In the life of the Nzime or Badwe'e, keeping a current record of wrong-doing is deemed to be very important. Physically, one may record an evil act by making a notch in the pole that crosses the kitchen at the mid-point. Whenever one enters, one can see all the notches and recite mentally what the person in question had done to warrant each notch.
Forgiveness, in the Nzime or Badwe'e setting means "removing all the marks of evil deeds (bɨbaa) that you have bent or counted out against someone".
This is said when the forgiveness preceded any altercation or accusation from the injured party. He has only "bent (a finger)" as a mental act when he took note of the harm that the person did him.
This is said when the forgiveness followed a public altercation or accusation from the injured party. He has "counted out" in an overt way the numb
er of acts that harmed him, in the hearing of the offending party. While counting out these acts, he lays out a physical counter that may be a pebble or a strip of banana leaf.
This is said when the forgiveness preceded any altercation or accusation from the injured party. He has only "bent (a finger)" as a mental act when he took note of the harm that the person did him.This is said when the forgiveness followed a public altercation or accusation from the injured party. He has "counted out" in an overt way the numb
er of acts that harmed him, in the hearing of the offending party. While counting out these acts, he lays out a physical counter that may be a pebble or a strip of banana leaf.When the offended party forgives the guilty party, the latter presents a meal involving meat to which they both eat. There is an expectation that there will be no future mention of the forgiven offenses.
No comments:
Post a Comment