Banyankole People and their Culture Part 5Banyankole People in Uganda and their Traditional Political Set up. __________________________________________________ All you need to know about Banyankole people, Banyankole political set up, ankole kingdom in Uganda, Ankole and its people. The Banyankole had a centralized system of government. At the top of the political ladder, there was a king called omugabe. Below him there was a prime minister known as Enganzi. Then there were provincial chiefs known as Abakuru b’ebyanga. Below them, there were chiefs who took charge of local affairs at the parish and sub-parish levels. The position of the king was hereditary. The King had to belong to the Bahinda royal clan who claimed descendant from Ruhanga, son of Njunaki. Whenever a King died, there were often succession disputes to determine who would succeed to the throne. Thereafter, there would be an elaborate ceremony to install the new King. Whenever a king died, some of his wives would commit suicide or they would be forced to do so. Some of the servants in the royal court would also commit suicide. It is said that in the earlier times, some people of the Baingo clan would also be killed in order to accompany the King in the afterworld. The corpse of the king was also known as omuguta to distinguish it from that of an ordinary person which was known as omurambo. It was specially buried by the Bayangwe clan styling themselves for the occasion as the Abahitsi. To communicate the message that the King had died, one would not say the Omugabe afire which is the appropriate Runyankole term, rather one would say that Omugabe ataahize. WARS. The Kingdom had a standing army. The army was divided into battalions known as emitwe (singular omutwe). Each battalion was under a province known as Mukuru w’ ekyanga some times referred to as Omukungu. Often, the kingdom of Nkore was a war with the neighboring states and sometimes she sent raiding expeditions to Karagwe and Buhweju. The Kingdom of Bunyoro sometimes raided Nkore and took away a lot of cattle. Notable among the Banyoro invasions of Nkore were those of Omukama Olimi I during the reign of Ntare I Nyabugaro and that of Omukama I Walimi in the 17th century during the reign of Ntare IV Kitabanyoro. During the reign of Ntare IV, there occurred another war between the Banyankole and the Nkondami (soldiers) of Kabaundami of Buhweju.During the reign of King Machwa after the death of Ntare IV, an expedition was sent against Irebe, the King of Bwera. The expedition brought a lot of plunder among which were cattle and Irebe’s sacred circlet, Rutare, which was thereafter used by the Bagabe of Nkore in making rain. Another invasion of Nkore took place during the reign of Kahaya I Nyamwanga. The invasion was by the Banyarwanda under the King Kigyeri III Ndabarasa. The Banyankole brewed beer by squeezing ripe bananas and mixing the resulting juice with water and sorghum and then letting the mixture ferment overnight in a wooden trough called obwato. Beer was required at every social communal work or any other function. Whenever beer was made, the Banyankole had what they called entereko. If someone brewed beer, he had to reserve some for the neighbors as a sign of belonging and good neighborliness. This beer so reserved was known as entereko. Normally, one or two days after someone had brewed beer, he would call his neighbors and serve then the reserved beer. This practice was so important that anyone who failed to comply with it was considered a bad neighbor. He would not be accorded the services of the neighbors in the event of need. During the service of the entereko, the men would discuss important matters of substance that affected their area in particular, the kingdom and beyond. There would be a lot of merry making including dancing. The traditional dance among the Banyankore was called ekyitaguriro and men and women would participate in it. The Bahima also sang and made competitive recitals connected with valour in wars of offences and defence and about cattle.The staple food of the Banyankole was millet. It was supplemented with Bananas, potatoes and cassava. A rich and prosperous family was judged by its ability to maintain food supplies throughout the year. The main sauces were beans,peas,and ground nuts plus a variety if greens such as eshuwiga,enyabutongo,dodo,ekyijamba,omugobe,omuriri an some others as well as meat of both domestic and wild animals. A family that could not produce or store enough food to sustain itself for most of the year was not respected. In times of shortages, a woman and her daughters would go and work for food by digging in another family’s garden. This practice was called okushaka. It was very degrading and brought shame on the family concerned. Infact it would result in the daughters of the family failing to attract would-be suitors because it would be well known in the area that they belonged to a lazy home. Millet and meat were prepared for important occasions. Potatoes and cassava were not respectable foods and unless there was a real shortage of food, they could not be presented to a visitor or to be eaten. It was rear for a family to eat and finish the whole meal. However, the family head was not supposed to eat leftovers. Besides men and boys were advised not to eat a burnt potato. The reason was that it was so sweet that whenever a man remembered its sweetness while on a hunt or work, he might be tempted to leave his duties and come back home. Such food was eaten by women and children. The main food of the Bahima was milk ad blood called enjuba. They would, in addition barter potatoes, cassava, and matooke from the agriculturalists in exchange for milk and ghee. In times of real scarcity, the Bahima could just subsist on milk and blood. Banyankole had their own method of counting. They could count from one to ten using fingers. One was indicated by showing only the fore finger. Two was indicated by showing their first and second fingers, Three was indicated by raising the last and the third fingers one one’s hand, And five was counted by clenching the fist with the thumb enclosed. Six was indicated by showing the first, second and third fingers. Seven was implied by holding down the third finger and showing the first, middle and last fingers. Eight was implied by snapping the first fingers of both hands, Nine was indicated by clenching the middle finger with the thumb, And clenching the fist with the thumb outside meant ten. Back to Uganda Visit and Travel Guide Home Page |
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