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village government and settlement of disputes |
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Each community was ruled by a village council, with the 'kadepeo' at its head. He was, in effect, its president. He convened it; and, with the help of the village priest, the other permanent member, chose elders to sit on it at any given meeting. But he was no dictator. The council could on (80) occasion overrule him, if public opinion were overwhelmingly behind it. |
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Besides deciding all matters affecting the village - what areas were due for cultivation the coming year, whether or no they required a third morung, and if so, who should take charge of it - the council also served as a court of justice. As the area was administered, they were supposed to deal only with minor cases; but in practice they settled everything, as they always had. Only disputes between villages, which ordinarily would have ended in war, were taken up to the magistrate's court. |
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There was no appeal from a decision of the village court. Judgement once given, it was irrevocable; the parties must accept it or leave the place. In civil cases, therefore (they were mostly suits involving property), the court was less concerned with an outright award than in settling the case by compromise, before it could split the village; a very reasonable system, and one which worked well. Criminal cases were few. They were simply judged in accordance with tribal law; banishment was the usual sentence for serious crimes. |
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All cases were heard in public. To the unaccustomed ear they sounded like a minor riot. Here were no marshalled facts, no measured oratory; plaintiff, respondent, friends, witnesses, onlookers, anyone with something to say, said it at the tops of their voices and all together. The hearing was, in fact, a violent public argument between the parties, in which allegations, denials, and the testimony of witnesses were hurled to and fro and all the relevant points of the case sooner or later brought out. By the time both sides had shouted themselves hoarse, the old men, who had been quietly listening, had heard what they needed to know and reached a decision; and this was forthwith announced and the court dismissed before anyone had time to argue. The judgements were, on the whole, extremely just. I came to have a great respect for their methods. |
