^
TWILIGHT TALES OF THE
BIACK BAGANPA
WiLiGriT Tales
OF TriE
BIACK BAQANPA
BY
MRS. A. B. FISHER
{nee Ruth Hurditch)
AUTHOR OF "ON THK BORDERS OF PIGMY LAKD"
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
i^' '*J\\'^'
MARSHALL BROTHERS, LTD,
PUBLISHERS
LONDON, EDINBURGH 6- NEW YORK
H. W. SIMPSON AND CO.. 1 ID.,
PRINTERS,
RICHMOND, LONKON.
f ^ y
INTRODUCTION M^thi
IN recent years so many books have been published
on the country of Uganda, that it indeed requires
courage, and almost demands an apology from one,
attempting to add to that list.
The excuse now offered to the reader, is, that this is not
a record of travel or personal impressions entirely, but
is the result of an insistent endeavour to make the country
beyond Uganda yield up its own secrets, and to reveal
the story of its peoples and their beliefs, before the white
man trespassed on their domains.
During many years spent in Toro and Bunyoro, I
prevailed on the respective kings, Daudi Kasagama and
Andereya Duhaga, to undertake to write the history of
their country. This was no light task for them, as they
had no very clear idea of the subject themselves, and
were only just learning to wield the pen. However, they
readily took up with the suggestion, and called in from
distant villages, and from the solitude of the mountains,
some of the old witch-doctors, who perforce had been
obliged to forsake their old means of livelihood, or prac-
tice it in those regions where the onflowing tide of
Christianity had not yet reached.
As Toro and Bunyoro were one kingdom, and its
people one race until recent years, their history is
V
274827
Introduction
synonymous. Thus comparing these two independent
accounts, it has been possible to arrive at a fairly
accurate story of their ancient habits and beliefs.
The chapters dealing with these records of the two
rulers (vi.-xiii.) are merely a translation from their own
writings ; and I have tried as far as possible to translate the
text literally. Heaps of non-essential details have had to
be cleared away, and in many cases modifications been
made, or passages entirely discarded, to purify the story
and render it suitable reading to the general public.
The work was a novel and laborious task to these two
dusky potentates, who, day after day, sat in their crude
studies, writing as rapidly as they could, while the
quaint, withered up, skin-clad ancients squatted on the
floor, and related the legends that had been handed down
by the generations of sages before them.
Writing is quite a newly-acquired art introduced by
the missionaries ; no traces of caligraphy or inscriptions
being found among these peoples, unless is excepted the
carving of stars, lines and spots on the ivory war-horns
of the more inland savage tribes, signifying the clan to
which the horn belonged. It is, therefore, all the more
remarkable that this race should be found in the heart of
Africa, surrounded by fierce and migratory tribes, posses-
sing and preserving, in spite of abject ignorance, a record
of consecutive rulers who were preceded by supposed
demi-gods and gods — a history remarkably analagous in
form to that of the ancient Egyptians.
The people generally are strangely ignorant of their
past, and evince very little curiosity with regard to it.
Careless about everything, they have been perfectly
vi
Introduction
willing to leave it, and all questions dealing with the
spirit-world, in the hands of their witch-doctors, whom
they implicitly believed and obeyed whenever trouble or
sickness visited them.
To-day the whole condition of Central Africa is being
metamorphosed. The country has been parcelled out
among the European Powers, and in their wake, civilisa-
tion is rapidly driving out barbarism and ignorance, while
Christianity is infusing new life into the people, and
inspiring them with noble and forceful ideas.
Fetishism is quickly dying out, and thus one by one
the links with the past, are being severed and forgotten.
Within the last ten years Toro and Bunyoro have
practically swept away all outward belief in their old
creeds, by gathering out from the homes of the people
the charms and fetishes which were their oracle, and
have publicly burned them.
This book is a feeble attempt to gather from the ashes
of the past, some record of the dark ages when Africa was
yet unpenetrated and unknown.
Looking through these pages, questions may arise in
the mind, as one catches occasional glimmers of Truth —
the existence of a primary Cause — God the Creator —
death entering the world as the result of sin — the per-
sonality of evil that sought to destroy the work of the
Creator — the shedding of blood for sacrifice — etc. ; and
one asks if this is not a child-race whose instincts, God
implanted, have become corrupt, because hitherto they
have had no guide or instructor other than the Power of
Darkness.
In conclusion, I should like to express my deep grati-
vii
Introduction
tude for the excellent portrait of Andereya Duhaga, king
of Bunyoro, so graciously presented for publication by
Her Royal Highness the Duchess D'Aosta, who paid a
memorable visit to Andereya in his house while touring
through the country in 1908.
Also my warmest thanks are due to F. A. Knowles,
Esq., Chief Secretary to the Government ; Dr. Rendle,
Medical Officer of Bunyoro ; and the Rev. A. B. Lloyd,
for other illustrations used in this book.
Vlll
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. The Country : Its Exploration . . . i
II. The Country : Its Awakening . . .12
III. The People . . . . . .28
IV. Domestic Life . . . . . .41
V. The Religion . . . . . -53
VI. The Reign of the Gods . . . -69
VII. The Reign of the Bacwezi or Demigods :
Isaza-Ndahura . . . . .84
VIII. The Reign of the Bacwezi or Demigods :
Wamara ...... 99
IX. The Dynasty OF THE Babito . . . .111
X. The Kings of the Babito : Ocaki-Duhaga . 128
XI. The Reign of the Babito : Kasomi-Kamurasi . 145
XII. The Reign of the Babito : Kabarega . . 160
XIII. The Reign OF THE Babito : Kabarega . . 172
XIV. The Conquest OF Christianity over Fetishism . 179
XI
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGE
Andereya Duhaga of Bunyoro: In Regal Attire Frontispiece
Villagers Bringing in Gifts on the Arrival of a
Visitor ....... 13
Anticipating a Feast : Bari Natives Cutting up an
Elephant ....... 24
King's Band : "Music HATH Charms" . . -36
DoDOi, Son of Kavalli . . . . . .52
A Dangerous Opponent. . . . . -63
People of Madi ....... 91
A Munvoro Profile . . . . . .101
The Regalia or Bunyoro . . . . .109
Gentlemen of Fashion among the Baganyi . .114
The Favoured Wife Serving the King with Milk . 124
Masai Woman : A Fellow Passenger on the Uganda
Railway . . . . . . .132
Omukikuvu : As Seen from the Train on the Uganda
Railway ......... 134
Native War Dance ...... 137
A MuKiDi Bachelor's Quarters .... 143
A Ferry Boat on the Nile . . . . .165
A Study in Black and White : A Mukidi Chief with the
Author's Little Boy, George .... 169
The Call Bell of "The Khedive " : Now used as School
Bell .
Daudi Kasagama of Toro
A Disputant of the Land
An Inhabitant of the Scrub
HoiMA Church in Building
Unskilled Labourers .
Paulo Byabaavezi brooks no Interference
179
182
183
185
188
190
195
ix
CHAPTER I
The Country : Its Exploration
«< T T GANDiV " is a term used a little indiscriminately
I I at the present day to denote any district from the
^^-^ Port of Mombasa on the East coast of Africa to
the boundary of the Congjo Free State.
To the natives of the country it applies exclusively to
the small strip of land marked on the maps as the
Uganda Province — the home of the Baganda, ruled over
by the young King Daudi Chwa.
The British Government give it a more elastic meaning,
and to them the Uganda Protectorate includes, besides
the Province, the independent Kingdoms of Ankole on
the west, Toro on the north-west, Bunyoro as far north
as Gondokoro, and the separate states of Bukidi and
Busoga on the east.
To the missionary it has a wider boundary still, for the
Uganda Diocese has overstepped the limits of the Pro-
tectorate, and extends far back into the Kisumu and
Naivasha Provinces of British East x\frica.
Lastly, the Uganda railway does not enter the country
at all. It carries its passengers nearly 566 miles inland,
and takes leave of them 180 miles away from Uganda, on
the eastern shore of the Victoria Lake. Here a regular
service of steamers, now comprising a flotilla of four,
cheerfully makes up for the short-coming of the rail-road.
One of the first natives of Uganda who travelled down
the line regarded himself as a sort of pioneer hero, as he
set off from his own shores in one of the Company's
B
/
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
steamers across the Lake ; he hardly dared hope to ever
again set eyes on his native land ; but to his unspeak-
able relief he saw the word " Uganda " on various parts
of the ship, and concluded he must still be in his own
country. As he entered the train at Kisumu the words
" Uganda Railway " confronted him on engine and
carriages. It was also written up at various points all
along the line, and even in Mombasa itself, so his country
in his eyes, like Sam Weller, " swelled visibly," and he
wrote back to his friends saying, he had never imagined
their land of Uganda was so large, it spread on and on
until the sea prevented it reaching any further.
Official Uganda is practically an Island lying at the very
heart of Africa. Its boundaries are the mighty Lakes
Victoria, Edward, Albert and Kioga, which are almost
linked up by broad fast-flowing rivers. Probably on account
of its unique geographical position, its peoples have retained
an exclusivism against the barbarous races all round.
Approach it from whatever direction you will, tribes of
abject savages, including pigmies and cannibals, will be
found in the territories all around Uganda. From the
Europeanised East, naked folk with painted faces and
limbs wander about the railway stations, unaffected and
unenlightened, although for ten years trains have been
panting, screeching, and bringing through their land the
Government official, the missionary, the Indian trader,
the big-game hunter and European Royalties. And dur-
ing that time Union Jacks have been flying over strongly
built forts throughout their country, manned by the
British official who has his pigeon-holes filled with ,
scheduled and red-taped despatches, reports, laws, rules i
and regulations pertaining to the well-being of the same
unimpressed and lawless savage.
It is remarkable that a people like the Baganda,
characterised by a spirit of insularism and racial pride, j
should exist in the midst of such disintegrated tribes,
The Country : Its Exploration
whose history is one long record of warfare, hatred and
butchery. While others have been almost or entirely
swept away by disease, tribal feuds and physical deterior-
ation entrenched behind their waterways, the people of
Uganda have remained the conquering and predominant
race — the survival of the fittest.
