When a man finds life burdensome, disgraceful, and perilous to him, and consequently commits suicide he is given great credit and honour. But when out of shame for a mean act he commits suicide, his corpse is considered abominable and cast into the bush unburied.
(a) Should a man or woman be provoked to commit suicide, the provoker is held responsible for the same. The penalty is a very heavy fine to be paid to the family of the victim or forfeiture of the provoker’s life. The corpse of the suicide is not buried, but is removed to the house of the provoker till the judgment shall have been satisfied; then the corpse is taken over by the family, who bury it according to the rites and ceremonies for the burial of suicides.
[#12]Â Yoruba: “Yoruba Laws and Customs: Suicide,” from A. K. Ajisafe, The Laws and Customs of the Yoruba People, London: Routledge; Lagos: C.M.S. Bookshop, 1924, preface; p. 32. [field date 1906 ff]