142 AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS
pay the girl's father the enzhugano, or bride-price, and, of course, there was always the chance that she would become the future Mugabe's mother. These girls were taken care of by the Mugabe's brothers' widows, who taught them to dance, sing, and play the harp. It was the custom of the Mugabe to spend his evenings in the rwemhundd) where the enshorekye entertained him.
When a girl became mature and pleased him, the Mugabe would select her as his next concubine. She was first, as was customary among the Bahima, put into a separate enclosure to be fattened. This enclosure, which formed part of the nyaruhuga, was known as the wayetwoka. Here one of the older women forced the girl to drink large quantities of milk. When she was so fat that she walked with difficulty she was considered fit to sleep with the Mugabe. She then became an ekyinyashunzhu and was quartered with the rest of the ekyinyashunzhu in the kagyerekamwe, the enclosure for the king's concubines. The ekyinyashunzhu were most closely guarded by Bairu eunuchs and were waited upon by the enshorekye girls. Any man caught in the quarters of the king's concubines was put to death instantly. From among the ekyinyashunzhu concubines, the Mugabe selected his wives. Any of the girls whom he did not wish to marry he gave as gifts to his friends and retainers. Older wives who were bringing up children lived in another enclosure which had no special name and which was not very closely guarded. The Mugabe did not neglect these women, however, for they had already produced children and one of them was destined to become the nyamasore, mother of the future mugabe; they were, therefore, already respected by the people. The Mugabe was anxious that his sons should grow up to be strong and capable men and took an active part in their training. No matter how intimate the Mugabe might have become with his wives and children, he never ate with them. His cooked food was prepared for him by a, Mwiru and served to him by one of the enshorekye girls.
The next place of importance in the ekyikari was the large meeting hut, nyarunzhu rweterekyero. It was in this hut that all important meetings took place and before which the Mugabe entertained his special guests. Near the meeting hut there was a large beer-store and a number of smaller huts for visitors. When a large cattle-raid had been planned, the men who were going to take part in it gathered before the nyarunzhu rweterekyero and