In "white" culture the two terms seem contradictory to me. Justice fundamentally defines as holding people accountable/ responsible for their behavior either rewarding them for good done or punishing them for wrongs committed. Forgiveness effectively defines as absolving a person of any accountability or responsibility for their behavior. They are not punished for their offense. They are not required to repair any damage done. There isn't even any required condition that the person is to never again commit the offense. I see largely that Kmtyw people are encouraged by foreigners to forgive foreigners for their continued offenses against us.
Does anyone have any examples of the concept of forgiveness in Kmtyw culture. I'm partial to Akan but any Kmtyw people will do. If they have such a thing as forgiveness where they absolve a person of any responsibility/ accountability for their behavior (offense) then is there any further context/ conditions that surround this? How do they reconcile this concept with their concept of justice? Is there a recognition of a difference between an accidental offense and a willful one or is it encouraged that forgiveness should be granted to murderers, rapists, enslavers, oppressors etc?
Akan (Twi)
pa ky¢w - to ask for forgiveness (lit. to take one’s hat off to someone)
pa - to wipe off, to remove something from the top of a surface
ky¢w - hat
ky¢wpa- the act of taking one's hat to someone else
fa ky¢ - to forgive (lit to take and give to someone as a gift. For free, without recompensing)
tua ka – literally to pay a debt, used to say to avenge or to repay someone for a transgression
akatua – the act/process of paying debts
t¡ were – literally to purchase skin, colloquially to avenge by taking the debt out of someone’s hide
also to pay a debt for killing someone out of revenge
aweret¡ - the act of skin-buying
Onyame b¢tua wo ka – Onyame will pay you back (for the debt incurred)
fa wo ho k¡di – take your body go control – said to someone when they are forgiven
Akan concept of justice: tenenees¢m – issues dealing with straightness
Woy¢ b¡ne a, b¡ne da w'anim, papa nso da w'anim; onipa w¡ baabi kor¡ - If you do badness, badness lays in front of you, goodness also lays in front of you; the human being has somewhere to go.
Yorùbá
ìforíjì – the process of taking one’s head and giving it to them as a gift
fi – take
orí – head
jì – grant to someone as a gift
gbësan – to receive payment (to avenge)
ësan – the act of revenge
san – to pay
My daughter’s name- Ësankìígbé: vengeance does not go unrepaid
ìdájô rere – good adjudication
¿ni t’ó ñ «e rere, k’ó múra sí rere, «ìkà«ìkà k’ó múra síkà rë; àtoore, àtìkà, ökan kìí gbé
Who who does goodness should get ready for goodness, one who does wickedness should get ready for wickedness; with goodness and badness, neither one goes un recompensed (Proverb from an Odù of Ifá)
Ohun t'êni bá gbìn, ohun náà ni yóò ká - what a person plants is what he/she will harvest
Wolof
baal – to give up one’s share to something
Baal naa la – I gave up my share of him/her (i.e. I forgave him/her)
baal ma – give up your share to me
judgement – ndogal: the cutting up or apportionment of correct shares to all concerned parties
fay - to avenge, lit. to pay
fayyu - to pay back oneself; to get revenge
Look for the movie Ndeysaan: The price of forgiveness (translates to "Mother of all tapeworms!", an expression of surprise or the like) as a good look at a Wolof perspective on revenge.
All three cultures reviewed here conceptually have concepts of forgiveness as analogous to forgiveness of a debt and as you can see similar conceptions of transgressions as debts to be paid. Based on this analogy, one can forgive a debt outright or after some type of payment has satisfied the person to whom the debt is owned. This may occur after you do something yourself as in taking the payment out of someone's hide or the debtor doing something to satisfy the debt either through words, actions, money, goods, services or any combination of these. Also, just like a real life debt, the person to whom the debt is owed can just absolve the debtor, however it is generally understood that all debts must be collected on at some point in time or another...the debtor may just have to pay at another time to another or a higher authority. As is stated in the Odù Ifá proverb mentioned above...no debt goes unrecompensed. Sunkwa made some excellent points as well on how we are much more willing to forget about dAkan (Twi)
pa kyɛw - to ask for forgiveness (lit. to take one’s hat off to someone)
pa - to wipe off, to remove something from the top of a surface
kyɛw - hat
kyɛwpa- the act of taking one's hat to someone else
fa kyɛ - to forgive (lit to take and give to someone as a gift. For free, without recompensing)
tua ka – literally to pay a debt, used to say to avenge or to repay someone for a transgression
akatua – the act/process of paying debts
tɔ were – literally to purchase skin, colloquially to avenge by taking the debt out of someone’s hide
also to pay a debt for killing someone out of revenge
aweretɔ - the act of skin-buying
Onyame bɛtua wo ka – Onyame will pay you back (for the debt incurred)
fa wo ho kɔdi – take your body go control – said to someone when they are forgiven
Akan concept of justice: teneneesɛm – issues dealing with straightness
Woyɛ bɔne a, bɔne da w'anim, papa nso da w'anim; onipa wɔ baabi korɔ - If you do badness, badness lays in front of you, goodness also lays in front of you; the human being has somewhere to go.
