Tradition is the bedrock of many African nations. Its help shapes their culture, norms, values and morals. Most concept enshrined in these traditions are gotten either from events that occur in times past or a coincidence that shows a certain level of significant attachment to their ancestors.
Most of these traditional concepts are very flexible and can be affected and changed with time, as it concerns the lives of the people, as the saying goes "Tradition is made for man, not man for tradition", so in cases where the rules appears to be too strict, human sympathy is considered.
But most of this traditional values and rules are very rigid, no matter who is involved or what is at stake, the rules remain unchanged and inflexible. For example, some forms of abomination like incest among the Idoma people of Benue State, Nigeria used to be punished by banishment. The persons involved are sent permanently out of the community, they and their descendants will never set foot on the land forever. But these days, this act is no longer met with such harsh punishment other than the soiled names of the persons involved. They will still live on within the community albeit with a tainted personality which is often not severe.
When it comes to the deities, many African societies do not compromise. Law breaking is met with maximum penalty, sometimes it may result in death of the offender. Like the Igbo people of Nigeria, the symbol of their water deity Idemili, is the royal python. This particular python is left to roam the community as freely as it wants. It goes into peoples homes, beds and is allowed to eat eggs of fowls without reprimand. No one is allowed to harm this snake no matter what. If killed, which in many cases is inadvertently, full burial rites as is done for a chief is carried out. Nothing is left out. If the offender does it intentionally, well it has rarely happened but those who are known to have done such met with fatal deaths, believed to have been induced by the deities whose emissary have been touched.
Signs and symbols are taken seriously. For instance, in Idomaland, when one if walking on a path and a squirrel crosses to the right, their will be death in the person's paternal house in a case were it crosses to the left, their will be death in the person's maternal family.
In Igbo land, if a vulture, the sacred bird of the gods Ojukwu. If one perches on a villagers roof, the inmates are to consult a priest to know what message has been sent. It may range from a goodwill message to a blood chilling ultimatum.
Africa is wrapped with many traditional concepts.