How they caught a thief

Very long time ago, according to my grandfather, before the advent of Christianity, our village had a shrine in a nearby bush. It was a carved out piece of land, a circular piece of land, demarcated by a dwarf brick fence. At the centre of it, was a circular podium.

If there was anyone suspected of being involved in a theft case or any other crime, he would mount the centre podium, and take an oath. The suspect would swear, looking up into the sky saying, his hands were clean, seven times.

Meanwhile, the villagers would troop out and gather around the shrine, watching. The chief priest of the shrine, on his part would standby, inside that circular piece of land, close to the suspect.

Thereafter, everyone will begin to watch events. If after seven days no calamity like, fatal accident, serious sickness or even death befell the suspect, he was adjudged to be innocent.

Grandfather said many culprits were identified through this process. However, he acknowledged this was not completely foolproof because there was one or two wrong conclusions.