EWE

#10 The Criminality of Suicide
     (B. Ellis, 1890)

In Dahomi it is criminal to attempt to commit suicide, because every man is the property of the king, The bodies of suicides are exposed to public execration, and the head is always struck off and sent to Agbomi; at the expense of the family if the suicide were a free man, at that of his master if he were a slave.

[#10] Ewe: “The Criminality of Suicide,” from A. B. Ellis, The Ewe-Speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa; their religion, manners, customs, laws, languages, &c. [originally published in 1890]. Reprint: Chicago: Benin Press, Ltd., 1965, p. 224.

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under African Traditional Sub-Saharan Cultures

Leave a Reply