THE REASONABLE MAN IN BAROTSE LAW
| Author | Max Gluckman |
| Published date | 01 July 1955 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/j.1099-162X.1955.tb00100.x |
| Date | 01 July 1955 |
THE
REASONABLE
MAN IN
BAROTSE
LAW 127
gency no
further
development in this direction can be expected in
the
Central
Province for an indefinite time. Where
the
direct
method
of election is in force,
the
franchise is limited to
adult
males
at
present,
but
it
is
the
policy of provincial
commissioners to
appoint
one or two African women to
most
councils.
~uture
develop~ent
Prompted
no
doubt
by
theintroduction
of
the
county
council
system
in
the
Highlands, some African district councils
have
put
forward a
demand
for
county
status,
probably
without
realising
the
fact
that
the
powers of an African
district
council are, if
anything,
even more comprehensive
than
those of a
county
council
or a
county
district council. Despite
this
fact, it does seem likely
that
in
the
years to come local
government
in
the
African areas will be assimilated to
the
county
system. This would imply
the
taking
over of responsibility by
the
councils for
the
administration
of townships
and
trading
centres, which
at
present form enclaves in
the
area
under
their
jurisdiction. This could
not
come
about
unless
the
African district councils were
prepared
to accept representation
of
other
races on
their
councils,
but
this
seems to be a
natural
and
logical
development in a multi-racial community.
The
final stage of development of
local government in
the
African areas
may
therefore be multi-racial
county
councils with, of course, a
substantial
majority
of African councillors,
with
urban
district councils consisting of
the
townships
and
trading
centres,
and
rural districts based on
the
present locations or possibly in some cases groups
of locations.
THE
REASONABLE
MAN
IN
BAROTSE
LAW
By Professor M ax Gluckman.
2. The Case
of
the Eloping
Wife
OUI~
textbooks of law
take
as their
units
of analysis a series of
abstract
Concepts like right
and
duty,
marriage, property, care
and
negligence, guilt,
contract,
crime;
and
they
analyse legal rules grouped
under
these concepts.
The anthropologist's
units
of investigation are social
positions-such
as
husband
and
wife, owner, thief, councillor, king,
and
so forth. These social positions
are linked
together
by rights which
the
incumbents of
the
positions can claim
an~
by duties
they
should fulfil.
The
anthropologist studies how rights
are
claImed
and
duties fulfilled,
and
how breaches of
their
rules are enforced, in
relation to all
the
social positions in a community. So
that
he regards
the
same facts from a viewpoint which differs from
that
of
the
lawyer.
Now
everyone
of these social positions carries
with
it
certain
ideals-a
~ouncillor
is
grave
and
impartial, aking is
brave
and
just,
there
are
the
perfect
Us~and
and
the
perfect wife.
Human
frailty, alas, acting in
the
vicissitudes
of life, is such
that
few people can live up to
the
ideals of
the
positions
they
OCCUpy.
But
fortunately
the
law,
both
in
England
and
in Barotseland, only
demands
that
we
attain
these ideals up to a reasonable
standard,
so
that
most
~~
us, despite
our
deserts, escape whipping. Therefore, trials often reduce to
equestion was
the
defendant
areasonable councillor? areasonable husband?
~h ~ife?
or
f~ther?
Even
before
that
stage of
the
trial
is reached,
the
judges in
terr cross-examination begin to assess litigants'
behaviour
against
these
s
a~dards.
And
because as an anthropologist Iam
dominantly
interested
in
SOCIal
positions, Icame to
concentrate
in my
study
of
Barotse
law on
the
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