136 AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS
kingdom was essentially stratified, depending upon the Bahima
as a dominating power.
///. The King and the Royal Kraal
So far we have stressed the forces which brought the ethnically different Bahima and Bairu together and the resulting social stratification with its formalization into strictly defined political relationships. The king, or Mugabe, we observed, formed the centre of this system of relationships. The exercise of power demanded still further developments. A system of government grew up round the king's person, consisting of office holders, the military bands, and the host of servants and specialists to uphold the king's dignity and authority and to carry out his orders as the leader of the politically organized Bahima ruling caste,
The position of the Mugabe was exalted, his authority supreme, his leadership all-embracing. As high status was sanctioned, in the first place, by his descent from Ruhinda, the originator of the Abaninda dynasty, and, in the second place, by his possession of the symbols of kingship—the royal drum, Bagyendanwa, and the beaded veil, Rutare. Both descent and the symbols of kingship are said to date from the times of the semi-mythical Abachwezi kings. The word 'Mugabe1 is derived from the verb okugaba, to give, and seems to imply that the Mugabe was a giver, although many Banyankole describe the Mugabe as one to whom the Mugabeship was given by the Abachwrezi. The power of the Mugabe extended over the free, cattle-owning herdsmen of Ankole who were bound to him by mutual ties of defence and aggression, over conquered herdsmen who paid him tribute, and over any Bairu peasants who lived upon the tribal territory. Even to-day, when kingship in Ankole has lost its essential purpose and much of its colour, its original form is revealed to us by countless songs and stories which are sung and told around firesides in Bahima kraals.
Physical, magical, and religious powers were invested in the king's person. In song and in address he was called the 'lion', the fiercest and most courageous of animal cattle-raiders. He was called the leading bull', for cattle increased through him by raid and gift. He was called the 'territory of Ankole' for he had 'eaten' the pastoral lands at his accession and defended them against aggression. He was called the 'drum', for like the drum he maintained the unity of the men under his power. He was