Once Bitten, Twice Shy: Trust and Trustworthiness from an African Perspective

In many African languages, trust connotes ‘dependability,’ ‘hope,’ ‘expectation,’ and ‘faith.’ Trust in the Yoruba (Nigeria) language is ‘igbẹkẹle,’ which literally implies ‘dependability’. In Zulu (South Africa), trust means ‘ithemba’ and implies ‘trust,’ ‘hope,’ ‘expectation,’ ‘faith,’ and ‘dependence.’ Among the Edo people of Nigeria, trust means ‘Imuentinýan/iyegbekọ/Ọmwan imuentinýan’ which also means to depend to rely on someone. In the Hausa language (Nigeria), trust (‘dogara’) means faith or dependency (on God), which requires humility, not relying on your own strength or wisdom. Among the Igbos (Nigeria), the same concept means ‘ntụkwasị obi’ (trust) and ‘ho tsepa ha’ (confidence) in Sesotho (South Africa). Trust in Setswana of South Africa/Botswana is ‘tshepa’ (trusts, trusting, trusted) which means let a person have or use something in the belief that he or she will behave responsibly (i.e., demonstrate trustworthiness). In this sense, both concepts are not mutually exclusive. Trust is the bedrock of every human interaction whether it be social or economic. Trust can be learned and unleared, as when trust is betrayed, caution sets in. Hence the proverb sees trust as human nature and that trust can also be learned and unlearned because when trust is betrayed (more than once), then caution sets in. Hence the proverb ‘once bitten, twice shy’ English printer, is known to famously have used the version of the saying ‘Once which implies that an ‘unpleasant experience induces caution.’ Africa as a people has been bitten more than once: from the time of slavery to the colonial period and postcolonial activities.