THE KINGDOM OF ANKOLE IN UGANDA 141
Ankole to offer to his emandwa spirits, in which case the whole orurembo would move. Moreover, as the Banyankole were almost constantly on a war footing, the orurembo had to be ever ready to move to places of shelter.
The orurembo consisted of the ekyikari, Mugabe's private enclosure, and the amachumbi kraals, in which lived the abagaragwa or retainers, his private-military band, and the abahuku, his Bairu servants. Of these kraals, the ekyikari was the largest and formed the centre of the orurembo. It was made of the same materials and in the same way as the ordinary Bahima kraals, the only difference being that the walls of the enclosure were higher and the huts were larger. The main entrance to this enclosure was called the mugdba and was guarded night and day by the abarizi, gate-keepers. Inside the kraal and to left of the gateway there was the ekyikom^ main fireplace. All visitors, messengers, and litigants had to remain here until their wishes were heard by the Enganzi. It was at the ekyikomi that the Mugabe received his men, tried cases, and held meetings of lesser importance. The ekyikomi was, therefore, the public part of the ekyikari and took up about one-fourth of the kraal space. The rest of the ekyikari was separated into five distinct enclosures. The most important of these enclosures was the nyanibuga, which housed the Mugabe's women. The nyarubuga, in turn, was divided into five lesser enclosures. Within the ekyiniga were the huts of the Mugabe's favourite wives. These women were known as the enkundwakazi and were waited upon by immature girls and guarded by the ebishaku, castrated Bairu servants. In another of these lesser enclosures within the nyarubuga was the rwemhunda, in which the Mugabe kept the immature girls, enshorekye, who were later to become his concubines or wives. The Mugabe had the right to take any girl in his kingdom if he wished. It was one of the duties of his retainers to inform the Mugabe of pretty girls in his kingdom and to bring them before him. If the Mugabe was pleased with the appearance of a girl and was assured that she was a virgin, he would include her with the enshorekye. Parents whose daughter was taken by the Mugabe in this manner did not deem it an outrage; on the contrary, they looked upon it as an honour. Many Bahima and even Bairu would offer their daughters to the Mugabe. Girls accepted or taken by the king were not always an economic loss to their parents, for if the Mugabe decided to make a girl his wife he would