Datoa, whose real name is Tefy Rabe, is the father of the Rabe family. At 46 he is an independent taxi driver in Antananarivo, a street philosopher and a grumbler, proud of his values: work, dignity and honour. He always thinks he has found the clever trick, and his clever tricks tend to make things worse than the problem they were meant to solve.
At a glance
| Name | Tefy Rabe, known as Datoa |
| Age | 46 |
| Family | Husband of Fara, father of Tsiky, Miora and Njaka, grandfather of Lita, son-in-law of Tata Malala, older brother of Paoly |
| Occupation | Independent taxi driver |
| In his taxi | Saint Christopher pendants |
| Phone | An old Nokia |
| Values | Work, dignity, honour |
The smartest man in the house, in his own eyes
That is Datoa's flaw and his charm at once: the faux-clever man who invents solutions worse than the problems. Behind the wheel of his taxi he philosophises about everything, he grumbles about everything, and he holds on to his sense of honour through every scrape.
A little out of step with modern life
The modern world moves a little too fast for Datoa, and he sticks with his old Nokia.
Datoa and those around him
- Fara, his wife: they argue, usually when he comes home late from an evening drink, and they share a deep complicity.
- R-Biz, Fara's nephew: he gets on Datoa's nerves, and Datoa adores him.
- Jean-Michel, the French investor: his friend, whom he likes a lot.
- Paoly, his younger brother, with whom he squabbles about tyres.
- Tsiky, Miora and Njaka, his children, and Lita, his grandson.
Where to see Datoa
His stories are gathered on his page at nyrabe.com. Among them, in Malagasy:
- Datoa
- Datoa be style ("Datoa in style")
- Mila finday vaovao ("Needs a new phone")
- Korotana anaty Taxibe ("Trouble on the taxi-be")
- Mamonjy mariazy ("Off to a wedding")
The whole family is presented on Who are the characters of Ny Rabe?