Ole Jija: Rethinking theft in the Yoruba ethical system
Inkanyiso
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Ole Jija: Rethinking theft in the Yoruba ethical system | |
| Creator | Balogun, Babalola J. Oladipupo, Sunday L. | |
| Description | The paper rethinks the moral controversies surrounding theft within the Yoruba ethical paradigms. It argues that the concept of theft has a broader theoretical perspective amongst the Yoruba people of south-west Nigeria than its narrow conception of taking without the consent of the owner to do so, prevalent especially in the Western legal frameworks. Since it is generally considered a shameful act, the paper posits that theft is morally forbidden in the Yoruba ethical system, even with a full recognition of the possibility of its being supernaturally imposed on the erring agent either by his/her primordial choice of a faulty ori or by other inimical spiritual means, such as spells or curses. Hence, while it acknowledges the role of propitiative sacrifice as a mollifying antidote for a curse-caused act of theft, the paper dispels heft due to a bad ori, and instead prescribes modification of character through social self-rebirth, something akin to the Christian concept of being born again. In conclusion, the paper holds that a morally good person should not indulge in dishonesty in any form, should be hard-working and be ready at all times to extend a hand of alms to others who do not have, as these are the foundations upon which the Yoruba ethical system cum social code of conduct are made manifest. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2013-12-30 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/ink.v5i1.252 | |
| Source | Inkanyiso; Vol 5, No 1 (2013); 10 2077-8317 2077-2815 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://inkanyisojournal.org/index.php/ink/article/view/252/358
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