On the day of this shaving, what corresponds to the proving of the will is done—the deceased’s affairs are settled, and his property, if any, handed over to his successor. With the succession to the chieftainship we shall deal in another chapter. A man’s next heir is his eldest surviving brother, or failing brothers, his sister’s son. We have already said that the dead man’s wife or wives are inherited by his successors; but this requires some qualification. What really happens, among one section at least of the Anyanja, is this:—‘The relations, after a decent interval’ (it is the rule that, during the period of mourning, nothing must be said about the disposal of the property or re-marriage of the widows), ‘take a corn-stalk, break it into as many pieces as there are eligible men in the family, and send them to the woman by the hand of the chief of the bearers[24] (who are chosen from outside the family). She may take one up from the ground and show it, saying, ‘I want so and so.’ The man so named becomes the heir. If the woman refuses all the men, she will have to repay the original marriage gifts which her husband made to her family, and often much more. If the man chosen refuses the woman, he sends her an arrow or a fowl, or some other small present, but usually an arrow, and tells her to marry some other man. If so, he gets no marriage gifts returned to him.’ Some of a man’s property is, as we have seen, buried with him. Out of the rest, his successor has to pay the funeral expenses, including heavy fees to the undertakers, who, besides, have partaken of the offerings and the funeral feast. There may also be a prosecution for witchcraft to be paid for out of the estate, though this may be compensated by damages. If, however, the deceased had himself been prosecuted and had died of the ordeal, his heir has to pay damages to the bewitched person or his representatives.