sassywood

Noun

sassywood (usually uncountable, plural sassywoods)

1. (usually) A form of trial by ordeal in Liberia, typically involving a suspect drinking a poisonous concoction made from the bark of the ordeal tree Erythrophleum guineense, Erythrophleum ivorense, or Erythrophleum suaveolens (called sassy bark); by extension, other forms of trial by ordeal such as applying a heated machete to the suspect's legs, or dipping the suspect's hand into hot oil.
   • The person who is designated as guilty of the crime of witchcraft is arrested by the soldier king, and condemned to the ordeal of sassy-wood. The bark of the sassy-wood is powerfully narcotic, and a strong decoction of this the person condemned is forced to drink; and after he has drank it, he...1850 September 14, [James M.] Connelly, “[Appendix G.] Report of the Kroo People”, in Report of the Secretary of State, Communicating the Report of the Rev. R[alph] R[andolph] Gurley, who was...
   • A man named Prince came into the parlor; he spoke broken English, and told Mrs. Payne that his people were going to give him ‘sasa-wood.’ A man had died among his people, and the men bearing the body to the grave ran against his house: they believe that the body influences them to go against the...1859, George D[avid] Cummins, “Life at Cavalla”, in Life of Mrs. Virginia Hale Hoffman, Late of the Protestant Episcopal Mission to Western Africa, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lindsay & Blakiston, →OCLC...
2. (usually) The poisonous concoction itself.
   • The poison is prepared from the bark of the Erythrophleum guineense, a tall forest tree which grows commonly in West Africa. In popular language the decoction is known as sassy-wood.[1918, James George Frazer, Folk-Lore In The Old Testament, volume 3, page 329
3. (usually) The ordeal tree itself, the bark of which is used in the sassywood procedure.
   • This man, being informed of his sentence, pleaded innocence, and said he himself would drink Sasswood water to prove it. His friends urged him to confess, as his brother, the king, said he had no ill will against him, and did not wish him to drink the Sasswood, unless it was his own pleasure to do...1839 June, R. McD., “Specimen of African Criminal Jurisprudence”, in The African Repository and Colonial Journal, volume XV, number 11, Washington, D.C.: Published by James C. Dunn [by order of the...
   • The trial by drinking a decoction of sassy-wood and other poisons is one of the worst of the religious rites of that barbarous region. It is imposed at the pleasure of the chiefs, on those accused of crime, with the pretence that it will not injure the innocent; but is managed so as to kill all...1843 August, “From Liberia. Treaty of Amity and Alliance, Entered into this 22d Day of February, A.D. 1843, between Joseph J[enkins] Roberts, Governor of the Commonwealth of Liberia, and Yando, Head...

   Synonyms:

   forest ordeal tree