33o AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS
a large number of warriors, messengers were sent round to the villages or homesteads of other clans to invite them to come to a given place where the further procedure was discussed and a leader (omwemilitf) was chosen, whose duty it was to direct the movements of the warriors and to co-ordinate the action of the different sections. All raids were one-day affairs or, if the attack was undertaken at night, as in the case of the Vugusu raids upon the Teso, of a day and a night.
Apart from seasonal periods of truce, which, by tacit agreement between all parties concerned, were observed during the times of hoeing and clearing the fields, a more lasting peace was concluded by the performance of complex peace ceremonies. The main rite had the significance of an oath, and is supposed to cause death and other misfortune to the party which first breaks the peace. The conclusion of peace never involved 'peace terms' in the sense that one party would pledge to pay tribute or surrender cattle previously raided, or even territory. Peace agreements are said to have been made by the Logoli with the Nyole, Tiriki, and Luo, and by the Vugusu with the El Kony, Nyala (Kabras), and Kaka-lelwa, but never with their chief enemies, the Masai and Teso.
V. The Nature of Political Authority
Although, as has been stated at the beginning of this chapter, there were no individuals or bodies which wielded clearly defined political authority entailing explicit rights and duties, the preceding discussion of the various aspects of political organization has indicated a number of ways in which individuals could gain prominence over their tribesmen or clansmen and find recognition as leaders by certain groups within the tribal unit and with regard to certain activities. We shall now review these different ways of acquiring prominence and then try to define the nature of political leadership as it existed among the Logoli and Vugusu.
(a) The Privileges of Primogeniture. As primogeniture carries with it a number of privileges, there is a tendency in every family for the oldest son to be recognized as the person next in importance to the father. His authority is based on three factors mainly: the first is that he is in a privileged position to acquire wealth in cattle. Although ultimately all sons are entitled to an even share in the father's legacy, the oldest son has a preferential claim to make use of family property, a fact which gives him a much quicker