This book is a rendition of the history of the Ndebele institution of chiefs, in the heyday of the Ndebele state, during the colonial period and in the post-independence period. Emphasis is given, in particular, to the succession rules and the worldview and cosmological underpinnings that gave rise to the succession rules and procedures. Chiefs are part of the traditional leadership which has survived into the present, albeit with modifications in line with the changing border political climate. Within the context of a bifurcated state, the hereditary institution coexists with modern democratic and elective institutions. While in the long term the institution may become obsolete or undergo radical transformation, in the present it is a reality. Succession wrangles have characterized the institution and this book seeks to illuminate the rules that have attended the Ndebele chieftainship.