The Merina people, also known as Imerina, Antimerina, Borizany or Ambaniandro and formerly called Amboalambo, are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar. They are the "highlander" Malagasy ethnic group of the African island and one of the country's eighteen official ethnic groups. Their origins are diverse, primarily from the mixing of early Austronesian settlers who arrived from Maritime Southeast Asia before the 6th century and Bantu migrants from mainland Africa that arrived centuries later, forming the early Vazimba population. Later waves of Neo-Austronesians, along with smaller groups of Arabs, Indians and Europeans, further shaped the island's ethnic composition. They speak the Merina dialect of the official Malagasy language of Madagascar, an Austronesian language.