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Ethnology of the Akamba and Other East African Tribes
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Historical SummaryThe Omaha are said to have ridded themselves of an obnoxious person as inconspicuously as possible:
Within the Tent Sacred to War was kept a staff of ironwood, one end of which was rough, as if broken. On this splinted end poison was put when the staff was to be used officially for punishment. In the pack kept in this tent was found a bladder, within which were four rattlesnake heads, and with them in a separate bundle the poison fangs. . . . These were probably used to compound the poison put on the staff. As men’s bodies were usually naked, it was not difficult when near a person in a crowd to prod him with the staff, making a wound and introducing the deadly poison, which is said always to have resulted in death. This form of punishment was applied to a man who made light of the authority of the chiefs or of the wainwaxube, the packs which could authorize a war party, such a person being a disturber of the peace and order of the tribe. The punishment was decided on by the Council of Seven Chiefs, which designated a trustworthy man to apply the staff to the offender. Sometimes the man was given a chance for his life by having his horses struck and poisoned. If, however, he did not take this warning, he paid the forfeit of his life, for he would be struck by the poisoned staff end and killed.2
2Fletcher, A.C.n/an/an/an/a, and F.laFleschen/an/an/an/a, "The Omaha Tribe," Bur. Amer. Ethnol., Ann. Rep., 27: 213.
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Chicago: "Ethnology of the Akamba and Other East African Tribes," Ethnology of the Akamba and Other East African Tribes in Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, ed. Thomas, William I. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1937), Original Sources, accessed May 10, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=9VYC614HVYIPSHA.
MLA: . "Ethnology of the Akamba and Other East African Tribes." Ethnology of the Akamba and Other East African Tribes, Vol. 27, in Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, edited by Thomas, William I., New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1937, Original Sources. 10 May. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=9VYC614HVYIPSHA.
Harvard: , 'Ethnology of the Akamba and Other East African Tribes' in Ethnology of the Akamba and Other East African Tribes. cited in 1937, Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, ed. , McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York. Original Sources, retrieved 10 May 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=9VYC614HVYIPSHA.
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