But the same unique position also marked it for inevit-
able conquest by an outside and undreamt-of foe — the
civilised world. Following up the track of the Nile the
ancient Egyptians penetrated far inland in search of
ivory, slaves, and wild animals. Traces of their influence
upon Uganda can still be found, and doubtless they
instructed the natives in the working of iron which is very
plentiful throughout the country, especially in the
northern district of Bunyoro. The designs introduced
into their pottery, basket work and painted on their
wooden quivers and bark-cloths very closely resemble the
cruder forms of ancient Egyptian art. Many of the
cultivated plants and domestic animals are thought to
have been brought from the north at this period, as they
do not resemble the species of more recent American and
Indian importation. The simple knowledge of surgery
possessed by the Banyoro was evidently acquired through
the Egyptians. Vaccination for small-pox was known
long before European influence reached them, as people
were inoculated with the lymph taken from the arm of an
affected person. Possessing no surgical implements,
they operated clumsily but often successfully, with their
ordinary septic belt knives. In cases of comminuted
fractures, which are frequent (as the people live in such
close contact with wild animals), the custom has been to
cut out the shattered pieces of bone and insert a piece
freshly taken from an ox or goat, then bind the limb
up with a banana-leaf rendered pliable by passing it
through the fire, and tied round with banana fibre. When
it was necessary to keep wounds open to clear them
3
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
of pus or poison, long neck gourds were used as drain
tubes.
It seems humiliating to find that some of our boasted
modern methods of surgery were known and practised by
these half-savage tribes in the back ages.
When Egypt came under Persian and Grecian rule,
remarkable interest was evinced in African research, and
many attempts were made to trace the source of its
sacred river " Hapi " — the Nile. But the hostility of the
races inhabiting the Eastern Soudan, and the difficulties
of navigation on account of the cataracts and solid
barriers of sud carried down by the stream, deterred those
who ventured on these hazardous expeditions.
In the 5th century B.C. the historian Herodotus
himself travelled some distance up the Nile, and suc-
ceeded in gathering information from traders about a
country with three mighty lakes (now known as the
Victoria, Edward and Albert), where there were mountains
which they assured him reached to Heaven and were the
source of the Nile ; thus proving to them that their river
was of divine origin. The range was afterwards called
" The Mountains of the Moon " because of the glittering
ice and snow that covered it.
Nearly one hundred years later, Aristotle wrote of the
pigmies, the quaint miniature folk that in recent years
have been found inhabiting the vast forest to the west of
Toro. These facts show that some kind of communica-
tion existed between Egypt and Uganda hundreds of
years ago.
But it was left to an Englishman to confirm these
vague and unauthenticated rumours by entering Uganda
in 1862 from the east coast.
Not merely did Speke prove the existence of the
Victoria Lake and the source of the Nile, but he unlocked
a country of profound strategic importance, and brought
the outside world in touch with a people that is the
4
The Country : Its Exploration
dominating power of inland Africa ; and from the results
of missions we might hope is destined to become the
centre of a strong Spiritual Church that will stretch out
and embrace the many tribes around.
Uganda is the point that unites up Christian Societies
working in from the North, South, East and West,
backed up by Christian Governments, so that now an
almost complete Cross of Missions is writ across the face
of the once dark Continent.
All down the ages this country has been unconsciously
lavishing upon Egypt its inexhaustible wealth, for the
Nile is an off-spring of Uganda. The perpetual snows
and glaciers of Ruwenzori — the Mountains of the Moon —
send down icy streams that fall in roaring cataracts into
the burning plain beneath ; falling into the Edward and
Albert lakes the turbulent rivers are quieted and dis-
ciplined, and issuing thence are met by a confluent river
that flows out from the Victoria lake at the Ripon Falls.
The united waters are then dismissed from Uganda and
take their 3,000 miles journey as the life of Egypt. The
rich red loam carried down is like a crimson artery flow-
ing through the centre of its course, and in the rainy
season, when the low-lying land of Upper Egypt is inun-
dated, the loam fertilises the soil, over which it remains
spread out like a sheet.
The first European lady to enter this country was the
plucky wife of Sir Samuel Baker. She came out with her
husband in 1864 to discover the Albert Lake. They
entered Bunyoro from Egypt. By the natives she was
known and is still talked of as Kanyunyuzi — the '* little
star " ; for they marvelled at the beauty of the white
woman. Sir Samuel Baker was called Muleju — the
*' Beard." He had evidently adopted the habit which is
rather common now among Europeans out here, of dis-
pensing with his razor, and the natives who had never
seen an unshaven chin were a little terrified at the
5
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
prodigious growth. Their custom is to shave every scrap
of hair off their faces and heads ; the vi^omen and children
are treated in the same way. It is a clean habit, but very
unbecoming, especially when they try to make themselves
irresistibly attractive by smearing the bald pate with
rancid butter. I am sure it would be difficult to find
more extraordinary curves, bulges and depressions than
the heads of these people present when there is nothing
left to disguise the shape of their craniums.
Kamirasi, King of Bunyoro, regarded these two
Europeans with the deepest suspicion and fear, for no
native could believe that any man would come so far merely
to see water. Was there none in his own country? His
object must be to plunder or seize the kingdom from him.
I well remember the crowds of curious Batoro who
swarmed round us as we returned from our climb of
Ruvvenzori's glacier. We heard them whispering together
and looking half fearfully and wholly wonderingly at our
baggage. When we recited to them our adventures they
asked, "And what else?" So we added a few more
incidents, and still they asked, "What else?" We
rummaged our brains to think of some more hair-breadth
escapes, but they seemed insatiable. We had at last to
own that there was nothing else, to which they crushingly
replied, " The white man must be mad." To go through
all that, to endure such cold, to risk one's very life for
nothing. They had imagined that we had gone to extract
some hidden wealth that was buried under that " white
stuff on the top."
Sir Samuel and Lady Baker were practically held
prisoners for some months, as Kamurasi stoutly refused
to provide them with porters or to give them any assist-
ance in fitting out their caravan for the expedition to the
lake. He believed that if they were allowed to leave the
capital they would immediately inflame his people to
rebellion, so he formulated a plan of slowly starving them
6
The Country : Its Exploration
to death. His vigilance over them however relaxed through
sheer fright when he saw Lady Baker practising one day
with firearms. He and his people had never before seen a
gun, and they shook with fear. As the shot fired upwards,
they looked anxiously expecting to see the heavens fall upon
them. When nothing dreadful happened, they exclaimed
with relief, "The star speared the heavens, but they fell
not." The result, however, was, that the two travellers
were allowed to escape from Kamurasi's court, and after
facing immense difficulties they reached the lake, but both
were nearly dead with fever and fatigue.
Ten years afterwards the late Sir Henry Stanley made
his first exploration tour through Uganda. During the
time he was collecting together a native escort in the
capital for journeying inland he conversed with King
Mtesa very freely on every conceivable subject. Mtesa
showed the deepest interest in the Bible stories. Sir
Henry Stanley wrote: "These themes were so captivating
to the intelligent pagan, that little public business was
transacted, and the seat of justice was converted into an
alcove where only the religious law was discussed." The
king earnestly entreated for Christian teachers to be sent
to him, and Stanley promised to forward his plea to
England, and meanwhile left his interpreter, Darlington,
with Mtesa to continue the instruction until the arrival of
the missionaries. He left him also the Creed, the Lord's
Prayer, and the Ten Commandments written on Arabic
wooden tablets. The letter was written to the Daily
Telegraph, and was entrusted to a Belgian who had been
sent down by Gordon to prospect Uganda, and was
returning to him in Egypt. This messenger was, how-
ever, murdered on the banks of the Nile by the Bari
people, but his body was recovered by the expedition
despatched by the Government, and in one of his boots
was found the blood-stained letter. This ultimately
reached England, and appeared in the daily paper, with
7
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
the result that funds poured in, and in the following
year a party of missionaries was sent out by the Church
Missionary Society to Uganda.
While Speke had opened Uganda to the civilised world,
Stanley prepared the way for Christianity. It remained
for him also to penetrate Africa from west to east by his
remarkable expedition in i88g.
Some 3'ears previously Emin Pasha had been appointed
by General Gordon Governor-General of Equatoria, the
district between Fashoda and the Albert Lake. Then
occurred the terrible Mahdi rebellion, which resulted in
the massacre at Khartoum of that heroic defender of the
city. General Gordon, and his Egyptian garrison, in 1885.
The vast Soudan was then submerged by barbarism,
and the only Egyptian force which escaped from the
disaster was that led by Emin Pasha, which was, how-
ever, in the perilous position of being completely cut off
by hostile and semi-barbarous tribes.
He had written to the Egyptian Government, to Mr.
Mackay, the missionary in Uganda, and to various
societies in England, imploring that assistance might be
sent to him, the result of which was an appeal issued
by the British public, and supported by the Egyptian
Government, for someone to go out and effect the relief
of this sorely-pressed general. Stanley immediately
responded, and when it was known that he was setting
out on this adventurous task, he was deluged with appeals
from young and old to accompany him in the campaign.
He wrote : " Had our means- only been equal to our
opportunities, we might have emptied the barracks, the
colleges, the public schools — I might almost say the
nurseries — so great was the number of applications to
join me in the adventurous quest."
The expedition started out in January, 1887, and in the
following month commenced the long journey inland
from the west coast. It was not until December of that
8
The Country : Its Exploration
year that Stanley emerged from the dense pigmy forest
and was the first European to look up at the glorious
stretch of equatorial snows of Ruwenzori. He had
expected to find Emin Pasha in the vicinity of the Albert
Lake, with his two little steamships, the " Khedive" and
the " Nyanza," which had been put on the lake so as to
control the country round its shores.
Great, therefore, was his disappointment to find no
trace of him, and to be assured by the natives that they
knew nothing of a white man or smoke boats. Stanley
decided, however, to strike camp and wait for his rear-
guard to come up and join him.
For over four months he was encamped in Bulega on
the escarpment of the western shore of the lake. The
chief, Kavalli, treated him with the greatest kindness, and
provided his caravan with food, although this was a real
difficulty in a rocky and unfertile country. During that
time Stanley put together the sections of a steel boat he
had brought with him, and at last had it ready for
launching on the lake to search for the lost general.
