Facing Familiar Strangers and Potential Friends: Rumours of Betrayal, Ambiguous Friendships and the Dangers of Poison in Urban Madagascar

Abstract

In this article, I explore the different ways in which educated young people in urban Mahajanga experience and anticipate social relationships. Taking rumours of betrayal as my starting point, I shed light on the ambivalent nature of friendship and commensality. While both phenomena echo Malagasy values encompassing solidarity and sharing, they also contain the threat of switching into dangerous territory: when trust becomes mistrust, a close friend can well become an enemy and a commensal situation might ultimately be poisoned. This article focuses on a relatively affluent group of young people and examines how narratives of betrayal both reflect and contribute to general frustrations and worries about personal failure. Individual life courses revolve essentially around a social project of anticipation which includes not only hope and aspiration but also fear of potential failure and of arousing envy among others. I argue that these generalised anxieties do not stifle social interaction; instead they foster an attitude of suspicion that serves as a useful tool of temporary detachment, giving space to gather knowledge about someone or something before determining the appropriate response.