According to the Nyoro myth, Prince Isimbwa, the son of the Chwezi king Izaza, enjoyed hunting and would take his son Kyomya along with him. While on an expedition across the Nile into Madi and Luo territory (an area that the Nyoro call "Bukidi"), he left Kyomya behind while he returned south to Kitara. Years later, in Kitara, the Bachwezi were witnessing bad omens around them. Wamara's cattle produced blood instead of milk and Mugenyis belovd cow Bihogo died at a salt-lick out. Mugenyi swore to commit suicide if his most prized cow died and nearly did take his own life but was stopped by his brothers. Rebellions within Kitara and invasions from foreign kingdoms were also occurring during these times.[7]
King Wamara called forth his Haruspex diviners who brought a bull calf that had been fattened. Wamara rinsed his mouth with milk and poured the milk into the calf's mouth, after which it was slaughtered. After they cut into the calf's body (to examine its entrails), they found no entrails in its body. They attempted this numerous times with the results being the same. A Luo diviner named Nyakoka claimed he could solve and explain the enigma. Nyakoka struck the calf's head and legs, with the missing entrails falling out, and black smut from the fire falling on them as they fell. Nyakoka claimed that the calf's body empty of its entrails was a sign that the reign of the Bachwezi dynasty was over, with Kitara being left without rulers. The entrails being found within its legs and head meant that the Bachwezi would continue to be revered in the Mbandwa spirit medium cult (a form of Ancestor Veneration which included many Bachwezi hero-gods). The black smut was a sign that Kitara would be taken over by dark-skinned strangers from another land. Nyakoka's prophecy angered the Bachwezi, and they attempted to kill him, but he managed to escape out of Kitara and back into Bukidi north of the Nile after being warned by Mugenyi. while in Bukidi he came across the sons of Kyomya resting under a Bito tree (this is the origin of the name Biito but it is unknown what type of tree a Bito tree is). Nyakoka told ths to return to their father's land and claim the throne.[8]
The kingdom of Bunyoro was established in the late 16th century by Rukidi-Mpuga after the dissolution of the Empire of Kitara.[9] The founders of Bunyoro-Kitara were known as the Babiito, a people who succeeded the Bachwezi.[10]
Archaeological excavations of Bigo bya Mugenyi has shown that the centre of the site was "radically reconstructed so as to include a large, hemispherical mound reminiscent of those made at Shilluk capitals and elsewhere." Oral traditions says that in the long run a capital in the grasslands proved unsuitable for a Luo dynasty, which soon moved its headquarters to the region round and north of Mubende, where agriculture could be practised on a larger scale. It was there, in the northern half of the old Kitara kingdom, that the new kingdom of Bunyoro developed.[11]
The early Bito kings surpassed the feats of their Chwezi forefathers and achieved regional pre-eminence. Recent historical studies by Jean-Pierre Chrétien, Henri Médard and Christopher Wrigley have concluded that Bunyoro during the first one or two centuries of Bito rule was the greatest power in the region. Bito princes established themselves in the kingdom of Kiziba (in northern kagera), the northern Busoga kingdoms and west of the Rwenzoris. As far away as Buzinza, kings claimed to have their origins in Bunyoro.[12]
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Bunyoro began to decline in the late eighteenth century due to internal divisions. Buganda seized the Kooki and Buddu regions from Bunyoro at the end of the century. In the 1830s, the large province of Tooro separated, claiming much of the lucrative salt works. To the south Rwanda and Ankole were both growing rapidly, taking over some of the smaller kingdoms that had been Bunyoro's vassals.
Thus by the mid-nineteenth century Bunyoro (also known as Unyoro at the time) was a far smaller state, though it was still wealthy due to the income generated from controlling the lucrative trade routes over Lake Victoria and linking to the coast of the Indian Ocean. In particular, Bunyoro benefited from the trade in ivory. Due to the volatile nature of the ivory trade, an armed struggle developed between the Baganda and the Banyoro. As a result, the capital was moved from Masindi to the less vulnerable Mparo. Following the death of Omakuma Kyebambe III, the region experienced a period of political instability where two kings ruled in a volatile political environment.[13][14]
In July 1890 an agreement was settled whereby the entire Buganda region north of Lake Victoria was given to Great Britain. In 1894 Great Britain declared the region its protectorate. In alliance with Buganda, King Omukama Kabalega of Bunyoro resisted the efforts of Great Britain, aiming to take control of the kingdom. However, in 1899 Omukama Kabalega was captured and exiled to the Seychelles, and Bunyoro was subsequently annexed to the British Empire. Because of Bunyoro's resistance to the British, a portion of the Bunyoro kingdom's territory was given to Buganda and Tooro.
