customs and values of that society. When laws are respected,
custom and tradition are also respected.
Th e origin of law in Africa is closely connected to the
origin of communities. Founders of each community laid
down rules and regulations for people to follow and respect.
As time unfolded in the history of states and empire building,
new forms of social, political, and economic developments
had far-reaching consequences on the nature of law and how
society was governed and structured. In other words, as Afri-
can society underwent the natural process of transformation,
the need to maintain the status quo and move ahead led to the
establishment of regulations and orders.
Since rulers played signifi cant roles in determining the
tranquility of each community, the law of succession seems
to have been one of the most signifi cant laws. In traditional
Africa laws needed for the peaceful running of society could
work only if the right person was allowed to rule. Th e gods
and goddesses might be infuriated by any attempt at doctor-
ing the law of succession—a situation that could lead to the
collapse of the state. Each community laid down principles
on how rulers were to be selected. In most cases rulers were
selected from the clan or family of the founder of the com-
munity. Th e idea of rulers as “naturally ordained” suggested
that a ruler was sanctioned by the gods and goddesses. Rul-
ers were naturally selected if the law of the society stipulated
that the fi rst child of the reigning ruler should rule. Such was
always the case in societies with one ruling house. Selection
might be done rotationally if there was more than one ruling
house. In these two instances, the gods would have been con-
sulted before rulers were allowed to rule.
By and large the authority of a ruler was derived from
his or her role as the intermediary between gods and god-
desses and human beings. A signifi cant part of the corona-
tion ceremony involved initiation into several secret societies
and the transformation of the ruler from an “ordinary” hu-
man being to a “supernatural” being who communed with
ancestors and other apparitional entities. Th e perception of
the king among the Yoruba of modern southwestern Nigeria
was Kabi o osi, Oba alase ekeji orisa (“someone who cannot
be questioned, king, ruler, and deputy of the gods”). Th is ap-
pellation indicated that the king could not be questioned or
reprimanded for his or her actions and that he or she was the
deputy of the gods. Kings represented the gods on earth, and
their command was therefore that of the gods. Since the gods
and the ancestors were considered the founders of the com-
munity who also laid down the foundation of its custom and
convention, a person who disobeyed the king automatically
incurred the wrath of the gods.
Laws are needed to ensure the smooth running of a soci-
ety. A very old proverb among the Yoruba indicates the role
of law in their society: Ilu ti ko si ofi n, ese kosi ni be, or “Th ere
is no off ense in a place where there is no law.” Th is proverb
suggests that the prime purpose of making and enforcing law
is the need to avoid a breakdown of order. Moreover, every
community has its own laws that must be obeyed. A Yoruba
poem that sheds a considerable amount of light on the signifi -
cance of law and order is as follows:
Th e king whose reign is peaceful
Will have his name remembered for life.
Th e king whose reign is marred with tribulations
Will have his name remembered for life.
Ancient African rulers were aware of the implications of
the breakdown of law and order. Th ey were capable of incur-
ring the wrath of the gods. Th eir ruling house and succeed-
ing generations might be prevented from having access to the
throne in the future. It was therefore not unusual for rulers to
commit suicide to avoid the humiliation associated with an
inability to make or enforce laws.
Th e operation and scope of laws and their enforcement
varied from one part of the continent to another. Centralized
societies developed a larger instrument of law enforcement
compared with their noncentralized counterparts. Enforce-
ment of laws seemed to be diff used in societies that were
governed by more than one administrative body. It was typi-
cal, for instance, for secret societies to have their own courts
where members were tried. Secret societies were groups that
drew their members from the class of priests, elders, and peo-
ple whose age, position, or status was important in the day-
to-day running of the community. Laws of secret societies
tended to have direct impact on the larger society in part be-
cause most of their members were political elites. Th ere seems
to have been no sharp dichotomy between people who made
laws and those who enforced them. Rulers had the power to
enforce laws through their agents, including lesser chiefs as
well as heads of lineage, clans, compounds, and servants. As-
sociations, such as the age grades (a social category based on
age) among the Igbo of modern southeastern Nigeria, also
performed some law-enforcement roles.
Laws could also be enforced through sorcery and by re-
ligio-magical means. Ancestral worship, off erings, and sac-
rifi ces could be employed in enforcing laws. People naturally
abided by laws to avoid incurring the wrath of the gods and
goddesses. Some deities were associated with the enforcement
of laws. Because they were associated with spirituality, taboos
and superstitions had a strong impact on people’s attitudes
about laws. For instance, people naturally abided by a law or-
dering that no one should hunt in a sacred forest if spirits or
gods lived there. Game animals from a forest where the gods
resided were thought to be possessed by spirits that could kill
human beings or were considered food that the gods were not
expected to share with human beings.EGYPT
BY PANAGIOTIS I. M. KOUSOULIS
In contrast to the codifi ed legal theory and practices of the
people in the ancient Near East (Sumerians, Assyrians, Hit-
tites, and Babylonians), Greece, or Rome, the ancient Egyp-
tians did not compose or possess an organized and strictly622 laws and legal codes: Egypt