It was on some such occasion as the great Feast of the First Fruits, held annually about the first week in January, that the King himself gave permission to a regiment or a class of girls to marry. This was granted, not to individuals, but to a particular regiment or class en bloc. Special directions were also given as to what regiment or regiments any particular class of girls should marry into.
Before, however, receiving permission to marry, a regiment required royal approval to conform to the ancient practice of assuming the isicoco or headring. As this ring, made of wax and strips of sedge bound round with cord, was sewn into the hair by means of ox-sinew, it sometimes happened that an aggressive military expedition was arranged to take place beyond the borders of the State "for the purpose of fetching the necessary sinew"—a metonymic expression, where "sinew" stands for "cattle." The head was shaved on the crown and sides when the ring was put on.
Owing to this wearing of the headring—once on never removed[72]—the warriors became roughly divided into two great sections, (a) the headringed, (b) those without the ring. The former were known as the "white" Zulus, the latter as the "black"—the colour of the first being probably derived from the glittering of the highly polished ebony-like rings or the preponderatingly white colour of the shields they carried, whilst that of the latter was from their heads all being jet black from the uniform colour of their hair, or from the amount of black in their shields.
In charge of each kanda was an officer as well as others of subordinate rank. Upon these devolved the responsibility of seeing that all within the military district rendered a reasonable amount of service in each year. Owing to a wonderfully efficient system of control, evasions rarely occurred.
With the lapse of time, and on account of the perpetually recurring warfare, it followed members of any given regiment became greatly diminished. Thus, although the names of perhaps forty to forty-five regiments could be furnished as having been enrolled since Tshaka became King, all but eighteen to twenty would, at any given period, have been of little real use. This is best appreciated by recalling the fact that "collection" began at eighteen or nineteen, that a regiment was, as a rule, formed after every two years, and that, after a man reaches the age of fifty-five or sixty, he is unfit to undertake the exertion of long and rapid marches on foot. The power to mobilize for war lay with the King, though for some years it became customary for him to seek permission of Mnkabayi (grand-aunt of Cetshwayo), who lived in the north-west of Zululand. For all occurrences of a sudden and local kind, e.g. raid, insurrection, or breach of the peace, the resident officer or induna had authority to call out men under his command. Indeed, it was his duty to do so, and one which he dared not neglect.
At the head of each regiment was an induna or commanding officer, generally a good deal older than the men of his corps. There was also a second in command, together with junior officers. The strength of regiments varied greatly; the maximum of one might be 700, of another 4,000. There was also subdivision into companies, known as amaviyo, with 50 to 60 or more men apiece. Each viyo had two junior officers. These companies originated at the amakanda during the days of cadetship. Members associated early with one another, grew up and kept together. If, however, any such group was too small, batches of others, from other amakanda, were "thrown into" them on arrival at headquarters to make up a viyo. As cadets, there was no appointed induna to a company. Amaviyo diminished in size as time went on,—from death, desertion (to Natal), or by being put to death by the King. For instance, shortly before the Zulu War, Cetshwayo sent a force on purpose to put so-called invalids (but really malingerers) to death. Many, again, to evade military service, became diviners, who, as has been remarked, obtained exemption as a matter of course. These were, with notable and necessary exceptions, collected by Mpande into a regiment of their own, and ordered to live in a single kraal. This device had the effect of checking the prevailing craze.
When reduced, amaviyo were often combined with others of their own age, though younger men were often added. The reason for so keeping up the strength of regiments was to cause the enemy to respect them and not treat them with contempt. Certain corps, again, were made abnormally large so that notwithstanding wastage through sickness, etc., when on the march, their size, on reaching the enemy, would still appear formidable.
From what has been said, it can be seen there was no such thing as retirement from service. When Tshaka dispatched his army to Sotshangana, a Chief living on the coast beyond Delagoa Bay, he insisted on every available person going, even old men who no longer left their homes.
During the period of cadetship, known as uku-xeza, from commonly milking the royal cows they herded into their mouths, boys learnt the use of the national weapon, the assegai or umkonto. The proficiency then attained remained with them through life, hence there was practically no special training necessary in after years. There were no special exercises in throwing or stabbing, in guarding with their 5-ft. oval shields, or in marching, running, manœuvring, etc. The fact that the people were a pastoral race and spent the greater portion of their lives in the open under exacting conditions stood them in good stead.
There was nothing in the shape of remuneration for service, either in time of war or of peace. Nor was compensation given for any injuries received in war. Offences were punished by the indunas, but punishment never took the form of imprisonment for obvious reasons. In regard to the younger warriors, it was invariably severe beating about the body administered by the indunas.