provide for, all his father's establishments; which are, however, little burden to him, as the principal care of getting a living devolves on the women themselves.

Females can inherit nothing, but are themselves property. A married woman is the property of her husband; and when he dies, she becomes the property of his heirs; nor can she marry again without their consent.

Children belong solely to their father, and the mother has no claim whatever to them under any circumstances; and when the father dies, they pass together with his other property to his heirs. The dowries of the girls are claimed by the eldest son of the house to which they belong, unless they had been otherwise disposed of by the father during his lifetime.

The eldest son of a chief's great wife inherits the chieftainship of the tribe at his father's death.

The principal property among the Kafirs is live stock. The only inheritable landed property recognized by Kafir law, is what has been brought under cultivation, together with the homestead or site of the kraal. This may be claimed from generation to generation, and can be forfeited only by committing some political crime.

Should a man have no sons, his property is inherited by his father if still living; if not, then by his eldest brother of the same house; if there is no brother of the same mother, then the property is inherited by the eldest son of his father's great wife; in case of a failure of a male in that house, then by the eldest son of the next house in rank, and so on. In case of an entire failure of brothers, then the eldest brother of his father, born of the same mother as his father, comes in for the estate.

In case of a failure here, then his father's eldest brother belonging to the "Ibotwe," or principal house, becomes the claimant. If there is no male in this house, then the eldest brother of the next house, and so on, descending from house to house, according to their rank, until a male is found to inherit the property.

In case of an entire failure of male heirs, the estate is claimed by the chief, together with dowries obtained for the orphan daughters.

h. MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS

When an individual obstinately refuses to obey the orders of his chief, the kraal to which he belongs is held responsible for his conduct; and the headman thereof is expected to punish him; the

fine going, of course, to the chief. When a kraal, or clan, is rebellious, the custom of "eating up" is resorted to; which consists in collecting secretly an armed party, sufficiently strong, and proceeding in as stealthy a manner as possible to such kraal or clan, and seizing all their cattle, &c. If they resist, they are fired upon or assegaied without ceremony; and should any other kraal attempt to assist the rebels, they also would be eaten up.

"Eating up" is the only physical force which a chief has at his command to keep his people in order; and although often abused for political purposes, it is absolutely necessary, as being the only means he has of commanding obedience to the laws.

To maintain his popularity, and cause his people willingly to assist him on such occasions, the booty is always divided among the party engaged on such service, the chief reserving only a very small portion for himself. Hence the system of "eating up" is very popular among the Kafirs; and they are always ready to turn out and assist their chief in plundering their fellow subjects, without ever thinking of inquiring into the merits of the case.

The "Amapakati" have the privilege of going to "busa” at the great place; that is, they go and reside on the chief's kraal for a longer or shorter period, according to their own inclinations; and while they remain there, they form the court or ministry for the time being; during which time they enjoy many privileges. They settle all law suits laid before the chief, and assist him with their counsel in all state affairs; and they share in all the fines which may accrue to the chief during their ministry. They are also employed as "imisila," or sheriffs, to enforce the sentence of the chief, and they receive the fees appertaining to that office.

As the "Amapakati" do not take their wives with them when they thus go to "busa," women, as well as food, are provided for them by the chief. This has given rise to the outrageous and licentious custom of the "upundhlo," which consists in the chief sending out a number of the young men belonging to his personal staff, as a "press gang," to collect by force all the girls above the age of puberty, together with any other unmarried women they can lay hold of, and bringing them to the great place; where they are allotted to the councillors, and any other men, who may belong to the chief's staff; and with whom they are obliged to cohabit for the time being. After a few days, they are allowed to return to their homes, and another lot is hunted up. I may mention that the "upundhlo" is not frequently resorted to, when a sufficient number of volunteers can be obtained.

Refugees are always received by the chief to whom they fly, whatever might have been the nature of the crime for which they fled from their own chief; and they are never demanded; for if they should be, they would not be given up.

When a petty chief flies with his clan from his paramount chief, he sends an ox to the chief whom he has joined, as an acknowledgement of his having become his feudatory; upon which a tract of country is allotted to him.

In times of peace, if a refugee is guilty of taking any of his neighbours' cattle with him; or if any law suit was pending before he fled, such case may be laid before the chief to whom he has fled, and who generally settles such matters impartially, although there appears to be no international law binding him to do so.

