232 THE LAND OF THE LION 



well informed; he has travelled, hunted and fought a great 

 deal, and was careful and slow in his statements made to 

 us around the camp fire. In the main, he said, the Elgoa, 

 Kamasea, and Maraquette observe the same tribal customs. 



If a man among the Elgoa murders another member 

 of the tribe that is, kills him in unfair fight he is handed 

 over by the old men to the relatives of the slain, who kill 

 him, no fine or other punishment being accepted. (This 

 is most unusual in Africa.) 



All his property, with the exception of certain goats 

 and cows, dues as fees to the old men who act as judges, 

 goes to the relatives of the man murdered. 



If this murdered man has offered grand provocation 

 to his slayer, such as stealing his cattle or forcibly taking 

 away his wife (and the first offence is counted a much graver 

 one than the second), or if the killing is purely accidental, 

 though the extreme penalty of death is not imposed, still 

 the punishment is very severe. 



The old men decide how large a part of the slayer's 

 goods goes to the victim's relatives and, when these ruinous 

 fines are paid, certain social marks of tribal disfavour remain. 



He cannot touch blood. (All these tribes, as do also 

 the Massai, count milk and blood, which is taken from their 

 bullocks at regular intervals without killing them, as the 

 chief delicacies of their lives.) If the tribe goes to war 

 he cannot touch spear or shield, but must fight among the 

 boys with bow and arrow only. He can purge himself from 

 the tribal ban and these disqualifications only in one way, 

 and a most extraordinary way it is. I at first fancied there 

 must be some mistake, and that imperfect knowledge of 

 the language had led to a misunderstanding, but after 

 debating the question for several nights, and after much 

 cross-questioning, I came to the conclusion that there could 

 be no possible mistake made in reference to it. 



The warrior under the ban of this homicide, must kill 



