2 Washington and North-Western Oregon, if an Indian has wronged another and failed to make compensation, he may be taken as a slave.1 The Papuans of Dorey had a law according to which an incendiary with his family became the slave of the late proprietor of the burned house. Among the Line Islanders of Micronesia, if a man of low class stole some food from a person belonging to the "gentry," he became the slave of the latter and lost all his property. Sometimes a man is induced by great poverty to sell himself as a slave. But most intra-tribal slaves are born unfree, being the offspring of parents one or both of whom are slaves.5 3 In descriptions of slave-holding savages it is often said that a master has absolute power over his slave. But even in such instances, when details are scrutinised, it frequently appears that custom or public opinion does not allow a person to treat his slave just as he pleases. We have noticed above that in many cases the master is expressly denied the right of killing him at his own discretion." More commonly than one would imagine the master has not Races of South-Eastern India, pp. 194 Mayotte, Madagascar). Post, Afrikanische Jurisprudenz, i. 90 sq. Idem, Grundriss der ethnologischen Jurisprudenz, i. 363 sqq.; ii. 564 sqq. Kohler, Shakespeare vor dem Forum der Jurisprudenz, p. 14 sq. Gibbs, loc. cit. p. 188. 2 Earl, Papuans, p. 83. 3 Tutuila, in Jour. Polynesian Soc. i. 268 sq. 4 Azara, op. cit. ii. 109 (Mbayas). Hale, op. cit. p. 96 (Kingsmill Islanders). Burton, Abeokuta, i. 301. Andersson, Lake Ngami, p. 231 (Herero). Ellis, History of Madagas car, i. 192 sq. 5 Cf. Post, Afrikanische Jurisprudenz, i. 89 sq.; Mademba, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 83 (natives of the Sansanding States); Nicole, ibid. p. 119 (Diakité-Sarracolese); Baskerville, ibid. p. 194 (Waganda); Desoignies, ibid. p. 278 (Msalala); Dale, in Jour. Anthr. Inst. xxv. 230 (Wabondei); Ellis, History of Madagascar, i. 193. 6 Supra, p. 422 sq. even an unlimited right to sell his slave. Among some peoples he may sell at will such slaves only as have been captured in war or purchased, not such as have been born in the house.1 In several instances a slave, and especially a domestic slave, cannot be sold unless he has been guilty of some crime or misdemeanour.2 Among the Banaka and Bapuku in the Cameroons the master may chastise or send away a slave who has behaved badly, but is not allowed to sell him. There are, moreover, instances in which the master is entitled not to all the services of his 3 slave, but only to a limited portion of them. In some parts of Africa the slave is obliged to work for his master on certain days of the week or a certain number of hours, but has the rest of his time free. In the highlands of Palembang, Sumatra, a slave may carry on trade and hire himself out as a day labourer on his own behalf, and when he works in the field one-half of his harvesting belongs to him and the other half to his master. Where the slave is allowed to possess property of his own he may in some cases, though not in all, buy his freedom; and debtorslaves are as a rule entitled to regain their liberty by paying off the debt. Many peoples even permit a dissatisfied slave to change his master. Among the Washambala, if a person does not fulfil his duties towards any of his slaves, the latter has a right to complain of him to the chief, and should the accusation prove true the chief buys the slave of his master for an ox and two cows, and keeps i. 6 1 Post, Afrikanische Jurisprudenz, 95 $99. 2 Ibid. i. 96 sq. Tellier, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 169 (Kreis Kita). Lang, ibid. p. 241 (Washambala). 7 Ibid. i. III sq. Tellier, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 170 (Kreis Kita). Senfft, ibid. p. 442 (Marshall Islanders). 