Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 8-27-1973 The as sswood ordeal of the west Atlantic tribes of Sierra Leone and Liberia: an ethnohistoriographic survey Sarah Louise Davies Portland State University Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy . Follow this and additional works at: http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the African Studies Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Davies, Sarah Louise, "The ass swood ordeal of the west Atlantic tribes of Sierra Leone and Liberia: an ethnohistoriographic survey" (1973). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 1675. 10.15760/etd.1674 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Sarah Louise Davies for the Master of Arts in Anthropology presented August 27, 1973. Title: The Sasswood Ordeal of the West Atlantic Tribes of Sierra Leone and Liberia: An Ethnohistoriographic St;.rve.y APPROVED BY MEMBERS OF THE THESIS .COMMITTEE: John H. Atherton, Chairman . Joe,:~>E. Pierce The sasswood ordeal of poison presents a diviaatory r:Ltnal which has been used in criminal cases by. the traditional African of Sierra Leone and Liberia. For at least six hundred years., the peoples of these present countries have imposed this strictest o~· ordeals on 2 their moral transgre.ssors; und the p-.ract:tc.e has stn:·vivc:d,. despite. the protestations of nineteenth-century missionarit~.2 and the encroachment of the western world~ 'rhe investigation of· the historical ev:L.den.ce of the sas::.nJfhJd ordt:~ciJ among the West Atlantic td.bes of Africa has three basic. purposi2.s ~ First, because of the paucity of interpretive data on the sasswood ord~::r:::~i. the primary purpose of the thesi.s has been to more clearly dsli·~:sa.te thr-· menning, characteristics, and functions of this poison ordeel 2.s well t5.•3 the swearing of oaths among the peoples of Si.erra lieone and Liberia by amalgamating historical and more contemporaneous evidence. To this end~ the distributi.on of the ordeal was considered; and tlesi~'r..iption~1 wer~-."! made of the various characteristics of the trait-ncomplex--the poison? s action~ the ritual and cere~onial aspects, the saam·:ood specialist, the accusations made in connectic11 with the crdeal as i;;ell as in.digc:nous myths of origin of the ordeaL Intracultural correlations we.re thEm presented t0 de.monstrate the interdigitation of the ~lem.ents ~tn a enltun~ in relation to the ordeal. Finally, some functions, other than the ob­ vious guilt-ch.::termining aspect, were presented to demonstrate the varioD3 ways in which it had been used historically. A second purpos~ of this thesis wasto demonstrate the intrinsi- cally conservative: qualities of the ordeal as ar.. aspsct of religion and law. By ass~ssing the irr.pact cf specific historic<tl influences in the region of the V:it:st Atlantie: trih-as, such a-3 Iel~.;-~~; colonia.lism, slavery, and urbanization~, it was shown that no si3~.1.ificaL.t change had been wit,­ nessed through the six-hundred-year period of the hLst.ori.cal re.cord. Ir~ conc.luding this aspectt it was noted that certaiu '~w~aknes3es=- in the 3 freque.ntly--caused problerr-s in i.nterpreting what appeare.d to be an intri.nslcally conservattve. mn.1.1rc of the sasswood ordeal. A third. purpose, r~lated to the second, m=t.s the application and assessment of "ethnohistor1ographic" techniques, that is, those spe.cifi.c methods of historic.al scholarship utilized by the ethnographer i.n in- vestigating past cultures.· The limits of the use of the ethnohistorio-· ·, graphi.c techniques included observational b:t?-s (which was readily accountable, dealing as it did. with hyperbole), the preoccupation with "sensational" dat::: (which provided disparaties, over-emphases in the. historical record), as well as political. motivations such that national prejudice frequently determined the ":fnterpretat:i.on11 placed on the ordeal. In addition, it was noted that be~ause the sasswood ordeal may be classi.fied as "esoterica," the record for this practj.ce was generally spotty; and this fact affected -~µterpretations on the actual change manifested in the trait-·complex. The main contribution made by this study has been to afford future readers with a composite a-ad relatively complete source of information on one specific type of po.ison ordeal practiced among the West Atlantic tribes cf Sierr.