The present paper discusses all examples of the Messapic prohibitive particle ma. The analysis of the relevant contexts shows that ma can be used both with the imperative mood and with a mood that can be interpreted as an-a-subjunctive and is built either with primary or with secondary endings. Several of the inscriptions containing ma are epitaphs: it seems that this textual genre can present norms or prohibitions alongside the onomastic formulae of the deceased.