Book

Justice and judgment among the Tiv

Published for the International African Institute by the Oxford University PressPublished In 1968 • Pages:

By: Bohannan, Paul.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This comprehensive account of the Tiv judicial system is based on 73 cases recorded by Bohannan, his assistants, and court scribes, and interviews with judges. The Tiv judicial system is divided among magistrates' courts, district or native courts, and what Bohannan refers to as moots, which are informal lineage-based tribunals. The magistrates' courts are based on a code of law and adjudicate disputes between the largest lineage segments which in the past redressed wrongs through warfare. The native courts hear cases within the largest lineage segment largely concerning failure to pay debts or brideprice. Moots deal with cases internal to the smallest lineage segment where a complex history of grievances is often too delicate to sort out, and the need to maintain the integrity of the group is paramount. Moots often occur during funerals when rights and obligations among kin have to be reasserted. At this level the accusations of witchcraft and the establishment of protective fetishes demarcate and reconstitute the lineage's moral structure.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Borrowing and lending
Administration
Marriage
Lineages
Informal in-group justice
Law
Offenses and sanctions
Justice
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Tiv
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
1998
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Western Africa
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Ian Skoggard ; 1996
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1949-1953
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1907-1953
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Benue State, Nigeria
NotesAdditional notes
Paul Bohannan
Reprinted (with a new preface)
Includes bibliographical references
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
71389113
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Tiv (African people)