36 AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS
of a wife given him by Dingane. Then he began to favour Mbuyazi, son of his most beloved wife. Each son had his own following. Cetshwayo was supported by his most important brothers and the big chiefs, and he routed Mbuyazi: from that time he began to rule. Zulu succession has been very chequered: the first two kings were ousted by a brother, and Cetshwayo fought for the kingdom. When the British deposed him, his chief wife had had no children, so he appointed Dinuzulu, then about seventeen, heir. A son was born to the chief wife after Cetshwayo's death and was made a chief by the British; Dinuzulu objected, as he feared his brother would come to be a rival.
Royal rank therefore tended to carry political power either in the form of a personal following or else of great weight in tribal and national councils. Otherwise high rank in the nation, with respect, was accorded to all political officers, whether they were chiefs or councillors of the king, and to his important servants and brave warriors.
One other principle also gave high rank—namely, kinship seniority within any kinship group. As stated above, Zulu, the founder of the Zulu clan, was the junior brother of Qwabe, the founder of the Qwabe clan. To-day the Qwabe chief is one of the few chiefs who will not recognize the superiority of the Zulu king: he claims that he himself is superior by birth. People to whom I have put his claim consider that it is invalid: Shaka founded the Zulu nation and therefore his heirs are entitled to rule it. Nevertheless, they say, the king should 'respect' the kinship seniority of the Qwabe chief. This principle worked through all the clans. Independently of political power or boundaries, the people continued to pay respect to the lineal head of their clan. They might take inheritance cases to him and assist him with the bride-wealth for his chief wife, even if they lived under a chief of another clan line.
IV. The Tribes within the Nation
Zululand was divided into a large number of tribes of varying sizes.1 In Zulu theory the chiefs (or their ancestors) of all these tribes were 'raised up' by one or other of the kings. By this the
1 Estimate of population: The nation about 1870 probably numbered a quarter to half a million; tribes varied from a few hundreds to several thousands. The later regiments consisted of nearly 8,000 men.