ABSTRACT
The eldest son of a family, who is the main heir, represents the living link between his generation and the previous ones, i.e. between the living siblings and the long line of ancestors who have become spirits. The nkuruwabo is heir to the family paraphernalia used in the rites of the ancestor cult; in some areas the birth of the first son is the occasion for rites in which the father's procreative power is transferred to his first-born son. Therefore, the inheritance laws take cognizance of the special position of the nkuruwabo. In primitive Sukuma Customary Law he could not be disinherited or deprived of his position because such action would have severed the connexion between the family and the spirits of its ancestors. The right of inheritance appertains to one collateral group of relatives. The estate is never distributed among family members of different degrees of relationship. The herd is given into the trusteeship of the nkuruwabo.
