Masonjoany

{{Short description|Cosmetic wood paste worn in Madagascar, Comoros, and Mayotte}}

{{Italic title}}{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}

File:Malagasy Woman (26905387615).jpg laundry]]

File:Malagasy girl in Nosy Be wearing masonjoany 2011.jpg wearing ornamental masonjoany]]

Masonjoany ({{IPA|mg|masund͡zuanʲ}}) (or msindanu or msindzano in Comoros and Mayotte){{Efn|Also mosinjàno and msinjàno in the Comoros.{{Cite book |last=Gueunier |first=N. J. |title=Dictionnaire du dialecte malgache de Mayotte (Comores) |date=2016 |publisher=KomEDIT |isbn=978-2-37097-023-7 |edition=Nouvelle édition revue et augmentée |location=Moroni, Comores}}}} is a cosmetic paste and sunscreen made of ground wood. It is worn as a protective and decorative mask by women and girls in Madagascar, Comoros, and Mayotte. In Madagascar, the paste has yellow and white forms, with yellow masonjoany being derived from the wood of the tabàky or Madagascar sandalwood (Coptosperma madagascarensis), and white masonjoany deriving from the wood of the aviavy or fihamy tree (Ficus grevei).{{Cite book |last=Niaina Casimir |first=Miray |title=Valorisation du Ficus Grevei dans le domaine de la cosmétologie |publisher=Univ Européenne |year=2016 |isbn=978-3841618337 |pages=19, 78 |language=fr}} In Comoros, the most commonly used tree for msindzano is Indian sandalwood (Santalum album), producing a "canary yellow" paste.{{Cite report |url=https://peerj.com/preprints/96v1 |title=Biological Activities of East Indian Sandalwood Tree, Santalum album |last1=Misra |first1=Biswapriya B. |last2=Dey |first2=Satyahari |date=2013-11-12 |publisher=PeerJ PrePrints |issue=e96v1 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Pitcher |first=Gemma |title=Madagascar & Comoros |publisher=Lonely Planet |year=2004 |isbn=978-1741041002 |language=en}} The wood is ground against a surface of ceramic, stone, or coral skeleton, and combined with water and oil to make the paste.{{Cite web |title=Le premier masque de msindzano sans corail {{!}}Parc naturel marin Mayotte |url=https://parc-marin-mayotte.fr/actualites/le-premier-masque-de-msindzano-sans-corail |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=parc-marin-mayotte.fr |language=fr}} The practice in Madagascar originates from cultural exchange in Nosy Be between Malagasy natives and Indian merchants, who first arrived to the island in the 11th century CE.{{Cite web |last=Nunoo |first=Ama |date=2020-09-28 |title=Why women in the West and South of Madagascar paint their faces |url=https://face2faceafrica.com/article/why-women-in-the-west-and-south-of-madagascar-paint-their-faces-with-this-miracle-mask12 |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=Face2Face Africa |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Gade |first=Daniel W. |date=1996 |title=Deforestation and Its Effects in Highland Madagascar |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3674005 |journal=Mountain Research and Development |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=101–116 |doi=10.2307/3674005 |jstor=3674005 |issn=0276-4741|url-access=subscription }}

Masonjoany is both protective and decorative: women wear it as sunscreen and insect repellent, and sometimes paint it in natural and abstract designs with a mix of contrasting white and yellow pastes. Common motifs in decorative masonjoany include flowers, stars, and leaves.{{Cite web |title=Painting on Tradition in Madagascar |url=https://www.peacecorps.gov/madagascar/stories/painting-tradition-madagascar/ |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=www.peacecorps.gov |language=en}} Other benefits associated with masonjoany in Madagascar include anti-aging, eliminating skin impurities, and cleansing the skin. Other benefits ascribed in Comoros include the lightening of skin as well as treatment of medical ailments like eczema, acne, and allergies.

File:Masonjoany.webm preparing masonjoany for herself on a market wall]]

Masonjoany in Madagascar is also worn for religious rituals and beauty pageants. Molecular biologist Gianfranco Rasuelo reported that a Malagasy woman he had met on the street had told him that yellow masonjoany was spread on the faces of widows in mourning, but noted that this information is apocryphal.{{Cite journal |last1=Mesa |first1=Camillo La |last2=Ranalison |first2=Oliarinony |last3=Randriantseheno |first3=Lovasoa N. |last4=Risuleo |first4=Gianfranco |date=2021-07-27 |title=Natural Products from Madagascar, Socio-Cultural Usage, and Potential Applications in Advanced Biomedicine: A Concise Review |journal=Molecules |language=en |volume=26 |issue=15 |pages=4507 |doi=10.3390/molecules26154507 |issn=1420-3049 |pmc=8348691 |pmid=34361660 |doi-access=free }} The paste is typical of Madagascar's Northwestern coastal region, particularly by Sakalava and Vezo women in the provinces of Nosy Be, Antsiranana, and Toliara—though it has spread throughout the island and can now be found adorning women's faces as far as the Central Highlands. Sakalava women wear yellow masonjoany when performing the Kahoitry ritual dance.{{Cite book |last=Rakotomalala |first=Mireille |title=The spirit's dance in Africa: evolution, transformation, and continuity in sub-Sahara |date=1997 |publisher=Galerie Amrad African Arts Publications |isbn=978-1-896371-01-6 |editor-last=Dagan |editor-first=Esther A. |location=Westmount, QC, Canada |chapter=The Traditional Dances of Madagascar |editor-last2=Ottenberg |editor-first2=Simon |editor-last3=Galerie Amrad African Arts}} The mask is ubiquitous throughout Mayotte, and is common, though waning in popularity, in Comoros.{{Cite web |date=2017-07-31 |title=Transmission intergénérationnelle de la préparation du Msindzano, masque de beauté au bois de santal. |url=https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/mayotte/transmission-intergenerationnelle-preparation-du-msindzano-masque-beaute-au-bois-santal-497911.html |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=Mayotte la 1ère |language=fr-FR}}