[2] The taboos are believed to be enforced by supernatural powers, and are particularly connected with Malagasy ancestor worship.
[3] The word is a descendant of Proto-Austronesian *paliSi (compare with Sundanese pamali, Old Javanese pali-pali).
[4] 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.
When a new initiative or business is started, a ritual offering (joro) must be made to prove that it is not fady.
[3] 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.