Punishments in Primitive Soceity - 852 Words

PUNISHMENTS IN PRIMITIVE SOCIETIES Introduction: The most usual criteria for punishment in primitive societies is the principle of Eye for an eye. According to this principle if a person has taken the eye of another the chief orders that the eye of the criminal should be taken.Blood for blood is the ancient principle of retribution in primitive societies. Thus punishment is based on retributive principle. This is so since most of the tribal people believe that crime is a violation of divine system or rules. Hence it is believed that the criminal is evil and should be given suitable punishment so that he may become free from evil.The evil souls must be punished. Besides retribution, another basis for punishment is compensation of†¦show more content†¦It is generally believed that, if the offender tells a lie, he falls a prey to the supernatural anger for taking a false oath. (b) Ordeal. Sometimes the persons accused are put to torture in primitive societies before the declaration of judgment in criminal cases. If the accused persons escape without injury, they are acquitted as they are supposed to be not guilty. Kinds of Punishment 1. Different types of punishment are prevalent in different primitive societies. While in some societies compensation and social extermination are the more usual punishments, in other societies different types of physical injuries are inflicted as punishment. Similarly, in some societies fines are imposed and community feast is demanded to wipe off the crime. 2. Capital sentence is generally given in a case of homicide; but sometimes the death penalty is given to one of his family members or to one of his kins instead of inflicting it up to the person who has actually committed homicide. 3. They-believe that it is not the individual who is regarded to have been wronged but the whole kin-group to which he belonged and his kin-group, therefore avenges itself on the kin- group of the accused and not necessarily on the accused himself. 4. In some other societies the criminal is publicly insulted by blackening his face and carrying him through the entire village seated on a donkey. In America, in a tribe an unfaithful wife is given the punishment of