What happened to murderers in Somalia before independence

[wonyluvr]

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[gasara]

A lot of the times those tuug escape. But usually they get killed or blood money to the family. Typically blood money yeah.

 

[SomaliPariah]

Good question!
To understand this try and imagine the bucolic culture of the Somalis. A man was not a man, every man was weighed by his clan. his actions reflected on his clan.
If a man kills another, for whatever reason, unless from the same sub-sub-sub-clan, it was not labelled a murder in the modern sense but he becomes "Dhagarqabe" and inorder to address this his clan would come to the negotiation table.
the clan elders will convene under the shade of an acacia tree and the court will start, sometimes there is precedent between the clans which is to pay blood money and so they did. in other times, no such agreements existed or there was even bad blood and the aggrieved clan requested for the him to be killed too.
However, the latter rarely happened as no clan worth their salt would ever handover their kin to be killed. This resulted in further blood shed between the two clans until the dry season when everyone becomes busy saving their own life stock and lives.

 

[wonyluvr]

Good question!
To understand this try and imagine the bucolic culture of the Somalis. A man was not a man, every man was weighed by his clan. his actions reflected on his clan.
If a man kills another, for whatever reason, unless from the same sub-sub-sub-clan, it was not labelled a murder in the modern sense but he becomes "Dhagarqabe" and inorder to address this his clan would come to the negotiation table.
the clan elders will convene under the shade of an acacia tree and the court will start, sometimes there is precedent between the clans which is to pay blood money and so they did. in other times, no such agreements existed or there was even bad blood and the aggrieved clan requested for the him to be killed too.
However, the latter rarely happened as no clan worth their salt would ever handover their kin to be killed. This resulted in further blood shed between the two clans until the dry season when everyone becomes busy saving their own life stock and lives.

You just enlightened me!!!!! My eyes are a lot more open now this all makes sense!!!

 

[Idilinaa]

In the major cities and various towns they were trialed and put into a prison either in a garessa or some underground prison cell or dungeon some have called it.

In a lot of cases they would capture people in the countryside and send them in shackles to be imprisoned in the major cities. Burton who trans-versed the lands in mid 1800s would make note of it saying that , ''the word ''prison''(Habsi) gives them the horrors''. So it was the ultimate punishment.

In the general country side they were made to pay a hefty fine, after being trialed and convicted.

For theft it was the same as murder you had to pay a fine. On the Majerteen coast especially you were put on a trial by fire.


Funnily enough you see the the exact same thing mentioned in Futuh as well , putting people on trial by fire. So it might be a some extended ancient costume

Richard Burton also mentions it among Western Somalis in 1850s:

''A man accused of murder or theft walks down a trench full of live charcoal and about a spears length or he draws out of the flames a smith anvil heated to redness''