CHAPTER XIII

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INHERITANCE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW.

97. INHERITANCE.

“... the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger; her husband’s brother shall go in unto her and take her to him to wife.”—DEUT. xxv. 5.

When a man dies, part of his goods is buried with him, part goes to pay the precentor at the wake, and to feast the undertakers and friends. Besides these and such like funeral expenses, there is the cost of the legal investigation into the cause of death, and this item if not repaid by damages from the bewitcher (107), will be the most expensive piece of mourning. The remainder of his property (92), including his wives and children, passes on, without any government tax, to his heir. The nearest heir is his eldest brother, who obtains complete possession. This is no hardship to younger brothers, who will succeed in their turn. Failing a brother, there comes the eldest sister, not indeed herself but her son, so that the next heir after a man’s younger brother is his nephew (mwipwagwao). By this custom a man’s own children are purposely set aside. When we tell the natives about the English law of succession, they say that it is “very stupid”. They want to be sure that the heir really has the family blood in his veins, and they cannot trust that a man’s sons answer to this description. The same laws of inheritance are found in various parts of Africa—as for instance among the Ashanti on the Western Coast. Any will that attempted to strike at this custom would be at once set aside. Where writing is unknown, written wills are impossible, but no will would be recognised except perhaps in the case of some trifling matters. If the rightful heir be a minor (_i.e._, a mere child), some one takes the inheritance till he comes of age. The first-born always has the precedence, the younger brother being nothing while the elder is alive. We saw an amusing illustration of this in the case of our own two children. On the birth of the first, the relatives of the chief Kapeni patronised him and even proposed a wife for him, while all the natives called him little Kapeni. But the second child they took no notice of, he was merely “the younger brother of little Kapeni”. The heir pays any debt that may be on the inheritance, he also takes the risk of the “witchcraft” trial. If his predecessor died by witchcraft, he receives a large fine from the bewitcher’s estate, but if his predecessor died by the poison (mwai), he pays a fine to the bewitched persons, or their representatives. The great majority of the natives are the victims of witchcraft one way or other. They either die of witchcraft themselves (106), or are poisoned because they bewitched some one else. On the day of entering on his inheritance the heir marries not only the inferior wives, but the chief wife of his predecessor (43). Should she have property her sureties look after her interest. A married woman, if free, may have property—she may be a herbalist, or a “cook” at the mysteries, or she may make money by her flour and fowls. When a wife dies possessing wealth, her husband to keep off the “surety” (48), asks a younger sister to marry him, and take charge of (kwachinga) the children. If he cannot succeed in this, the goods may be divided, part going to the husband and part to the sureties of the wife.

98. SUCCESSION TO THE CHIEFTAINSHIP.

The order of this succession is the same as in ordinary inheritance. The chief’s nearest heir is the eldest of his brothers (97), who will be younger than the chief himself, otherwise he would have had a prior claim to the title. Next to younger brothers come nephews, but not the sons of a brother, who are really reckoned the sons of the chief (60). Occasionally natives set aside this order of succession. The parties concerned are—(1) The deceased man’s slaves. (2) His wives and children, many of whom are also slaves. (3) Headmen related to the chief. (4) Headmen not related to the chief. The 3rd class are not impartial judges, because some of them may be candidates for the throne. The 4th class, however, often do much to settle disputes. But strange to say, it is the slaves and wives, the 1st and 2nd class, that raise the loudest voice. They are a numerous and powerful body, and may contain some of the old chief’s best fighters. On the death of the former Malemya of Zomba, there survived a younger brother Kumtaja, who, so far as birth went, was the rightful heir; but there was also a nephew called Kasabola. Kumtaja urged his claim, but the slaves (achachanda) disliked him, and so did many of the headmen (alambi). Moreover, all the wives of the old chief desired Kasabola, and quoted a saying of the deceased chief in his favour. The Alambi said, “If Kumtaja enter Malemya’s village, all that reside there will run away,” and accordingly Kasabola was made “Malemya”. Still it is dangerous to tamper with the law of the land. Kumtaja set up an independent kingdom, taking to him such headmen as would go; and had there been a division among the wives or slaves, he might have claimed all that wished to adhere to him.

At an installation there are several ceremonies, which, however, vary among different tribes. The new chief first gets a severe lecture, in which he is told that he must be hospitable and not beat his people too much. Afterwards he is formally installed in office (34). His temples are girt with the brow-band (ndawila), which he will henceforth wear on every formal occasion. He is then called by his new name, and received with songs of rejoicing. His assumption of the name is much dwelt on. When old Kapeni of Sochi became chief in the distant Yao country, before his tribe migrated, the songs and the response, “Awo Kapeni ’wo” (that is Kapeni), produced an impression that is fresh in the memory of his people to this day. The chief may appoint a high priest (jua mbepesi) of his government, who is also called his captain. It is the duty of this man to carry the chief’s banner and lead his army. The chief seldom goes to battle; “he stays behind to supply powder and deal with deserters”. Another duty of the high priest is to find out whether war is to be successful, but if he fail to get a favourable answer, the chief himself presents the offering, for just as every headman is the priest of his village (7), so the chief is the real high priest of the country. If the army go forth and be thoroughly defeated after the offerings declare victory to be certain, the people simply say, “Our God has deceived us”. When the chief has a beer-drinking, his priest or captain brings out the beer to the guests, and tastes it to show that it is not poisoned. In the case of English visitors, the Magololo headmen taste all the food themselves, but at Kapeni’s capital his priest generally performs the ceremony. When there is a witch-dance at a place where the chief cannot attend, the priest is sent to represent him, and takes a prominent place in beating the drums. Many ceremonies seen at a chief’s installation are observed when any one succeeds to a village. Moreover, since it is only certain families that have brow-bands, a headman may wear the badge where his chief has no right to do so. Headmen don it when presiding at trials, or when they go to a beer-drinking in full dress!