In April, 1888, on the weary watch, Stanley espied a
tiny cloud travelling towards him on the waters of the
lake, and to his intense relief in a short time he stood face
to face with the man for whom he had endured such
extremes of hardship.
The two boats, the "Khedive" and "Nyanza," were
sunk after all movable effects had been taken on shore.
Years after some of these things were discovered by
Captain (now General) Sir F. Lugard, buried on the lake
shore. Among them was the Khedive's call bell, which
was carried into Toro, and afterwards presented to my
husband by Sir Henry Colville for the assistance he
rendered during the occupation of Bunyoro. So the
historical bell that had often called the great Pashas
Gordon and Emin to frugal meals, and witnessed so many
tragic events ashore and afloat, has for many years called
9
Twilight Tales o{ the Black Baganda
these same rebellious and unruly folk to prayer and
Christian instruction.
All the district west of the lake has since the new
boundary treaty, been handed over by the British to the
Belgian Government. Old Kavalli, the tried friend of
Stanley, has long since passed away, but his son Dodoi,
who succeeded him, has responded to the Christian
teaching of native workers sent out from Bunyoro, and
was baptised by my husband in 1907.
When Stanley and Emin Pasha turned their faces
toward the Indian Ocean homeward, the Nile shook off
the last remnants of British authority for a while. After
reaching Zanzibar, Emin threw up his commission under
the British Government and joined himself to the
Germans, under whom he returned to Central Africa.
But ultimately he left their service and travelled west-
ward, intending to come out at the west coast; but just
as he had penetrated Stanley's great pigmy forest, he was
attacked by a party of Arabs and killed, and his body
seized by the cannibal inhabitants of the district.
While the Nile district had thus temporarily passed
from under the British, Uganda had come within the
sphere of its rule. For three years the British East
Africa Company had carried on the work of administra-
tion, having gradually extended inland from the coast.
But in 1891 they felt no longer able to undertake this.
If a sum of ^^15,000 could be guaranteed them inde-
pendently, they agreed to hold on for one more year, when
the British Government would take it over from them.
Bishop Tucker was then in England, and realising the
disastrous results their evacuation would have on the
Mission work, he made a strong effort to save the situa-
tion ; probably on account of the very progress that had
attended the work after it had endured the fires of
persecution from the vacillating King Mwanga.
If British authority was withdrawn the Europeans in
10
The Country : Its Exploration
the country would be in a most precarious position. The
result of the Bishop's stirring appeal to the Church in
England to save the young Church in Uganda was, that
immediately ^^16,000 were collected and remitted to the
Company. By this means Uganda was preserved to the
British Empire, without whose strong governing hand the
country must ever have remained rent by factions that
had for all time plunged it into internecine warfare.
The more influential Baganda welcomed the new
foreign rule, realising the benefits that would accrue to
them, but the king Mwanga saw with resentment that
henceforth his monarchy would be a limited one, and his
power for evil restricted. When, therefore, the chance
came, he fled north, and joined his old rival and bitter
foe, Kabarega, king of Bunyoro, in a final and desperate
stand against their common enemy, the British. While
the people of Toro and Uganda had submitted to the
Government, Kabarega had stubbornly refused to sur-
render one iota of his power. For six years he held out,
carrying on a kind of guerilla warfare. But in 1899
Colonel Evatt succeeded in capturing these two kings,
and they were both deported to Seychelles Island.
The district of Bunyoro, which sweeps the eastern shores
of Lake Albert and stretches inland, was thus the last
link in Central Africa to unite British territory which
now extends from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.
And so soon were the effects of its able administration
felt, that only twelve years after the meeting of Stanley
and Emin Pasha, I, with my companion. Miss Pike,
stood on probably the same spot at the south end
of the lake. We were travelling with only a few raw
native porters and one gun, and on the lake shore we
tried to tell for the first time to the simple savages the
same old, old story, that some years previously Stanley
had told to Mtesa, king of Uganda, and which had already
brought about such mighty changes in that kingdom.
11
CHAPTER II
The Country : Its Awakening
AND now what a change is taking place ! Uganda is
unmistakably in the grip of progress, and the old
order is rapidly giving place to the new. Geometri-
cally planned townships are springing up, in place
of the batches of huts which straggled up the hill sides,
terminating in the chief's somewhat more pretentious hut
on the top. Indian bazaars with their display of tin-ware,
calico prints of every conceivable colour, compete briskly
for customers with the native markets, which only cater
for the inner man. Here shelves and tables are dis-
pensed with ; bunches of bananas, baskets of yams, sticks
of sugar-cane, little heaps of tobacco or salt are all spread
out on the ground, while the strips or indistinguishable
joints of goat, sheep or ox are slung from cross poles
under a fly-infested shed.
Brick houses, with corrugated iron roofs glittering under
the rays of the tropical sun, and low clipped hedges have
superseded the bee-hive huts and tall plaited reed fences
which used to enclose the chief's household.
What a busy little metropolis Uganda now possesses !
Along the streets, continual streams of people pass to and
fro, all intent on business of some sort. Bullock waggons
and hand drays lumber along towards the snorting ginny
factory or the export offices, with bales of cotton, fibre,
chillies or hides.
The chiefs can no longer go out with hundreds of their
followers to welcome the European arrival with a hot
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The Country : Its Awakening
embrace aud warm greeting, they are now busy in their
offices with secretary and typewriter, or attending to
affairs of state in the Council Hall, while their messengers
may be seen free-wheeling down the hills on cycles at
reckless pace, conveying despatches for their masters.
Can this be the dear sleepy Uganda of yesterday, that
had nothing heavier to think of than its next meal, whose
women dreamed of no whimsical fashions, but swathed
themselves in the fibrous bark of the wild fig-tree ; and
whose chiefs paraded the streets in their long white
garments, while a stream of idle retainers hung on behind,
and the tom-toms, horns, reeds, flutes, and jesters,
imitating monkeys or jackals, went before to clear the
road ! ! !
Now among the elite of Uganda's ladies may be seen
violet plush coats, over emerald green satin skirts, and,
coyly tilted on their cropped pates is a boy's jack-tar hat,
or a sparkling toque of silver tinsel which resembles a
shimmering spider's web tipped with morning dew. The
sandals of painted hippo hide, with straps of fur formally
used by the upper classes, have been discarded for the
English tan and heavy black leather boots, to which the
owners impart a chronic squeak by the application of
lemon juice. When I commiserated with one man on the
misfortune of possessing such assertive boots, he looked
in blank astonishment, and when he had sufficiently
recovered to find words, he answered, " What is the use
of boots that do not speak? No one would know that
you were wearing them." Sometimes as the men come
in or go out of church there is a regular orchestra of boot
leather.
When visiting a chief in the old days, it was the custom
to spread a mat for the guest, and when seated, water was
brought for hand ablutions, then an open basket of steam-
ing plantains and a chicken boiled in a banana leaf, were
placed before the visitor and his host. They were not
13
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
inconvenienced with a knife, fork, spoon, chop-sticks, or
any other implement for manipulating^ the food, but deftly
broke it up into lumps, moulded it into balls, and kind of
flipped it into the mouth. But in these days an upholstered
chair is brought out, and the guest is offered " tea, lime
juicy, sparkletty, biscuity or caky." One day I had the
honour of being invited, with other Europeans, to a chief's
house to dinner on some special occasion. The table was
spread with an immaculately clean damask cloth ; the
floral decorations consisted of zinnias of all shades,
stripped of their leaves and uniforml}^ and tightly squeezed
into tin tumblers. Strips of calico, torn into the size of
serviettes, were placed before each visitor, and a pile of
plates which nearly reached to the chin, when seated,
prepared the guest for the number of courses he might
expect. One wondered if they would ever melt away.
Goat soup was followed by goat rissoles, goat stewy, goat
boily, goat fryey, goat roasty, goat curry — until one felt
it would need courage to look a goat in the face again.
The chef iV ceuvre completed the menu — this was a porten-
tous cornflour shape, garnished with tinned apricots,
stewed onions and tomatoes.
Even the youngsters are moving with the times. Their
old employments as goat herdsmen, stool and mat
carriers to their chief, have been crowded out of life in the
capital. They have thrown aside their old coverings of
sheep-skins or bark-cloth, and don shirts or waistcoats.
They are all keenly bent on "the larnin'," and covet beyond
everything the crested fez cap and other privileges of the
High School boy. The street urchin used to grin half
round his head if the European honoured him with a
grunt of acknowledgment, as he knelt in the dust to
salute him with the customary greeting, "Are you there,
master, are you quite there ? " But to-day he will point
to a wee model of the white-man's house, moulded out of
mud by the roadside, or a miniature bicycle formed of
14
The Country : Its Awakening
sticks and banana fibre, and demand "Bakshish, bakshish."
But all this is only veneer, the real and radical changes
that have revolutionised the country lie beyond the ken
of the passing traveller, and affect the inner life of the
people. Sooner or later the inflowing tide of civilisation
must engulf the past, and altogether change the configur-
ation of things. As yet there are wide districts of the
Uganda Protectorate that have not felt the force, and
remain unchanged. Conventionality is still an unknown
term to them. It is in this atmosphere, when the traveller
abandons himself to his surroundings, and draws in the
breezes of the uplands and the vast sweeping plains
where the prehistoric elephant still gambols about, that
the spirit of Africa possesses him, and he will not find it
easy hereafter to entirely throw off the spell of this
strange land.
It is with the North-West Kingdoms of the Uganda
Protectorate — Bunyoro and Toro — that this book deals,
and at present no railway or vehicle unite them to the
moving world of Uganda, that lies 200 and 130 miles
away. But already shovels and hoes are busy cutting
roads of gradual gradient, and a motor transport car has
ventured on the first 100 miles of the distance to Toro ;
and in Bunyoro the pickaxe and roller are laying a
macadamised highway to reach the new and luxurious
steamship on the waters of the Albert Lake, with cabins,
and a savoury bill of fare, waiting to convey passengers
to the Congo territory or the Nile. This sounds suspiciously
like the first shrill blow of the whistle that will bring the
rush of life into a country that is only just beginning to
wake up and rub its eyes after the long sleep of centuries.
It will be with a sigh of regret that one will exchange the
present Bedouin method of travel throughout Uganda for
the more rapid and comfortable civilised methods.
