African culture tolerates gay life

This is a rejoinder to Jide Macaulay’s “coming out of the closet” experience as relayed in the Mirror magazine of 31st July, 2007. True Macaulay stated a lot of things that are factual, but he made a most pathetic historical blunder, by supposing that African culture abhorred homosexuality..

Macaulay cannot really be blamed for his ahistorical positioning, because according to him,he stayed most of his life outside this country. It is good however to state that Africans never hated or persecuted homosexuality in ancient times. Many Africans_ well groomed in Africa_ still make the same fallacy of judgment and presumption. The truth is African culture never abhorred homosexuality; African culture never condemned homosexuality; African culture never tabooed homosexuality; African culture was silent_ tolerated homosexuality!
      I make bold to say that that in Africa there are specific punishments for specific offences (sins). Some punishments are physical, some spiritual. Let’s take adultery as an illustration. In almost all ancient Nigerian communities, if a commits adultery with another man's wife, he was asked o pay serious damages to the husband. He had brought shame to the husband by seeing his 'secrecy' in some communities both man and women are paraded naked in the society; in more extreme cases, b both is stoned to death. If the people are not caught the 'spirits' take over the policing job. Three things might happen: the husband of the adulterous woman might die; the children of both the adulterous man and woman might start dying prematurely; and lastly, the woman might find it difficult to give birth during labour pangs. Any how the woman or man has to confess and have their sins forgiven. In those days proper ritual baths (ablution) will be performed for the 'sinners' before the could enter the holy (sacred shrine) of the ancestors
      Where a married man has sex with a non married woman, the man is asked to pay the amount of the bride price to the girl 's father since he has made her a 'door'  instead of a formidable 'wall' . So many girls then married as virgins. Most of our mothers are living witnesses to that Golden age of African purity. Some blood - stained white cloths kept by many grannies are testimonies to this fact.
        In many parts of Edo-Delta: Ishan, Itsekiri, Urhobo , Bini, Isoko etc, the gods still take precedence in judging adulterous cases of unscrupulous 'couples'. Yes, in this day 2007! The African gods are still powerful. God bless the souls of our beloved ancestors! Amen!
        The punishment against adultery is well spelt out. But I ask: what is the punishment for homosexuality (lesbianism included) any one who knows of the format of punishment of gays, before the advent of the white man?  Among the Yoruba, there are many jujus against adulterers. One of the popular jujus is the magun. There are different categories of magun. One good word for feminists, 'maguns' is targeted at eliminating male adulterers not female adulteresses. Most of the time the 'straying' man will be 'electrocuted' by the power of the juju, he will crow thrice and die like a fowl.

  Twin births were also punished in Africa in these days. It took a Mary Slessor to stop twin killing in Calabar; it took education to stop twin killing in Itsekiri, Urhobo , Isoko etc; it took education to stop the Yoruba to stop erecting 'orisha-ibeji' shrines for their twins. I ask again what is the punishment for homosexuality(lesbianism) in Africa? If it is not punished, then it was tolerated.

Many anthropologists and intellectuals have written about many crimes in ancient Nigeria and the punishment spelt out for them. Whole Soninke in "The Lion and The Jewel" displayed that if a young girl is defiled, he had to succumbed to his defiler and settle down, thus Sidi , the village belle, left Lakunle's advances and settled in Baroka's harem. Chinua Achebe just won the Booker awards, he displayed in his novels the punishment given to twin births; John S Mbiti(African religions and Philosophy) never mentioned any punishment meted to homosexual; Omoneukanrin(itsekiri Law and Custom;1948); says nothing about punishment against homosexuals; Alagoa and Ikime, two of the greatest historians of the Niger-delta region , have not come up with any specific punishment meted to gays in those days. All those who say African culture tabooed homosexxuality should come up with their proofs, and stop judging from pure and crass sentimentalism.
          Many might be tempted to say that homosexuality never existed in ancient Nigeria . It existed, and copious references to it are in most Nigerian societies. I am tempted to believe that the ancients indulge freely in some form of gay life before marriage, judging from the way there are no sanctions on the 'crime' by the ancients. Homophobia , female discrimination, individualism are all modern sins. They crept into Nigeria (Africa even ,) through colonial  intrusion . Homophobia (believe it or not ) is a product of the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, in that chronological order. By Abrahamic , I mean religions that took their premise on revelations given to Abraham. Africans never discriminated any body for their sexual preference.
  Thus ,homophobia, the fear and chastisement of gays is totally alien to the African culture. Yes , homosexuality and homoerotic plays abounded in ancient Africa. Refer to Augustine oghanrandukun 15th March, 2007, National Mirror) 

      In the Itsekiri area, a masculine woman is given a male praise name(akpuja ; ekiki), an effeminate man is given a female praise name(akpuja; ekiki) One local govt chairman in the Warri are in these days actually had a female praise name. Among the Urhobos, a feminine and beautiful looking man is called 'omote'(female). One of the chiefs in the Warri area, had a father so nicknamed. Young boys usually romanced him , he became terribly annoyed of the whole show and he had to change his name. It is true the man in question hated the plays, but the boys romancing him must have enjoyed the homo-erotic plays. In a southern Nigerian kingdom the tale is told about a woman who had a penis(over-enlarged clitoris?) with which she made love to the other kings wives and made them frigid. Did she introduce the others to the lesbian way of life, and made them abhor heterosexual sex?
Stories are legion; no spelt out punishments are stated. Yes, Jide Macaulay did a splendid job, but he ought to have consulted authorities before making a sweeping statement. I agree with him homosexuals should be cured, rehabilitated, counseled and helped. But he should research well before making conclusions on African history.