This stately couple was created by a Sakalava master to guard the entrance of the royal tomb at Tsianihy that commemorated King Toera, who was killed by the French in 1897. While erosion has softened the features of these works, they retain a solemn, commanding presence. The female figure, with arms at her sides, gracefully balances a vessel on her head. Her right hand is now empty and her body is draped with a simple garment. Her male counterpart once held a rifle and lance and wears a skirt that ends just below the knees. These delicate contrasting details are subtle accents that distinguish otherwise symmetrical depictions. While such works memorialize individuals, they are conceived not as portraits but as reflections upon ideas of birth and regeneration. In Malagasy traditions, the living strive to maintain their own fertility by affording deceased family members rebirth in the ancestral realm. The fundamental pairing of death and regeneration, along with the life-giving forces of royalty, is emphasized in funerary rites that take place at the beginning of the first lunar month. Throughout Madagascar, a northeast orientation is considered sacred in light of its association with the rising sun, propitious events, and the relationship it is believed to have with ancestors. As a result, tombs are often situated northeast of settlements.