The description of Bali matrimonial law which follows is based on research undertaken during the first half of 1969, while the author was on secondment from the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London to the Faculty of Law and Economic Sciences of the Federal University of Cameroon.

The question, “What is customary law?”, poses a number of different problems. It can (and no doubt it will) give rise to answers which stem from differing interpretations of the sort of discussion that it is attempting to stimulate. It is fair to suppose that some of these will deal with the jurisprudential aspects of customary law, and its relation to other branch...