3. Introduction
3.3 Gift-Giving
3.3.1 Gift-giving in Traditional African Society
Africans are people who like, and are known for showing appreciation to others, not because there is something to gain, but because of the love of sharing with others what they have. This section looks at the areas where gifts are used in African traditional society, for appreciation, support, and cementing relationships.
In the African traditional society, gifts are usually given to people in order to thank them for a job well done. According to Egbue, gift-giving is one of the African values which serves as an informal symbol of expected gratitude for benevolence received (Egbue, 2006: 86). For instance, after recovering in a government hospital, someone offers gifts to the doctor to show gratitude, making the doctor‟s
„kindnesses to him known to others.
According to Ekpo, it can be observed that in African traditional society, the rulers were sometimes obliged to give gifts to the people. This was done as a sign of acknowledgement to the community for their support to the ruler (Ekpo, 1979:
174). Again, this can be taken as a sign that the chief is the father to all and
103
invariably ought to be economically better than his subjects. Gift-giving was not only done by the chiefs alone, but done also by some influential people in the community.
One of the very important things that people do in traditional African society, in return for the good things that they receive from their ruler, is give support to the chiefthrough their own gift-giving. This of course is not meant to reject what the traditional ruler gives them, here, the major aim in giving gifts to the ruler is to inform him that they, his subjects, support him, that is, that they wish him to continue ruling them, and give the assurance that they are behind him (Ekpo, 1979:
174). Such gifts to the ruler can be seen as a kind of vote of confidence. This was the practice of people in the traditional African society, but was not then seen as a problem by the people. It may be assumed they were also not asked by the rulers in the traditional society to give gifts. However, there were days set aside by the people to work for the ruler in his farm without payment. According to Ikegbu
“prior to the colonial days, there were days meant for people to work in the chief‟s farm. Also, certain (fatty) proceeds from the farm were meant for the chief and his cabinet irrespective of how little or large his responsibilities were” (Ikegbu, 2003:
44).
Notwithstanding this normal way of giving gifts, Egbue (2006) notes that gifts can be given for many reasons other than for showing appreciation. The practice usually takes on different dimensions as sometimes; it may be between superiors, equals or even inferiors. Even when gifts are not demanded, the people of a community may themselves decide to offer gifts to superiors with the hope that favour will be granted in the future. This, for instance, comes as a way of cementing relationships.
One of the areas where gift-giving featured prominently in the African traditional society is in the area of settlement of cases. According to Amadi the areas in which awuf (meaning bribery, corruption or any gain obtained through trickery, dishonesty or sharp practice) was practiced in pre-colonial Nigeria were severely
104
limited (Amadi, 1992: 82). This implies awuf was a form of gift-giving. For instance, Amadi notes that, if a man was vexed by another and wanted a settlement, he would inform the chiefs or elders of the village through the appropriate means.
On the appointed day, the council of elders would meet with the litigants for them to state their cases. The litigants would be allowed to ask each other questions after which the elders could equally ask questions where applicable. The case might now be suspended if there was a dispute in an answer to a particular question, especially where such a dispute could affect the verdict either that day or another day. This disputed question would now be inquired, meaning that the case would be suspended for a while for a proper examination. Before the temporary suspension of the case, both parties would be required to stake on the veracity of their assertions. The stake, known as mbawu in Ikwere and ebe in Igbo, was important in the judiciary system of these tribes (Amadi, 1992: 82). According to Amadi, “after the case had been thoroughly examined, the elders withdraw, out of earshot, for consultations which could last from a few minutes to several hours” (Amadi, 1992 83). Whenever the elders reconvened, one of the elders appointed for the occasion would announce the verdict. Amadi further explains that:
It was possible for an elder to receive money or drinks in order to further the case of a particular litigant. During the consultations preceding the judgment that elder would argue ably in defence of his client, but his influence was quite limited. If a matter was clearly defined by tradition, there was usually little room to manoeuvre. In many ways the elder who received money to defend a litigant was the forerunner of the modern lawyer (Amadi, 1992:83).
In the above statement, it may be seen that corruption, such as gift-giving, could possibly flow from this practice, more especially as the hired defender was also a member of the jury that gave the final verdict. If government laws are very clearly defined, court judgements cannot be manipulated and gift-giving will be out of the question. It is important to note that with the advent of colonialism in Africa, the native judicial system was replaced by native courts. Although, some notable (as in
105
worthy of attention and important) aspects of the native judicial system, like oath taking or swearing by the gods, were still maintained, some of the warrant chiefs administering the native courts were notoriously corrupt, having been involved in awuf (gift-giving, dishonesty and so on) in the native judicial system. This might imply making the native courts notorious centres of awuf, in which any person interested, was out for what he could get (Amadi, 1992:87). It can be stated that awufu in the native judiciary system influenced the gift-giving, bribery and corruption in the native courts, all of which are still experienced in the modern period. A close look at this tradition may bring out some abnormalities or a possible negative consequence of the system of gift-giving.
What seems interesting in the traditional African culture of gift-giving is the type of materials used as gifts. What may usually be given as gifts can include kola nuts, tobacco, drinks, and similar very small things. The fact that these types of gifts are hardly of any economic value clearly indicates the dissimilarity between bribery and gift-giving in the traditional African society. For an average traditional African, the importance of such gifts lays ontological worth not in their economic values. In the next section gift-giving in the modern period is discussed.