A delicious buoyancy and spirit of lawlessness grip
you as you travel through these districts. Marching
15
Twilight Tales of the Black: Baganda
orders are given, and the key is turned in the lock of the
little bungalow house, and for awhile the cares of the
housewife are exchanged for the gipsy life. Home,
furniture, larder, pots, pans and wardrobe are put into
sacks and boxes, hoisted on to the stolid fuzzy heads of
shouting, excited porters, who, heavily laden, but light
hearted, start off at a frisk trot. Lowing of cattle in the
rear reminds you that the butter and milk supply need
not run short, and as the butcher's shop runs along with
the cows, there will be no lack of soup at least, for the
goats and scraggy tan sheep have only cost 3s. or 4s.
each, but seem dear at that when you try one of their
joints. Once off the main roads engineered by the
European, you meet with the regulation native paths, that
never avoid a hill under any consideration, but toil over
all the tops, and dip down again into the unbridged
swamp or river, like the ridges in a sheet of corrugated
iron. It needs the eye of a connoisseur to detect the
difference between a river and a swamp in many parts,
for, with very few exceptions, the river beds are completely
choked with papyrus grass growing 12 to 15 feet high. If
the water is too deep to be waded, the native will either
never visit the world on the other side, or he will clear a
narrow passage and construct a clumsy raft of papyrus
stalks, bound together with grass — very insecure, ill-
balanced, and moist. Evidently from time immemorial
no more satisfactory method of crossing has occurred to
the native mind, for some of the punters have grown old
and crinkly in their vocation, and now two generations of
offspring follow them down to their daily occupation — to
the life lived on that narrow strip of water completely
shut out from the world by papyrus grass. As you watch
their countenances you wonder if one single idea has ever
passed through their minds, they look so blank and un-
impressionable, as automatically they throw the long pole
into the muddy river bed, and strike circles and angles,
16
The Country : Its Awakening
anything but a straight course, through the stream. On
the clear swift rivers, rough and leaky dug-out canoes
ferry passengers across.
These little obstructions make travelling very slow^.
Sometimes two miles an hour is considered good going,
and when the average 15 miles are covered you are glad
to throw yourself on the fresh-cut grass strewn under the
cover of the tent, and talk to no one. At evening, when
the sun sets and sudden darkness falls like a shroud over
the land, you gather round the camp fire, and watch the
half-bare figures roasting their plantains outside their tiny
grass booths, which they have erected for the night. The
fitful glare of the fires through the trees lends an air of
enchantment to the scene, and when at last the jargon of
voices dies out, and silence falls on the little encamp-
ment, you seem to stand alone in a wide, black, silent
world. Not one light relieves the dense darkness all
round, and not one familiar sound breaks the silence,
nothing but the croaking of the frogs or the distant roar
of some wild beast seeking its prey. To one just out from
the clang, rush and glamour of city life the sudden
contrast is appalling.
When the sun does not shine in Africa you may expect
no half measures, and then perhaps the fascination of the
tramp wanes. Sometimes you have fairly started on the
daj^'s march, and are congratulating yourself on having
got the porters well on ahead, when the sky is suddenly
shut out by ominous clouds, and with terrific peals of
thunder the rain comes dovm in torrents. It is useless to
take refuge, as the lightning is too untrustworthy to
approach trees, and the native huts are infested with
ticks, which in one tiny bite may bequeath to you three
months of spirellum fever, with an afterthought of
ophthalmia, facial paralysis, or lockjaw. The only thing
is to push on. In a very short time clothing, as well as
macintosh, become saturated through, and stick like a
17 c
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
plaster — at that stage walking becomes a real art.
Hungry and dead beat you reach camping ground, to
find it submerged : you climb to the next hill, and decide
that the clammy mud is preferable to the tank below.
Chairs, luncheon basket, and everything you most need
are far behind with the poor, spiritless porters, who come
in and drop exhausted. The cook boy, taking pity on
the rather sorrowful appearance of his master and
mistress, bravely gathers together a few sticks for boiling
up the kettle. It is hard work, for the firewood is drip-
ping, but kneeling down with his chin nearly in the mud,
he blows and blows, until you wonder at the capacity of
his lungs, and the callousness of the wood in merely
responding with clouds of smoke that choke the noble
little chef, and make the tears stream down his grimy
cheeks. But he succeeds in getting the water to boil,
and finding it thicker than usual on account of the rain
having washed into the stream all the surface soil,
he throws in an extra spoonful of tea to disguise the
colour. ^
Some travellers who have rapidly passed through the
country, and had the roads cleared, rivers bridged, and
camp-sheds erected for them all along the route, have
described the country as Paradise. I have never found
anyone quite thinking this who has lived there.
It is in fact a little distressful to those whose work it is
to apply law and order. A neat mud-house is erected, and
in spite of every precaution the white ants bore in under-
ground, eat through the grass mats or rugs in the sitting-
room, and build hills eight or ten inches high in one
night. They attack the poles in the walls until they
have eaten up the foundations of the house ; they climb
up inside the walls and bore little holes through the mud
plaster, so that when the season arrives for them to take
wings and fly, the rooms suddenly swarm with insects
having wings nearly one inch long, which very soon drop
18
The Country : Its Awakening
off and leave their astonished owners wriggling about
helplessly on the floors.
Houses thatched with grass stand the inevitable chance
of being burnt down without a moment's warning by
lightning. Therefore iron roofs have been introduced.
The first government official to possess one in Bunyoro
was the envy of the country round. When the hailstones
fell, and made a deafening noise on the iron, he tried to
feel comfortable as well as safe, when suddenly the whole
roof — iron, timber, and all — was completely lifted off, and
ignominiously thrown to the ground by the "slight
breeze " that had sprung up.
After eight years of experience of grass-thatched and
mud houses, one day we found ourselves the proud
owners of a self-built brick and iron-roofed domicile. We
imagined it impervious to all ills. Straight walls, brick
floors, airy wired-in windows, proper fitting doors : no
ants, no rats, no leaky roof. But, alas, a family of snakes
had escaped the vigilance of the builder, and ensconced
themselves in the ceilings, so within the first month nine
of them had descended, and were found in the bedrooms,
nursery, and on the verandah.
The white man must, of course, have a garden. The
conventional paths are cut, flower-beds laid out, and a
small plot marked off for vegetables. No sooner are the
seeds in the ground than they spring up, and from that
day a breathless combat ensues between the plants and
their master, the weeds cheerfully joining in the contest.
With pruning knife, spade and trowel he incessantly
snips, fells, digs and transplants anything and everything
to keep back and disciplme the rapid growth. Soon the
garden is a massed confusion of glorious but unruly
blossoms ; and as there is only one season all the year round,
and that midsummer, some of the English plants have to
adapt themselves to their altered circumstances. Few of
them can resist responding to Africa's rich soil, plentiful
19
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
rains and forceful sun, and so violets, roses and chrysan-
themums may be seen blooming profusely side by side.
The kitchen garden keeps one busy too, for the radishes,
mustard and cress are in their prime for one day, and the
next — the radishes resemble mangel-worsels, and the
cress is a flowering shrub. Cauliflowers grow so tall that
they have small chance of ever developing a heart, unless
transplanted three or four times, and few people have so
much surplus energy to expend on a vegetable.
The soil is in its pristine state, no scythe has ever
mowed down the scrub and grass, and no plough has
ever passed through its sod. Nature has known no rest
as in sub-tropical countries, where during winter's frost
the soil and vegetation can store up energy for the
summer months. Every day of the 365, from January to
December, the sun shines. This results in abnormal
vegetation, which, being so busy growing, has no time to
consider its personal appearance, consequently perfection
is rarely met with, and there is not much that one can
admire in the colouring of the flowers or the foliage of
the trees. Plants grow to extraordinary heights, and give
the impression that they have all hopelessly outgrown
their strength. Up the sides of Ruwenzori two species
of lobelia are seen reaching a height of 15 to 20 feet;
groundsel also measures the same, and moss grows to the
depth of eight and nine inches round the branches and
barks of heather trees that are 30 and 40 feet high.
The wild gladiola, so common in Bunyoro, often
reaches a height of live and six feet. When the bulbs
have been sent to England the plant becomes dwarfed,
but what it loses in height it gains in form and colouring.
The entire country is covered with coarse grass varying
from four to twelve feet high. In the dry season this is
set fire to, so with the equatorial sun above, and the
burning grass all round, Toro and Bunyoro can be at
certain seasons just as warm as one could wish.
20
The Country : Its Awakening
The time of the grass fires is certainly not the
pleasantest time of the year for the housewife. She has
just got her house decorated with freshly-starched
curtains, cretonnes and cushion covers, when the air
becomes charged with smuts and ashes that blow in
through every window and doorway, covering everything
with a surface of grime. If one risks paying an afternoon
call at that season, the guest arrives at the house of her
hostess a study in local colouring.
The natives are accustomed to the fires, and generally
have a good-sized plot of green potatoes planted all round
their huts at that time of the year, or they burn down a
circle of grass and clear a wide space, so as to isolate
their huts, in the event of the fires sweeping in their
direction.
My own recent experience of grass fires will not soon
be forgotten. It was Christmas time, when most people
should be tingling with the frosty breezes, but we in
Bunyoro were being fairly roasted. Often during Africa's
" winter " months I have been forcibly reminded of my
first experience of a Turkish bath, when the door closed
and I found myself shut up in a room where it was the
evident idea of everyone to try and dissolve, for all
occupying the chairs were in a more or less advanced
state of dissolution.
I had, in anticipation of the heat, suggested to King
Andereya Duhaga that it would greatly add to the fame
of his country, if he built a health resort for Europeans on
the highest hill that shut in his capital on one side. And
as he is always ready to act on a sensible suggestion,
orders were immediately issued, and by Christmas a most
delightful little " settlement " stood ready for occupation.
It consisted of two substantial sheds, under which tents
could be erected, a cookhouse, and a line of boys' huts
built round in a semi-circle.
Andereya had given strict orders that no grass fires
21
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
were to be started near the hills, so that they should
remain pleasant and green for our week's house-warming.
