Uganda Peoples >> The Baganda
The Baganda are the largest
single ethnic group in Uganda. 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,
Sembabule and Mubende. They are a Bantu-speaking people and
their language is called Luganda.
Origins
There are abundant traditions about the origins of the Baganda.
However, most of these traditions contrast very sharply.
One tradition asserts that the Baganda 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 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 the Sudan. Sir Apollo Kaggwa's version says that
the first Muganda was Kintu and that Kintu came from heaven
and landed at Podi harbor in Bunyoro. From 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 came to occupy Buganda from
two main directions: one from the east by way of Busoga and
another from the west by way of Bunyoro. The best that can
be said is that being Bantu speaking, the Baganda originated
from central Africa where all the Bantu are said to have originated.
Religion
The Baganda believed in superhuman spirits in the form of
mizimu, misambwa and Balubaale. The Balubaale were believed
to have been men whose exceptional attributes in life were
carried over into death. The mizimu were believed to be ghosts
of dead people for it was believed that only the body would
die and rot but the soul would still exist as omuzimu (singular
of mizimu). Such ghosts were believed to operate at the family
level to haunt whoever the dead person had grudge with. If
the mizimu entered natural objects, they were believed to
become misambwa. At another level, the mizimu could become
tribal figures and also be known as Balubaale.
The supreme being among the Baganda was the creator, Katonda,
believed to have had neither children nor parents. He was
said to have created the heavens and the earth with all that
they contain. Katonda was however, not believed to be very
different from the other Balubaale. In fact he was believed
to be one of the seventy-three Balubaale in Buganda. There
were three temples for Katonda in Buganda and all of them
were situated in Kyaggwe under the care of priests from the
Njovu clan.
The other Balubaale had specific functions. The most important
among them were: Katonda, Ggulu, god of the sky and the father
of Kiwanuka, god of lightning. Then there was Kawumpuli, god
of plague, Ndaula, god of smallpox, Musisi, god of earthquakes,
Wamala, god of Lake Wamala; and Mukasa, god of Lake Victoria.
Musoke was the god of the rainbow and Kitaka was the god of
the earth.
There were temples dedicated to the different Balubaale throughout
Buganda. Each temple was served by a medium and a priest who
had powers over the temple and acted as a liaison
between the Balubaale and the people. In particular clans,
priesthood was hereditary, but a priest of the same god could
be found in different clans. The priests occupied a place
of religious importance within society and they usually availed
themselves for consultation.
The kings had special shrines of worship. The royal sister
known as Nnaalinya took charge of the king's temple. There
is a tradition among the Baganda that the Balubaale cult was
introduced by Kabaka Nakibinge to strengthen his authority
and that he combined both political and religious functions
for that matter.
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