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Omugo Nyabugondo and the creation of Enyambo Cattle Breed.

Omugo Nyabugondo was one of Omukama Wamara Bwigunda’s three wives, a inquisitive woman and natural scientist by nature. She is credited with having developed the Royal breed of cattle known as “Enyambo” and introduced them to Karagwe, Rwanda and Burundi.

The new breed of cattle developed was able to withstand most of the tropical disease

Nyabugondo’s very name also points to another interesting fact: the breed of cattle known as “Bugondo” or “Ngondo” – has a dappled pattern that is hard to raise. The Ngondo and Nyambo cattle were bred exclusively in Bwera and exported elsewhere, both breeds as now endangered and face extinction.

Wamara’s two other wives besides Nyabugondo were Bunono and Nyante.

Note: Omukama Wamara Bwigunda was the 22^nd Mukama of Kitara and the 3^rd of the Bachwezi Dynasty

Omukama Ndahura and the Bird that Blazed in the Dark

The ancestors of the Bahweju originated from Karagwe in Tanzania, and they entered Nkore through Mpororo. As they came into the country, a bird descended from heaven and lighted on one of them. At that time, there was in the land a clan of people called Abarara, who were seers and prophets.

They told the Bahweju to follow the bird wherever it would lead them, that it was a sign that a kingdom awaited them. They followed the bird then, and it led them.

They followed it day and night, for it blazed (lighted) in the dark. It led them from Mpororo, through Buhweju and Kitara, and there it disappeared. So they went to King Ndahura of the Bachwezi.

They had with them their sister(Nyakahuma), a girl of great beauty. When King Ndahura saw her, he wanted to marry her. Her brothers consented, and she was married to King Ndahura. In return, he gave them part of Kitara land.

Folklore – Why the dead do not come back

At one time men rose again from the dead and came back to earth to their friends. Only animals never returned.

There was a man, who lived with his sister, and she had a dog of which she was very fond, and the dog died. When people rose again, it was the rule for all the living to adorn themselves in their best to go and meet their risen friends. The man and his friends said to his sister, “Put on your good clothing and come to meet the risen.” She replied, “No. Why should I go when my dog is dead and gone?”

Ruhanga heard her and was angry and said, “So people don’t care what becomes of the dead. They shall not rise again, for death will end their careers.” Now when a man dies he does not come back.

The people still believe that the dead come to see them in the eventide, and they dress up in their best clothes and sit by the door with a pot of milk and other food and remain silent lest they should disturb the dead who come to partake.

Widows say that their husbands will wear the clothing that they offer them, and they leave things about in the house for them.

Embwa Rubooga

A long time ago, there lived a Man who had two wives, his children and his beloved dog Rubooga.

The Man loved Rubooga the dog so much that it would never leave his sight whenever he was home. The dog would welcome him whenever he got back home from work.

Whenever he would travel for work, he would return home with meat for his families and his dog, and it would be well prepared for both his family and dog.

One day he travelled and took very long to return home. Unfortunately, his family who were used to eating meat were craving for meat, so one of the wives decided to kill Rubooga, the dog to get meat to feed herself and her children.

When the man returned from his journey, Rubooga the dog did not welcome him as usual, and because he loved Rubooga so much he was filled with so much sadness, he asked his wives where Rubooga the dog had gone, but both wives denied its whereabouts.

So, in order to find out the truth about his dog, the man decided to dig a very deep pit, and underneath, he filled it with spears, and asked each wife to line up and sing a song before jumping over the pit.

The sang the song that went like,

If I ate Rubooga, I will jump and fall in the deep pit, if I did not eat Rubooga, I will jump and not fall in the pit *3

The first wife, together with her children sang and were able to jump over the deep pit safely.

As the second wife went on, she had already started crying, because she was guilty. She together with her children sung and fell into the deep pit and died because they had all eaten Rubooga.

Moral of the story,

Always tell the truth, no matter the circumstance.

*Bunyoro-Kitara Folklore*

Folklore – The Hare and the Leopard

Once, many years ago, a hare and a leopard lived together. The hare was nurse to the leopard’s two children and also had charge of the house.

One day the leopard went out hunting and the hare was nursing the children in her lap. She let one child fall, and it injured its back so that it died at once. The hare was very frightened, and put the two children to bed side by side and covered them up as though they were sleeping.

In due time the mother leopard came home carrying the meat, which was a goat she had killed. She threw down the meat and asked for the children to nurse them. The hare brought the living baby, saying, “Nurse this one first. The other is fast asleep.”

After a time the leopard said, “Bring the other,” so the hare took away the first baby and put it in bed and, after pretending to cover it and lift the other, she brought back the same living baby. The leopard said, “This is the same baby,” but the hare denied it, saying, “No, that is the other.”

After a few moments the leopard got up to go and look for herself in the bed, and as she did so the hare ran out of the house and down to the river.