After three days my husband had to return to the
station work, but I and baby were to finish out the week,
as we had so benefited from the cooler temperature there.
The following afternoon our boys came to me with
consternation on their faces, saying that all the distant
hills at the back were ablaze, and the strong wind was
bearing the flames in our direction. I hurried out to
look, and saw a belt of angry fire hurrying toward us.
Our only hope la}' in the possibility that a forest, stretch-
ing some distance beneath us, might arrest the fire.
Darkness was setting in, and with the greatest trepidation
we watched the fight between the forest and its relentless
foe. But the strong wind was in league with the flames,
and leaping across the tree tops, they madly rushed
toward us.
It was useless to attempt to burn down the grass
around our little settlement, for the wind was blowing a
hurricane, and we were only one white woman, one native
woman and three young boys. We felt our only safety
was in flight, but the fire had crept round and cut off our
path, and the only way of escape was down a stony per-
pendicular incline of about i,oooft.
Just one silent heart prayer, and nearly stumbling
under the weight of my little girl, I scrambled down
that hill side in the darkness, for night had settled in, and
there was no light save the lurid glare from the blazing
fires gradually closing in around us.
Half-way down my strength gave in, and I could not
move, as we were wedged against a rock. Then we
raised the native alarm with hand and lips, and although
the people in the valley could not see us, they heard the
cry, and suddenly aware of our danger, over lOO men
hurried up to our rescue. While six were left to take us
to the foot of the hill, the others stumbled up and were
22
The Country : Its Awakening
just in time to save our belongings and the buildings
after a desperate fight with the flames.
At some remote period, however, the country must have
been hotter still, for in certain districts, especially in the
vicinity of Ruwenzori, broken lines of extinct volcanoes
extend. As many as six can be visited in one hour in one
district. Beneath the surface soil of Uganda generally,
there is said to he a deep incrustation of lava, which
renders all work of mineral prospecting an exceedingly
difficult task. Deep down in some of these craters lie
silent, unfathomable lakes. As you descend, the air strikes
chill and stagnant, and an eerie sensation passes through
you. It is not surprising that strange tales are associated
with these dark waters in the minds of the natives, who
say the spirits of the dead and devils live there, and these
have been known to carry away men, children and cattle,
who have been swallowed up entirely. This may refer to
a time when some of them were active and wrought deso-
lation in the land. Until quite recent times all the old
women who were suspected of witchcraft, were bound and
thrown head first into the yawning mouths of these
craters.
In the mountainous district of Toro, where the rainfall
is heavy and the land is well irrigated by mountain
streams, the perpetual scrub and elephant grass are inter-
cepted by strips of forest. These are impenetrable to the
traveller, excepting where the tangled rubber vines and
dense undergrowth have been partially cleared for an
opening. But they are the favourite haunts and play-
grounds of elephants that regard Toro and Bunyoro as
their own special reserves. These mighty animals herd
together in large companies, sometimes numbering hun-
dreds, and absolutely disregard any claim or boundary
that mere man may peg out for himself. When on the
march they trundle along in single file, the baby gambols
along by the side ot its mother. Each company appoints
23
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
a general that heads the march, and gives due warning to
its followers, by powerful trumpetings when it scents
danger. Elephant hunting is one of the most risky sports,
and full of imminent peril. We have met quite a num-
ber of hunters who have visited Bunyoro for this object,
but not one has indulged in it for the sake of pleasure. It
seems the right thing to do, to add at least one elephant
to one's bag as a trophy. Others living in the country
find the possibility of making even ^£"400 by one shot
accurately fired, too strong a temptation to resist. In
February, igii, the record elephant for this Protectorate
was shot within two miles of our Mission Station at
Hoima ; the tusks weighed 365lbs. The chief difficulty
is, that the herd has to be approached through the long
grass that often obscures them from the huntsman until
he finds himself among them. Probably only one male
among the herd possesses tusks above the minimum size
allowed by the game laws of the country, and it is nearly
always impossible to isolate that one from the others, so
the shot has to be fired into the ranks. This causes the
elephants to stampede, and throwing up their trunks in
the air to scent their enemy, they will furiously charge in
his direction. It is hard to beat a retreat amid such long
grass, and trees form no safe place in which to take refuge,
for twisting the trunk round the bark the elephant can
splinter it into matchwood.
Sometimes the ordinary traveller, having no malicious
intentions towards them, may find himself in closer
quarters than he may like. After a long day's march
over rough roads, no roads, through rivers or swamps,
he pitches his tent for the night, while his porters
follow his example, and curl themselves round inside
their hastily-erected grass hut. The usual salaams,
with the local chief, have been exchanged, the curious
crowd of gaping men, women and children move off, hav-
ing seen as much, or probably more than they could
24
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The Country : Its Awakening
possibly take in with one visit to the white man ; the
buzz of the mosquito warns the traveller to seek refuge
behind his net, when suddenly he espies a party of
unwieldly visitors close to his camp. The elephants are
evidently trying to make up their minds where they shall
pass the night. We were once in this predicament our-
selves, and were contemplating the possible alternative of
flight, when our friends decided in our favour and moved
off, and we were left to breathe freely once more. Certainly
neither the Bunyoro nor Batoro are huntsmen by nature,
their only weapons, the spear and bow, being hardly
effectual, except in face-to-face encounter, which few
natives have the courage to engage in, and they generally
employ traps in preference to a hunt. The animals that
did not provide them with meat were allowed to wander
about unmolested, as the people were not generously
enough disposed toward each to unite together in aveng-
ing their neighbour whose child or goat had been dragged
off in the night by a wild beast. These districts offer
plenty of scope and variety to the keen huntsmen ; buffa-
loes, rhinoceros', lions, leopards, antelopes of many
sorts and kinds, from the large hartebeestes to the small
graceful water buck, hyenas, jackals, servals, cheetahs,
monkeys large and monkeys small, hippopotami and
crocodiles ; while ostriches and giraffes are also found
in the north of Bunyoro.
Leopards are more feared by the natives than lions, as
the former will always make for their assailant immediately,
even although they are riddled with spears, but lions in
this district generally act on the defensive. Soon after our
arrival in Bunyoro, a baby lion and a baby leopard were
brought to our own liitle boy as playmates. The leopard
was only three days old ; it had been dropped by its
mother when fired at, just as she was falling on a goat,
and she made off, leaving her infant son to the mercy of
her enemy. It was wonderful to see how the small
25
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
animal immediately took to the feeding bottle. For some
time it behaved itself in a truly exemplary manner ; it
would waddle about the house with its clumsy legs and
long tail sweeping the ground, searching diligently for
that bottle when it suspected feeding time was due ; but
it was not able to endure the trials of captivity, and died
on its way to England where it was going to stay with its
friends at the Zoo. Leopards are the most determined
foes of the African household, lions generally confining
themselves to pigs, antelopes and buffaloes, but leopards
plunder preferably the household flocks and herds. Our
little fox terrier was cruelly attacked on three different
occasions by a leopard. We carefully bandaged up its
wounds and nursed it back to convalescence ; but one
evening as the boys were clearing the table in our little
dining room, and the poor dog was wistfully contemplating
its chance of sharing with the black boj^s the frugal remains
of the meal, the leopard sprang into the room suddenly,
and made off with Jack before the astonished boys had
time to raise the alarm. Lions, however, have ventured
into the capital in broad daylight, but they beat a hasty
retreat into long grass as soon as they saw the stir that
their appearance created; for men armed with spears
immediately responded to the loud beat of the war drum
which boomed out from the King's Hill. They swarmed
along the paths like locusts, the little African town of
scattered huts that a few moments previously had seemed
asleep in the mid-day heat, was suddenly alive with
excited, screaming figures, dancing and exercising their
arms with their spears poised in the air. The half-scared
animals were tracked to their lair by the King's expert
hunter, where they were surrounded by a circle of men
who gradually drew closer and closer as they slashed down
the long grass in which the animals were hiding. Feel-
ing themselves entrapped, with one great spring the lions
plunged forward, only to meet the rifles of the Europeans,
26
The Country : Its Awakening
who, however, were not allowed to take all the credit to
themselves, for as the lion and lioness rolled over with a
mighty roar, spears fell like rain from every direction.
Hyenas and jackals are constant visitors round the
house at night. One of the latter, a most undesirable
nocturnal visitor, took advantage of my bedroom window,
which had been left open to let in a stray breath of
air during the oppressive hot season. Fortunately the
animal contented itself with a candle that was on a
table beside my little boy's bed.
Hyenas are not so easily satisfied. On one occasion I
had been given an enormous elephant foot, which I was
fondly hoping to have converted into an umbrella stand ;
ashes had been kept in it for nearly three months to
clean and sweeten it ; but at the end of the time it was
as offensive as ever, and one night, in a fit of despair, I put
it out on the verandah to sleep. I never got my umbrella
stand, for a hyena came and ran off with the savoury
morsel, finishing every bit except one toe nail that was
left in the garden. I have ever since envied hyenas their
power of digestion, for that foot was as tough as iron,
and about as palatable.
\
27
CHAPTER III
The People
THE kingdoms of Bunyoro, Uganda, and Toro were
at one time ruled over by one king, whose centre of
Government was in Bunyoro. Elder sons of the
Mukidi ruler, Lukidi, were invested with the
suzerainty of Uganda and Toro, but these two countries
soon asserted their own independence. Rivalry and
ceaseless feuds ever existed between the Baganda and
Banyoro. The former, a more powerful race physically,
gradually gained the advantage, and pushed their land-
marks further and further into Bunyoro territory. Their
country was a more or less enclosed land. The Victoria
Lake shut them in on one side ; the strong, separate state
of Busoga on the east, and the warlike Banyoro on the
north and west ; being thus closed in all round, the
people developed a concentrated force, which their foes
were to feel the strength of hereafter ; but Bunyoro, on
the other hand, had a free outlet, except on the south.
All the districts surrounding its boundaries were inhabited
by a number of small and weak tribes, that afforded a
magnificent sports' ground for the Banyoro marauders.
They lived in open hostility to each other, and therefore
fell a ready prey to their powerful neighbour.
They were plundered, subdued, and finally incorporated
in the kmgdom of Bunyoro, which was thus composed of
a heterogeneous people, many of whom were wild savages
and cannibals, each tribe speaking a different language.
