146 AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS
of a Mwiru headman. Besides these menials, the Mugabe had his expert craftsmen. The foremost of these were the king's blacksmiths, abahesi, who made spears, knives, axes, and ankle and arm bands out of iron. Important also were the carvers, who made milk-pots, drums, wooden spoons, and carved decorations out of wood, ivory, and bone. Then there were the skin-dressers, bark cloth-makers, sandal-makers, beer-brewers, and sanitary attendants. Some of these crafts were the special prerogative of certain clans. The king's sandals were made from the skin of a duiker by a man selected from the abaigara clan, who also grew and prepared the king's tobacco. A man of the abasingo clan had the duty of washing the Mugabe every morning, after which a man from the obararira clan gave the Mugabe a magical potion to drink. The Mugabe's musicians were men from the Koki district who had learned to play the Baganda flute. His hunters came from Buwhezhu and Bunyaruguru with their nets and dogs. The labour required by the Mugabe thus fell into two classes: slave labour and oruharo, or forced labour. The slaves were the property of the Mugabe and no payment was made to them. The craftsmen, magicians, and servants whom the Mugabe called to his service were rewarded by a form of payment known as the engabirano. This payment, however, was not made until a servant was given permission to leave. This permission was given on account of old age or if a servant left a son or some other trained person in his place. The engabirano consisted of barren cows, bullocks, sheep, and goats when the servants were Bairu and cows when the servants were Bahima. Oruharo was also used by the Bahima chiefs and wealthy cattle owners, but only with the sanction of the Mugabe.
Besides labour, the Mugabe required large quantities of food and beer, not only for the upkeep of the royal kraal, but also for feasting his chiefs and visitors and to help such followers and subjects who were hi need. The essential foods, such as milk, meat, and blood, came from the private herds of the Mugabe and his principal chiefs. But other foods like millet and beer came from the Bairu peasants in the form of tribute. The duty of tribute collection for the royal kraal was placed upon the Enganzi (favourite chief), who appointed Bairu collectors, who, in turn, were responsible for the actual collection. These subsidiary collectors were called abakungu. Each omukungu appointed local collectors, who