The leopard uncovered the other baby and saw that it was dead. She raised a cry and rushed out after the hare. When the hare reached the river she rolled in the mud and then swam to the other side and sat on a hillock to await the leopard. After a few minutes the leopard came panting along and did not recognize the hare as her nurse. She asked, “Have you seen a hare pass here?” The hare said, “No.

We have been hunting leopards for the king. We have killed nine and want one more to complete the number he asked for. You had better run away; the hunters are coming and may catch you.” As the hare said this, there was a noise in the grass near and the leopard, fearing that it was the hunters, ran away back again, leaving the hare in safety.

THE KINGS CLOWNS(ABASEEGU)

The Story of Mpuugu and the Royal Bow

The royal bow of the Abakama(kings) of Bunyoro is said to be the weapon which Isingoma Mpuugu Rukidi brought with him to Bunyoro when he became Omukama(king). Mpuugu was a noted hunter, and in this capacity was known under several names, among them being Lukidi and Nyabongo, and his bow was named Nyapogo.

As king of Bunyoro, however, he found that he was so occupied with his daily duties that he had to deny himself the pleasures of sport, and he decided to decorate his bow and place it with the quiver among his treasures near the throne.

He gave a bull to be killed in order that the bow might be re-strung with the sinews from its back. The bull was handed over to Muhinda bwa Mpona, who killed it and extracted the sinews. When he had done so, he laid them down and left them, going away to do something else before cleaning them.

In his absence a dog came in, seized the sinews, and carried them away. Muhinda returned, found that the sinews had vanished, and, on making enquiries, found that the dog had eaten them. He had to confess the loss to the king, who was so angry that he had him killed and his sinews taken out and used, with those of another bull, in place of those he had lost.

From that time whenever a new king came to the throne, the tribe of this man, the Bahinda, gave a man to supply new sinews for the bow, and they were cut from him while he was still alive. It became an honorable office to supply the sinews and for two days before the operation the man had to wear charms and dress in two white bark-cloths; he had to keep apart from women and eat special food.

After this purification he himself directed the operation of removing the sinews from his right side leg, and these were used along with those of a bull, which had to be a white yearling (an animal that is a year old or that is in its second year). The man invariably died after the operation.

The Story of Queen Masamba and the Royal Band of Flutes

Omubiitokati(princess) Masamba Ga Winyi is remembered to be the only woman to have ever ruled the great Bunyoro-Kitara Empire.

She become Omukama of Bunyoro after Omukama Chwa I, Ente Nkole Rumoma Mahanga her brother who was a great warrior, and who used to go out regularly for territorial expansions, was killed in battle during an expedition.

The Story goes that on one occasion he was returning from an expedition from Ankole, where he had been victorious, having cut up the royal drums and taken much spoil, when he was told that there was a herd of cattle hidden away in a forest through which they were passing. With a few of his warriors he wandered into the depths of the forest, and by some accident became separated from his men and was lost (perhaps killed, but in Bunyoro customs, A King disappears – does not die). They searched until darkness came and again the next day but could not find him, so they returned to the capital and informed his sister (Masamba), the queen, of what had happened.

Chwa I, though he was married to a wife called Arapenyi, had no child, and the chiefs could find no one they considered suitable to govern the country. At last they agreed that the queen, the sister to the late king, should reign, and for a time things went fairly well.

Meanwhile the queen became enamored (fell in love) to a man of the cow people (bahuma) and asked the chiefs to agree to his taking his place as her consort to assist and advise her, she pointed out that, being a woman, she could not lead her armies and that a consort(her new lover) could go in for her. The chiefs were not favorable to the idea, for the man was not a prince, and they asked for time to consider the matter.
While they were still in perplexity, news arrived concerning the woman Arapenyi, who had been found in Ankole by two men who had gone there to sell salt. They recognized her and asked her how she came to be there. In reply she told them that she had been captured when her husband, King Chwa, and was lost, and that she had a child who was with her.

The men saw the child, whose likeness to the late king was striking, and brought their story back to Bamuroga(chief mnister), who at once sent two chiefs, a Muhuma and a Munyoro, to visit the woman secretly and, if the story was correct, to bring her and her child back. The chiefs recognized Arapenyi and saw that the likeness of the child to King Chwa was unquestionable, so they helped the woman and child to escape by night and brought them to Bamuroga.

For a time the matter was kept a secret and the woman and her child lived in hiding, but at last the queen demanded an answer to her proposal and Bamuroga said they would bring the answer the next day. The chiefs then took the boy prince with them to visit the queen, who recognized him as the son of her brother, greeted him with affection, and listened to the story of how his mother had been captured and then brought back from slavery. The boy had to sit on her lap and she showed him every mark of affection.

Later, the queen asked Bamuroga if the child might not come to stay with her, for she was so pleased to see him. He, however, was suspicious of her intentions and said it was impossible.

The queen then held a council in secret with her immediate attendants, and decided that the boy would have to be killed. Among her attendants, however, was the fluteplayer, Musegu, who went to Bamuroga and told him the whole plot: how the queen was going to ask for another interview with the little prince, and had arranged to have him killed/speared while in her presence. It was arranged that Musegu, who would be present at the interview, should warn the followers of Bamuroga when the deed was to be done by blowing his flute.