The Banyoro themselves were absolutely lacking in
28
The People
national cohesion, so were quite unable to cement
together the outside fractious elements, and whilst they
were absorbed in party and family quarrels, the tribes
around gradually broke away from under their rule, until
the once-powerful kingdom was reduced to its present
restricted area — the district abutting on to the western
shores of the Albert Lake.
In spite however of the diversity of peoples that com-
prised this kingdom, each retained its own separate indi-
viduality, as intermarriage between tribes is repugnant to
the African. Hence the union of these different peoples
did not result in the deterioration of the Banyoro, but only
increased the racial pride and inherent thirst for power
that are such leading characteristics among them. They
are divided up into clans, and the clans into families. In i^£-i~
the case of marriage a man most frequently seeks for his
wives amongst those of his own clan or another of equal
status ; relationship is no barrier, and it is not impossible,
especially among the royal family, for a sister, stepmother
and aunt to be included among a man's wives.
It would have been impossible to find a greater diversity
of dialects and tribes in a corresponding area, as the king-
dom of Bunyoro presented in those days. A journey
through these districts affords a most interesting study in
human nature, and provides as many quick changes as a
cinematograph. For instance, the Bakidi ladies adopt
the fashion of wearing tails suspended from their waist as
their sole garment, while a unique custom pertains to all
bachelors. No unmarried man is allowed to sleep in the
family hut, but at night he must retire to his lonely
diggings, built up on high stakes from the ground ; the
inside space just allows for one man to lie curled round
like a centipede, while a diving attitude has to be assumed
in order to clear the funnel-shaped aperture.
Their near neighbours, the Baganyi, go in for more
elaborate personal decoration. On fete days they present
29
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
a truly regal appearance, with their limbs fantastically
tattooed in white chalk, and their millinery of curled and
uncurled ostrich feathers would do credit to any produc-
tion of the Louvre at the present time.
Round the lake shore some quaint fashions prevail.
As the canoe draws up on the western beach, a crowd of
men and women of the Babira tribe will be there en
masse to inspect the new arrival. All their personal
embellishment lies in the upper lip, in which slabs of
wood are inserted, some measuring twelve inches in cir-
cumference. To look at them one might imagine that it
would be impossible to do anything for a people so lacking
in ordinary intelligence, and yet our native teachers
working in the neighbourhood say, that they are evincing
a keen desire for instruction.
Perhaps the most interesting folk are those working at
the salt mines at Kibero, on the east shore of the lake.
Here an extensive industry has been carried on from time
immemorial, and still there seems no sign of the salt
supply giving out. It is worked entirely by women, who
are able to earn a comfortable livelihood, and thus supply
their husbands and family with all the necessities of life.
^ 'J Each woman has her own little allotted space, which
is divided from that of her neighbour by low clay
ridgings. A hot stream of water flows along the soil,
which is impregnated with salt ; this keeps the ground
constantly moist. The worker sprinkles dry earth over
the flattened surface of her plot, and leaves it to be acted
upon by the sun, which draws the salt up through the
earth, where it lies like hoar-frost. This is collected and
placed in earthern sieves, which are fixed over large pots.
Water is then poured over it, and the salt gets carried
down with it to the jar beneath ; this water is then
placed over a fire and boiled until only the salt remains.
These women are probably the only wives who are not
ill-treated by their husbands, for it would go ill with them
30
The People
if the men did not assume a chronic craven attitude
toward them, for they are entirely dependent on their
wives for home, food and clothing. The women are of
powerful build and most quarrelsome nature, and so
avaricious that they work from early morning to night,
while they keep a constant look-out on their neighbour's
plot of salt and appropriate it whenever there is the
chance)'
A similar form of native government existed in Uganda
and Bunyoro, and does so to the present day, for the
British Government decided that as a basis, it was well
suited to the condition of the country, and only needed
modifications in some respects, and a strong hand to con-
trol its operations.
Each kingdom is divided into six or eight shires,
which are placed under county or " Saza " chiefs, who
appoint semi-chiefs to districts in their shires, and these
again choose out demi-semi chiefs for villages in their
district. This system of chieftainships has reached an
absurdity in Bunyoro, where every youth aspires to the
title. A master does not pay his servants wages, he feeds
and clothes them, and then after some years of services
the man will be rewarded with a small chieftainship. It
may be a district containing two or three minute villages,
but however limited the sphere, the man considers him-
self unlimited in power, raised to a position of such
immense importance that he is placed beyond the servi-
tude of work. He immediately sets up a miniature court,
and surrounds himself with as many retainers as he can
gather round him. One is appointed his deputy, another
magistrate (Katikiro), another tax-collector, while each
tiny village, or separate batch of huts, has a subordinate
chief placed over it, who, being exalted to the dizzy posi-
tion of officialism, feels it infra dig. to do the work him-
self, and so nominates his own deputy, magistrate,
collector, and sub-sub-chiefs to do it for him. Thus
31
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
chieftainships go on multiplying in ever increasing magni-
tude, until it often happens that a man who visits you in
a coat and boots is lord of three or four decrepit little
huts, the inmates of which supply him with these external
evidences of his greatness, by the fines and taxes which
he has legally, or illegally, extorted from them. So
generally is this the practice in Bunyoro that it is almost
impossible to train boys in any useful industry or craft.
After some months' apprenticeship in carpentering, a youth
will go to his master and present him with a shelf, crooked
door, or shakey table, and thus so impresses him with
his superior intelligence that he is immediately raised to
the dignity of a chief. A boy that can put trees to such
wonderful uses, what may he not do with the softer
material of mankind !
A conclave is held once a week by the king, when the
Saza chiefs are expected to attend, and bring into this
national assembly any matter from his shire, that is
beyond his jurisdiction. The king's throne is on a raised
dais, spread with leopard and lion skins. He, and his
county chiefs, dress in long black cloth Arab gowns,
heavily embroidered with gold thread and tassels. The
chiefs are seated in single lines below the dais, and
behind them the minor chiefs and others squeeze together
on the ground. The royal band, consisting of drums,
horns, and reed flutes, bang, grunt and squeak outside
while the people are assembling, and in the intervals in
these native parliaments there are, sometimes, very
breezy altercations, specially, in Bunyoro, where the
chiefs are jealous and suspicious, and heartily dislike
each other. The " Opposition Bench " is always in
evidence ; sometimes each chair is in opposition to its
neighbour, and the distracted king in vain calls, " Order,
order " from the throne, as his ministers engage in fist to
fist scuffles, and, on one occasion, ended by throwing each
other out of the windows, and their chairs after them.
32
The People
Taxation has not yet reached very complicated dimen-
sions, but still it has its difficulties even in these parts.
The native custom had been that each man should work
for his master when called upon, and supply him with a
certain proportion of food grown upon his shamba. This
was equivalent to land-tax ; but as things developed in
the country, the masters' requirements considerably
increased ; mud, or brick houses, decent roads, and culti-
vation of cotton and rubber made constant and heavy
demands on their dependents' time ; so that at last it
was found necessary to introduce a change, to protect
the rights of the peasants. Now, instead of labour, each
man brings to his chief two rupees a year, and thus dis-
charges all obligations towards him.
Ten years ago the British Government levied a hut-tax
of three rupees on the people, and although it was such a
mild demand (four shillings) the natives exercised all
kinds of cunning to avoid payment. When the tax-
gatherer was expected, the owner of the hut would go off
and pay his long-lost brother a protracted visit, leaving
his wife to face the wrath of the baffled " Publican," or
to be taken as hostage. Others packed up wife and
family, leaving kith and country, and fled to the wilds,
sooner than put in a few days' work each year to enable
them to meet the tax. But a worse evil that resulted
was the overcrowding in the homes of the people. In
one small beehive hut, having no partitions, there would
be originally a man with his wife and children, one or
two goats and several fowls. On the introduction of the
tax, the father-in-law and mother-in-law came and took
up their quarters there, and so halved the payment. To
these would be added a newly-married brother and his
bride, who now had an excuse for not troubling to build a
separate hut : thus the tax was reduced by mutual
arrangement to one rupee each man. Of course there were
a few stray boys to do odd jobs, and all these people were
33 D
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
packed in the hut at night, to say nothing of the rat and
insect Hfe that was legion.
Now the government has vetoed this state of things,
and instead of a hut-tax, has introduced a head-tax for
every male over sixteen years of age, so each able-bodied
youth is now bound to work at least one month out of the
twelve. Three and-a-half rupees a month is the regula-
tion wage for the ordinary labourer that has specialised
in nothing, and nearly the whole country may be classed
under this heading.
This very moderate taxation induces industry and pro-
vides native labour, which, in a country like Bunyoro,
would be almost impossible to procure under any other
circumstances. Work is repugnant to the Banyoro, and
nothing proves an irresistible attraction to him save
indolence and ease.
One day I wanted my garden weeded, and meeting an
oldish man in deplorable need of garments, I offered him
the contract. He, however, stoutly refused, telling me that,
as he wanted nothing, he intended doing nothing. I tried
to allure him by visions of the dignity that a garment
would add to his person, but he grinned widely at the
very suggestion. He had never worn anything but a goat
skin all his life, and he was not going to adopt any follies
now. At the same time the Bishop of New Guinea
strikes a sympathetic chord in me, when he writes of his
people : — " A native snug and warm under the equator,
with nature bountifully yielding her fruit to his hand,
cannot be expected to work -like one who is shivering in
the bleak regions of the poles. The chief fault in the
native, from a white man's point of view, is really his
greatest excellence. He is so simple in his habits and
mode of life, that he does not care to toil and moil for
those things which other people value. He is content,
and cannot see why, at a stranger's bidding, he should face
hardship, loss of liberty and work often too severe for
34
The People
his constitution." It is rather pathetic to see a crowd of
men drawn up in front of your house asking for tax work.
They have mostly denied themselves food for at least a
day or even more, so as to present as pitiable an appear-
ance as possible. And it is extraordinary the difference
one day's fasting makes to their outline, for their bodies
resemble concertina bellows, they are either extended to
bursting pitch or in a state of total collapse. The native
custom generally is to have one solid meal a day, and
that after sunset, so that he has the whole night to sleep
off the effects.
