The name is absent

by the State were generally adopted as a result of the tragedies within the
community, whether they were wars, plagues, or other significant occurrences.
The adoption of oaths tied communities together that would have normally
remained independent of one another.

Beyond the oaths of chiefs, individuals and groups could pronounce oaths
for a variety of reasons. People used them to settle disputes, to order a person
to do something against his will or accuse him of an offence, to bind people
together in agreement, to promise that once a matter was settled it would not be
revived again, or to take an unresolved matter to a higher authority for
resolution.¹⁵ In this case, there is a wider application of oathing to African life, but
the reason for the value of the oath goes unanswered. Why was oathing so
important in African life? Oathing in these accounts are not the central object of
analysis and is still missing treatment, as an object with its own history and
development.

All of these examples demonstrate the varied and timeless application of
oathing in different societies. Despite the specific uses, there are commonalities
that span time and geographical locales, which include principles of unity, truth,
order, honor, and punishment rooted in the culture and beliefs of the society. In
this historical research study of oathing, the principles and guidelines covered in
this section continue to have relevance. Oathing has been a consistent power
mechanism for maintaining societal order and enforcing the values of the society.
However, these scholars writing on oathing have not truly explained oathing and
all of the entanglements that surround it. Although oathing is represented in
¹⁵ Quamie-Kyiamah, “The Customary Oath,” 139-147.

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