The country was put under the governance of Buganda administrators. The Banyoro revolted in 1907; the revolt was put down, and relations improved somewhat. After the region remained loyal to Great Britain in World War I a new agreement was made in 1933[15] giving the region more autonomy. Bunyoro remains as one of the five constituent kingdoms of Uganda, along with Buganda, Busoga, Rwenzururu, and Tooro.[14][16]
During the first regime of Milton Obote, the Kingdom of Bunyoro initially benefited from regaining the two "lost counties" of Buyaga and Bugangaizi following a 1964 referendum. It was, however, forcefully disbanded in 1967. The kingdom, together with three others, Buganda, Busoga, Tooro, remained banned during the regime of dictator Idi Amin (1971–1979) and the second regime of Milton Obote (1980–1985)[17] and remained banned until 1993.
According to 1997 projections, the total population of the Kingdom is between 800,000Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
People north of the Nile, such as the Alur and Acholi, recognized the Mukama (king of Bunyoro) as overlord and sent tribute to him. According to the cultural anthropologistAidan Southall, the Alur recognized their "ritual subordination to Bunyoro by going there for confirmation of their title after accession to kingship". Acholi chiefs would travel to Bunyoro and have their disputes settled by the Mukama as well as have their authority recognized and be given Bunyoro regalia.[19]
The first Bito King Rukidi and his brothers took the totem (Muziro) of the clan of their Luo mother, Nyatworo, which was the bushbuck (Ngabi) because their Chwezi father, Kyomya, abandoned them when they were infants. Today the aristocratic lineages of the Acholi people to the north still have the bushbuck as their totem like the Babito clan of Bunyoro.[20]
The first Babito kings made sure that succession to the throne was restricted to sons born to them by their Luo wives. This gave the Paluo (luo speakers in northern Bunyoro) major political influence in Bunyo-Kitara. It was Oyo Nyimba, Rukidi's son born by Nyatworo of the Luo clan of Kwonga, who succeeded him. Nyimba in turn made sure that it Waswinyi, born by a Luo woman, who became king after him. The practice of restricting succession to children born by Luo women went on uninterrupted, and thus all the kings of Bunyoro-Kitara were born by Luo women until the year 1733.[21]
In the Acholi language, the term "Bito" is used "generally of the sons of an aristocratic lineage". The Empaako praise names that every Munyoro is given after birth are still found in Acholi, where they are called "Pak", meaning 'praise'. Many of the mpako names are also of Luo origin. Although many Bito personal names are Luo, Bunyoro's political terminology features only two words of Luo origin, "ekikali" ("royal courtyard" found also in the kingdom of Ankole and Rwanda) and "dyangi". Some of the objects which make up the regalia of the Nyoro kings can be identified with artefacts of Nilotic origin.[22][23] The Nyoro word "Mugole" (wife) is a nilotic loanword that can be found in the Acholi "Nya gol" (wife) and beyond that to the Dinka-Nuer word "Gol" (clan, family). It can be found as far south in Rwanda where Mugole/Mugore simply means "woman" in Kinyarwanda. The nyoro word, "wakonga" (pangolin) is related to the Acholi "Okong" and Dinka "Akuong". the Nyoro "Mukago" ("blood-brotherhood" which is initiated by cutting the hands) is related to Shilluk "Kago" and Dinka "Kak" (cut open).[24]
European visitors in the late nineteenth century consistently observed that Bunyoro was one of the most densely populated parts of East Africa." Wilhelm Junker, who had explored much of the Nile Valley before travelling through the heart of Bunyoro in 1886, wrote that 'of all the Negro regions visited by me, Bunyoro and Buganda were by far the most densely populated. Interestingly, in 1893. Henry Colvile, found Bunyoro as a whole to be 'far more thickly populated and highly cultivated' than Buganda, though it is important to note that Buganda had suffered heavy mortality and emigration during its recent civil wars.