Their capacity for food is incredible. When cooking a
native feast, it is well to reckon 5 to y\hs. of meat per head,
besides plantains, potatoes and vegetables in similar pro-
portion.
Apart from the general outline to arouse one's sym-
pathy, scarcely one man among the party seeking work
is not maimed or disfigured. Disease and neglect have
weakened the constitution, and deep scars are seen on
every face or chest, where the medicine-man's drastic
kill-or-cure methods of bleeding and branding for even
the smallest pain, have left their mark on every man,
woman, and heathen child in the country. Some of the
men are also lame, victims of the jigger — an infinitesimal
insect that bores into the toes, and unless extracted
immediately sets up violent irritation, which is followed
by inflammation and mortification. It is not an infre-
quent sight to see a man or boy lacking a toe, or left with
only a foot stump, as they have been too indolent, or
careless, to search for a thorn and extract the jigger
before it has worked such havoc.
It seems hopeless to get work out of such people, and
it is a problem to find out what they can do. They
assure you they have not strength to carry loads, they do
not know how to dig, for that is women's work ; nor to
smelt iron, that is blacksmith's work ; nor to mould water
35
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
and cooking pots, that is the potter's work. These crafts
cannot be learned— a man must be born of the potter or
blacksmith's clan — and as there is always a scarcity of
these household essentials in the country, one can only
conclude that these particular clans must be among the
most unprolific.
Under the old regime there was no need for the men
to work. A man's wives provided him with food, and
whenever he wanted to replenish his harem or his herds,
he had only to join one of the king's raiding parties and
plunder from a neighbour as many women, goats or
cattle as he could carry away^
At the sound of the war-drum the man underwent a
complete change, all the lawlessness and savage instincts
of his nature were roused— throwing off every vestige of
idleness and sloth, he would seize his spear, and as he
felt the weapon quivering in his grip, gave himself up
to the fiercest passions. Inflammable as is the nature of
the African, the drum thrills him, and no man can resist
its war call. Clad in the skins of wild animals, of whose
nature they seemed temporarily to partake, the men
followed their captain, working themselves into a state
of semi-madness by the war dance and song. Arriving
at the enemy's village, they relentlessly burnt down the
houses, killed the men, and laden with spoil of cattle,
women and children, left the place in ashes, and returned
to crown their victories by human sacrifices and drunken-
ness. The drum, or tom-tom, like all other instruments
of sound, appeals to the lowest instinct in the negro. It
is indeed a country absolutely void of music. The only
instrument that gives forth a note or something that is
not a roar or squeak, is the harp. The crudest is made
out of a piece of cow horn, with a finger board of rough
twig and one string of fibre; the other kind is formed out
of a slit gourd, tied on to a thin shaped board and possess-
ing two strands of cow gut.
36
jj J J J •>
, J J J J J
3 , > , ^ , ., > > ' '
Clt
Q
Z
<
b
2
The People
The musician being limited to one or two notes repre-
sented by the strings, has not .much scope for displaying
his talent, but he tries to ring the changes on these. As
the sounds twang out in ceaseless monotony, the man
accompanies them with sepulchral sentences, or stanzas,
which he composes on the spot to suit the occasion.
Gradually his body sways to the rythm of the music, and
after a time the noise leads the people on to a point of
inanity. This, accompanied with dancing and a bountiful
supply of native spirit, brewed out of grain and banana
juice, was the ordinary occupation of the men each night,
and having no lamps or lights, they were shut up in their
huts, or in their courtyards, carrying on their revelries
by the flicker of the fires.
Each new moon was the excuse for extra indulgence.
In the afternoon all the drums in the place were beaten
and everybody shouted, as no one dared keep silent for fear
of offending the moon. The king posted men at the
cross-roads and seized everyone who passed along. These
unfortunate folk were brought in to him and offered up as
a propitiatory sacrifice for the whole country to the evil
spirits. The hair of the victims was put into cow horns
and their blood was poured on to it, the horns being then
kept by different people as charms against sickness and
trouble.
After this the king appeared swathed in barkcloths,
taking up his position in his council hall, his subjects
coming to do obeisance to him. A dead silence prevailed,
for no one was allowed to even cough in his presence.
First came the herdsmen in procession, as they always
held first rank; then the king's children, followed by the
princes, princesses, chiefs, and lastly, the ordinary people;
these all came in single file, and after prostrating them-
selves before the king, stood on one side till the hall was
full. Then all the people broke silence by shouting
together " Live the King." As the full moon rose the
37
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
feasting began, and the drinking and dancing continued
till dawn. The king's chief wife had to sit by her intoxi-
cated spouse and pinch his arm or bite his finger, to pre-
vent sleep, for a man to slumber during full moon brought
disaster to the household.
The moon is regarded with great reverence by the
Banyoro, who believe that it takes away sickness and
hunger, and brings milk, food and health. A legend
common among them describes how, in the time of the
gods, there lived a man named Ibamba, who had two sons
— Sun and Moon. As they grew up their father gave
them each an inheritance. One day Ibamba became ill,
and realising that he was about to die, sent to his
sonS; that they might come and bury him. When the
messenger came to the Moon, he immediately rose up,
although it w'as night, and came to his father ; but the
Sun, on receiving the message, replied, " I will wait until
the morning, dare I travel in the dark ? " When Ibamba
saw that his child, the Sun, delayed coming, he was
wrath, and cried out, "Till the end of time he shall not
cease to wander about, all day and every day he shall
travel, he will bring great trouble on his country, the
grass will wither, the water shall dry up, and he shall
cause a fire to burn within man and beast, and many
shall die because of it.* Ibamba then appointed his son,
the Moon, as his heir, and bequeathed everything to him,
saying, " To you, my child, I leave all, for you are a man
of pity and grace. Your goings shall be by night, and
whenever you appear, kings shall greatly fear and offer
you gifts. They shall adorn themselves in their best
apparel when they come to stand before you, and every-
thing that shall be born shall date from you ; you shall
govern the time for the sowing of every seed."
After these words, Ibamba died, and they buried him.
*The natives believe that malarial fever, so prevalent in the country
is the fulfilment of this curse.
38
The People
In the morning the Sun arrived, and finding that his
father was dead, and that the Moon had been appointed
his successor, he was exceedingly angry, and cried, " Am
I not the elder son, my brother has supplanted me."
Whereupon he seized a stick, and beat the Moon, and
they fought together, cutting each other about on the
head. The Moon's bruises can be seen to this day, but
the Sun never recovered from his wounds ; when a man
looks at the Sun he cannot see the cuts, for tears of pity
blind his eyes, but if he turns his eyes away, and shuts
them, the dark red bark-cloth bandages that bind up the
wounds can be seen to this day. The Moon thenceforth
ruled all the stars, which are his subjects, his wives being
the stars that travel closest to him.
Like all uncivilised races, the history of this people
dates back to comparatively recent times. It covers a
dynasty of kings for about twenty generations — then
an era of rule under the Bacwezi or semi-mythical
governors, which was preceded by an indefinitely pro-
longed period under the reign of the gods.
These Bacwezi were evidently a migratory tribe that
swept down from the north, and completely subjugated
the original inhabitants of the country, at the same time
adopting the native dialect.
An example of this is seen in Ankole at the present
time, where there are two distinct races forming one
people, and speaking one language. The peasants are
the Bairu tribe, the original people of the soil, while the
ruling class is the Bahuma or herdsmen tribe, of Nilotic
origin, who probably settled in the ranch-like country
years ago, as it afforded such excellent pasture land for
their cattle.
These Bacwezi evidently taught the Banyoro to work
the iron that is abundant in certain districts, and it may
be that they instructed them in the rudiments of their
religion.
?9
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
When the Bacwezi again migrated and pushed further
south, the country must have been left very desolate and
depopulated, until the Bakidi chiefs came in from the
east, and once again built up the kingdom.
During that interregnum much of the early history
must have faded from the memory of the people, for on
their departure, the Banyoro attributed to these Bacwezi
supernatural power, and gradually the ages before their
advent receded further in the background, and they
ceased to think of that time when they were not under
their authority. Very soon the Bacwezi were as dreaded,
and therefore worshipped as the evil spirits. The people
had a fearful reverence for these rulers, who still held an
extraordinary power over the natives' imagination.
They affirm that they were the direct descendants of a
line of gods who were engulfed in hell. The legends
describe how the Bacwezi were wearied by the constant
strife between men, and left the country never again to
be seen by mankind; but their connection with humanity
did not cease ; in order to be revenged, they visited the
people with disease and misfortune, therefore was it
necessary to propitiate them with sacrifices and offerings.
40
CHAPTER IV
Domestic Life
THE word "home" can never be applied to the
dwelHngs of the Banyoro and Batoro. The httle
beehive hut affords to them a shelter and a sleeping
place, apart from any association of family life.
^ The women are the slaves of the household. At sun-
rise they shoulder their hoes and go out into the fields,
which are heavily laden with moisture, to wrestle with
the giant weeds whose stubborn roots are implanted
some feet in the soil. Often the cultivation is most per-
functory and superficial, for the strength of the women is
not sufficient for the terribly severe labour that the land
demands. When the plot is digged, it is sown with three
or even four different crops all mixed up together —
potatoes, linseed, beans and Indian corn. Within six
weeks the beans are ready for picking, and form the daily
meal until the Indian corn is ripe ; the potatoes are the
last crop to mature, and are gathered in daily as the need
arises. Favourite dishes among the Banyoro are white
ants, grasshoppers, and tiny mushrooms, the spore of
which is laid by the ants. A discreet housewife will
generally have a small reserve of these delectable tit-bits
tied up in banana fibre hanging to a peg in the hut.
These are produced as a salve to her lord and master
when his wrath is aggravated and she is threatened with
a beating. It is an unfailing remedy, for the severest
temper must melt before such irresistible dishes.
Besides providing the household with food, the women
41
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
have to fetch the water and firewood, cultivate the roads,
and cook the food. A cooking pot costs 250 cowrie shells
(4d,), and this, with a water pot of the same value, are
the only utensils of an ordinary household. The husband
grumbles interminably at having to provide these
essentials, and very often will have the potatoes and
Indian corn poked among the ashes and roasted, rather
than supply his wife with a pot.
