ABSTRACT
Most important issues are not, however, brought directly to the community council, but go through a prior stage of discussion and consultation in which some accommodation is sought between the views and interests of the leading representatives of the community and the main alternatives for action are clarified. The author own part in this meeting was to be presented as the fourth and 'last-born' son of Ndifaw, which was duly accomplished with the presentation of two bottles of brandy. This secret meeting of the 'inner council' finally broke up at about 4 a.m. It nevertheless illustrates the essential process by which a 'policy' is first formulated by a small group of men centrally representative of community interests and then presented in the wider forum where it is hoped that their support will see that this policy is adopted. A community 'law' is generally subject to the processes of formulation and presentation which have been described above for all important policy issues.
