aca»mt of sqences] CUSTOMS REGULATING DOMESTIC RELATIONS, ETC. 175 



cant kind, the Man6bo is peerless; he is patient, ceaseless, and thorough. This is due, no doubt, 

 to his cautious, suspicious nature and to that spirit of revenge that never smolders. He may wait 

 for years until the suspicion seems to have died out, when one fine day he hears a rumor that 

 confirms his suspicions and the flame of contention bursts forth. One by one the successive 

 bearers of the incriminating rumor are questioned in open meeting until the truth of it is 

 ascertained and the guilty one brought to justice. I have known many cases, principally of 

 slander, traced in this way from one rumor bearer to another. This illustrates the statement 

 made before that in cases involving damage or loss to another the guilty party and the witnesses 

 as a rule declare the truth, when they are called upon, knowing that one day or another the 

 secret will probably be ferreted out and then the punishment will be greater. 



ENFORCEMENT OF THE SENTENCE 



The sentence having been agreed to by the consensus of opinion of both sides, and the defend- 

 ant having manifested his concurrence therein, a time is set for the payment. When the offense 

 is of a very serious character, partial payment is made at once, the object being to mollify the feel- 

 ings of the enraged plaintiff. This payment ordinarily consists of a weapon belonging either to 

 the defendant himself or to one of his relatives, but in urgent cases it might be a human being, 

 as a relative for instance. I myself saw delivery of a son made after the termination of an 

 adultery case. 



The whole payment or compensation is not exacted at once but a suitable length of time for 

 the completion of it is always agreed upon. The defendant receives a strip of rattan with a 

 number of knots and is at times made to take the wax-burning oath. 



His conduct on these occasions is apparently submissive for he does not want to run counter 

 to tribal opinion, but it happens sometimes that upon leaving the house of adjudication he 

 expresses his dissatisfaction with the decision or throws the blame upon somebody else. In 

 this case there may arise another contention. On the whole, however, he abides by the decision. 



In the great majority of cases the convicted man makes the stipulated payment, for a refusal 

 to do so would lead to more serious difficulties than those already settled, and excuses for non- 

 fulfillment are not accepted as readily as before. Moreover, a second arbitration subjects his 

 opponent and his opponent's relatives to unnecessary trouble and long journeys. Hence, realiz- 

 ing that a second trial will only serve to exasperate his opponent and arm public opinion 

 against him, he fulfills his obligations faithfully. 



