"Everyone who
loses somebody wants revenge on someone, on God if they
can't find anyone else. But in Africa, in Matobo, the Ku
believe that the only way to end grief is to save a life. If
someone is murdered, a year of mourning ends with a ritual that
we call the Drowning Man Trial. There's an all-night party
beside a river. At dawn, the killer is put in a boat. He's
taken out on the water and he's dropped. He's bound so
that he can't swim. The family of the dead then has to make
a choice. They can let him drown or they can swim out and save
him. The Ku believe that if the family lets the killer drown,
they'll have justice but spend the rest of their lives in
mourning. But if they save him, if they admit that life
isn't always just... That very act can take away their
sorrow."
-Silvia Broome from "The
Interpreter"
