the primary method of social control in rural Madagascar. Fady is a system of taboo ordained by razana (ancestors) and mediated by ombiasa ("medicine men"), which replaces the European tradition of personal moral responsibility in the manner of Islamic kismet or Hindu karma.

A typical fady holds that once upon a time the babakoto lived in the trees, eating fruit and leaves and enjoying a happy if unadventurous existence. Two of the babakoto's children made the mistake of coming down to ground level, where they had to work very much harder to clear the forest and cultivate the land. But these two were the ancestors of the Malagasy. This is why it is forbidden to hunt the babakoto, or Indri indri.

While fady may still protect a few lemurs in some areas, the better educated are no longer greatly influenced by such stories. In particular, immigrants such as the Chinese are apt to regard lemurs as they do cats and dogs: docile, convenient, and highly edible.

A useful fady which long protected sifaka in the south was rescinded in the face of population increase and hunger, showing that fady cannot be depended upon to preserve lemurs today.