About Uganda

Flights

Sleep & Eat

Safaris &Tours

Leisure

Governance

Uganda Tourism

Cities & Towns

Useful Info

Find out More

[?] Subscribe To This Site

Baganda People Of Uganda

Bganda People , Buganda Kingdom , the Culture , History and Traditions of the Baganda People Of Uganda

Baganda People are the biggest tribe in Uganda. There are many tribes in Uganda and 4 strong Kingdom.On this page you will get to know the traditions of ,their origins,and their culture in Africa.

The Baganda people are the biggest tribe in Uganda.But there is a question to those who come to Buganda and claim to be Baganda when in actual sense they are not even Ugandans. So to say that Baganda tribe is the majority in Uganda remains a question to be answered.May be if you say that whoever enters Buganda land should be called a Muganda. On this site we will try our best to give all that is known about Baganda in Uganda, their culture from time immemorial up to present day.

(King) Kabaka of Buganda King and Baganda People in Uganda

The Baganda people make up the largest ethnic group in Uganda, though they represent only 16.7 per cent of the population. (The name Uganda, the Swahili term for Buganda, was adopted by British officials in 1884 when they established the Uganda Protectorate, centered in Buganda).

They speak a Bantu dialect called Luganda belonging to the Niger-Congo family. Like many other African languages, it is a tonal language which means that some words are differentiated by means of pitches. Words that are spelled in the same way, however, have a different meaning. It is a language that is rich in metaphors and proverbs.

Buganda is located in central Uganda and it is a region of the Baganda people. Its nucleus is Kampala city. Baganda People boundaries are marked by Lake Victoria in the south, the Victoria Nile River on the east, and Lake Kyoga on the north. The kingdom comprises 52 clans. At present it is the largest of the traditional kingdoms.

Their music is mainly slow with more emphasis on a regular meter. It is composed of contrasted lyrics and yodles (flactuating vocal lines). Since they are the origin of the Negro people, they have a huge variety of song forms such as; lullabies, historical songs, work songs, ceremonic songs, praise the kings (royal songs), wedding songs, etc. Their scale is purely pentatonic.

Most of the vocal lines are in a responsarial form, solo form and chorus form. Since these songs are vocal dominant, they are basically meant to deal with social transformation. Funerals are major ceremonial and social events.

The Baganda People passes through the stages of omwana (child), omuvubuka (youth), and omusajja or omukazi (man or woman). After death one becomes an omuzimu (spirit), and the Baganda also believe in rebirth (reincarnation). After birth, the umbilical cord is retained for later use in a ceremony called Kwalula Abaana. During this ceremony the child gathers with other members of the father's clan to receive his/her name.

Baganda People Boys and girls are expected to conform in their behaviour to what the Baganda refer to as mpisa (manners). This includes being obedient to adults, greeting visitors properly, and sitting correctly (for girls). Sexual education for females is more systematic than it is for males. The father's sister (Ssenga) is the most significant moral authority for girls.

Grandmothers instruct girls soon after their menstruation, during a period of seclusion, about sexual matters and future domestic responsibilities. Marriage and the birth of children are prerequisites for adult status. Women typically wear a busuuti. This is a floor-length, brightly coloured cloth dress with a square neckline and short, puffed sleeves.

The garment is fastened with a sash placed just below the waist over the hips, and by two buttons on the left side of the neckline. Traditionally, the busuuti was strapless and made from bark-cloth. The busuuti is worn on all festive and ceremonial occasions. The indigenous dress of the Baganda men is a kanzu, a long, white cotton robe. On special occasions, it is worn over trousers with a Western-style suit jacket over it.

The bark from a species of fig trees called mutuba is soaked in water, then beaten with a wooden mallet. This yields a soft material that is decorated with paint and then cut into strips of various sizes. Larger strips traditionally were used for partitions in homes. Smaller pieces were decorated with black dye and worn as clothing by women. They have been replaced by the cotton cloth Busuuti. Bark-cloth is found today as decorative placemats, coasters, and design on cards of various sorts.

The staple food of the Baganda People is matooke (a tropical fruit of the banana family). It is steamed or boiled and commonly served with groundnut (peanut) sauce or meat soup. Furthermore, they live on eggs, fish, beans, groundnuts, beef, chicken, and goats as well as termites and grasshoppers according to the season.

