BANTU XEGEOES 



713 



5 



and their warfare was 

 almost entirely defensive 

 and inter-tribal, this last 

 taking the form of a 

 Corsican vendetta. If one 

 man murdered another, 

 he took care to flee as 

 fast as he could to the 

 comitry of another elan, 

 since he would have been 

 promptly waylaid and 

 despatched by the rela- 

 tions of his victim if 

 he remained in his own 

 district. If this had been 

 done, the incident was 

 regarded as closed ; Init, 

 supposing the murderer 

 to have run away and 

 to have remained out of 

 reach, the friends and 

 relations of the dead man 

 took no further steps to 

 avenge him — rather, in 

 fact, allciwed the matter 

 to fall into oblivion. 

 They waited for the sons 

 of the fugiti\e fassuming 

 the murderer to have run 

 away before his boys had 

 attained manbood)to grow 

 u}). When the eldest of 

 these reached the age of 

 jiuberty he would be 

 waylaid, and eitl ler s] )eared 

 or beaten t(j death with 

 clubs. S h o u 1 d the 

 murderer, howe\er, leave grown-uji sons, there might still be a little d( 

 in striking the return blow; liut eventuallv one of the.-e wnuld 

 selected for killing as a close to the \cndetta. 



When a man his killed (in eiienni in warfare' he slia\'es his head on 

 retnrn home, and his friends rub ■" medicine " (generallv the dung of go; 

 VOL, Ji. 18 



399- WAHKHHi.^ .iNI 



KAVIKOMid 



lav 



Jus 

 ats) 



