>>43285188Among the Mandinka, it was considered disgraceful for a man to do battle with a man who admitted he was scared.
Young men do not fight old men, and old men do not fight young men
One must always allow their foe to fully prepare for battle
To show contempt for an enemy, don't use your sword/spear. Particularly disgusting or weak enemies are beaten with saddles and walking sticks.
Only nobles can kill nobles. Literally, in Mandinka legend one peasant tries to avenge his master against the noble who killed him and his weapons go flat and break against his skin.
It's physically impossible for non warriors to harm warriors.
Courtesy says that one warrior allows the other to display his magical abilities, and then they switch. In the early modern era this meant allowing your opponent to shoot 3 bullets at you in order to see how well protected you were by your fetishes.
After guns fail you were expected to fight with melee weapons until one person was decapitated.
One hunter challenged a hero to a fight but the hero's fetishes made him nearly invincible. So the hunter politely asked to be excused and make an offering to his Juju spirit. He had no kola nuts, so the hero gave him a bundle.
All because he wanted a fair and thrilling fight.
