An Outmoded Cultural Practice in Dagbon (Naaa Data Tua): Better Life with Steem

Assalamualaikum family

Have you heard of the Dagombas of Northern Ghana? If yes what do you know about them?

Well, on this my second post, I am educating you on one of the historic cultures of my people.

Mordenization indeed has robbed man of great cultures of the past. Some of these cultures could easily be let go of but others had great impacts on society that they could hardly be forgotten.
The dynamism of culture has also spared the world of inhumane practices of the past which were considered relevant in shaping the world.

So many years ago, the Dagomba descent adopted a measure to check unfaithfulness in marriages. The " Naa Dataa Tua", which in English means " The kings rival baobab tree" was a sacred place of the people. It was a site where men guilty of having sexual relations with the king's wives were beheaded. Victims were beheaded on an oval shaped rock and their heads thrown in to a hole in the baobab. The bodies were then disposed in valleys.

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This was done purposely to prevent men from going near the king's wives as well as wives of other ordinary men. Such a huge price to pay right?
Oral history has it that, the practice persisted until the death of an innocent man.

Per customs, victims were made to take oaths before execution which afterwards proved if they were really guilty or not. It was believed by the people that, after beheading if blood was seen it confirmed the accusation. However, if milk was seen rather than blood then the victim was innocent.

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Indeed, no people come into possession of culture without having paid a heavy price for it . Culture should reside in the hearts and soul of the people; when it turn to destroy us, it definitely has no place in our society.

Do you share the same opinion with me, or you think such cultures should be upheld in societies? Leave your thoughts in the comments session and please remember to vote for me.

Thanks so much for reading my post.