ZEBU WAR
November 2020 - VILLAGE DE MATAVIAKOHO, Nord Menabe, Madagascar - Portrait of Jean Maximis NONON in his bedroom, 45 years old, married, father of 3 children, originally from the Antesaka ethnic group. NONON is considered by the military and civil authorities to be one of the most dangerous dahalo chiefs in the region. NONON refuses to be considered a dahalo. He justifies the possession of weapons in his village as a means of protecting himself from the dahalo coming from the South of Menabe who regularly attack him according to his statements. Yet many testimonies describe NONON as a cruel, determined and ruthless character. He submits the local peasants to his authority and levies a form of compulsory tax in kind or in money. He is said to be in possession of around 2,000 heads of cattle and can muster 200 men to carry out zebu theft operations.