In describing the Kingdom of Bunyoro, Samuel Baker states that the people of Bunyoro "have become the most advanced nation in Central Africa; they are well clothed and clean in their persons, courteous and dignified in demeanour, and susceptible of enlarged political organization."[26]
Bunyoro consists of three classes of people, Iru, Huma and Bito. The distinction between the Iru and Huma has never had the importance Bunyoro, as it did in other kingdoms such as Ankole or Rwanda.[27]
The Iru are commoners who engage in farming and some cattle rearing. The Iru were the Ironsmiths whom the Huma (who did not smelt or smith) obtained their tools and weapons from. Intermarriage between the Iru and Huma (Hima) in Bunyoro was never prohibited, and it has always been possible for Bunyoro of Iru (commoner) origin to rise to a high position in the state as many did in historical times.[28][29] There is a Luo speaking community in the Kibanda county of the Kiryandongo district of northern Bunyoro called the Paluo (or Palwo) or Chope/Chopi. The Paluo were generally regarded as Iru by other Banyoro people. It was possible for Paluo families settling south into the Kitara heartland and assimilating its culture to become part of the Huma category.[30]
The Huma are those engaged only in pastoralism. The name "Bahuma" comes from the verb "okuhuma" which literally means the cacophony of sound made by a herd of cattle on the move, lowing, thudding of hooves and cries of herdsmen.[31] Although the Bahuma claimed and were accorded high status, they have always, as Bahuma, lacked major political importance and they have never been rulers in Bunyoro-Kitara but were herdsmen, who "attached themselves to the great chiefs as custodians of their herds".[32]Samuel Baker describes them:[33]
There is a curious custom throughout Unyoro; a peculiar caste are cattle-keepers. These people only attend to the herds and the profession is inherited from past generations. They are called Bahooma. If the herds are carried off in battle, the Bahooma, who never carry arms, accompany them to their new masters and continue their employment. Nothing but death will separate them from their cattle
The Bahuma loved their cattle so dearly that Gaetano Casati reports that after a Sudanese raid into Bunyoro that captured 10,000 cattle, The bahuma preferred to serve the Sudanese as cattle keepers rather than be separated [sic] from their cows. Thus The Bahuma willingly followed the raiders with their families.[34]
The Bito are the royal clan of Bunyoro. The Babito are originally descended from the Chwezi prince Kyomya and the Luo woman Nytworo. The Banyoro say, "the Babito are the children (Bana) of the Bacwezi, and the grandchildren (baijukuru) of the Batembuzi".[35]
Samuel Baker praised the manufactures of Bunyoro artisans, saying that the banyoro "make good earthenware, they sew with needles of their own make, the eye of the needles being simply a fine end overlapped; their smiths are clever and use hammers instead of stones as in neighbouring countries and they draw fine brass and copper wire for ornamenting belts, knife handles".[36]
European travelers in the Great Lakes region of Africa during the 19th century reported cases of surgery in Bunyoro.[37] Medical historians, such as Jack Davies argued in 1959 that Bunyoro's traditional healers were perhaps the most highly skilled in precolonial sub-Saharan Africa, possessing a remarkable level of medical knowledge. One observer noted a "surgical skill which had reached a high standard".[38]Caesarean sections and other abdominal and thoracic operations were performed on a regular basis with the avoidance of haemorrhage and sepsis using antiseptics, anaesthetics and cautery iron.[39] The expectant mother was normally anesthetized with banana wine, and herbal mixtures were used to encourage healing. From the well-developed nature of the procedures employed, European observers concluded that they had been employed for some time.[40] Bunyoro surgeons treated lung inflammations, Pneumonia and pleurisy by punching holes in the chest until the air passed freely. Trephining was carried out and the bones of depressed fractures were elevated. Horrible war wounds, even penetrating abdominal and chest wounds were treated with success, even when this involved quite heroic surgery. Amputations were done by tying a tight ligature just above the line of amputation and neatly cutting off the limb, stretched out on a smooth log, with one stroke of a sharp sword. Banyoro surgeons had a good knowledge of anatomy, in part obtained by carrying out autopsies. Inoculation against smallpox was carried out in Bunyoro and its neighbouring kingdoms. Over 200 plants are used medicinally in eastern Bunyoro alone and recent tests have shown that traditional cures for eczema and post-measles bloody diarrhoea were more effective than western medications. Bunyoro's Medical elite, the "Bafumu", had a system of apprenticeship and even "met at periods for conferences". In Bunyoro, there was a close relationship between the state and traditional healers. Kings gave healers "land spread in the different areas so that their services would reach more people". Moreover, "in the case of a disease hitting a given area", the king would order healers into the affected district. Kabaleega is said to have provided his soldiers were anti-malarial herbs, and even to have organized medical research. A Munyoro healer reported in 1902 that when an outbreak of what he termed sleeping sickness occurred in Bunyoro around 1886–87, causing many deaths, Kabaleega ordered him "to make experiments in the interest of science", which were "eventually successful in procuring a cure".[38][41]Barkcloth, which was used to bandage wounds, has been proven to be antimicrobial.[42]
