Bagishu People of UgandaBagishu People of Uganda their History , Bugishu Kingdom,Traditions and Culture of Gisuu Bamasaba in Uganda
Though the eastern part of Uganda is composed of traditional Luo people, the Bagishu who are a Bantu dialect are found in eastern.A lot of information has been compiled on this website about these people so take your time and learn about the culture of these them.
The Bagishu in habit the western and southern halves of Mt Elgon. On the west, the mountain spreads like the fingers of a hand with steep and narrow valleys between them. On the southern land is broken and consists of a jumble of hills jammed against a high escarpment like a crumpled tablecloth. The escarpment fades gradually to a plain leading away to the northeast inhabited by Iteso
The earliest immigrants of Bugishu are believed to have moved into the Mt Elgon area during the 16th century from the eastern plains. The Bagisu constitute 5 per cent of the population. Bugisu is located in the eastern region of Uganda near Mt. Elgon to the border to Kenya. It is the place of the Bagisu tribe whose origin lies with the Negros. Its nucleus is Mbale town. They occupy the well-watered western slopes of Mount Elgon, where they grow millet, bananas, and corn for subsistence, and coffee and cotton as cash crops. This area has the highest population density in the nation, as dense as 250 per sq km. As a result, nearly all land is cultivated and land pressure has led to the migration of the population and to social conflicts. Ancestral worship and magic are common. The people either tried to ban evil by means of magic, or they contacted a medicine man prescribing herbs for the cure of illness and disease. Men as well as women having spiritual power were consulted or asked to avert a prevailing threat by means of ritual acts. Ceremonies with sacrifical offering were performed in order to appease the spirits or simply to thank them for a good harvest. Oracles were often consulted. The administration of justice was based on magical signs. Wedding rites (it was allowed to marry several women) and the circumcision of men are still alive today. Agriculture like the cultivation of land in combination with the breeding of livestock was also common. Unique is only the breeding of donkeys for the transport of goods, which in Africa are usually carried by women on their heads. Their vocal lines are rhythmically complex with many variations, and they are characterised by the hexatonic scale. The music is mainly fast with characteristics being similar to that of the Buganda. The origin of the Bamasaaba is not known but traditions carried over generationa by oral history point at Egypt (Misiri) as the traditional homeland but this could be the similar epicenter where other migrations from the lower Nile and northwestern Ethiopia took place at the close of the millennium, approximately 900 AD. These groups, also including the Cushitic and Hamitic communities that contstitute the Hima and Tutsi peoples of western Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Indeed it is difficult to place the Bamasaaba among the Uganda communities because they relate to both Ugandan and Kenyan communities. The language architecture is close to the Baganda and Bakonzo of western Uganda while their cultural traits are close to the Hamitic groups of northwestern Ethiopia. The Bagishu, alternately referred to as Gisu, Bamasaaba, (people of Bugisu region) are closely related to the Babukusu people of Kenya. The Babukusu of western Kenya are believed to have migrated from the Bamasaaba, particularly from areas around Bubulo, in the current Manafwa District. Many clans among the Babukusu have their origins among the Bamasaaba. Masindi Muliro, once a veteran politician and elder of the Babukusu from Kitale, was form the Bakokho clan, with its base at Sirilwa, near Bumbo in Uganda. Other clans common to both sides include Batiiru Babambo, Batiiru, Baata, and Bakitang'a. There are other clans whose names, however, are only on one side, such as Babichache and Balonja who are mainly among the Babukusu. The common cultural ties are a further indication of close relations among the two sister ethnic groups. During the Constituent Assembly that led to the 1995 Cosntitution of Uganda, Mulongo Simon, a delegate from Bubulo East, introduced Babukusu as one of the ethnic groups, acknowledging the fact that both groups, Bamasaaba and Babukusu are intertwined. Bagisu speak a dialect of the Masaaba language called Lugisu (Bantu language), which is fully understandable by other dialects within the Bamasaaba group, and is also understood by the Babukusu. The term Bamasaaba is sometimes used interchangeably with the term Bagishu, even though the latter is actually a sub-group of the main Bamasaaba group. Mountain Elgon, known locally known as Masaaba (a vulcano 4'321m), the legendary father of the Bagisu people, has a long history of human occupation. The Bagisu, a Bantu speaking people, were the first settlers on the mountain's western and southwestern slopes. Traditionally agriculturalists, they began cultivating in Mt. Elgon's fertile volcanic soils in the 14th century. They have remained on the mountain's slopes up to the present day and now currently inhabit the Mbale District. They are known throughout East Africa for producing high quality Arabica coffee. About a century after the arrival of the Bagisu, the Kalenjins (a Nilotic-Hamitic group) from the north migrated to Mt. Elgon. Those who settled on the mountain called themselves the Saboat. Later, they split into several distinct groups, including the El Kony clan which roamed