In the next two chapters, we will examine some systems that, though no longer in existence, have a unique historical value. This value stems from both the fact that they have lain behind the social structure of important societies, and because they present unusual models for the use of the age principle.

The two models to be considered are called, respectively, the regimental and the choreographic, because in the first military organization is the predominant characteristic, whereas in the second the principal aim is the organization of traditional songs and dances. The regimental model is represented by the ancient Nguni population of southern Africa. The choreographic model is found among some of the ancient Indian groups of the North American prairies.

The ancient Nguni

In the history of southern Africa, from the eighteenth through the entire nineteenth century, the Nguni were famous for the long chain of wars and continuous resistance that was their response to the territorial expansion of the colonial powers, whether Boer or English. In the course of these hostilities, internal rivalries among clans led to the splitting off of the Nguni peoples, giving rise to the formation of autonomous ethnic groups that have by today been displaced into different states of southern Africa.

The Zulu are now found in the Republic of South Africa, where they were once part of the province of Natal, but are now considered to constitute an “independent” state, an autonomous “Bantu territory” called Kwazulu, with Ulundi as its capital.