32 AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS
certain groups of tribes to certain of his royal homesteads. I call each of these divisions and the royal homestead (ikhanda, head) to which it was attached a 'head'. Most of the homesteads which were 'heads' were in the Ring's area; one or two lay outside it. Some were also barracks in which were quartered particular regiments. The division into 'heads' was not purely territorial, for once a man was attached to a 'head' he could not change his attachment even if he moved into a tribal area attached to a different 'head'. His sons inherited his attachment; when they were ready to be enrolled as soldiers, they went to the 'head' to which their father belonged, and later from all the 'heads' the king assembled all the young men and formed them into a new regiment with its own barracks. Therefore each 'head' contained members of all regiments and each regiment contained members of all the 'heads'. In a barracks or on parade, the 'heads' within a regiment had set places according to lie seniority of establishment of their respective royal homesteads. The members of a 'head' supported the prince of their royal homestead; Kong Cetshwayo, therefore, when he succeeded to the throne, strengthened his own head by attaching to it more tribes. Each regiment had commanders who were usually princes, chiefs, or the brothers of important chiefs, but were sometimes brave commoners.
This centralization of the regiments in the king's area gave him a position in Zulu life entirely different from that of any of his chiefs. It continually brought the men close to his capital, where they lived on the bounty of his cattle and grain, supplemented by food sent from their homes. But though it brought the regiments under the king's control, it robbed him of personal followers, since all the men were attached to some chief. It may be noted that this centralization seems to have been effected when the Zulu were fighting few wars but maintaining a large standing army; Zulu prestige was so great that there was little likelihood of other Bantu raiding them, even though the Zulu troops were stationed far from the borders.1
The king was also the supreme court of the nation and appeals from the chiefs' courts went to him. He was called on to decide
1 This organization may be contrasted with a lack of similar organization among the Tswana and Sotho and is perhaps a reflection of the scattered establishment of the Zulu. In the large Tswana towns the men could easily be summoned to the chiefs home. But chiefs of tribes such as the Swazi and Thonga seem to have kept only one or two regiments near them: th$ concentration of the whole Zulu army about the king is unique in southern Africa.