the forests and high heath and moorland zones. Another group, the Sebei, settled on the northern slopes of the Ugandan side of Mt. Elgon and are currently concentrated within the Kapchorwa District. Unlike the Bagisu cultivators, the Sebei or Ndorobo, are mainly pastoralists. Today the Sebei have also adapted agricultural practices such as commercial maize and wheat cultivation. Today, the Bamasaaba inhabit the eastern districts of Sironko, Manafwa, Manjiya and Mbale etc. and western Kenya. They are a mainly agricultural people, farming millet, bananas, vegetables, honey, bamboo and sorghum on smaller holder plots. Maize became popular with the arrival of Europeans in the late 1890s. Traditional resources such as medicinal plants and water, sacred grounds and ancestral folklore, passed on orally to younger generations, all contribute to the inseparable relationship between the people and the mountain. Bamasaaba politics before the arrival of Europeans were organised in a decentralized way but maintained strong clan system that brought them together as a community. They had a strong fighting force of youths, whose pre-occupation was to herd livestock and trained in warfare (warriors). They warded off attacks from neighboring communities such as the Luo, Iteso, Elgon Masaai (Sabot and Sebei). Earlier, when the Masaai were still dominant in the eastern part of Mt Elgon, they were the traditional hotile neighbours. The dual economic activity of both crop and animal husbandry generated a resilient economy that supported their livelyhoods and developed into an indepndent cultural community that endured centuries of hostility. The advance of the European missioneries in late 1890s, facilitated by Kakungulu, a British Muganda agent, established a base for the British colonial rule in the area. This changed drastically the geo-political settings of the Bamasaaba from then onwards. They put up a futile fight against organized elite Ganda fighters but lost their sovereignty and succumbed to foreign rule. Land pressure during the early decades of colonial rule caused the Bagisu to move northwards, hence hitting the territory of the Sebei people (Nilotic tribe), who had fought against Bagisu dominance for over a century. The Church Missionary Society (CMS) led by Bishop Tucker and assisted by Kakungulu, established British and particularly Anglican system in the area, this is, improved labour, road infrastructure and established administrative units based on the Buganda Kingdom centralized system. Up to its indepndence in 1962, Bamasaaba had had several western educated systems. The Bamasaaba are famous for their traditional male circumcision ceremonies (Mwaga dance), held every year.This ceremony is an important cultural link between the local people around Mt. Elgon. During the three-day-ceremony of dancing, visiting friends and family, feasting and receiving gifts, preceding by a couple of months of preparations, e.g. bamboo strips being handed down to the candidate by the eldest uncle, on the father's side, to symbolize the responsibility and strength needed to face the challenge of manhood, the candidate is decorated with skins and waves two black and white colobus monkey tails in the air as he is accompanied in the running across villages. A combination of sounds, including the ringing of bells attached to the candidates; fiddles, flutes, and group songs, makes this event memorable to anyone watching. Intricate rhythms are played on different traditional drums of differing pitching, and this creates and often stimulates the dancing of everyone present. The person undergoing circumcision is accompanied in the running across the villages, and at the end of it he must be strong and he is not expected to make noise (scream) during circumcision, as otherwise the family will be too embarrassed. It is of great importance for the candidate to "quiet" stand strong during the circumcision to show that he is capable and ready to become a man. The initiates are admitted into adulthood after this ceremony and are expected to begin their formal contribution to the growth of their respective communities. Unlike the Bagisu, the Sebei also circumcise women.
These men were chosen on the basis of age and wealth. They were responsible for maintaining law and order, and unity and the continuity of the clan. They were also responsible for keeping and maintaining the cultural values of the clan and for making sacrifices to the ancestral spirits. Often stronger chiefs would extend their influence other clans but no chief managed to subdue other clans into one single political entity. Other important figures in Bugishu included the rainmakers and the sorcerers. Baganda People and their Culture Banyankole People and their Culture Bakiga People and their Culture Batooro People and their Culture Acholi People and their Culture The Bachwezi People and their Culture Bafumbira or Banyarwanda People and their Culture Bagishu People and their Culture Bagwere People and their Culture Bakonjo and Bamba People and their Culture Banyole People and their Culture Banyoro People and their Culture Basamia-Bagwe People and their Culture Basoga People and their Culture Batwa or Bambuti People and their Culture Japadhola People and their Culture Kakwa People and their Culture Karimojongo People and their Culture Kumam People and their Culture Langi People and their Culture Lugbara People and their Culture Okebu People and their Culture Sebei People and their Culture
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BAMATSABA COMMUNITIES AND THEIR CULTURAL HEADS
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