Punish

Quote

He may not touch a child whose head has not been shaved. Except on the first day after birth he may not enter the room for twelve days; he may not put on a mask, nor touch one, and a masked man may not enter his house; as a rule, he is not allowed to sleep in another man’s house nor eat there; his wives are not to allow the ashes to remain until morning, for the ancestors would punish them; at certain times his wives are not allowed to cook for him and other menstruous women may neither salute nor touch him; his wives must wash before returning into the house in the morning. He is safe from seizure, safe in war.

• Source: Thomas, Northcote Whitridge. Anthropological report on the Ibo-speaking peoples of Nigeria: pt. I. Law and custom of the Ibo of the Awka neighbourhood, S. Nigeria. London: Harrison and Sons, 1913.
• Culture: Igbo
• Location: Africa