When a chief dies, the search for a successor start almost immediately. Even if such a person is identified, he cannot be installed except the predecessor has been given water to quench his thirst. This is called ihike. The Ihike is a ceremony in which each family that has had a dead relative in the village brew wine and sacrifice to the ancestors. The sacrifice is believed to be a way of quenching the thirst’ that might have come upon the deceased (see chapter nine). It is when the ihike is done for the dead chief and his thirst has been quenched that a new chief is appointed. Thus the urgency with which a new chief is appointed depends on how early the ihike is performed. It is therefore no wonder that some Bassa villages remain for many years without a chief to succeed the dead one.

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