CHAPTER 50
HOW THE RULERS WERE GUARDED
Owing to the fact that the country was full of criminals who threatened the safety of the rulers, they were always very strictly guarded. The rulers were very rarely seen in public; a ruler appeared among his people only on special occasions, such as big feasts, or when he came to see his fighters off to a distant country, or to welcome them home. He also came among his people during the annual social functions.
The ruler never had meals in public; he had his meals privately, being waited upon by one of his wives or maids, together with his favourite elder or son. He had most of his meals in his own special dining house where he also drank his beer. On some occasions when he held beer parties, certain of his ministers were invited.
Some lesser people, such as chiefs, princes and princesses, and ministers behaved in the same way; they had all their meals and drinks privately: and had maids and servants waiting upon them.
Whenever the ruler made an outing into the country, he had a bodyguard composed of wise men who went before him, and lesser chiefs, ministers, princesses, men-servants and soldiers who walked behind him. Sometimes the ruler walked on foot but at other times he was carried on the shoulders of a strong man. Some of his wives were in attendance carrying his spears and shields, while others carried big pots of beer on their heads. The men carrying the ruler often walked as many as 10 - 15 miles before resting, and drums were in attendance all the way.
Whether at home or on a journey, the ruler often sat or stood in the midst of the people with whom he was familiar or had dealings. He was also surrounded by his wives who carried his spears or big calabashes of beer. Next to the wives were a circle of ministers and princes. The other important people in the country were also guarded in the same way although on a smaller scale.
The home of a ruler was often surrounded by a strong wide fence made of reeds. The area covered by the fence was large enough to accomodate about 50 houses or even more. The ruler lived mostly in the house of his senior wife, or people were made to believe that that was where he often lived, for it was feared to disclose where he actually lived. In fact, he lived in a different house every night, but before he moved into a house for the night he disguised himself as a woman so that he might not be detected by his enemies.
The barricade around the home was made strong by means of thorny trees and had only one entrance, which was guarded by servants day and night. Most of the servants in a ruler’s home were the sons of his subjects brought there to be brought up in a good way. Such sons were always subjected to very strict discipline, as a result of which they were very submissive; but, if by any chance such a son committed a crime, such as adultery with his master’s wives, that boy was convicted and the father who sent him there was also convicted. The boy would be sentenced to death while the father would be sold into slavery and all his property confiscated.
These boys were sent to the ruler’s home to receive some sort of education. Some of them were promoted to rule their fellow servants, others were included in the bodyguard of the ruler. Because of the fear of crimes, not every person could go to the ruler directly; “he had to announce his presence through one of the guards; and if any mischief resulted from the visit, the visitor and the guard would both be arrested and punished severely. Even if the visitor escaped, the guard would bear the whole punishment. This was a precaution against spying.
The rulers, or kings, would rarely take part in battles; they joined their armies only when it was really necessary for them to do so. Even then they did not do the actual fighting; they only supervised the fighting and lagged far behind. The actual fighting was done by the fighters, ministers and princes. These formed regiments, each of which was put in charge of a mugabe (‘general’) nominated by the ruler. Another group of fighters remained behind to ensure the safety of the ruler.
Senior wives of the ruler were very much respected in the kingdom; each senior wife had a particular area for which she was responsible. She received all the taxes collected from that area. Her house was built and cared for by her subjects, the people who lived within her area. If any person annoyed her, that person was liable to a severe punishment. Moreover, she was always armed with a very sharp knife which she could use to cut anybody that dared to insult her. For this reason, senior wives were often respected and much feared, especially as they had power to confiscate any person’s property. Princes and princesses had this power also. If any person dared to resist the confiscation of his property, he would be sent to court and dealt with severely. This often resulted in exile.