Common vegetables are cabbage, beans, mushrooms, carrots, cassava, sweet potatoes, onions, and various types of greens. Fruits include sweet bananas, pineapples, passion fruit, and papaya.

Drinks made from bananas (mwenge), pineapples (munanansi), and maize (musoli). Baganda People have cutlery, but most prefer to eat with their hands, especially at home. Their homes are usually made of wattle and daub (woven rods and twigs plastered with clay and mud). Generally, they have thatched or corrugated iron roofs. More affluent farmers live in homes constructed of cement, with tile roofs. Cooking is commonly done in a separate cooking house over an open wood fire.

The traditional term for marriage was jangu onfumbire (come, cook for me). After the wedding, a new household is established, usually in the village of the husband. The husband and father was supreme. Children and women knelt in front of the husband in deference to his authority, and he was served his food first. Basketry is still a widespread art. These mats are colourful and intricately designed. Most Baganda People are peasant farmers who live in rural villages.

Rich red clay on hillsides, a moderate temperature, and plentiful rainfall combine to provide a good environment for the year-round availability of plantain, the staple crop, as well as the seasonal production of coffee, cotton, and tea as cash crops.

Traditional Dances - Every tribe in Uganda has at least traditional dances. For example "Baakisiimba, Nankasa, Muwogola" is a traditional dance that originated in the palace of the Buganda Kingdom. The Kabaka's Palace was a special place where royal dancers and drummers regularly performed. Dancing is frequently practised by all, beginning already in early childhood.

Riddles, myths and legends tell about the origin and history of the Baganda as well as the work of the real world. The most significant legend involves Kintu, the first Kabaka (king). He is believed to have married a woman called Nambi. Walumbe (Death) brings illness and death to children and then adults. Up to the present day, Death has lived upon the earth with no one knowing when or whom he will strike.

The Baganda People believed in superhuman spirits. Balubaale were men who carried over into death. Mizimu were the ghosts of dead people. They believed that the soul still exists. The supreme power was the Creator, Katonda.Some other Balubaale (about 37) had specific functions; there were the god of the sky, god of the rainbow, god of the lake, etc. They built for them all special shrines or temples. Temples were served by a medium or a priest who had powers over the temple.

Baganda People also believed in spiritual forces, particularly the action of witches, who were thought to cause illness and other misfortune. Baganda People often wore amulets (charms) to ward off their evil powers. The most significant spirits were the Muzimu or ancestors who visited the living in their dreams and sometimes warned of impeding dangers. The Balubaale cult no longer exists. The belief in ancestors and the power of witches, however, is still quite common.

Each of the clans had a totem, which may not be eaten by a clan member, including: grasshoppers (nsenere), lungfish and one variety of beans. Ritual food: Food which was associated with feasts and celebration: Matooke (sweet banana), sesame, mushrooms, chicken and some fish have played an important role in the celebrations of the Kiganda. Presents and gifts in the form of dowry were typical for weddings, also the ceremony for naming a child, especially on the occasion of the birth of twins.

Baganda People is plural, while Muganda is singular, and they are often referred to simply by the rootsword and adjective, ganda. This region was never conquered in the colonial aera. The powerful King Mutesa (kabaka) agreed to a British policy of giving Buganda protectorate status. The traditional Ganda economy relied on crop cultivation. Cattlers played a minor role. Bananas were the most important staple food. Women did most of the agricultural work, while men often engaged in commerce and politics (and in precolonial times, warfare - warriors).

Ganda's social organization emphasized descent through males. Four or five generations related through male forebears constituted a clan. Clan leaders regulated marriage, which was always between two different lineages, forming important social and political alliances. They also helped to cultivate land, arrange ceremonies and rituals of remembrances for the ancestors.

The Baganda People were polygamous. A man could marry five wives or more. They feared death very much. They arranged great ceremonials. They did not believe that men would reach paradise after death. Death was a natural consequence, attributed to wizards, sorcerers and supernatural spirits. Ganda villages, sometimes as large as forty or fifty homes, were generally located on hillsides.

Early Ganda villages surrounded the home of a chief or headman, which provided a common meeting ground for members of the village. The chief collected tribute from his subjects, provided tribute to the kabaka (king), distributed resources among his subjects, maintained order, and reinforced social solidarity through his decision-making skills. Late nineteenth-century Ganda villages became more dispersed as the role of the chiefs diminished in response to political turmoil, population migration, and occasional popular revolts.

