The native court which sprung to existence in 1926 was
entirely the initiative of the British. Throughout the German
administration, no court ot any sort was set up to administer justice.
This means that, though the Germans would naturally have deplored such
crimes as murder and violent fighting, the Bum resorted to and
depended on "their own long established indigenous methods of
general administration" (Bridges 1933: 41) for most of the time.
This was to be remarked wherever the Germans had influence. As Nkwi
and Warnier say (1982: 214), everywhere
"Native crime and conflict resolution procedures
were left undisturbed to handle minor cases except poison-ordeals,
enslavement and other forms of brutal punishment." |
Though the German administrator had no permanent residence
in Bum, he carried out regular monthly patrols during which he heard
certain serious complaints and gave summary judgement. But the
difference between the Germans and the British should be seen as one
of style, since the latter equally did not reside in Bum permanently,
yet established a native court. Whatever the case, until the advent of
the native court in 1926, the Kwefon remained the most respected and
authoritative institution, charged with maintaining the social order,
assuring justice, and satisfying the general aspirations of the
people. The Kgheng plant instead of the policeman or the court
messenger was the symbol of law, justice and authority. It was used by
the Fon, Njito and Beiteka (political elite) to indicate that they
spoke and acted in the name of the Kwefon - the voice of the people.
An ordinary man could also use it to distinguish between something
(raffia wine for example) intended for the Fon's consumption
(custodian of the Kwefon and other institutions of peace and social
harmony) and another for common consumption. |
To execute these duties, the Kwefon had well elaborated
strategies. In the case of disease for instance the Kwefon made sure
that the people kept themselves, their compounds and footpaths clean.
Anyone who failed to partake in communal labour was sanctioned to pay
a fine In addition it forbade contact between the Bum and people of a
neighbouring or distant tribe where rumours claimed a strange and
dangerous disease to exist. As for the traditional illnesses, the
Kwefon tolerated the genuine herbalists who were easy to identify
since "medicine is seen, not heard". A good medicine-man
does not need to talk of himself; rather, there are a number of
successful cases that he has in his credit that speak for him. In
matters of Agriculture and population, the Kwefon encouraged
foreigners to settle in Bum and gave them farmlands. It was very hard
on those Bum who tried to stop foreigners from settling. This policy
is followed up to date, for Bum remains territorially a very vast
ethnic group with a lot of unoccupied yet fertile land. Slavery was
equally encouraged, and slaves worked hard with their masters on
farms, and accompanied them on trading expeditions. Everyone was
expected to invite a witchdoctor to set up in their farms a medicine
called ifam; a medicine intended to prevent destruction by sorcerers
and villains who often transformed themselves into severe storms and
harmful animals. |
|
Moreover, the Kwefon depended on the political elite who in
turn depended on their local Subordinates. Concerning sorcery and
villainy for instance, it relied solely on the witchdoctor or wise
man, who furnished it with necessary information concerning these
agents of destruction. The Kwefon expects the witchdoctor or wise man
to be its "eye and ear"in the world of the clairvoyant
(Nyamnjoh 1985). For external security on the other hand, the Kwefon
relied on its Sugwe or Asugwe. As Bridges says (1933: 31), they were a
band of about 30 strongly built young men, selected from all over the
tribe and sent variously to spy and overhear for the interest of Bum
in neighbouring and far off tribes. They kept it informed on all
developments and possible war intentions amongst these tribes. In this
way the Kwefon was always in time to surprise its enemy before the
latter could attack first. 3.1 CRIME,
CONFLICT AND LAW
According to Lucy Mair (1962: 18) few or no nonliterate
people have laws since laws that are not expressly enacted can be
easily forgotten, or if remembered become matters of dispute and
controversy. Our precolonial nonliterate Bum happened to be one of
Mair!s exceptional cases, for the Kwefon not only made laws, but
constantly kept the people reminded of these laws by applying them.
