From about 1500 Bantu started to arrive in our region who had come from a society under a king or paramount chief. The organisation of these societies was much different from that of the early Bantu farmers. The early Bantu farmers lived in small villages, headed by the senior man (rarely, a woman). They owed no other allegiance but to that of their senior in the village.
A Kingdom had a king or paramount chief at the head. Under him, there would be chiefs in outlying districts and, under the chiefs came the village headmen.
Once Bantu arrived who had had experience of living in a kingdom, they brought with them this idea of a large, organised society. Some of our immigrants adopted a similar organisation, some did not. Some were successful, some were not.
However, this brought in a different dynamic to our region.
Zambia's Traditional History 