ETHNONYMS: The main political units in what is now Betsileo territory, prior to its conquest in 1830 by the Merina, northern neighbors of the Betsileo, were Lalangina (east), Isandra (west), and the various statelets and chiefdoms of Arindrano (south). The ethnic label "Betsileo" is a product of Merina conquest; it does not appear on a list of Malagasy societies published by Etienne de Flacourt in 1661. The term "Arindrano" (Eringdranes) was in use by the mid-seventeenth century, according to French explorers.
CONRAD P. KOTTAK