ABSTRACT
Proof of the Malagasies’ extreme susceptibility to feelings of guilt is their belief in the tody, according to which the desire to hurt someone else rebounds upon the person guilty of the desire by virtue of a magical lex talionis. The Malagasies who had not taken part in the revolt, but who had nevertheless unconsciously felt rather guilty for having hoped that the nationalists would win, spontaneously demanded the exemplary punishment of the men whom up to then they had looked upon as their models and heroes, without even waiting for a verdict on their actual “guilt." When the disturbances first began, the colonialists with one accord and without the slightest hesitation demanded the arrest of the Malagasy chiefs and their execution without trial. The colonialists felt that their rivals in the hearts of the Malagasies were not freedom but the actual persons of the Malagasy leaders, whether or not these men had anything to do with unleashing the revolt.