8 Post, Grundriss der ethnologischen Jurisprudenz, i. 366. Nieboer, op. cit. pp. 38, 432. Nicole, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 118 (DiakitéSarracolese). Baskerville, ibid. p. 194 (Waganda). Lang, ibid. p. 240 sqq. (Washambala). him for himself.1 Among other peoples a slave, in order to get a new master, has only to cause a slight damage to somebody's property, or to commit some other trifling offence, in which case he must be given up to the person he "injured." It is astonishing to notice how readily, in many African countries, slaves are allowed by custom to rid themselves of tyrannical or neglectful masters.3 The Barea and Bazes have a law according to which a slave becomes free by simply leaving his lord. Among the Manipuris, in Further India, if a slave flies from one master and selects for himself another, it is presumed that he has been badly treated by the first one, and the fugitive can consequently not be reclaimed.5 A slave among the lower races can thus by no means be described as a being destitute of all rights. As a rule, it seems, he is treated kindly, very commonly as an inferior member of the family. Among the Aleuts a slave suffering want would bring dishonour upon his master." The South American Mbayás, says Azara, 1 Lang, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 242. i. 2 Post, Afrikanische Jurisprudenz, 102 sqq. Idem, Grundriss der ethnologischen Jurisprudenz, i. 377. Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 168. Pechuel-Loesche, Aus dem Leben der Loango-Neger,' in Globus, xxxii. 238. 3 See also Post, Afrikanische Jurisprudenz, i. 102 sqq.; Munzinger, Ostafrikanische Studien, p. 309 (Beni Amer); Idem, Die Sitten und das Recht der Bogos, p. 43. 4 Munzinger, Ostafrikanische Studien, P. 484. 5 Dalton, Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal, p. 51. 6 Ibid. pp. 51 (Manipuris), 58 (Garos). Lewin, Hill Tracts of Chittagong, p. 34 sq. Idem, Wild Races of South-Eastern India, p. 90 (Chittagong Hill tribes). Colquhoun, Amongst the Shans, p. 267. Mouhot, Travels in the Central Parts of IndoChina, i. 250 (Stiêns). Riedel, De sluik- en kroesharige rassen tusschen Selebes en Papua, pp. 194 (Watubela 6 Islanders), 293 (people of Tenimber and Timor-laut), 434 (people of Wetter). Earl, ор. cit. p. 81 (Papuans of Dorey). New, Life, Wanderings, and Labours in Eastern Africa, p. 128 (Wanika). Chanler, Through Jungle and Desert, p. 404 (Eastern Africans). Baumann, Usambara, p. 141 (Wabondei). Felkin, in Proceed. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh, xiii. 746; Baskerville, in Steinmetz, Rechts verhältnisse, p. 194 (Waganda). Ibid. p. 43 (Banaka and Bapuku). Mademba, ibid. p. 84 (natives of the Sansanding States). Nicole, ibid. p. 118 (Diakité-Sarracolese). Lang, ibid. p. 242 (Washambala). Desoignies, ibid. p. 278 (Msalala). Kraft, ibid. p. 291 (Wapokomo). Reade, Savage Africa, p. 582. Rowley, Africa Unveiled, pp. 174, 176. Steinmetz, Ethnologische Studien zur ersten Entwicklung der Strafe, i. 313. Nieboer, op. cit. pp. 52, 78, 79, 81, 141-143, 305, 439 sq. 7 Veniaminof, quoted by Petroff, loc. cit. p. 152. 12 "aiment extraordinairement tous leurs esclaves; jamais ils ne leur commandent d'un ton impérieux; jamais ils ne les réprimandent, ni ne les châtient, ni ne les vendent, quand même ce seraient des prisonniers de guerre. Quel contraste avec le traitement que les européens font éprouver aux africains!" In West Africa "the condition of slavery is not regarded as degrading, and a slave is not considered an inferior being." On the Gold. Coast, with the exception of the unpleasant liability of being sent at any moment to serve his master in the other world, the lot of a slave is not generally one of hardship, but is on the whole far better than that of the agricultural labourer in England. The slave is generally considered a member of the family, and if native-born succeeds in some cases in default of an heir to the property of his master.3 In the Yoruba country it was quite common for a slave to be named by his master in