by EEL123 » Tue Jan 21, 2014 3:49 am
Powerful Silongo Chief dies
March 3, 3610
Siboniso Silojgo, the Chief of the mighty Silongo tribe, died today at the age of fifty-two (give or take a couple of years, as the accuracy of Ibutho records, if they exist at all, are questionable) after just five years on the chiefly throne. Eyewitnesses, who asked to remain anonymous, reported that the Chief was struck by lightning at a lengthy, rowdy revelry during which he was serious inebriated. However, as Ibutho cultural norms suggest that those killed by lightning suffer death in such a manner due to their unsavoury deeds, it is understandable that senior Silongo elders sought to cover up Chief Siboniso's true cause of death, and have now disseminated the message that the Chief was killed by "particularly brutal and malevolent Luthori farmers" raiding Silongo lands in retailiation for the seizure of their cattle several months ago. Those with the Chief during his death were secretly rounded up and sacrificed to the gods by being strangled by their entrails (although, as a concession to humanitarian concerns, they were apparently beaten unconscious before being eviscerated) to cover up the true story. Impartial sources have confirmed that an unauthorised Luthori raid did indeed occur on the night of the Chief's death, but in a totally different region of Ibutho. A month of mourning has been declared; this entails a prolonged ritual of wailing and (often simulated) grief.
Sakhile, the eldest son of his father Siboniso, will now take over temporarily as Chief. Unlike most Ibutho tribes, the Silongo do not automatically elevate the Chief's first son to that position. Upon the death, removal or (very rarely) abdication of a Chief, a new Chief is elected from the ranks of and by the lesser chiefs of the constituent clans, tribal elders, warriors and witch-doctors, as well as the previous Chief's immediate family. Given the nature of Ibutho society, these elections bear little resemblance to the orderly process of ballot-casting and vote-counting followed by the somewhat less orderly process of exultant victory speeches and insincere concessions that occur in developed democracies, but are instead secretive affairs shrouded in mystery, tradition and an unhealthy amount of fraud and coercion.
There are no formal nominations, but foreign experts have cast their gaze on three leading candidates for the post. Sakhile, the interim Chief, possesses charisma and martial prowess as well as an impeccable pedigree - but he is considered somewhat dull, if not plain stupid. Vusumuzi, is a leading tribal elder and leading traditionalist who disapproved of Chief Siboniso's modernising instincts (and narrowly avoided exile or worse as a result). On the other hand, Nolwazi, one of a rare breed as a female seriously considered for the post of Chief, was supportive of the Chief's initiatives, which were aborted due to this early death, and was one of his closest confidants. She is also known for her suspicion of, or even ouright hostility towards, other Ibutho tribes, and relatively friendliness to white foreigners - and ominously for High Chief Mlungisi, is believed to covet the leadership of the entire Ibutho nation.
Last edited by
EEL123 on Wed Jan 22, 2014 1:14 am, edited 2 times in total.
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