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===Limited nature of early tribal warfare===
Warfare was of low intensity among the [[KwaZulu]] Natal tribes prior to the rise of Shaka, though it occurred frequently. Objectives were typically limited to such matters as [[cattle raiding]], avenging some personal insult, or resolving disputes over segments of grazing land. Generally a loose mob, called an ''impi'' participated in these [[melee]]s. There were no campaigns of extermination against the defeated. They simply moved on to other open spaces on the [[veld]]t, and equilibrium was restored. 

The [[bow and arrow]] were known but seldom used. Warfare, like the hunt, depended on skilled spearmen and trackers. The primary weapon was a thin {{convert|6|ft|m|adj=on| spell=in}} throwing spear, the ''[[assegai]]''; several were carried into combat. Defensive equipment included a small cowhide shield, which was later improved by King Shaka. Many battles were prearranged, with the clan warriors meeting at an agreed place and time while women and children of the clan watched from some distance away. Ritualized taunts, single combats and tentative charges were the typical pattern. If the affair did not dissipate before, one side might find enough courage to mount a sustained attack and drive their enemies. Casualties were usually light. The defeated clan might pay in lands or cattle and have captives to be ransomed but extermination and mass casualties were rare. Tactics were rudimentary. 

Outside the ritual battles, the quick raid was the most frequent combat action, marked by burning kraals, seizure of captives, and the driving off of cattle. Pastoral herders and light agriculturalists, the Bantu did not usually build permanent fortifications to fend off enemies. A clan under threat simply packed their meagre material possessions, rounded up their cattle and fled until the [[Looting|marauders]] were gone. If the marauders did not stay to permanently dispossess them of grazing areas, the fleeing clan might return to rebuild in a day or two. The genesis of the Zulu impi thus lies in tribal structures existing long before the coming of Europeans or the Shaka era.<ref name="Morris, 32-67"/>