~ L~one and Liberia .. THE SASSWOOIJ Oim:KA.t QF THE WEST kTf-.ANTIC TRI::;Es OF SIERRA LEONE AND LlB?RIA: f~ E1'HNOHISTORIOGRA.PHIC . SURVEY by SA.RAH LOUISE DAVIES A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirem2nts ,_for the degree of ¥.iAS1'ER OF ARTS in ANTHROPOLOGY Portland Stete Un.iversi.ty 1973 For Simon, a brazen little man who knows and M.H., his vigor, contagious intensity, and !nsatiable curiosity, his empathy and gentility TO THE OFFICE OF GRADUATE .STUDIES AND RESEARCH: The members of the C9mmittee approve the·thesis of Sarah Louise Davies presented August 27, 1973. John H. Atherton, Chairman ;J6e E. Pierce ~~~ ~ Ukaeje APPROVED: ~~of Anthropology David T. Clark, Dean, Graduate Studies and Re~earch December 28, 1973 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Perhaps more than a.:qy one event, I would like to acknowledge as the start of all this, 2:00 PM, September 28, 1965, and all that occurred at that time (and after). Special note and thanks should be given for the consistent kindness, care, and unflagging consideration given to me by friends at ~ortland State University,.especially Marilyn Peterson, Patt Lamb, Marilyn Couture, Bob Bogue, and _!:c.ms mes_ autres_ confreres. To my Mg and Pa, r·can only say thank you for their persis­ tent prodding and their moral support. Finally, I should like to thank Dr. John Atherton for his academic support from t~e beginnings, and Dr. Daniel Scheans, for his humorsome sense of discipline. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • - .. iv LIST OF FIGURES ·viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of Problem • 2 Theory • 6 Methodology 7 Historical Ethnography Ethnohistoriography Problems of-Written Sources Oral Tradition The West Atlantic Tribes • 15 Prospectus • 17 II THE RELATION OF ;LA.W AND RELIGION • 19 Social Sanctions • 19 Ritual 23 Divination 24 Oaths snd Ordeals 26 III THE SASSWOOD ORDEAL OF POISON 34 Distribution and ·Names .. 34 Operation of the Ordeal 37 vi CHAPTER PAGE l'he pois,on ,. • -~a ., .. • • • • " • • .. • • • ., • • • 40 The Sasswood s'pecialist . 43 The Accusers and-- the Accused- • • • • • • • e • 44 Origin Myths • • - ,. • • • • • • • • .. • • • • • • • l•B Intracultural Gorrelations • . ~ . 52 Econom~ic Correlations Social'arid Political Correlat:f.ons Socializatioµ Functions- . .• 59 Legal Mechanism Social Unifier Equalizer of Social Status Association:,-.;;-li.th Slavery Politics ~nd -"Police" Educatfon IV HISTORICAL INFLU~NCES AND THE MA.i.~IFESTATIONS OF CFIANGE • · .<-·; • • '.,_. • e • • • • • .• • • • .• 68 Culture Change and the Ordeal 68 H~storical In~luences . 72 Islam Slavery Western European Influences Urbanization v SlfJY!MARY AND CONCLUSIONS ~ . -91 Sunnnary • -a • • • • • • 91 Conc.lus ions • • • • • • • • • • • t> "' • • • • • • 94 Ethnohistor.iographic problems Persistence_and Change in the Ordeal Historical J:nfluences Gener2l Contluaions • • Cl • • • • • • • • • 99 CHAPTER PAGE BIBLIOGRAPHY • • • e • .. _... • • • • • • • c • • . -,. • • • 101 APPENDIX ••oe••••••·••o• . 111 Appendix A: :Summary of the· Explore.rs to Sierra 'teone and Liberia, wi~h Special !\ef ~rence to the Prac ti.ce of the Sasswood Ordeal • ~ • • 111 Appendix B: The Redwater Trial:"''" 1795 • 114 LIS'I' OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE I The West Atlant:ic Tribes· 19 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION If I have been guilty of this crime, If I ha·11e gone and sought such a one's hurt, If I have sent an.other to seek such a one's hurt, If I have employed anyone to make ch.arms and cook bush, Or put anything in the road, Or to touch his cloth, Or to touch his yams, Or to touch his goats, Or to touch his fowls, Or to touch his children, If I have prayed for his hurt, If I have thought to hurt him in !ny heart, If I have any intention to hurt him, If ever, at any time, I do any of these things, Or employ others to' do these things, Then, o God.! Thou de~l with me! 1 West African Oath ~~ esteemed Senator, learned in the law, has called the lie- detector test "twentieth century witchcraft," and in very nearly the same breath has demanded.that his witnesses "swear to tell the truth, 2 the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God." In the first case, certain physiological responses such as pulse rate, respi- ration, and perspi.ration are measured to a.scertain guilty knowledge or lying in the individual ~1he.n asked questions, since it is thought that these autonomic responses occur outside of human self-control. In the ~...ary Kingsley, Travels, in West Af!~.s (London: Macmillan and Company, 1897), Po 465.· . 2 Senat:Gr Sam Ervin~ Senate Select Committee. on Campaign Activitie~, June, 1973 .. 2 second case, an ancient ri~ual of taking an oath on a sacred object, such as the Bible, is being performed, so that if an untruth is told, God will seek His appropriate revenge. Yet the effect is the same i.n both cases: the guilty wi~l be exposed, one way or the other: through the apparent actions of extra~human controls. These practices are universals, thoagh,they come in different 7 3 guises; ana., t h eir aspects among t h e 1".vvest A t.1 antic.