Chieftainship and Legitimacy

First published in 1975, Chieftainship and Legitimacy by Ian Hamnett is a seminal work in the anthropology of law. Hamnett argues that law should be recognized as a distinct social category rather than merely an aspect of social control. Through an illuminating analysis of customary law in Lesotho-covering chieftainship succession, property inheritance, and land tenure-he examines the interplay be...