Madagascar is an island off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. It is a cultural oddity, its native inhabitants being Malayo-Polynesian in origin and some neighboring influences of continental East African influences. They are believed to have migrated from what is now Indonesia and surrounding island chains to Madagascar around the 3rd century via Southeast Asia, Middle East and East Africa and not across the ocean.

The music of madagascar stems from the following influences; Malayo-polynesian, Indonesian, East African, European, and some early Arabic influences.