In a short time the queen asked Bamuroga to allow the child to come and see her again. Bamuroga consented, and the queen made her preparations by placing her men with concealed weapons in suitable positions ready to attack. Bamuroga, however, also took with him an armed party with their weapons concealed. The prince sat on a rug in front of the queen who talked in a friendly manner with him, but, as she gave her signal for him to be speared, Musegu set up a strange, shrill piping sound and the young boy prince, who had been told to rush back to his protectors when he heard the sound of the flute, sprang back among Bamuroga’s men, some of whom surrounded him, while others rushed in and slew the would-be assassins, among them the queen’s paramour(lover), and made the queen prisoner.

The prince, who was then called Ruguruki (but come to be called Kyebambe I because he had usurped the throne of his aunt) was at once declared king and he proclaimed that Musegu should become a member of his own clan, the Babito, and appointed him and his sons to be the royal flute-players who had to be in the king’s presence on all ceremonial occasions. Their persons were to be sacrosanct (sacred), and they had free access to the king at all times.

The Legend of Ruhinda and Foundation of Ankole and Karagwe

Omukama Wa-Imara(Wamara), the last king of Bachwezi empire had three sons: Ruhinda, Mugasha and Kanyagwe.

Ruhinda was born of a girl called *Njunaki*, a servant girl to *Omukama Wamara*. He is called Ruhinda because he had Ekihinda (a black mark) on his face. Either because of Wamara’s alleged affair with Njunaki or her status as a servant, her son Ruhinda, is regarded by all traditions, as an *illegitimate son of Wamara*. Even so, it was this so illegitimate son who was destined to revive the lost glory and fame of the Bachwezi by founding a new empire and establish a new dynasty -*Ruhinda Dynasty*, which has borne his name up to this day.

At the time of his father’s flight, Ruhinda is said to have been left behind in *Bunyoro-Kitara(former chwezi empire)* under the disguise as the keeper of the royal drum. He served the usurpers of his father’s throne, the Babito twins(Rukidi Mpuga and Kato Kimera) for a while, in the meantime making plans to escape with some of the regalia which his father had left intact when he fled.

His father and some bachwezi(Bahima) followers left and formed a new capital at Mahogora/Ntusi/Bigo, Meanwhile Ruhinda stole the most important of the Insignia of royal drum(Bagyendwnwa) and joined his father and group.

From there, Ruhinda, together with a group of followers, left his father and went to Buzinza and Karagwe, he took some of the bahima followers and left some with his father. When he returned from his expedition he found that Ntusi/Bigo had been raided by invaders (probably by the Babito to get back their royal drum). His father and most of the other bachwezi had been killed by the invaders, only his mother and elder brother Kanyangwe, had been spared. Since the place was no longer safe, he took his mother and brother to karokarungi(nkole).

In Karokarungi, he found *katuku*, an indigenous bantu as the ruler of the area(isaza) and forced him to flee, Ruhinda declared himself rule of karokarungi and build his capital at *Mweruka*. He later moved to Rurama. At Rurama, Ruhinda bore a son Nkuba to whom he later entrusted the Kingdom of Ankole.

*His Move to Karagwe*

After entrusting the throne of Ankole to his son Nkuba, he left for Karagwe with some of his followers and a large group of cattle and never returned to karokarungi.

While in Karagwe, he found Nono, a Bantu ruler, believed to be of the basita clan as the chief of the land, it is narrated that, he knocked on Nono’s door, when it was opened; he greeted his host with a curse, ‘Kachenjere!’ (may you perish), Nothing is said of Nono after his meeting with Ruhinda except that he did not continue to rule karagwe.

He installed himself as ruler of Karagwe with the royal drum called Nyabatma and established his capital at Bwehange, the site was selected after a bull called Bihogo bya Rutwenge had died on that spot, thus signifying that this place was suitable for a king’s capital, because of the strong winds in Bwehange, he abandoned the place for a new site Bweranyange, the new site remained the capital of karagwe until the Colonial German administration.

Ruhinda is also believed to have overthrown other indigenous bantu rulers, In Bumbwiga, he overthrew Mutunda of the Basita clan, in Buzinza, he overthrew Sansana, a Musumbwa ruler of the Batundu clan, his other expeditions are also recorded in Ihangiro(Bwirebutakya), Kyamutwara and Bugabo but these were unsuccessful.

Burial Disputes

It is said the Ruhinda died in Ihangiro or Buzinza. A dispute arose soon after his death. It was mainly over where his remains would be buried, since each of the major three states – Karagwe, Ihangiro and Buzinza wanted to have him buried in its territory.

Finally a compromise was reached, by which his head was to be buried in Karagwe, the trunk in Ihangiro, and the legs in Buzinza. Bwehange and Bwina are given as the locations where his remains were buried in Karagwe and Buziza respectively, but no name for the trunk in Ihangiro.