i56 AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS
To say that the cult of Eagyendanwa supported the tribal unity is not enough in itself to show that this cult contributed to the maintenance of a particular form of political organization. Tribal cults emphasizing the unity of a group, by relating that group to its mythical origins, are common enough in Africa and elsewhere. The unity represented by Eagyendanwa was not of this general character. The drum cult was specifically a king cult. It sanctioned the particular complexion of political relationships which existed in Ankole by relating these relationships to their legendary origins, namely, to the Abachwezi. Eagyendanwa was the drum of the Abachwezi, and as such is concrete evidence that they once lived and founded the kingdom of Ankole. It does not matter whether the particular beliefs held about the Abachwezi are fact or fancy. The belief that the Abachwezi established the kingdom of Ankole a recognized number of generations back is to the Banyankole a fact and the belief upon which their political structure rests.
To the Banyankole, Eagyendanwa represents the Abachwezi; the Abachwezi, in turn, sum up the beliefs and values inherent in Ankole kingship. From what has been said about the functions of the drum, it has become clear that the drum performed the actions of an ideal king. Besides fulfilling the duties of leadership, the Mugabe has magical power which protects the people from evil. The drum has this same power to an even greater degree. Both king and drum derive this power from the same source, the king by being a member of the Abahinda dynasty which links kingship by descent to the Abachwezi, the drum by being a relic of those ancient times which represent the values embodied in Banyankole kingship.
To the Banyankole, Eagyendanwa is greater than the person of the king. 'The Mugabe dies, but Eagyendanwa is always with us', they say, stressing the permanence of the drum as compared with the temporary nature of the individual ruler. The Mugabe is also the 'servant of Bagyendanwa* in that he guards it and watches over it. In the succession rights, as we shall see, it is the drum which makes the successor a Mugabe, which gives the final stamp and seal. The accession war is for the possession of the royal drum, and many Banyankole claim that if a foreign king were able to capture the royal drum he would automatically become King of Ankole. In their tales of former wars, the