THE BANTU OF KAVIRONDO 231
'start' in life than is offered to the other sons. He is the first to be given cattle to marry and, if the father is poor in cattle, the second son may have to wait for many years until the father's herd has been replenished before he can take a wife. The oldest son also has the first claim to the father's land, to the inheritance of his junior wives, and to the management of the family cattle. The younger sons have to wait till the cattle taken over by the oldest son have increased sufficiently to permit of an equal division, and it is usually only in long-drawn-out instalments that they can obtain their share in the father's legacy. It will be seen that the privileged economic position of the oldest son tends to have a cumulative effect—up to a point—as one generation succeeds the other. As a consequence of this tendency, the line of first-born sons often becomes the wealthiest in the lineage.
The second factor is that, through his management of the father's legacy in land and cattle, the oldest son exercises authority over his younger brothers, who depend upon his friendship and goodwill for the realization of their share in the father's property that is ultimately due to them.
A third factor is that family tradition and the knowledge of law and custom and, in particular, of .outstanding claims to property are always passed on from the father to the oldest son, so that in the lineage group the senior line becomes the chief guardian of tradition and its members the performers of rites and sacrifices for the while lineage or even the sub-clan.
The stress on primogeniture, however, is not so marked that in each clan there is necessarily one leading family, viz. the descendants in senior line of the founder of the clan, although such families are found in a number of clans. In most clans there are severahelders who trace their descent in senior line back for eight to ten generations, but they are not able to link up their genealogy with the name of the founder of the clan. The privileges of primogeniture thus constitute one factor that makes for economic and ritual differentiation within the clan and thus for leadership.
(i) Wealth. The wealthy person, whether he has accumulated his possessions through inheritance or through personal effort, has means of gaining prestige and influence both within and outside his clan. In the first place, by his ability to offer everyday hospitality hi the form of beer, his homestead becomes the gathering-place of the elders of the neighbourhood. In addition, he gains a