The villages themselves say, and it seems to be a priori probable, that in the past the village was more able to deal with its own internal troubles. Though not generally held for life, the headmanship was traditionally an office of some power and importance, and the headman was able to bring pressure on disputants and to punish offenders.
Disputes over women stand apart. Interference with a man's womenfolk calls for violence, and arbitration or litigation are beside the point. Adultery may lead to murder but not to recognised claims for restitution or compensation. In a sense the word dispute itself is inappropriate. If people feel strongly enough they will act; otherwise the matter remains unsettled. In either case it is a possible source of future trouble.
Nowadays a young headman carries no weight as an arbitrator, still less as a judge. He has no coercive sanctions at his command nor the necessary prestige or skill. Among the senior men no one holds any recognised office, and no one normally stands out as an acceptable arbiter. Thus the village lacks any internal machinery for the settlement of disputes except the informal pressures of neighbours and the self-interest of the parties, which sometimes lead to negotiation and a formal reconciliation. On the one occasion on which I found the headman of Elbashï attempting to arrange peace between the heirs of a recently deceased villager, he had no great success (p. 129). His only weapon was the argument that failure to reach agreement would be to the disadvantage of all.
Under the Village Law (p. 271) the headman has the right to settle disputes up to a certain value (in 1950 T.L.50 equivalent to about £6, $18) in collaboration with the Council of Elders (p. 31). In theory he could use the coercive sanctions the State to insist on this right. In practice no headman in his short term of office is likely to be foolish enough to call in State sanctions against kinsman and neighbours among whom he has to live out his days; if he is already so powerful in the community that he can do so with impunity, he would not need to.