Policy and Complex Systems
Cooper ( 1993 ) refined Gluckman ’ s concept to suggest that the new form of polity was larger and broader based than the previous clan-kraal structure and was essentially military in organization ( Bryant , 1929 ; Webb & Wright , 1979 ; Wright , 1989 ).
Wilson ( 1977 ), in contrast , sees the formation of the larger Nguni states as part of a pattern of contest for the lucrative long-range trade routes connecting the European settlements and their African markets . As the elite dominated commerce , they accumulated wealth at the expense of the rest of society . The elite used their new fortunes to protect their possessions and status , rewarding their friends and punishing their enemies ( Perry , 1999 ; Webb & Wright , 1976 ).
Smith ( 1986 ) concentrates on attempts to monopolize the ivory trade as necessitating heightened military organization and conflict : Smith viewed the contest for control of the ivory trade with Delagoa Bay as the source of conflict in Southern Africa ( Bryant , 1929 ; Gump , 1988 ). The luxury item was a major export out of Delagoa Bay with a high profit margin , thus a prized market for securing a monopoly ( Perry , 1999 ).
Henry Slater theorizes that it was not so much control over trade routes that called for militarization as the need to increase and centralize control of ivory production if the chieftain was to realize the benefits of the ivory trade . The practical needs of ivory hunting required heightened elite control over increasingly larger numbers of the average citizens . The Zulu kingdom maintained a conscription system whereby all males of about 18 years old were grouped into regiments ( Zulu : amabutho , singular ibutho ) ( Scogings & Hawick , 2012 ). Each regiment thus consisted of men of about the same age and was available for use as the king saw fit ( Scogings & Hawick ,
2012 ). While men were not permanently on military service , the system ensured the deployable nature of the amabutho . The disbanding of the regiments occurred when the men in them reached an age of about 35 – 40 . Weapons included javelins , the short stabbing spear ( iklwa ), the knobkerrie ( short-knobbed club ) ( iwisa ), and cowhide shield . Firearms were available but were not standard issues because the men lacked training in their use . Most firearms were elderly and unreliable muskets with scant supplies of powder and shot . The standard Zulu military maneuver was known as the “ horns of the ox ” in which the “ chest ” ( or center ) consisting of veteran amabutho advanced slowly while the “ horns ” ( or wings ) of younger amabutho moved rapidly to outflank the enemy position .
The amabutho were a means of creating and controlling larger work groups to perform tasks for the benefit of those in power , with war only one such function ( Bryant , 1929 ; Wright , 1977 ). Slater argues that the creation of amabutho made them applicable to a variety of purposes , with war being only one of a number . The stratification and discipline of the amabutho benefitted other aspects of Nguni society and culture ( Perry , 1999 ).
Guy ( 1985 ) views the environmental / ecological issues as caused by a struggle for reliable good pasture . The Nguni society was composed of widely separated homesteads to permit farming and herding ( Gluckman , 1960 ). The pastoralists moved the cattle seasonally from one area to another for the best fodder ( Penn , 1986 ). Increased population meant territorial expansion to accommodate the increase , forcing greater reliance on marginal grasslands .
Over time , cattle and sheep would tend to eat the most palatable grasses , causing less useful species to take over , rendering the land less capable
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