ld, and occasionally did, physically express their fanatical esprit de corps with internecine violence. These districts existed under the command of a military governor who administered his territory with a limited degree of autonomy. His terms of service would depend on his favour with the king, and rewards were given for good behaviour while any suggestion of treason or infidelity would be punished in the usual way. As an added security Mzilikazi made use of his extensive seraglio of wives to keep the air tested for any hint of divided loyalty, added to which the Mwari theocracy that now ostensibly lived by the favour of the king returned the favour by remaining vigilant for signs abroad of insurrection.
The first capital of Matabeleland was established close to Intaba-ye-zinduna at a site Mzilikazi named Mahlokohloko, and here he settled some 300 of his wives alongside a regiment of the same name under the Induna Mbambelele. The country was divided into two principal sectors that included in the first instances territory stretching from the Bulalima/Mangwe district to Nyamandhlovu in the west, and in the second territory stretching as far east as present day Gweru. Later this was increased to four. Each was overseen by a principal regiment, itself commanded by a senior Induna. The country was then divided into sub-districts wherein an Induna commanded a military barracks and where a section of the royal harem resided with the responsibility of acquainting the king with any information of interest.
The boundaries of these districts were fluid, as where the areas of settlement of the regiments comprising the divisions. Each regiment was commanded by an Induna who was in turn answerable to a district governor. When a regiment was raised it was the responsibility of the regiment itself to construct its own barracks or regimental kraal where members lived until they were permitted to marry. Companies of recruits meanwhile lived in military kraals under a subordinate induna.
Inasmuch as the military underscored every aspect of amaNdebele life it was a highly organized and finely tuned institution that, although its traditions were brief, had borrowed from the Zulu that in turn had borrowed from the wider Nguni project of war. It therefore stands to reason that the organization and tactics of the amaNdebele did not differ much from the parent form. As was the case with the Zulu, and with the exception of those physically disabled, or others involved in theocratic or witchdoctor functions, every man in Matabeleland was subject to military service. This was a national policy that held permanent effect, and at any time a man was required to be ready to take to the field for any purpose. Service in the military was an unpaid function and no compensation for service or injury could be expected, although rewards of cattle were not infrequent for those who showed particular prowess or where credited with acts of extraordinary daring. Such an individual could also expect some defining mark – some extra ornament representing a badge of honour – and the status of iQawe, or hero.
In this regard, again, the Ndebele model differed very little from the Zulu. As with the Zulu, when amaNdebele regiments were mobilized for a campaign of any description they were alerted by runner from the Royal Kraal with orders to assemble at a specific point in full battle order. The ceremonial preparation for battle involved ‘doctoring’ by a witchdoctor and the ritual removal of a portion of meat from a living bull that was then eaten by the assembled impi as a means of imbibing itself with the symbolic power of the creature.
An impi was a specific battle formation that could comprise men from different regiments assembled for the purpose of a specific military objective. An impi might number several thousand men, while an individual regiment tended to number on average about 750 warriors. There were exceptions to this, of course, and some, like the celebrated Mbizo Regiment, which was the largest in the amaNdebele formation, and which enjoyed a complimen