Yorùbá
ìforíjì – the process of taking one’s head and giving it to them as a gift
fi – take
orí – head
jì – grant to someone as a gift
gbẹ̀san – to receive payment (to avenge)
ẹ̀san – the act of revenge
san – to pay
My daughter’s name- Ẹ̀sankìígbé: vengeance does not go unrepaid
ìdájọ́ rere – good adjudication
Ẹni t’ó ń ṣe rere, k’ó múra sí rere, ṣìkàṣìkà k’ó múra síkà rẹ̀; àtoore, àtìkà, ọ̀kan kìí gbé
Who who does goodness should get ready for goodness, one who does wickedness should get ready for wickedness; with goodness and badness, neither one goes un recompensed (Proverb from an Odù of Ifá)
Ohun t'ẹ́ni bá gbìn, ohun náà ni yóò ká - what a person plants is what he/she will harvest
Wolof
baal – to give up one’s share to something
Baal naa la – I gave up my share of him/her (i.e. I forgave him/her)
baal ma – give up your share to me
judgement – ndogal: the cutting up or apportionment of correct shares to all concerned parties
fay - to avenge, lit. to pay
fayyu - to pay back oneself; to get revenge
Look for the movie Ndeysaan: The price of forgiveness (translates to "Mother of all tapeworms!", an expression of surprise or the like) as a good look at a Wolof perspective on revenge.
All three cultures reviewed here conceptually have concepts of forgiveness as analogous to forgiveness of a debt and as you can see similar conceptions of transgressions as debts to be paid. Based on this analogy, one can forgive a debt outright or after some type of payment has satisfied the person to whom the debt is owned. This may occur after you do something yourself as in taking the payment out of someone's hide or the debtor doing something to satisfy the debt either through words, actions, money, goods, services or any combination of these. Also, just like a real life debt, the person to whom the debt is owed can just absolve the debtor, however it is generally understood that all debts must be collected on at some point in time or another...the debtor may just have to pay at another time to another or a higher authority. As is stated in the Odù Ifá proverb mentioned above...no debt goes unrecompensed. Sunkwa made some excellent points as well on how we are much more willing to forget about debts from those perceived as stronger or perceived as caucrazian with the Onyame bɛtua wo ka admonishment. The love your enemy sickness, which is entirely foreign to the Akan (even the word enemy translates to "hated one" (ɔtamfo)) is usually reserved for caucrazians while we will pull out all the stops against other Kmtyws. With more clarity on who the actual enemy is, and less allowing the enemy to control our concept of morality, our conceptions of reciprocity can pave the way for a re-balancing of the cosmos and a restoration of justice in the world.
Obadele
ebts from those perceived as stronger or perceived as caucrazian with the Onyame b¢tua wo ka admonishment. The love your enemy sickness, which is entirely foreign to the Akan (even the word enemy translates to "hated one" (¡tamfo)) is usually reserved for caucrazians while we will pull out all the stops against other Kmtyws. With more clarity on who the actual enemy is, and less allowing the enemy to control our concept of morality, our conceptions of reciprocity can pave the way for a re-balancing of the cosmos and a restoration of justice in the world.
Obadele
I forgot about this thread. Also in Akan is fa...firi to take and lend. It's to partially forgive/absolve a transgression with the intent or possibility of bringing it back up later. In my discussions with Asante, Fante and Akuapem elders on this word, generally, this is not seen as a good thing and fa...kyɛ is seen as being the more appropriate course of action.
Culturally speaking, is it assumed that one will always grant forgiveness (given the conditions of the debt are repaid)? Are there instances where the offended can withold any possibility of forgiveness if he/she feels the offense is "unforgiveable." If so, is this seen as petty, inflexible, or immature on the part of the offended?
it depends on context. a lot of offenses have a re-integration into society aspect, such as after brakyiri. others call for the person being sent to an anteade (a village for those found guilty of offenses) or akyere kuro (village for those to be sacrificed when the need arises) or banishment from society (twa ___ asuo) or sale into nkoasom (enslavement). the offense and the context would determine whether forgiveness is possible/preferable.
Also, during arbitration, some things can be forbidden to be brought up later.