ABSTRACT
If any meaningful analysis is to be made of the pattern of wizardry accusations it must be assumed that the figures given above reflect, to some extent, the pattern of wizardry allegations in the societies concerned or a particular aspect of such allegations. It is well known that allegations of wizardry are common between co-wives. The situation is complicated because social tensions between two persons may result in an allegation of wizardry against a third. Also because what people appear to be fighting about may be only a symptom of a more fundamental underlying conflict. In the patrilineal societies under discussion, the nucleus of the village consists of a group of men who are patrilineally related to one another, normally persons who are the agnatic decendants of a grandfather or, perhaps, a great grandfather. This group has a strong feeling of unity and, indeed, one writer compares it to a partnership which usually acts through its senior members.
