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I am claiming this review. I will try to leave comments in a day or two.
Comments: The article looks pretty good. Here are my starting comments:
"Ralambo is considered one of the greatest ancient rulers of Imerina..." — by whom?
Since this doesn't add much and the sources are not especially authoritative, I rephrased it.
The rephrasing didn't address the question. He was one of the greatest ancient rulers of Imerina according to whom? – VisionHolder «
talk » 04:31, 3 March 2011 (UTC)reply
I overlooked the second occurrence of this statement. It's been changed now. --
Lemurbaby (
talk) 16:34, 3 March 2011 (UTC)reply
"It is said..." — We need to be careful with this. It's best to attribute statements to their source, if possible... even if it is just oral tradition.
I removed each instance of the phrase and replaced with the source.
"The egg was thrown and hit a warrior in the head, killing him on contact..." — Although it's obvious, it might be worthwhile to start off by saying that this is according to legend.
The fact that this is a legend has been made explicit now.
How many sampy were there? Should they all be listed?
There's no way to know how many sampy there were since they were being made by commoners in many communities throughout the island. I'm intending to write an article dedicated to the sampy before too long here where I will list all of the royal sampy, their reputed powers and origins and all of that good stuff.
I will revise this section to better introduce the concept of sampy for readers who aren't familiar with them. --
Lemurbaby (
talk) 17:43, 2 March 2011 (UTC)reply
The very last sentence requires a citation.
Got it.
Two more needed citations have now popped up. – VisionHolder «
talk » 04:31, 3 March 2011 (UTC)reply
Citations 10 & 11 should be handled as footnotes. Would you like to me to demonstrate how to use {{Sfn}}, and possibly convert the article to use
list defined references while I'm at it?
Thank you Alex - this looks great. --
Lemurbaby (
talk) 16:34, 3 March 2011 (UTC)reply
If you want it, I uploaded an
alternative photo of some zebu to Commons. And on a completely unrelated note, I also have pictures from the same Malagasy village where a zebu is being treated for a hole in its abdomen using a green paste and a raw egg. It was very interesting to watch. If the photos would be of use to you, just say something on my talk page.
Ouch, that sounds painful - poor animal! Those zebu are awfully thin... life certainly is tough for them in the south! That's a great shot, although with the overcast sky the contrast and colors are muted (whereas the pic I'm using now has contrast that's too strong). I'll give it a try and see if it works better here than what I have. Thanks for uploading the photo.
"Due to the enduring cultural legacy left by this king, Ralambo is often considered a key figure in the development of Merina cultural identity." — Maybe I missed it, but this sentence in the lead is not supported in the body text. – VisionHolder «
talk » 23:35, 3 March 2011 (UTC)reply
"Ramaitsoanala took the name Rasolobe" ... is there no information about the transition from the name "Rasolobe" to "Queen Randapavola"? – VisionHolder «
talk » 23:55, 3 March 2011 (UTC)reply
"at Androkaroka, north of Alasora" — Since articles for these locations don't exist, it might help to redlink them and briefly say where in Madagascar they are located (i.e. "near Antananarivo"). – VisionHolder «
talk » 00:05, 4 March 2011 (UTC)reply
I'd prefer not to redlink since I don't expect these articles will be written. Many of these small villages don't exist anymore. Instead I indicated that these are all villages in Imerina, and mentioned the general location where my sources provided the information. -
Lemurbaby (
talk) 14:48, 5 March 2011 (UTC)reply
With the addition of more spouse and children to the infobox, these will need to be discussed and referenced in the text, even if just a brief mention or listing. – VisionHolder «
talk » 23:04, 5 March 2011 (UTC)reply
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Africa, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of
Africa on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join
the discussion and see a list of open tasks.AfricaWikipedia:WikiProject AfricaTemplate:WikiProject AfricaAfrica articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to
join the project and
contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the
documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography articles
I am claiming this review. I will try to leave comments in a day or two.
Comments: The article looks pretty good. Here are my starting comments:
"Ralambo is considered one of the greatest ancient rulers of Imerina..." — by whom?
Since this doesn't add much and the sources are not especially authoritative, I rephrased it.
The rephrasing didn't address the question. He was one of the greatest ancient rulers of Imerina according to whom? – VisionHolder «
talk » 04:31, 3 March 2011 (UTC)reply
I overlooked the second occurrence of this statement. It's been changed now. --
Lemurbaby (
talk) 16:34, 3 March 2011 (UTC)reply
"It is said..." — We need to be careful with this. It's best to attribute statements to their source, if possible... even if it is just oral tradition.
I removed each instance of the phrase and replaced with the source.
"The egg was thrown and hit a warrior in the head, killing him on contact..." — Although it's obvious, it might be worthwhile to start off by saying that this is according to legend.
The fact that this is a legend has been made explicit now.
How many sampy were there? Should they all be listed?
There's no way to know how many sampy there were since they were being made by commoners in many communities throughout the island. I'm intending to write an article dedicated to the sampy before too long here where I will list all of the royal sampy, their reputed powers and origins and all of that good stuff.
I will revise this section to better introduce the concept of sampy for readers who aren't familiar with them. --
Lemurbaby (
talk) 17:43, 2 March 2011 (UTC)reply
The very last sentence requires a citation.
Got it.
Two more needed citations have now popped up. – VisionHolder «
talk » 04:31, 3 March 2011 (UTC)reply
Citations 10 & 11 should be handled as footnotes. Would you like to me to demonstrate how to use {{Sfn}}, and possibly convert the article to use
list defined references while I'm at it?
Thank you Alex - this looks great. --
Lemurbaby (
talk) 16:34, 3 March 2011 (UTC)reply
If you want it, I uploaded an
alternative photo of some zebu to Commons. And on a completely unrelated note, I also have pictures from the same Malagasy village where a zebu is being treated for a hole in its abdomen using a green paste and a raw egg. It was very interesting to watch. If the photos would be of use to you, just say something on my talk page.
Ouch, that sounds painful - poor animal! Those zebu are awfully thin... life certainly is tough for them in the south! That's a great shot, although with the overcast sky the contrast and colors are muted (whereas the pic I'm using now has contrast that's too strong). I'll give it a try and see if it works better here than what I have. Thanks for uploading the photo.
"Due to the enduring cultural legacy left by this king, Ralambo is often considered a key figure in the development of Merina cultural identity." — Maybe I missed it, but this sentence in the lead is not supported in the body text. – VisionHolder «
talk » 23:35, 3 March 2011 (UTC)reply
"Ramaitsoanala took the name Rasolobe" ... is there no information about the transition from the name "Rasolobe" to "Queen Randapavola"? – VisionHolder «
talk » 23:55, 3 March 2011 (UTC)reply
"at Androkaroka, north of Alasora" — Since articles for these locations don't exist, it might help to redlink them and briefly say where in Madagascar they are located (i.e. "near Antananarivo"). – VisionHolder «
talk » 00:05, 4 March 2011 (UTC)reply
I'd prefer not to redlink since I don't expect these articles will be written. Many of these small villages don't exist anymore. Instead I indicated that these are all villages in Imerina, and mentioned the general location where my sources provided the information. -
Lemurbaby (
talk) 14:48, 5 March 2011 (UTC)reply
With the addition of more spouse and children to the infobox, these will need to be discussed and referenced in the text, even if just a brief mention or listing. – VisionHolder «
talk » 23:04, 5 March 2011 (UTC)reply