Bunyoro drew various communities together in trade. This trade heavily depended on Bunyoro's rich salt deposits in the lucrative Kibiro saltworks of Lake Mwitanzige and the saltworks located in Lake Katwe.[43] Bunyoro's markets fostered complex interactions between the Banyoro and regional groups such as the Alur, Acholi, Langi, Kumam Iteso, Basoga, Banyankore, Congolese, and Haya populations, and, further, witnessed brisk trade not only in iron implements, salt, and ivory, but also in items like cattle, foodstuffs, beer, tobacco, and coffee.[44] Even despite their bitter rivalry, Bunyoro traded iron hoes and salt with Buganda in exchange for Barkcloth and Bananas[45]
Bunyoro blacksmiths were regarded as among the greatest in east Africa. Bunyoro's historical ties with Luo speakers to the north, many of whom considered Bunyoro as "home," and with Buganda to the south secured the stability of trade in Bunyoro. The ties also ensured that "Bunyoro's ironsmiths had a guaranteed market among the Iteso and Langi [to the northeast], peoples who did not smelt". Having the highest quality of metallurgy in the region made it one of the strongest economic and military powers in the Great Lakes region.[46][47]
King Kabalega forcibly relocated various ethnic groups into Bunyoro in order to ease the demographic crisis the kingdom was experiencing. When he reconquered Busongora and the Tooro Kingdom he relocated many Bahuma herders into the Nyoro heartland. The Masindi area was settled by Alur slaves and entire Bakonjo families from the Rwenzori region were settled into central Bunyoro and were almost completely culturally assimilated into Bunyoro society by year 1900.[34]
The Banyoro tried not to mistreat their slaves too harshly, due to the fear of their ghosts returning to seek retribution. The Banyoro say, "if you ever mistreated a slave, his ghost would always disturb the family. And that one is very, very dangerous, even more dangerous than the ghost of a relative".[48]
If a female slave had a child with her master than that child would be considered free and not discriminated in Nyoro society. Female Slaves who married their masters were no longer treated as slaves and overworked.[49]
Slaves were able to rise to political power. A famous example of this is Nyakamatura, who was a slave of Iru origin. King Kamarusi recognized Nyakamatura's talents, freed him and made him a chief. Nyakamatura had good friendship with Kamamrusi's son, Kabalega, which caused the Iru chief to rise even further in society. After Kabalega took the throne he made Nyakamatura the first minister.[48]
Kabalega created a standing army called the "Abarusura". Most members of Bunyoro's army were Iru, such as Rwabudongo, who was the leader of the army.[50][48]
The army of Bunyoro was supplemented with hired mercenaries from foreign ethnic groups such as the Lango. War captives could also be integrated into the military, such as in the case of Ireeta, who was freed and eventually became one of Bunyoro's leading generals.[48]
Bunyoro's army defeated the Baganda at the battle of Rwangabi. The army occupied some districts of western Buganda and enslaved 20,000 Baganda[51]
Bunyoro had a well maintained road system. Henry Colvile was able to move his army along well maintained roads and across carefully bridged streams. John Roscoe, a missionary, also picked up on Bunyoro's network of roads.[52]
The people of Bunyoro developed a form of writing based on a floral code[53]
It is especially interesting that the form of writing that developed in Bunyoro was based on a floral code, as the absence of both writing and flowers in African culture have been used by Jack Goody as evidence of African culture's separateness from that of "Eurasia." Goody has written that African peoples generally did not make significant use of flowers in worship, gift-giving or decoration. He does "not know of any indigenous use of odours", nor of plants playing a role in stories or myths. This is thought to be because of Africa's "simple" agriculture, "non-complex" societies and absence of a "culture of luxury". This description of African life does not fit well with what we know of precolonial Bunyoro, a large, relatively ancient, and extremely hierarchical kingdom, and the analysis of the role of flowers was quite inaccurate.
— Shane Doyle, The Language of Flowers: Knowledge, Power and Ecology in Precolonial Bunyoro
^Briggs, Philip; Roberts, Andrew (2007). Uganda. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 10. ISBN978-1-84162-182-1. At its peak in the 17th century, Bunyoro covered an area of roughly 80,000km2 south and west of the Nile and Lake Victoria.
^Stokes, Jamie (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East, Volume 1. Infobase Publishing. pp. 506–509.
^Uzoigwe, GN (1973). "Succession and Civil War in Bunyoro - Kitara". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 6 (1): 49–71. doi:10.2307/216973. JSTOR216973.
^Briggs, Philip (2007). Uganda, 5th: The Bradt Travel Guide. Bradt Travel Guides. pp. 11–14.
^ abDoyle, Shane (2006). Crisis & decline in Bunyor: population & environment in western Uganda 1860-1955. London Oxford Kampala Athens, Ohio: British Institute in Eastern Africa in association with James Currey Fountain Publishers Ohio University Press. ISBN978-0-8214-1634-1.
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