Bondage is a usual part of African ritual. Tribes often used trade to obtain slaves by going to the chief and exchanging livestock. Various tribes traded not only with the inhabitants of their country, but also with Europeans of other nationalities. There was a time when tribes went to war and kept their leaders and prisoners of war as slaves to trade with European countries. Many times slaves were sold due to punishment, rape or other various crimes. Some were also forced to live in captivity. It was common for young people to be kidnapped and taken to the home of a joint family to work and serve them. Many owners would treat their slaves fairly. Masters would own land and have an apartment for their own personal family as well as a house for the enslaved family. Equiano talks about how many slaves owned their own slaves in some cases. If a family was wealthy enough, they housed their possessions, i.e. the slaves. They were part of the owner's family and were treated as brutally as colonial-era slaves.