African Friends and Money Matters, Second Edition. David E. Maranz

a vehicle that had just been in an accident. The side of the vehicle was caved in although it was drivable. As I passed along several streets, children who saw the vehicle laughed derisively, pointing to the vehicle. This sort of behavior has been explained in these terms: “When a child falls down, other children may laugh. It’s their way of reducing the fright associated with pain.”50 A Westerner is surprised at seeing laughter when he or she expects a more appropriate reaction would be one of some sympathy.

      50 Devine and Braganti 1995:18.

      Here is another explanation of this behavior:

(People) laugh because they are frightened by the situation. They panic and use laughter as a defence. Laughing is…a way for the brain and body to cope with situations. Humour reduces the intensity of a situation, and places a cushion of laughter between the person and the awkward emotions they feel.…That is our defense mechanism.51

      51 Mohammed, Nadia. 2013. www.asmallvoicewithbigtoughts.blogspot.com.

      A Westerner may be equally surprised to hear expressions of sympathy for what one considers normal events of life. It is not unusual in Kenya or Tanzania for people to say, “Pole” (meaning “Sorry”) when someone trips or something breaks. This is not meant to express culpability or guilt, but simply to commiserate, acknowledging that one understands the unpleasantness the other has endured. One American couple related that while on home leave one of their daughters tripped and fell while playing with her friends. She sat on the ground, waiting until someone asked why she didn’t get up. “Because no one has said ‘Sorry,’” she replied, to which the other children quickly pointed out that they were not guilty. Names that signify that a preceding child died accomplish the same purpose. Ma’di women, from northern Uganda, claim that when someone hears a name like “Tears,” “Termitarium (termite mound),” or “The Father is down,” then they know you have suffered loss and can sympathize with your situation.

      Public anger

      Arguments between ants are settled underground.

Ibibio proverb (Nigeria)52

      52 Clasberry 2010:115.

      Anger shown in public or directed toward an individual is a serious issue in much of Africa, much more so than in the West. An example from my experience in a central African country points to the differences. It seemed to me that to local people sexual activity outside of marriage was not of great concern even to religious people there. For example, I was told that at the local Christian seminary, numerous women would be seen leaving the dormitory in early mornings, having spent the night with a seminarian. On the other hand I saw that displaying anger in public was taken very seriously, and when seen, would upset people. I asked a local person about this. He told me that local Christians were scandalized at the anger sometimes expressed by Christian missionaries. He said some local people even doubted whether these missionaries were Christians because they frequently were seen to be angry. Often the anger was “righteous indignation” directed at the sexual laxity they saw. American Christians rate sexual sins as especially bad, while local Christians were not nearly as concerned about them. On the other hand, Americans rated anger near the bottom of sinful acts, like a minor infraction, while for Africans, anger was seen as a serious moral fault, perhaps in part because it threatens interpersonal relationships. In terms of the teaching of the Bible, both anger and sexual immorality are sins. The Bible openly and clearly condemns them both, so it does not serve the missionary well to condemn the sins of other societies while minimizing the severity of their own.

A friend tells of the experience of a Westerner who was riding a motorcycle along a country road. When a man flagged him down, he stopped at the side of the road, thinking there was an urgent need. The man just asked him for money. In the meantime the motorcycle fell over and was dented. The combination of events made the Westerner angry and he expressed it in strong terms. Upon seeing the angry reaction, the African man showed real fear and said, “I’m sorry, please just go.” To the Westerner the man overreacted in a way that he didn’t understand.53

      53 Haibucher 1999b:45.

      So one could ask, “Why is anger so serious in many African cultures?” One reason is that for many Africans, being angry at someone is tantamount to cursing them, and a curse is feared. The fear is related to the action or revenge that a spirit might inflict on the one cursed. A friend of mine told me of a great fear he had. His mother was old and wanted him to marry a woman he was not interested in. He feared that in her anger his mother would put a curse on him for not heeding her wishes. Then, if she died, there would be no way to have the curse lifted. Another example is a language group that has long declined in population. The people who speak this language told us that they attributed their decline to the actions of one of their chiefs a century ago. He was accused of some serious crime and the punishment was to bury him alive. As he was in the grave hole and his people were throwing dirt on him, he cursed them. They continued with the burial and consequently the one who instituted the curse was not available to have it lifted.

In modern culture “cursing” has been reduced to the use of bad language with no thought of its literal meaning of calling down malediction or misfortune from the gods. In many African societies curses are taken seriously and literally. People avoid expressing anger for fear that they will suffer the consequences, and they fear there will be consequences when others are angry. Assane Sylla writes that the Wolof individual “strongly believes that if a person commits an offense against the moral law or violates a taboo, inevitably a severe misfortune will fall on him, brought on by the village or family familiar spirit.”54 Maintaining peace with others is an essential part of the Wolof moral code. Anger and resentment are emotions that everyone knows are normal human reactions, but they must not be revealed openly, or at least the individual must express displeasure in some other way. In the West, by contrast, even those who are religious do not fear punishment in this life. Any punishment they are due will await them after death. John Mbiti, a recognized authority on African religion, states that in Africa

      54 Sylla 1978:156.

the majority of African peoples believe that God punishes in this life. Thus, He is concerned with the moral life of mankind, and therefore upholds the moral law. With a few exceptions there is no belief that a person is punished in the hereafter for what he does wrong in this life. When punishment comes, it comes in the present life.55

      55 Mbiti 1989:205.

      A number of African societies feel that pent up emotions can have negative effects on other people, a form of unintentional witchcraft. Directly voicing these emotions risks being interpreted as a curse, but they must be dissipated and released somehow. Instead of openly expressing anger, many societies dissipate anger, jealousy, displeasure, intense grief or bitterness through a number of permissible means. A person may act in an antisocial way, temporarily withdrawing from social norms. They may stage a drama in which they take on the persona of another, and through that masquerade express what they are unhappy about. Other people may sing lament songs, releasing their hard feelings. “Commentary names” which mention social tensions within extended families also give a person a legitimate venue through which to say things indirectly.

      As a consequence of their beliefs about how anger can affect others, Africans may interpret verses like “Be angry but sin not,” “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger” or “Anyone who hates (is angry with) his brother has committed murder in his heart/mind” much more seriously than Americans. They are very concerned that their anger might harm others, while Americans assume that being angry will only affect the person who is angry psychologically.

      Hierarchy

      An important man may be wrong, but he is always right.