The Bum did not need to know each and every law off by heart, but they
however knew in a general manner what behaviour was likely or not to
be sanctioned as illegal. It is however erroneous to believe that no
law is possible where no formal European courts or judges exist. For
law as Radcliffe-Brown defines it in the preface to African Political
System (1940), is nothing more than "the application of direct or
indirect penal sanctions ... the settlement of disputes and the
provision of just satisfaction for juries." And talking about
penal sanctions in African societies, he says that the decision to
apply them "may rest with the people in general, with the elders,
as in a gerontocracy, with a limited number of judges or leaders, or
with a single chief or king"( 1940: xvii). This section examines
not only who applied penal sanctions in Bum, but also how and when
these were applied. |
In Bum, crime and conflict resolution was possible at all
levels on the hierarchical ladder of authority. All depended on the
nature or character or the issue that needed resolution. Thus, most
naturally, solutions to disputes and cases of trouble amongst members
of a tamily (nuclear or extended) were first attempted by the
Familyhead. His authority to settle such matters emanated primarily
from his position at the head of the family and in certain cases from
his age advantage over the other family members. It is only in the
case where his decision failed to satisfy the disputing parties that
the matter was allowed to proceed to the village council. |
All simple cases were heard in the village councils. These
councils were presided by the Fon's regional representatives: Lords
(Njito) or Village heads (Beiteka). A village council consisted of
five members at most, who were the family heads (Bebena) of the senior
families of the village. The council members were known as notables
(Cheghsu). These councils were empowered to deal with "purely
local matters and act as a sort of jury in all cases brought for
settlement to the village headman" (Pollock 1927: 39). Witnesses
were never chosen indiscriminately; certain laws governed their choice
and acceptability of the evidence they furnished. As Bridges says:
"Near relatives of either party were not allowed to
give testimony. In the cases of appeal, should one, or both, parties
not belong to Nkwefon, they must bring any of their friends, who
were Nkwefon members, as witnesses to the trial to give testimony
for them, but not more than 5 witnesses were allowed" (1933:
117) [SfC] |
Equally present in the courtyard was what the Bum call
Sechi. This comprised a variety of leaves and little branches,
believed to be very potent. it was put in a raffia bag called
Balisechi, and placed on the ground in front of the jury. The use of
the Sechi then is comparable to that of the Bible in today's courts.
Before testifying in front of the council, the parties and their
witnesses were supposed to pick up Sechi, use it to touch their
forehead and chest, saying: "Let Sechi kill me if I tell a lie".
Then they place it down again, and gave their statements. The power of
the Sechi was undoubtedly asserted. It was alleged that the
consequences would be grave on any one who falsely promised to lying
to the jury. As Bridges says, such a man would "fall ill very
soon afterwards, and only when he had admitted his mistake, and paid a
fine, and then received medicine from the man who made Sechi
(wutasechi). could he reasonably hope to recover his health (1933:
113)." We must say that with the presence of the Sechi, and
conscious of the widespread belief in its potence and danger, a man
had to be extraordinarily daring to tell a deliberate lie to the
council. |
However, it was not impossible to have one party
dissatisfied with the judgement given. When this happened the party in
question had the right to appeal to the higher authority of the
Kwefon. But his appeal had to be forwarded to the Kwefon council
through his Lord or Village head. This council was composed of the
Fon, the Lords and some Village heads, all of whom were generally
known as Cheghsukwefonsu. The caretaker of the Kwefon lodge, Baabe,
was also a member of this council. |
Sometimes the dispute or conflict involved two villages or
parties from two villages. According to Bridges, whenever this was the
case, the 'invariable custom [was] to try and settle the matter by a
large meeting attended by every member of the villages concerned
(1933: 118)." At this meeting the Village heads of both villages
tried to mediate between their people. But in the case where their
people failed to he satisfied, the matter was taken to the Kwefon
council for further examination. It was equally possible for a dispute
to arise between two members of the latter council. When that
happened, the Fon, along with the other members of the council, tried
to settle the matter. Should all the other members of the council
disagree with the Fon over an issue, debate and discussion were
expected to continue until a consensus was reached. For a decision to
be well effectuated it was very important that it be both unanimously
taken and how to implement it generally accepted. For the Kwefon
council comprised Lords and Village heads who considered it a sacred
duty to defend the interests of their people by following the
footprints of their predecessors; footprints validated or legitimized
by their forefathers who interceded with God (Fyen) for the welfare
and prosperity of their various peoples. The Fon knew the adverse
implications of deciding single handedly. Things were such that made
him constantly aware that he risked not only the dissatisfaction of
the people but also and more importantly, the wrath and reprimand of
God through the ancestors and late Fons of Bum. His was the fear of
not being accepted into the high society of the ancestors at his
death. |
