ABSTRACT
The fundamental principle underlying the selection of an heir is that power is inherited from men, and acquired by them; but it is transmitted through women, whose rank, determines the choice of successor. In monogamous homesteads the wife and her eldest son automatically take charge when the headman dies. When a man has only two or three wives, all daughters of commoners, it is not unusual for the first to be recognized as the main wife. When the family council selects the main wife, it pays special attention to the mode of marriage of the wives and the rank of their parents. These factors are interrelated, since the nobler the birth, the more elaborate as a rule is the marriage ritual. Swazi pay special attention to the question of lobola when determining the status of women in the harem. The death of a woman does not affect the rights of her children to succeed to the position of their father.