his last will to be the factor or general manager of the estate, and to be left to take care of the entire establishment. Among the Kreis Kita, of the French Soudan, the master calls his domestic slaves his sons, and they call him their father; nay, the natural guardian of an heir who is not yet of age is not his mother, but the eldest domestic slave of the household. Speaking of the natives in the region of Lake Nyassa, Mr. Macdonald remarks that most Africans like to see their slaves become rich; "Are they not,' they say, "our own children?" Among the Wabondei, "if a man buys a slave, he calls his own children and says, 'Behold your brother.' The slave is treated as a son, and is neither beaten nor tied."7 In Madagascar the slaves "are kindly treated by their masters, they are considered as a kind of inferior members of the family to whom they belong, and many of the slaves have a 1 Azara, op. cit. ii. 110. 2 Ellis, Ewe-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast, p. 219. See also Wilson, Western Africa, pp. 179, 180, 271 sq. Ellis, Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast, p. 290. 4 MacGregor, Lagos, Abeokuta, 6 4 and the Alake,' in Jour. African Soc. 1904, p. 473. 5 Tellier, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 169. 6 Macdonald, in Jour. Anthr. Inst. xxii. 102. 7 Dale, ibid. xxv. 230. practical freedom of action to which the free population are quite strangers.' The slavery prevalent among the native races of the Malay Archipelago is generally mild. In Borneo, says Mr. Boyle, "we always found a difficulty in distinguishing the servile portion of a household from the freeborn population, and the honours and distinctions open to the latter class are likewise accessible to the former.” 2 The slave-debtors of the Dyaks are "just as happy in this state-living in their creditors' houses and working on their farms as if perfectly free, enjoying all the liberty of their masters.' Among the Chittagong Hill tribes the debtor-slaves were treated as members of the creditor's family, and were never exposed to harsh usage. Among the Káfirs of the Hindu-Kush slaves are sometimes chosen among the annually elected magistracy, and Sir Scott Robertson knew of a case in which a master and his slave went through the ceremony of brotherhood together.5 It appears that intra-tribal slaves, especially such as are born in the house, are generally treated better than extratribal or purchased slaves, and that slaves are most oppressed by their masters when they belong to a different race." We are told that among the South American Guaycurus the two causes of slavery, captivity and birth, imply a certain difference of caste, which is maintained 1 Sibree, The Great African Island, p. 181. See also Little, Madagascar, p. 77; Ellis, History of Madagascar, i. 196. 2 Boyle, Adventures Dyaks of Borneo, p. 284. among the 3 Low, Sarawak, p. 302. See also St. John, Life in the Forests of the Far East, i. 83; Bock, Head-Hunters of Borneo, p. 210; Kükenthal, Ergeb nisse einer zoologischen Forschungsreise in den Molukken und Borneo, i. 276 (Kyans); Crawfurd, History of the Indian Archipelago, i. 52; Raffles, op. cit. i. 352; Marsden, History of Sumatra, p. 253; Junghuhn, op. cit. ii. 150 (Bataks). 4 Lewin, Hill Tracts of Chittagong, 5 Scott Robertson, Káfirs of the Hindu-Kush, p. 100 sq. 6 Munzinger, Ostafrikanische Studien, p. 484 sq. (Barea and Kunáma). New, op. cit. p. 56 (Waswahili). Baumann, Usambara, p. 61 (natives of the Tanga Coast). Sarbah, op. cit. p. 6 sq. (Fantis). Nicole, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 118 sq. (DiakitéSarracolese). Tellier, ibid. p. 169 (Kreis Kita). Beverley, ibid. p. 213 (Wagogo). Sibree, op. cit. p. 256 sq. (natives of Madagascar). Post, Afrikanische Jurisprudenz, i. 88 sq. 7 Mademba, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 84 (natives of the Sansanding States). Sibree, op. cit. p. 181 (natives of Madagascar). |