99. INTERNATIONAL LAW.

Disputes between a master and his slave, between a governor and his ward, between a headman and his villager, or between a chief and his headman, are easily settled by the power of the Superior. But disputes between different villages are more puzzling. If a man of Chingota’s kill a man of Matope’s in Chuma’s village, the three headmen may be involved only, when all belong to one chief, reference is ultimately made to him. But when they belong to different chiefs the case is rendered more dangerous, as their respective chiefs may become parties. The following instances show how cases between chiefs are settled. If a subject of Malemya be killed in a village of Kapeni’s by men of Kumpama,[11] Malemya expects Kapeni to catch the criminals and hand them over to him; and Kapeni must do so, otherwise he becomes a party to the crime. Kumpama sends a message to Kapeni asking, “Where are those men of mine that went to your territory?” and Kapeni refers him both now and in all subsequent steps of the dispute to Malemya. The chief of a country thus takes cognisance of crimes committed in his land not by punishing the guilty parties himself, but by handing them over to the injured. Again, suppose that Malemya’s men when carrying goods for Kapeni were plundered by subjects of Kumpama, if the deed be done in Malemya’s territory, Malemya takes the matter up, but if the goods be once out of his territory, Kapeni becomes prosecutor. In either case Kumpama is asked to surrender the thieves, and is liable to punishment, either because he is a party to the theft, or because he fails to govern his kingdom in the proper way.

100. GENERAL REMARKS ON NATIVE LAW.

As law is a subject of great complexity in all countries, it must not be supposed that we have settled every question. In a native dispute difficulties may arise regarding the form of prosecution, the form of evidence, the proper court, the position and members of that court, and in short at every step. These _special_ difficulties are settled according to the merits of each case: and cannot be here solved without treating the subject with a minuteness that would be too tedious for the most ardent student of African customs.

101. WAR.

As war may begin in Africa without any provocation at all, trivial reasons are quite sufficient to produce bloody feuds. Hence, quarrels that in civilised countries would be mere law suits become occasions for war. A chief _declares_ war by killing or kidnapping some of his enemies. He may either find them on a journey, or send an expedition to their villages. Deeds of this kind proclaim that a messenger sent to the aggressor will be either slain or sent back mutilated, the two parties are now declared enemies, and all friendly intercourse is at an end. War may be declared on a travelling party by simply calling out “ngondo” (war). The natives _conduct_ war by making a series of attacks in order to plunder or to destroy by fire and sword. The Yao chiefs say that they do not attack by night—“to attack by night is a sneaking piece of conduct fit only for the Anyasa and the Achipeta”. But they can explain with great relish the method of night attack. A band of men go to an enemy’s village when the people are all in bed. They carry sticks finely sharpened at the point (songa), and place them in the ground right before the hut doors, and in such a way that a native coming hastily out of the house in his usual dress will run one of them into his body. After setting this trap, the invaders apply fire to the various houses, and then look on with loaded guns. Sometimes they tie up the doors before setting the houses on fire, but unless their animosity be very deadly, they will not burn all their foes. It is more profitable to capture the women and children for sale. The boldest of their enemies will be the first to rush forth to investigate the disturbance, and once they have impaled themselves on the sharp-pointed sticks, their wives can easily be captured.

A war may _end_ in various ways. One of the parties may be entirely broken and driven from the country, their wives and children becoming slaves. Or the weaker may succeed in buying a peace. Two hostile chiefs may continue beside each other for many years, afraid to risk anything more serious than kidnapping. Since the natives trust greatly to war medicine, a small chief that long maintains his position against a stronger, and occasionally gains a battle, is believed to have a powerful “medicine,” and is feared accordingly. Native wars frequently cause more deaths through famine than through actual slaughter. All natives confess that war is “bad,” but strangely enough each race values itself upon its military powers. Even the Achipeta, although they have been completely vanquished by the Mangoni, will boast, “In our country we know nothing but war”.

Natives jump and swing their guns about by way of making a war dance, but these evolutions being originally adapted for their long spears, are unsuitable for guns. The Mangoni, like the Zulus, have a special training for war.

Native fights remind one of the days of Homer. A good tongue is as essential as a good spear. So long as a combatant has courage to demand his rights, the fact that the enemy has “eaten” a number of his followers is regarded as mere by-play.

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