In reality, however, the popularity of the headmen varied considerably.
According to the headman of the town, cattle live well here but horses die off soon after ai^rival.
They were senior workers, who sometimes rose from the ranks, sometimes were established headmen.
Kings and headmen who resisted colonial rule were removed.
Some of the key culprits were chiefs, headmen and other ' traditional ' elements of rural society who were seen to be holding things back.
Perhaps they wanted yet one more barrier between themselves and the administration, or they wished to dilute the power of the headmen.
The area that owed allegiance to a king was sub-divided into districts headed by headmen.
One empowering feature of the 1869 legislation was that villagers were legally free to nominate their own headman.
