In ancient times, African countries had a complete chiefdom system, and the whole of Africa was a chiefdom society.
These large and small chiefdoms had long existed in South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Côte d'Ivoire.
The chief was the supreme ruler of the tribal union, with absolute power, such as making laws, presiding over administration, commanding wars, serving as sacrifices, judging cases, collecting taxes, and so on.
In some countries, according to the size of the chiefdom's territory, population, and economic importance, the government decreed that the chiefs were divided into three classes: first, second, and third.
The Zulu people still have many traditional customs. Today, the chief is still the chief. In addition, the tribe is divided into many small tribes, each of which has its own chief.
When the British ruled South Africa, in order to reduce the influence of the Zulu people, they forcibly abolished the system of chiefs and chiefs.
But this was to no avail. The chiefs were hereditary, and the Zulu people stubbornly and firmly followed their leadership.
The lion hunter told Li Du about their customs, and when he heard the introduction of the chief, Li Du asked, "Are you the chief of your tribe?"
Hearing this, the lion hunter laughed. "No, I am the traitor of our tribe. How could I be the chief? The chief and I are sworn enemies. "
Li Du asked in surprise, "Why?"
The lion hunter smiled and did not answer the question. Instead, he changed the subject. "We Zulus practice polygamy. How about it, Li? Are you interested in joining us?"
Seeing that he did not want to answer, Li Du did not continue to ask. He smiled and said, "Forget it, I think one wife is enough. It would be tiring to have too many."
The lion hunter nodded in agreement. "Yes, it's not a good thing to have too many women. When I was young, I could hunt lions with a spear. Now I spend too much energy on women. I can't even fight a hyena."
Hyenas were very strong animals, otherwise they would not have been called the Second Brother of Africa. To be able to fight them was also a great thing.
However, this was not the point. Li Du was not talking about physical exhaustion, he was talking about mental exhaustion.
There was no need to emphasize this issue. He certainly could not agree with the lion hunter in this regard.
As a result, Big Ivan and Lu Guan were very interested in this topic and asked about it.
Lion Hunter also liked to talk about such topics, and he introduced them to each other with saliva flying everywhere.
Polygamy was a very common phenomenon in the African tribal kingdoms. Many tribal chiefs had more than ten wives.
The lion hunter's tribe was like this. Their chief had twelve wives, the oldest of whom was seventy years old and the youngest the same age as his granddaughter.
He had a total of 65 children, not including the children who had died. The family was large, so it was convenient for him to rule.
"The highest record in this respect was set by a chief of the ancient Kingdom of Benin Abomey. He had more than 4,000 concubines in his lifetime, man, more than 4,000!" said Lion Hunter.
Big Ivan's eyes widened. "Oh, d * mn, I don't even know if I've seen more than 4,000 women in my life!"
"It's like China's Three Palaces and Six Courtyards." Lu Guan displayed his rich knowledge of history.
The lion hunter was satisfied with their attitude and continued, "Also, after the chief died, she selected 400 of the youngest and most beautiful women and ordered them to drink poisoned wine to be buried with her!"
"Evil feudal dynasty," Big Ivan and Lu Guan scolded together.
In Zulu and many parts of Africa, polygamy was very common, especially among men in their 40s and 50s, who were even more eager to marry.
For them, wives were not tools of pleasure, but cheap labor and fertility machines.
For a long time, in the major tribes of Africa, real estate and houses were not valuable, and there were no banks for people to save money in. The most tangible wealth was their wives.
The helicopter took off and landed twice, and finally landed on a dry grassland.
In winter, the African savannah was very dry, and the shrubs and trees were equally listless.
However, there were many livestock here. When the helicopter landed, there was a herd of cattle and sheep grazing not far away. The rotation of the helicopter frightened them, and some shepherd dogs barked at the helicopter.
A little further away, there was a town-like gathering place, with a large number of small buildings and bungalows gathered together. From the air, they could see the traces of cars passing through.
Li Du asked, "Have we arrived at your tribe?"
The lion hunter shook his head and said, "We Zulus believe that everything in the world happens through the transmission of the souls of our ancestors. Therefore, the land where our ancestors lived is sacred, and outsiders are not allowed to enter without permission, especially not by air."
Li Du understood and asked, "How far are we from your tribe now? Still a long way, right? "
The lion hunter pointed to the front and said, "Our tribe is 100 meters away."
Li Du said, "Okay!"
This was a nice touch. Li Du didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that the lion hunter might not have much affection for the tribe.
The Zulus did not measure wealth by the number of houses, land, or cars, but by the size of the family and the number of livestock.
As they walked into the tribal area, a black woman in a yellow blouse and blue skirt waved to them with a whip in her hand and spoke quickly and enthusiastically.
Lion Hunter answered with a smile. He waved his hand, and a bodyguard handed a gift box to the black woman.
Seeing the gift, the black woman spoke more enthusiastically, but Li Du could not understand anything. They were communicating in Zulu.
The lion hunter said goodbye to the black woman, and the group moved on. Now the tribal settlement was the location of the town. No longer nomadic, they had begun to settle down.
The Zulus living in rural areas were mainly farming and herding. They loved to raise livestock and grow corn as a staple food.
Among the livestock, the most precious was the cow. Not only could the cow eat meat, but it could also work in the fields and be used as a betrothal gift.
Since ancient times, when the Zulus proposed marriage to the bride's parents, the betrothal gift was eleven cows. This custom had lasted for centuries and had not changed. It could be said that the price of the betrothal gift was maintained very well.
As they approached the town, there were more pedestrians. Li Du looked down at his feet and followed the lion hunter.
Big Ivan and Lu Guan were looking around. Sophie despised them because they were staring at the Zulu girl.
The Zulus were the kind of "backward people with weird customs" in the television media. One of the customs was that Zulu girls were naked from the waist up. Only when they married and became women did they wear clothes.
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