Ji'e'Toh: Honour & Obligation (WOT)

Ji'e'toh is from  the Old Tongue,  and roughly translates to "honor and obligation".  Ji'e'toh is a fundamental part of the  day-to-day  life of the Aiel.  If  one  loses honor  to another, one will serve their duty, or toh, to that person in order to lessen the honor of the victor and earn their honor, or ji, back.  The Aiel are touchy about their honor, as their lives revolve around Ji'e'toh.

To the Aiel, shame is a pain far worse  than any physical wound.  You decide when you have toh,  and it is insulting to be told  that you have toh.  The person who holds Toh chooses how to meet their toh, for they know their worth.  Sometimes, an  apology  will  meet  toh.  Sometimes  it is  a beating or flogging.  But once  toh is  met, it  is as  though it  never existed.

In  battle,  the  way to  get the most ji is to  touch an armed  enemy without  otherwise  harming  them. This  is very difficult and  done infrequently.  The least honor comes from killing, because  any  fool can  kill.  In between  is taking captive  and making gai'shain.  A warrior  who is touched may demand to be taken  gai'shain  to reduce the ji of the other. Maidens and  Stone Dogs are known for being especially touchy about these things.  Wise Ones, Blacksmiths, children,  women with  child or  mothers with  young  children  cannot be made gai'shain. Those made gai'shain have toh to their captor, and must  serve them  for a year and  one day, touching no weapon and  doing no violence.  A gai'shain would not try to escape, but if they did,  their sept would return them, perhaps along with a  first-brother or sister to  discharge  the sept's toh or  perhaps  more than  one if  they felt  the loss  of ji is great.  No Aiel would  be made  gai'shain to one who does not understand ji'e'toh.

There are no excuses in Ji'e'toh. Even when an Aiel knows he cannot do something,  he will still  find toh in not being able to do it. They despise the misuse of Ji'e'toh, and would teach it  even to a  Treekiller,  so they  might  know of it. However,  Ji'e'toh is often  considered  humorous,  and  many jokes are made of it.

Taken from Wikia http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Ji'e'toh