Most lineages maintained links to a home territory (butaka) within a larger clan territory, but lineage members did not necessarily live on butaka land. Men from one lineage often formed the core of a village; their wives, children, and in-laws joined the village.

People were free to leave if they became disillusioned with the local leader to take up residence with other relatives or in-laws, and they often did so. The family in Buganda is often described as a microcosm of the kingdom. The father is revered and obeyed as head of the family.

His decisions are generally unquestioned. A man's social status is determined by those with whom he establishes patron-client-relationships, and one of the best means of securing this relationship is through one's children.

Baganda People children, some as young as three years old, are sent to live in the homes of their social superiors, both to cement ties of loyalty among parents and to provide avenues for social mobility for their children. Ganda culture tolerates social diversity more easily than many other African societies.

Even before the arrival of Europeans, many Ganda villages included residents from outside Buganda. Some had arrived in the region as slaves, but by the early twentieth century, many non-Baganda migrant workers stayed in Buganda to farm.

THE BAGANDA PEOPLE AND BUGANDA KINGDOM

The twentieth-century influence of the Baganda People in Uganda has reflected the impact of 18th and 19th century developments. A series of kabakas (kings) amassed military and political power by killing their rivals. Ganda norms also prevented the establishment of a royal clan by assigning the children of the kabaka to the clan of their mother. At the same time, this practice allowed the kabaka to marry into any clan in the society.

Traditionally, the kabaka ruled over a hierarchy of chiefs who collected taxes in the form of food and livestock. The kabaka made direct political appointment of all chiefs so as to maintain control over their loyalty to him. Many rituals surrounded the person of the king. Commoners had to lie face down on the ground in his presence. Today, the kabaka has only ritual functions and no political power.

One of the most powerful advisers of the kabaka appointed was the katikiro, who was in charge of the kingdom's administrative and judicial systems effectively serving as both prime minister and chief justice. The katikiro and other powerful ministers formed an inner circle of advisers who could summon lower-level chiefs and other appointed advisers to confer on policy matters. By the end of the nineteenth century, the kabaka had replaced many clan heads with appointed officials and claimed the title "head of all the clans."

Kabaka Mutesa started to claim territory as far west as Lake Albert, and he considered the agreement with Britain to be an alliance between equals. Baganda People and armies went on to help establish colonial rule in other areas, and Baganda agents served as tax collectors throughout the protectorate. The power of the kabaka impressed British officials, but political leaders in neighbouring Bunyoro were not receptive to British officials who arrived with Baganda escorts.

Buganda became the centrepiece of the new protectorate, and many Baganda were able to take advantage of opportunities provided by schools and businesses in their area. Baganda civil servants also helped administer other ethnic groups, and Uganda's early history was written from the perspective of the Baganda and the colonial officials who became accustomed to dealing with them.

Trading centres in Buganda became important towns in the protectorate, and the Baganda People took advantage of the opportunities provided by European commerce and education. At the time of independence in 1962, Buganda had achieved the highest standard of living and the highest literacy rate in the country.

History of Buganda and Baganda People

The early history of Buganda has been passed down from one generation to the next one as oral history. Unfortunately, as with many cases of oral history, the stories have taken on several different versions depending on the source. There are different versions of history detailing how the kingdom of Buganda was established as given below.

The Coming of Kintu

Prior to the establishment of Kintu's dynasty, the people who lived in the area that came to be known as Baganda People had not been united into a single political entity. The people were organized into groups that had a common ancestry and constituted the most important unit in Buganda's culture - the clan. Despite a common language and culture, the clans were loosely autonomous.

The clan leaders (abataka) ruled over their respective clans. There was no caste system and, all clans were equal. This did not preclude the fact that from time to time, the leader of one clan might be militarily stronger than the others. In such a case, the leader could establish hegemony over the other clans for a time.

According to the most widely accepted version of history, Bemba was the leader at the time of Kintu's arrival. Kintu came into Buganda as a conquering hero. It seems that at that time, Buganda was very sparsely populated. He is reputed to have brought 13 clans (bannansangwawo) with him and been able to establish himself as king. Another factor may have been that Bemba was a harsh and ruthless ruler.

