In today’s episode, we talk about the military of the pre-colonial African kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara.
For most of its history, Bunyoro did not have a standing army. Instead, they relied on the common man to take up arms when called upon by his chiefs. These armies were called Obwesengeze.
That was until the 1870s when Kabaleega created the Abarusura army, a force dedicated to the protection of the state.
The army was led by several commanders such as Rwabudongo, Ireeta, Kikukule, Nyakamatura and Byabachwezi.
Bunyoro-Kitara
Before the arrival of Christianity and Islam, the religion of Kubandwa was an East African spirit possession faith practiced by many groups in the great lakes region. It is still practiced today to a much smaller degree and has a terrible/unfair reputation of witchcraft like other indigenous african religions. In this episode, I discuss what the religion must’ve looked like in Pre-colonial Bunyoro. We will talk about what it actually is, what it meant to people and how followers became mediums.
This episode is an attempt to reconstruct the pre-colonial society of Bunyoro. I discuss their clans, livelihoods, marriage and justice etc. Please note that the information presented was collected during the colonial period in Uganda. Therefore it is impossible to say with absolute certainty that everything was exactly the same as in pre-colonial times.
The following episode is an examination of the kingship and authority in the pre-colonial Bunyoro state.
Great Britain succeeded in forcing the submission of Bunyoro after the 1890’s war of conquest.
In their wake was left an utterly dejected people who struggled more than their regional counterparts to adapt to the new status quo.
Their undeserved bad reputation plus their resistance of almost a decade, was reason enough to punish them for a war that had cost the invaders a lot of money.
This is an account of the Bunyoro peoples lives during the colonial period from 1900-1962.
Under him, Bunyoro began to regain the strength that it had been losing over the past century. Increased trade with the Arabs enriched and allowed him to modernize the state. He handled multiple crises back to back and sometimes at the same time. These included his country’s age-old rivals the Baganda, the Arab slavers, and the Egyptian Equatoria empire.
After the collapse of the Bachwezi empire, the Babiito took over as Bunyoro’s 3rd dynasty in the 16th Century. The precise year this happened is hard to pin down. However, the Babiito began their kingship differently from their predecessors. While the Bachwezi and Batembuzi were both healers and politicians, the Babiito stayed away from the ritual side of things.
The Bachwezi attract a lot of attention because of their grandiose claim of an empire.
Many theories abound of their supposed identity. Were they Banyoro? Were they Portuguese? Egyptian? Greeks? Or simply a figment of a society’s imagination.
The answer is of course much closer to home. Join me in this episode as I talk about the real history behind the Bachwezi.
The Bachwezi are the second dynasty in Bunyoro-Kitara’s history. This family is the most revered due to the fact that they are credited with the creation of the legendary empire of Kitara.
In this episode, we’ll talk about the Bachwezi as told by Bunyoro oral tradition.
Welcome to the second episode of the show “Those Who Came Before Us”.
We continue the history of this ancient kingdom with the story of Isaza, the last king of the Batembuzi.
It’s a popular tale about the importance of respect for the elders. In this episode, I not only tell you Isaza’s story but also reveal the real history behind this folklore. Enjoy!!