Protect

Quote

“Mothers in the past used to take great care of their daughters, and never allowed a chance for them to be seduced. When a woman saw that her daughter’s breasts were beginning to appear, and that the young men were paying attentions to her, she became very worried about her. She took her off to an old woman who had the mastery of the Ingbianjor, and asked her to tie a snail-shell round her neck to prevent any one from violating her. The old woman accordingly threaded a shell on to a piece of cotton, and tied it round the girl’s neck, thus putting a guard upon her. The young men would fear to have intercourse with her, and she would come to full puberty without any boy touching her.”

• Source: Akiga. Akiga’s story: the Tiv tribe as seen by one of its members. London ; New York [etc.]: Oxford University Press, 1939.
• Culture: Tiv
• Location: Africa