His subjects were already primed to rebel against him, and, indeed, some prominent clan leaders joined Kintu's invading force. Key among those was Mukiibi, head of the Lugave clan, who was assigned command of the invading force. Another interesting side is that Buganda was the name of the house in which Bemba used to live. This house was located at Naggalabi, Buddo. When Bemba was defeated in battle, Kintu slept in Bemba's house as a sign of his victory.

Thus Kintu became the 'ruler' of Bemba's house. This name eventually came to mean all the territory that Kintu ruled. To this day, when a new king of Buganda is crowned, the ceremony takes place at Naggalabi, to recall Kintu's victory over Bemba. After the battle to oust Bemba, there was a general conclave of the clans and clan elders that was held at Magonga in Busujju country, on a hill called Nnono.

This meeting was of great historic significance, for it was at this meeting that Buganda's form of governance, and the relationship between the clans and the King was formally agreed upon. Although it was unwritten, this constituted an understanding between the clans that has been followed since then.

In essence, it set down Buganda's Constitution. After the meeting, Bukulu returned to the Ssese Islands. On completing his victory, Kintu established his palace at Nnono. It is here that he appointed his first government and awarded chieftaincies to his prominent followers. For this reason, Nnono is one of the most important cultural and historical sites in Buganda.

It is also for this reason that when the people of Buganda talk about issues of deep cultural significance, they refer to them as being of or from Nnono (ebyennono). In addition to military conquest, Kintu cleverly allied himself with the leaders of the original clans. Kintu was the first king in Buganda to share his authority with the other clan leaders.

This may also have played a key role in getting him accepted as the king of Buganda and Baganda People. In organizing the kingdom, Kintu conceded to the clan leaders authority over their respective clans in matters of culture. Kintu then became mediator between the clans in case of disputes, thus cementing his role as Ssaabataka, head of all the clans.

- OTHER VERSIONS OF KINTU'S STORY WITH BAGANDA PEOPLE:

Version 1:

Prior to Kintu's time, Buganda used to be called Muwaawa. The head of the Ffumbe clan was called Buganda Ntege Walusimbi, and it was he who had leadership over all other clans. Walusimbi had several children including Makubuya, Kisitu, Wasswa Winyi, and Kato Kintu. When Walusimbi died, his son Makubuya replaced him as ruler. On his death, Makubuya in turn was replaced by his brother Kisitu as ruler.

During Kisitu's reign, a renegade prince called Bemba came from the area of Kiziba (now in northern Tanzania) and established camp at Naggalabi, Buddo. From there he sought to fight Kisitu and replace him as ruler of Muwaawa. Bemba had a reputation of being cruel and ruthless. Apparently, Kisitu was easily intimidated and in his fear, he vowed to give his chair Ssemagulu to whoever would succeed in killing Bemba. (This Ssemagulu was the symbol of authority.)

On hearing his brother's vow, Kintu gathered some followers from among his brother and some of the various clans and attacked Bemba. Bemba was defeated in the ensuing battle, and he was beheaded by one Nfudu of the Lugave clan. Nfudu quickly took Bemba's head to Kintu, who in turn took it to Kisitu. On seeing Bemba's head, Kisitu abdicated his throne in favour of Kintu with the words "Kingship is earned in battle".

Despite his abdication, Kisitu wanted to retain leadership of the Ffumbe clan, and so he told Kintu to start his own clan. He also told Kintu that the kingdom should be renamed Buganda in memory of their common ancestor Buganda Ntege Walusimbi. Hence, the royal clan was separated from the Ffumbe clan. Kintu established a new system of governace in alliance with the other clan leaders, as we already saw earlier.

Version 2:

Other stories suggest that Kintu was not indigenous to Buganda. Some assert that he came from the East, near Mt. Elgon. Kato Kintu came with his elder brother Rukidi Isingoma Mpuga. Rukidi conquered the lands of Bunyoro where he established himself as king. According to this version, the area that formed the core of Buganda was in fact a remote outpost of the kingdom of Bunyoro.

Rukidi sent his brother Kato to govern this outpost, but on reaching the area, the younger brother essentially broke away from Bunyoro and established his own kingdom that came to be known as Buganda. Another version gives essentially the same story but instead suggests that Rukidi and Kato came from the northern area around Madi (South Sudan).

They landed at a port called Podi, which was in the country of Bunyoro. From there Kintu reached Kibiro with many of his followers. They were: Bukulu and his wife Wada; Kyaggwe and his wife Ndimuwala; Kyaddondo and his wife Nansangwawo; Bulemezi and his wife Kweba; Mazinga and his wife Mbuubi.