When a Kafir wishes to leave his own chief and join another, he can only do so by flying at night in the most stealthy manner, if he has any live stock; for should his intention become known, he would most certainly be "eaten up."

The paramount chief of each tribe is above all law in his own tribe; he has the power of life and death, and is supposed to do no wrong. He is, however, subject in some degree to the paramount chief of the whole nation; and who again, in his turn, is subject to some control from the united council of his feudatory chieftains. Excepting the reigning chief, as above explained, all other members of chiefs' families are amenable to the law; although, through interest etc., they often evade it.

CHAPTER XII

FANTI CUSTOMARY LAW 1

I. PERSONS

(a) THE FAMILY

A Fanti family consists of all the persons lineally descended through females from a common ancestress, provided, that neither they nor those through whom they claim to be the descendants of the common ancestress had severed their connection with that root by

(i.) Cutting Ekar, also called Kahire,

(ii.) Adoption,

(iii.) Partition, or

(iv.) Commendation.

(i.) Cutting Ekar is a particular mode of disowning any one's blood relation. When a man desires to disown a blood relative, he brings him before the elders of his town or village, and in their presence, as well as in the presence of the other members of his family, an ekar is cut in twain, and saying clearly, "We are now divided," he takes one-half and the disowned the other half. As soon as this ceremony is completed, the two persons have no more share or portion in the property of each other. Where a man is disowned, it affects him alone; but in the case of a woman, her issue is included, for the saying is, the children follow the mother's condition.

In Welbeck v. Brown, February 4, 1884, per Chief Robertson: "The cutting of the custom or ekar is a thing of the past in Cape Coast, as a sign of disownment. It was abolished by Governor Maclean."

(ii.) Adoption is practised by persons who have no next of kin to succeed to their property. The person adopted is usually of the

1 [Reprinted from "Fanti Customary Laws: A Brief Introduction to the Principles of the Native Laws and Customs of the Fanti and Akan Districts of the Gold Coast, with a Report of some Cases thereon Decided in the Law Courts," by JOHN M. SARBAH. William Clowes & Sons, Limited, London, 1904. This selection, apart from its systematic arrangement of the matters treated, is interesting in showing clearly the effect of contact of primitive custom with modern legal ideas.]

same clan as the person adopting, but if of a different clan, he assumes the name given him and becomes a member of his clan. To make adoption valid, it must be done publicly, and the person who wishes to adopt must not only get the consent of the family and parents whose child is about to be adopted, but he must clearly state before witnesses his desire and intention. A person cannot adopt another outside his tribe. On account of the custom of descent, which is traced through the female line, it is more usual to adopt females in preference to males.

(iii.) Partition is of rare occurrence, where persons live in the same town or locality. It takes place frequently where two branches of one family, living in separate localities, agree to relinquish to the other, all claim to whatever family property that other has in its possession.

E.g. The family of Anan is divided into two branches, one residing in the family house at Chama, and the other branch living on the family land at Siwdu. As soon as the two branches agree to give up all claim to the property in each other's possession and retain what each has, none of the members of the Chama branch is considered member of the Siwdu family. The successors to each property will be selected from each branch. If one branch get into family difficulties, and the members thereof decide to sell their possessions, the other branch cannot stop such sale. But if at any time the right person to succeed to one branch of the family be a minor, then the headman or senior member of the other branch is, by his position, guardian. On failure of the legal successors, the two branches merge, and the existing line succeeds to both. Partition does not cause an absolute severance from one's family. In fact it is usual for the headman of one branch to preside at the ceremony by himself or deputy, whenever a successor is about to be installed as headman of the other branch.

(iv.) Commendation. When a person is anxious to enter another man's family, so that he may share in the protection and privileges which the members thereof enjoy, he goes before the head of that family, and formally transfers himself and all his worldly possessions into the safe keeping of his new protector. Such is the ordinary commendation. This must not be confounded with that voluntary fellowship of a person in the retinue of some influential neighbour, or with that species of service whereby a man with his family, in town or village, voluntarily accepts a sum of money from an influential king or chief, in order to be counted among his subjects. The head of a family and the whole family can (and in