated new words.

The island of Mayotte is a French overseas region located in the Indian Ocean, between the Mozambique Channel and Madagascar. It comprises two main islands: Petite-terre and Grande-terre. It is surrounded by a huge lagoon.

Mayotte was marked by the history of the maritime world of the Indian Ocean. Long dependent on the traditional Arab-Indian seasonal navigation, and the eruption of its African Bantu, Swahili and Malagasy margins, before gradually coming under European hegemony.

The Islam practiced in Mayotte is an old Shirazian heritage, brought by people from Hormuz and Hadramaut.