344 ETHNOLOGY 



be exceedingly strong is at once rejected by the 

 stomach, but if less so cannot be vomited and 

 quickly proves fatal, the agony being appalling. It 

 is clear, therefore, that if the Kambaiassa and his 

 assistant be desirous of effecting the removal of any 

 obnoxious member of the community, their course 

 is a simple one. 



Other methods of proving innocence consist of 

 plunging the hands into boiling water, as described 

 in my book " Portuguese East Africa," and by the 

 testimony of the Makaga, which consists of four 

 scales from the back of the crocodile and five from 

 that of the scaly ant-eater {3Ianis). These are 

 shuffled and mixed together, and as they faU to the 

 ground, so they exonerate or condemn. 



The wife (or wives) of a deceased person are 

 cared for by the eldest brother, or, failing him, the 

 eldest maternal uncle of the defunct, and doubtless 

 in days when slavery existed in these regions were 

 duly disposed of to the best advantage. In some 

 parts of the country, the chief heir of any small 

 personal property possessed by a deceased person 

 at the time of death is the eldest sister's eldest son ; 

 but this rule is by no means general, the tendency 

 being, in centres where European influence has 

 made itself felt, towards inheritance by the sons 

 of the defunct if he had any. Even in cases where 

 the eldest surviving brother successfully establishes 

 his claim, it is usual for him to distribute portions 

 of the estate to other members of the family, pre- 

 ference being as a rule given to the dead man's 

 eldest son. The final distribution takes a consider- 

 able time, and is often the cause of grave dissatis- 