Some suggest that Rukidi's brother Kato was called Kimera rather than Kintu. According to this school of thought, Kintu was merely a mythical figure and Kimera is the one who established the royal dynasty of Buganda. The Baganda people strenuously resist this theory, and instead assert that Kimera was a grandson of Kintu. Kimera is counted as the third king in the dynasty, rather than its founder. More will be said about Kimera later.

Version 3:

Another version of Kintu's story suggests that he was born in Ssese or Bukasa Island. According to this version, Kintu's father was Kagona, and his mother was Namukana. Bemba was ruler on the Buganda mainland but he was very unpopular. He alienated the clan leaders in his efforts to establish his authority over them. Mukiibi, head of the Lugave clan, was one such leader who rebelled against Bemba. Bemba was not amused by Mukiibi's rebellion, and he attacked him.

Mukiibi fled to Ssese to save his life. There, he allied himself with Kintu and they raised an army that attacked Bemba and deposed him from the throne.

It is notable that the kings of Buganda never established direct rule over the islands of Ssese, like they did with other areas under their dominion, although it was well accepted that the islands formed part of the territory of Buganda. Indeed, Ssese was only made a county and given a county chief under the 1900 agreement.

The Ssese islands were referred to as the islands of the gods. All the original clans, as well as those that came with Kintu, have important shrines in Ssese. For this reason, some have suggested that wherever Kintu came from, he must have come through Ssese at some point to get to Buganda. Ssese was thus the springboard from which Buganda was created, and consequently was never subjected to direct rule in recognition of this pivotal role.

Version 4:

In his book "Ssekabaka Kintu ne Bassekabaka ba Buganda Abaamusooka" (in Luganda, a Bantu dialect, published by Crane Publishers Ltd.) Chelirenso E. S. Keebungero presents a cogent case for the argument that Kintu was indigenous to Buganda rather than an invading all conquering hero. The book reports of extensive research among clan elders asserting that Kintu was in fact born in Buganda.

Kintu is said to have been the son of King Buganda (after whom the kingdom took its name), and that King Buganda did indeed exist is fairly well established and his shrine is known to be at Lunnyo, near Entebbe in Busiro. According to this version, King Buganda was deposed by his brother Bemba.

As stated elsewhere, Bemba was a ruthless and unpopular ruler. So the clan elders concocted a secret plot to take the late king's young sons out of the country. They were sent to the Masaaba mountains to the east (now Mt. Elgon) and there looked after by royal attendants until they had matured enough to lead an army into battle. When the time was judged to be right, the elders sent messengers to Masaaba who returned with Kintu the prince. They then joined Kintu in the successful battle to oust Bemba.

Kintu, the Person and Baganda People

The legend of Kintu is told by the Baganda People as the story of the creation. According to this legend, Kintu was the first person on Earth. Unfortunately, many writers of the history of Buganda have confused the two people called Kintu, i.e. Kintu, the first king of Buganda, and Kintu, the alleged first man on Earth. This confusion has led some to conclude that there never was a king called Kintu, and that Kintu is merely a legend.

What Baganda People and scholars assert, however, is that Kintu was indeed a legend about the creation of man. Creation stories abound in all cultures, and that there should be a creation story among the Baganda is not surprising. Thus the Baganda People regarded the Kintu in this legend as the father of all people. It appears that when Kato established himself as king, he gave himself the name Kintu, a name that he knew the Baganda People associated with the father of all people.

Thus Kintu was in effect trying to establish his legitimacy as ruler of the Baganda people by associating himself with the legendary first person in Buganda. It is for this reason that he also named his principal wife Nambi. With that in mind, let us now detail the legend of Kintu, the first person on Earth.

Kintu, the Legend and Baganda People

Long long ago, Kintu was the only person on Earth. He lived alone with his cow, which he tended lovingly. Ggulu, the creator of all things, lived up in heaven with his many children and other property. From time to time, Ggulu's children would come down to earth to play. On one such occasion, Ggulu's daughter Nambi and some of her brothers encountered Kintu who was with his cow in Buganda.

Nambi was very fascinated by Kintu, and she felt pity for him because he was living alone. She resolved to marry him and stay with him despite the opposition from her brothers. But because of her brothers' pleading, she decided to return to heaven with Kintu and ask for her father's permission for the union.

