following account by Young (1931) is a typical example 
of procedure in a civil case. 
Before drinking, the accused said: 
If I am guilty of the charge made 
against me (here reciting the details 
of the case), then may you reject 
the medicine; iwe wa/ And I may 
retain it; ine pa! 
This party then drank. 
The accuser then said: 
If I have accused you falsely 
of (the details of the charge), 
then may you reject the medicine; 
iwe wa! and I retain it; ime pa! 
Then he drank. 
While waiting for the poison to take effect, the village 
would form sides and, amid the shuffling of feet, shout- 
ing, and dancing, each group would chant a song whose 
words expressed the hope that the other, and not their 
man, would be taken by the poison. 
If both vomited (¢we wa), the case was dissolved, for 
there had been no grounds for dispute. If both died (ze 
pa), both had been lying. But if one died, the other was 
congratulated for his survival and praised for his virtue 
either in being innocent or in his truthful accusation of 
a wrongdoer. 
When a person of the lower class died in this manner, 
his body was thrown to the hyenas, and all felt that they 
were free from a malign influence. But if a wealthy per- 
son succumbed, his relatives either paid heavy damages 
to the accuser or to the village, or, if they were unable 
to meet the assessment, sold themselves into servitude, 
usually to the winner. 
At times it became necessary for a group of tribes to 
ferret out a troublemaker. In this situation, a representa- 
tive from each village was sent to a central meeting place 
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