THE BANTU OF KAVIRONDO 233
cause of the death that has occurred. It is then the duty of the omuseni to curtail all such accusations by pointing out that all people are born into this world to die and that people should not harbour grievances and accuse one another of sorcery, as such an attitude would merely increase the sorrow that had befallen them. The omuseni usually winds up his speech with a review of the great deeds of the clan and with exhortations to live up to that tradition and to forget petty quarrels for the sake of peace.
Similarly, the omugasa is expected to talk for unity when legal disputes are discussed before the elders of the oluhia. When homicide or murder has occurred and the kinsmen of both parties insult one another and show impatience to fight, he persuades them to give and accept compensation. The degree to which he succeeds in such efforts determines his recognition as a leader.
(d) Reputation as a Warrior. A further quality that in the past made for leadership was the reputation gained as a warrior. Success in warfare served as a means of gaining wealth, but it also brought prestige in itself. Both among the Vugusu and the Logoli the names of clan heads of the past that are remembered are associated with accounts of their deeds as warriors, their success being measured in terms of the number of enemies they have killed and the head of cattle raided by them or under their leadership. Whether the choice of a successful warrior as a leader in raiding expeditions was linked with a belief in his possession of superior magical powers is to-day difficult to determine; he is said by the old men to have been chosen for his courage and his ability of inducing the others to follow him in an attack. Since, as has been said above, war expeditions were frequently undertaken jointly by several clans, leadership in fighting, more than that acquired in other ways, tended to be recognized by several clans and thus to establish a superiority of one clan over others.
(e) The Possession of Magtco-Religious Virtues. Although the persons most commonly called to offer private sacrifices to the ancestors are the members of the senior line of a lineage, this duty can also be performed by any classificatory father or elder brother, if his qualities of character are such that he is considered a suitable person. He must be known for his kindness and honesty; he must be past the age of sexual desire; and he must be some one 'who can feed the people'; in short he must be a person without embala, i.e. without any failures and blemishes in the record of