Ggulu was not pleased that his daughter wanted to get married to a human being and live with him on Earth. But Nambi pleaded with her father until she persuaded him to bless the union. After Ggulu had decided to allow the marriage to proceed, he advised Kintu and Nambi to leave heaven secretly.

He advised them to pack lightly, and that on no condition were they to return to heaven even if they forgot anything. This admonition was so that Walumbe, one of Nambi's brothers, should not find out about the marriage until they had left, otherwise he would insist on going with them and bring them misery (Walumbe means that which causes sickness and death).

Kintu was very pleased to have been given a wife, and together they followed Ggulu's instructions. Among the few things that Nambi packed was her chicken. They set out for earth early the next morning. But while they were descending, Nambi remembered that she had forgotten to bring the millet to feed her chicken on. "I have left my chickens' millet on the porch, let me return and fetch it," she begged Kintu. But Kintu refused and said, "Don't go back. If you do, you will meet Walumbe and he will surely insist on coming with you." Nambi, however, did not listen to her husband, and leaving him on the way she returned to fetch the millet.

When she reached the house, she took the millet from the porch, but on her way back she suddenly met Walumbe who asked: "My sister, where are you going so early in the morning?" Nambi did not know what to say. Filled with curiosity, Walumbe insisted on going with her. Therefore Kintu and Nambi were forced to go to Earth together with Walumbe. It did not take long for Kintu and Nambi to get children. One day, Walumbe went to Kintu's home and asked his brother-in-law to give him a child to help him with the chores in his (Walumbe's) house.

But remembering Ggulu's warning, Kintu would not hear of it. Walumbe became very angry with Kintu for refusing him the simple favour he had asked. That very night, he went and killed Kintu's son. Naturally, this caused a deep rift between them. Kintu went back to heaven to report Walumbe's actions to Ggulu. Ggulu rebuked Kintu, reminding him of the original warning he had disregarded. Kintu blamed Nambi for returning to get the millet.

Ggulu then sent another of his sons, Kayikuuzi, to go back to earth with Kintu and try to persuade Walumbe to return to heaven or, if necessary, return him by force. On reaching Earth, Kayikuuzi tried to persuade Walumbe to go back to heaven but Walumbe would not hear of it. "I like it here on Earth and I am not coming back with you", he said.

Kayikuuzi decided to capture Walumbe by force, and a great fight broke out between them. But as Walumbe was about to be overpowered, he escaped and disappeared into the ground. Kayikuuzi went after him, digging huge holes in the ground to try to find his brother. When Kayikuuzi got to where he was hiding, Walumbe run back out to the earth. Further struggle between the brothers ensued but once again Walumbe escaped into the ground. The famous caves that are found today at Ttanda in Ssingo are said to be the ones that were dug by Kayikuuzi in the fight with his brother Walumbe. (Kayikuuzi means he who digs holes). The struggle went on for several days and by now, Kayikuuzi was close to exhaustion. So he went and talked to Kintu and Nambi as follows: "I am going back into the ground one more time to get Walumbe.

You and your children must stay indoors. You must strictly enjoin your children not to make a sound if they see Walumbe. I know he is also getting tired so when he comes out of the ground, I will come upon him secretly and grab him." Kintu and Nambi went into their house, but some of the kids did not go in. Kayikuuzi once again went underground to find Walumbe. After a struggle, Walumbe came back out to the surface with Kayikuuzi in pursuit. Kintu's children who were outside at the time saw Walumbe coming and sreamed in terror. On hearing the screams, Walumbe went underground once again. Kayikuuzi was furious with Kintu and Nambi for not having followed his instructions. He told them that if they did not care to do the simple thing he had asked of them, he was also giving up the fight. Kintu in his embarrassment had nothing more to say.

So he told Kayikuuzi "You return to heaven. If Walumbe wants to kill my children, let him do so, I will keep having more. The more he kills, the more I will get and he will never be able to kill all my children". Ttanda, where the fight between Walumbe and Kayikuuzi allegedly took place, is figuratively referred to as the place of death (i.e. Walumbe's place).

So that is the legend of creation, and how sickness and death started. Nonetheless, Kintu's descendants will always remain as Kintu said in his last words to Kayikuuzi. Hence the Kiganda saying "Abaana ba Kintu tebalifa kuggwaawo". Which means that Kintu's children (i.e. the Baganda) will never be wiped off the face of the earth.

