overwhelmed the Pediwith a massiveinvasion force, including 8,000 Swazi
and 3,000 Transvaal Africans. Under white domination, the Pedistate then
fell apart. 2 6
The Swazistate that emerged from the Mfecane was a ruling aristocracy
of Nguni conquerors superimposed on an indigenous Sotho population.
By 1870, the aristocracy had unified the country, employing a dense net-
work of dynastic marriages, the national symbolism of an elaborate annual
first-fruits festival, and a military organization on the Zulu model that cut
129