It was also considered right to drive a man out of his tribe if he proved himself an undesirable; this may be done even now, in which case he is allowed to take his property with him.
Summary.—The preceding review of the organisation of the councils of elders, and the functions exercised by them, show how, in the first place, the elders are merely administrators of tribal law or arbiters as to what is right and proper according to the tribal code; secondly, how they eventually acquire a sacerdotal position. The memories of the elders are also the archives of the tribe as well as the unwritten records of tribal law and tribal observances. If a debt of any importance is paid, it is generally done in the presence [[228]]of one or more elders, and the matter is then settled without the necessity of any receipt or quittance.
It is sometimes assumed by reformers that the elders are nothing more than useless encumbrances, and every district officer wishes they were more progressive. They certainly have their faults, and in some tribes the faults almost overshadow the more useful qualities. On the other hand, we may be rather over anxious to push things along, and we are apt to expect a tribe to jump into a higher cultural plane in too short a time. We forget too easily that reform must come from within, and that the inner consciousness of a tribe changes slowly. A veneer applied on the surface is always thin, and is unlikely to wear.
To illustrate this organisation it may be interesting to refer to the account of the Druids of Britain, about 55 B.C., left to us by Cæsar; these functionaries apparently performed very much the same duties as those of the present-day elders of the ithembo in Kikuyu and Ukamba; in the case of these tribes, however, the line between ordinary people and the priestly caste does not seem to be as sharply marked as it was in Britain. Cæsar in Bell. Gall. vi. 13–14 writes as follows:
“Among the Celts there are only two classes held in consideration and honour, the Knights (equites) and the Druids. The latter are concerned with all things divine, manage the public and private sacrifices, interpret sacred omens and religious scruples. (N.B.—This is identical with the duties of the athuri ya ukuru as regards thahu, etc.). For they make decisions on almost all disputes, both private and public, and if a crime is committed, e.g., a murder, or if a lawsuit arises concerning heritages or disputed boundaries, it is they who give judgment. They name the compensation and assess the penalty, and if any private person will not accept their award they interdict him from taking part in the sacrifice. This is the heaviest punishment they can impose. Persons thus placed under interdict are held impious and accursed; men quit their company [[229]]and avoid meeting them or speaking to them lest they may come to harm from the contagion of the wicked.”
All this has a peculiarly African flavour, and with slight amendment might refer to the constitution of a modern African tribe on the same level of civilisation as the Kikuyu or Kamba people. [[230]]
CHAPTER II
LAWS OF COMPENSATION FOR MURDER
It is a matter of great importance, from an administrative point of view, that these should be properly understood, as a murder is otherwise likely to create a hereditary feud between the two families, which will eventually lead to fresh crimes.