What is "fady"

Fady \Fad"y\, a. Faded. [R.]
--Shenstone.

Fady, Al Fady, Fadey or Fadi is an Arabic male given name meaning "redeemer or savior", translating as "The Sacrifice":

• Fady Andraos, Palestinian singer and actor
• Fady Joudah, Palestinian-American poet and physician
• Fady Maalouf, Lebanese-German pop singer
• Fadey Sargsyan, Armenian scientist and politician
• Fadi Afash, Syrian footballer
• Fadi Frem, Lebanese politician
• Fadi Ghoson, Lebanese footballer
• Fadi Haddad, Lebanese music video director
• Fadi Hammadeh, Saudi Arabian racecar driver
• Fadi El Khatib, Lebanese basketball player
• Fadi Makki, Lebanese businessman and politician
• Fadi, fictional character in the Robert Ludlum novel The Bourne Betrayal

Fady, in Malagasy culture, refers to a wide range of cultural prohibitions or taboos. People, places, actions or object may be the subject of fady, which vary by region within Madagascar. The taboos are believed to be enforced by supernatural powers, and are particularly connected with Malagasy ancestor worship. Although some are held nationwide, others may be particular to regions, villages or even individual families. Fady are an integral part of Malagasy identity and play an important part in community and identity formation.

Common prohibitions include those against pointing at a tomb, against the eating of eels by pregnant women and, for onlookers, against describing a newborn baby as ugly. New fady are created constantly. When a new initiative or business is started, a ritual offering (joro) must be made to prove that it is not fady. Those who break fady (ota fady in the infinitive) are shunned as unclean (maloto) and for endangering the community's spiritual balance, regardless of whether or not the infraction was deliberate. Foreigners in Madagascar are advised to respect local fady and alter their behavior accordingly.

Fady also form an important influence in other aspects of Malagasy culture. The Malagasy for "please" or "excuse me" is azafady, literally translating as "may it not be fady to me".

Some writers have argued that fady are conceptually similar to unwritten social taboos in western culture, in which disregard can lead to the violator being shunned by the community.