People and Culture - Madagascar - page 55

Among the Tsimihety it is fady to work the land on Tuesdays; Thursday is also a fady day
for some people, both for funerals and for farming.
A fady is not intended to restrict the freedom of the Malagasy but to ensure happiness
andanimprovedqualityoflife.Thatsaid,however,therearesomecruel fady whichChris-
tianmissionarieshavebeentrying,overthecenturies,toeliminate.Oneisthetabooagainst
twins among the Antaisaka people of Mananjary. Historically twins were killed or aban-
doned in the forest after birth. Today this is against the law but still persists and twins may
notbeburiedinatomb.Catholicmissionarieshaveestablishedanorphanageintheareafor
the twins born to mothers torn between social tradition and maternal love. Many mothers
who would otherwise have to suffer the murder or abandonment of their babies can give
them to the care of the Church.
Many fady benefit conservation. For instance the killing of certain animals is often pro-
hibited, and the area around a tomb must be left undisturbed. Within these pockets of sac-
red forest, ala masina , it is strictly forbidden to cut trees or even to burn deadwood or leaf
litter. In southeast Madagascar there are alam-bevehivavy (sacred women's forests) along
a stretch of river where only women may bathe. Again, no vegetation may be cleared or
damaged in such localities.
For an in-depth study of the subject get hold of a copy of Taboo (see Click Here ).
Vintana Along with fady goes a complex sense of destiny called vintana . Broadly speak-
ing, vintana is to do with time - hours of the day, days of the week etc - and fady usually
involve actions or behaviour. Each day has its own vintana which tends to make it good or
bad for certain festivals or activities. Sunday is God's day; work undertaken will succeed.
Mondayisahardday,notagooddayforworkalthoughprojectsundertaken(suchasbuild-
ingahouse)willlast;Tuesdayisaneasyday-tooeasyfordeathsonoburialstakeplace-
butallrightfor famadihana (exhumation)andlightwork;Wednesdayisusuallythedayfor
funerals or famadihana ; Thursday is suitable for weddings and is generally a 'good' day;
Friday, zoma , is a 'fat' day, set aside for enjoyment, but is also the best day for funerals;
Saturday, a 'noble' day, is suitable for weddings but also for purification.
As an added complication, each day has its own colour. For example Monday is a black
day. A black chicken may have to be sacrificed to avoid calamity, dark-coloured food
should not be eaten and people may avoid black objects. Tuesday is multicoloured, Wed-
nesday brown, Thursday black, Friday red, Saturday blue, and Sunday white.
Tsiny and tody A third force shapes Malagasy morality. In addition to fady and vintana ,
there is tody and its partner tsiny. Tody is somewhat similar to the Hindu/Buddhist karma.
Thewordmeans'return'or'retribution'andindicatesthatforanyactionthereisareaction.
Tsiny means 'fault', usually a breach of the rules laid down by the ancestors.