Oku riro: The Yoruba system for avenging the dead

Before the advent of courts and jails and civilisation as a whole, different cultures had different ways of handling conflicts.

According to the Yoruba customs, if a person dies suddenly and his/her death is considered unnatural, there is a way to avenge that person's death.

In Yoruba land, there is a long-standing tradition of dealing with issues relating to the society. Wrong doings and impropriety of manners are frowned upon and anyone caught will be punished according to the laws of the land. These offences extend to murder.

According to the Yoruba customs, if a person dies suddenly and his/her death is considered unnatural, there is a way to avenge that person's death.

This is a system referred to as Oku riro which translates to death avenging.

Oku riro involves a system where spiritual rites will be carried out to avenge a dead person who is believed to have been murdered.

It is a system where the soul of the deceased is given a chance to exact revenge by murdering those who caused their death or compelling them to expose themselves and probably confess to the murder.

The Oku riro ritual can be done in different ways. One of the most common is that when murder is suspected, the dead person is buried with a knife. It is believed that the spirit of the dead will use that knife to avenge their death.

The burial is conducted by an ifa priest who invokes the spirit of the dead. It is said that the guilty parties will die within three months unless they confess and spiritual cleansing is done for them.

Even though the exact process of Oku riro might vary, many people believe it actually works as it is said that the spirit of the departed is very strong and can definitely exact their revenge on everyone involved in their death.

While Oku riro is still being practised in some places today, many are of the opinion that the dead cannot actually avenge their death. What are your thoughts on this?