Moraingy, mrenge, moring: duration and re-invention of traditional fighting practices in Indian Ocean Islands: Madagascar, Mayotte and Reunion.

The moring is a traditional fighting practice shared by Madagascar and the small islands of the Southwest part of Indian Ocean that is still popular today. This article wishes to enhance how from the same Malagasy origin, physical activity is diffused and renewed during the 20th century in the big island, Mayotte and Reunion Island. Dependent on political and cultural challenges, it assumes technical forms and social meanings according to its location and its modes of diffusion. Based on ancestral values, through the lively performance it generates, the physical aspect remains a strong identity vehicle, repeatedly mobilizing the dimension of memory and heritage. Our methodological approach lies on a combination of written sources: the press and travel stories and oral sources like interviews and anthropological investigations.