What about Kimera and Baganda People in Uganda?

Most historians agree that there is a close relationship between the royal families of Buganda and Bunyoro. What is debatable, however, is the nature of the relationship, and the point of time when the two separated. We will now address the issue of who Kimera was according to the oral tradition of the Baganda.

When Kintu died, his officials did not want to make this public knowledge, fearing that this might cause instability in the kingdom. So Kintu was buried secretely at Nnono, and the officials put out the word that the king had disappeared. After some time, the officials chose Ccwa, one of Kintu's sons, to become king in his father's place. Ccwa had only one son called Kalemeera.

Kalemeera was only a young boy by the time his father ascended the throne. As he became older, Kalemeera began to understand the significance of the story that his grandfather Kintu had disappeared. He became apprehensive that his father Ccwa might also disappear in the same way. Thus Kalemeera began to follow his father around everywhere he went, fearful of letting him out of sight. Eventually, Ccwa became exasperated with his son's behaviour and he concocted a plan that would force Kalemeera to leave his father's side.

The scheme that was concocted involved Walusimbi the Katikkiro (Prime Minister) falsely accusing Kalemeera of having had an illicit affair with his wife. When the case was brought before Ccwa, the king ruled against his son, and he fined him heavily. Kalemeera was forced to go to Bunyoro to seek the help of king Winyi in paying off the fine.

(According to this version of history, Winyi was the son of Rukidi Mpuga Isingoma, founder of the Bunyoro dynasty. But since Rukidi was Kintu's brother and Kintu was the father of Ccwa, it follows that Winyi was Kalemeera's uncle and he was in a position to help him out at this hour of need). Bunyoro at that time was the only source of iron implements in the whole region and Kalemeera's plan was to import some of these into Buganda and use the profits to help pay off the fine.

The story continues that while in Bunyoro, Kalemeera had an affair with Wannyana, one of Winyi's wives. When it became evident that Wannyana had become pregnant as a result, Kalemeera decided to quickly return to Buganda to escape Winyi's wrath. Unfortunately for him, Kalemeera took ill on the way home and he died. His attendants took his skull and buried.

Folktales Of Baganda People in Uganda

Folktales define community; reflect the history, traditional values and accumulated wisdom. Every culture has its own collection of ancient and traditional stories that have been orally transmitted from generation to generation.

Baganda People and Baganda women told these stories to the children in the evening after work and before they had to go to bed around a fire. In some of the stories, general animals, birds and plants have human characteristics (souls), by means of which they talk and develop relationships with humans. They have a supernatural element which allows them to perform tasks only in folktales.

Stories have always been very significant to the tradition and the culture of Baganda People. The young generation of Baganda People has been taught about the past of their kingdom, they have learnt about their ancestors, cultural taboos, history, values of life, etc.

Traditionally, the stories or legends were a main source of education in the African life style, that involved participation, which was oral and it was the way to teach the young ones to used and to know almost everything about their culture, people and historical background.

They occupy the central part of Uganda which was formerly called the Buganda province. The Baganda can therefore be found in the present districts of Kampala, Mpigi, Mukono, Masaka, Kalangala, Kiboga, Rakai and Mubende. They are a Bantu –speaking people and their language is called Luganda

What are the origins of Baganda people

There are abundant traditions about the origins of Baganda People. However, most of these traditions contrast very sharply.

One tradition asserts that the Baganda People are descendants of Kintu.

A piece of the same tradition claims that Kintu came from, heaven while another piece asserts that he came from the east, from the direction of Mt. Elgon and passed through Busoga on his way to Buganda.

Another tradition asserts that the Baganda People are the descendants of a people who came from the east or the northeast round about A.D. 1300. These people were either Hamites from Ethiopia or Luo from Sudan

Sir Apollo Kaggwa’s version says that the first Muganda was Kintu and that Kintu came from heaven and landed at Podi, Kintu is said to have moved on to Kibiro and with his companions finally reached Kyadondo and founded the Kingdom of Buganda.

One could possibly gather that the Baganda People came to occupy Buganda from two main directions; one from the east by way of Busogaand another from the west by way of Bunyoro.The best that can be said is that being Bantu speaking, the Baganda people originated from central Africa where all the Bantu are said to have originated.