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Jour. Anth. Inst.
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Historical SummaryDundas states, however, that in general the rule prevailed among Bantu tribes that a man’s life could not be forfeited by his acts. The chief would execute for treason and there were killings of a mob character (throwing the culprit into the flames when caught in the act of arson, exterminating robber bands, etc.) which were afterward sanctioned by the chief. Some tribes, however, execute for murder, and the Olemba, a division of the Batetala, "force the guilty man to hang himself publicly."2
I myself have [says Dundas] experienced such a case in Ukamba. An old woman was reported to be a habitual witch and to have killed a number of children. She was summoned to a place where all the people had assembled in the bush, and her own son placed a noose round her neck, while the rest strangled her by hauling at the rope over a bough. It is my impression that this is regarded as a crime committed of necessity by the people as a whole, and sanctioned by the only one who could take vengeance or claim compensation, namely, the nearest relative. Whether or not the same custom obtains among other tribes I cannot say, but I note that among the Sumbwa a family may secure itself against blood revenge by disowning a member who has committed repeated murder or witchcraft: in Upare an incorrigible homicide was beaten and surrendered by his relatives (rupture of brotherhood).3
2Torday, E.n/an/an/an/an/a, "Culture and Environment: Cultural Differences among the Various Branches of the Batetela," , 51: 373.
3 Dundas, op. cit., 234.
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Chicago: "Jour. Anth. Inst.," Jour. Anth. Inst. in Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, ed. Thomas, William I. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1937), Original Sources, accessed April 26, 2024, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=5TAYA8IT5P9Z985.
MLA: . "Jour. Anth. Inst." Jour. Anth. Inst., Vol. 51, in Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, edited by Thomas, William I., New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1937, Original Sources. 26 Apr. 2024. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=5TAYA8IT5P9Z985.
Harvard: , 'Jour. Anth. Inst.' in Jour. Anth. Inst.. cited in 1937, Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, ed. , McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York. Original Sources, retrieved 26 April 2024, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=5TAYA8IT5P9Z985.
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