Lineages And Hill Chiefs
The hillchiefs introduced to Kinyaga from the time of Rwabugiri resembled lineage heads in several respects. They collected prestations, settled disputes, and served as intermediaries to outside authority. But unlike the lineage heads they displaced, each hill chief (umutware w'umusoozi)…
Lineages And Ubuhake Clientship
We have seen that during Rwabugiri's reign chiefs from central Rwanda introduced ubuhake clientship to Kinyaga. Unlike early umuheto clientship, which usually involved the gift of a cow at regular intervals from a client lineage to its patron, ubuhake involved…
Lineages In Nineteenth-Century KINYAGA
During the nineteenth century the lineage (umuryango) formed the most important political unit in Kinyaga. Local affairs were normally handled by lineages acting as corporate groups, represented by their lineage head, and there was no hierarchical political authority encompassing the…
The Changing- Status Of Corporate KIN GROUPS
Whenreflecting on the political changes they (or their parents) had observed during the last 100 years, elderly Kinyagans consulted for this research would often stress the autonomy, status, and material well-being enjoyed by their lineages in the past. But from…
Clientship During The Reign Of RWABUGIRI
In pre-RWABUGIRI Kinyaga economic and political security could usually be obtained by means other than clientship. Alternatives included ownership of land, protected by membership in a kin group exercising jurisdiction over the land, and personal ownership of cattle, obtained by…
Land Clientship
Control overland in pre-Rwabugiri Kinyaga was normally vested in lineages. Although land clientship was practiced in some forms these were of only minor significance in deterrnining access to land. NevertheIess, land clientship will be considered here because the early role…
Clientship In Mid-Nineteenth-Centery KINYAGA
Of those patron-client ties that did exist during this period, three major types can be distinguished: direct clientship to the king, umuheto clientship, and land clientship. In subsequent periods, umuheto was abolished, land clientship was substantially altered, and direct clientship…
Patron-Client Politics:Early Clientship
The natureof clientship in Rwanda has been the focus of a long-standing debate on the characteristics of Rwanda’s precolonial political system. Most analysts agree that patron–client ties were politically important in the Rwandan state. These analysts disagree, however, on just…
The Reassertion Of Central Control
Towardthe end of 1931, the Belgian administration made plans to replace Umwami Musinga. The Europeans had found their efforts to "modernize" the Rwandan polity hampered by Musinga's stead-fast loyalty to ritual obligations and practices. The king was unwilling to adopt…
Central Court Conflicts
Inbroader Rwandan politics, the sequel to Rwabugiri's death was the emergence of an intense and bitter power struggle at the central court. This conflict, which culminated in late 1896 with a bloody coup d'état, affected not only the personnel of…