When the woman wishes to serve up a surprise feast,
consisting of three or four items, she prepares banana
leaves by passing them through the fire, and so rendering
them plastic and waterproof; in these she ties up the
vegetables separately, and steams them together in the
one family cooking pot.
The men have by far the easier time of it, and only
within the last few years have they done any work at all.
Their creed was that women were made for work, and
men — well, they had to rule their wives, eat the food
served up to them, smoke, and think of nothing.
Once in every few years there was the hut to build,
and the only share the women could take in this, was to
level the site and bring the grass for its thatching. It
meant at least two solid weeks' work for the husband !
And when it was completed, he would mop his streaming
brow, declare he had pains in every part of his body, and
tie a strand of grass tightly round his head to prevent it
dropping to pieces entirely, and he must never be
expected to give another moment's consideration or time
to the home. The storms rnay whisk off patches of
thatch, and the rain pour in, the grass may rot, the white
ants eat the poles until the hut lops over on one side, but
if there is a dry spot left for himself to lie upon, the man
is content, and not until it is actually falling down upon
him and his family, will the master of the household stir
himself in the matter.
He had three sources of revenue — goats, wives, and
42
Domestic Life
children ; neither of them he regarded with deep feelings
of affection, unless we except the goats, which on rare
occasions would die, and then provide him with a feast
of meat. But all three were necessary for his comfort.
The hides supplied him with clothing, the wives with
food, and the children provided both goats and women.
A man had as many wives as he could barter for. The
ex-king Kabarega had over 400, some of whom he
inherited from his father and brothers. It is estimated
that he possessed over 1,000 children, many of whom
were killed in the wars, the others were scattered about
the country; in fact, in Bunyoro, princes and princesses
are almost as plentiful as mosquitoes. Several of them
have no inheritance, and have married peasants.
Children are a great asset to their parents, and men
are very anxious to have large families, for they represent
his greatness in this life, and assure to him an abundant
following in the spirit world, where the thought of
remaining alone is torture to them.
Monogamy, which often implies no offspring, will
therefore for many years be a severe problem in Christian
households.
The birth of a girl is hailed with almost as much joy as
that of a boy. It often happens that before birth she has
been sold by the father as a wife to some old crony, on
the chance that the child will be a girl. She is reared in
her parent's home until her husband claims her to take
over the duties of one of his other wives now beyond
work. Girls of heathen families are not allowed a voice
in the choice of a husband. The father transacts the
bargain ; he does not inquire after the character of the
man, nor does he attempt to find out if he has a hut to
offer her, nor how his daughter is likely to be treated.
She is given to the wooer who will offer the highest price.
The fees levied are quite disproportionate to a man's
means ; as almost without exception, the would-be bride-
43
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
groom has to part with all his goats, which represent hi^
sole property, and he borrows from every available friend
at an exorbitant rate of interest, in order to meet the
marriage fees ; and as the couple begin life burdened
with debt, they are often obliged to squeeze into a corner
of a hut offered by a friend, as no one but a peasant will
build for himself, and the man has nothing left with
which to employ labour.
An effort was made by the Government to fix a bride's
price at Rs. 15 (;^i), but the regulation was met with
general disapprobation. A man refused to part with his
daughter for so small a sum, declaring she was worth
more to him as labour. The bridegroom felt he was
wooing a worthless wife, while the more he is fleeced, the
better is the girl pleased, as valued at Rs. 15 she felt
herself insulted and bemeaned.
The following is a young chief's marriage bill which
was shown to me : —
To one wife ...
• • •
One cow.
Necklace for the aforesaid cow
• • •
200 cowrie shells.
Offering placed on the spot \vl
lere
he first saw the bride ...
■ ••
1,500 shells.
Gift to bride
• • •
One sleeping mat = 250 shells
,,
• • •
One barkcloth = 800 shells.
»
• • •
Beads = 750 shells.
>> ••• •••
• ..
Wire bracelets = 300 shells.
Gift to grandmother of bride
• • a
1,000 shells.
„ aunt „
• • ■
One goat.
„ father „
• • ■
One shaving knife and salt.
„ mother „
• • •
400 shells.
„ best man „
• • •
400 shells.
„ „ of bridegroom
• • •
1,500 shells.
„ cook of wedding feast
• . •
One goat.
Wedding feast
■ • •
One ox.
To man who shaved bride's head...
200 shells.
To the chief of the district
.••
One ox.
Offering at the doorway of
the
bridal home
44
100 shells.
Domestic Life
The market value of the above items at that time
were : —
Cow ... ... ... ... ... ... Rs. 60.
vyX ... ... ... ... ... •". Xxb. — 3*
Goat ... ... ... ... ... ... K-S. 2*.
Cowrie shells 1,000 = Re. i.
Thus the bill came out at nearly £g.
After a marriage contract has been made between a
girl's father and the most eligible wooer, a period of six
months or one year elapse, during which time the man
seeks the wedding fees, and the bride-elect undergoes a
process of fattening in her father's home. When the
man comes to claim his wife, the father meets him with
the set response, "Let me look for a dowry for my child."
A bride's trousseau formally consisted of the following : —
Two barkcloths as wedding dress.
Two calves' skins as reception gown.
One knife for shaving of head.
One gourd as drinking cup.
Two strings of loin beads.
Two zebra tail necklaces.
Two wire bracelets.
After a few weeks a messenger is despatched by the
poor impatient bridegroom, but he is sent back with
orders for his master to come in person when four days
have elapsed.
Then all the relations and friends are called to prepare
the bride for her nuptials. An uncle shaves her head,
until it as bald as an egg, another cuts and manicures
her finger-nails, while the grandmother acts as chiro-
podist. The night before the wedding the bride is made
to sleep in the dust, and black ashes are rubbed over her
body. At cock-crow the aunts take her down to a swamp,
and scrape her down with sand from head to foot ; she is
then led to a clear, flowing stream and washed. They
45
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
hastily return to the house, bearing a jar of water, into
which have been thrown wild, fragrant flowers.
Meanwhile, the courtyard of the hut has been spread
with fresh-cut grass, and here the final act of purification
takes place. The girl lies on the grass, and with a bunch
of vetch the scented water is sprinkled over her.
She then retires to rest on her mother's bed. The
dust of her footprints is most carefully collected and
buried out of sight, so as to prevent any malicious person
carrying it away for the purpose of bewitching her.
At the time appointed, the guests arrive, and all the
women set up loud and dismal wailings — can there
possibly be any joy when a girl is leaving her own people
to become the working wife of a man who may abuse,
beat and ill-use her without let or hindrance ? Thus they
reason. But the wailing soon gives place to revelry, for
there is very little sincere sympathy ever shown for
another's misfortune. An infirmity, a deformity and
suffering generally provoke laughter and amusement. So
on the wedding day, when the last guest has arrived,
milk and coffee beans are given round, then pipes and
beer to every one, and they all break out into song, while
the bride sits alone weeping.
A speech is then made by the bridegroom ; as a pre-
liminary, he tells his guests that his heart is full of joy,
because he has drunk freely and smoked his pipe ; but
then he alters his tone, and says that his spirit quakes,
his body trembles, and words fail him, because of the
great fear he has of his father-in-law. Whereupon the
old man rises and replies, " Cheer up my son, have you
not a wife to comfort you ; dismiss your fears and be
merry."
Then a stir is made and the wedding party prepare for
departure to the home of the bridegroom. The bride
heads the procession, closely veiled, and hemmed in by
women attendants. They move along at less than a
46
Domestic Life
snail's pace, for a bride must show reluctance and grief on
her wedding day, even though she may not feel it. After
three hours, during which time they have travelled about
100 yards, the bride evinces signs of exhaustion, so a
hammock is brought, and at sunset the party arrives at
the home, where the man's parents sit crouching to receive
the guests. The man and wife both approach them
reverently and sit on their knees as salutation. The
father-in-law straightaway administers sound advice to
the bride. " A wife shall not leave her house to be over-
run by fowls, a woman's place is in the kitchen, or in the
field digging and gathering firewood, or at the well fetch-
ing water for her household, not visiting in the huts of
her neighbours. If she does evil she will see evil, but if
she does well, good will come to her." The husband
then thanks his father for counselling his wife, and adds
this rider of his own — " What is evil ? If my wife sees
me and my friends hungry and does not cook for us, that
is sin. And what is virtue ? If she will work for me,
that is well, and I shall be satisfied."
. The bride's trousseau is then brought and displayed
before the wondering guests, after which everyone hastily
retires to rest, so as to be asleep before the hyenas shriek,
otherwise disaster will befall the married couple.
All is left in darkness save for the flickering light of a
fire in the courtyard which is tended by an old man. After
about the space of one hour, it is his duty to crow loudly
like a cock to awake the household, and pretend to them
that day has dawned.
Immediately the guests arise, and the bridegroom joins
them at the feasting, drinking, dancing and revelry that
go on all night. In the morning the visitors depart and
send to the bride gifts of tobacco, pipes, spices, grass
woven belts, knives, needles, and gut for sewing her
hides.
Should the bride be a chief's wife she will not be
47
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
expected to do much cultivating, but she is initiated by
the old women into her duties, which are : —
1. To fear and respect her father and mother-in-law.
2. To remain faithful to her husband.
3. To be industrious.
4. To show hospitahty to strangers.
The daily tasks begin with sweeping out the courtyard,
then she has to cut fresh grass for strewing the hut. She
must relieve visitors of all appurtenances on their arrival,
and have milk and pipes always ready to offer them.
Every evening she collects the milk-pots, cleans them
by boiling them over the fire smoke, and when her hus-
band has finished his evening meal she makes most
elaborate preparations for serving him with milk. The
milk-bowl is placed in a mop of evenly cut and spotlessly
white fibre which fits into a highly polished wooden
stand ; as she hands the bowl to her lord she waves a fly-
flick before him with one hand, while with the other she
screens her eyes from him.
Under no circumstances whatever was a wife allowed
to eat with her husband — the men have their food brought
to them in the house, while the women partake of their
meal in the very dirty porous shed, or dilapidated hut,
that serves as a kitchen.)
Girls are obliged to marry very young, and soon lose all
their youth and vivacity. To show any joy or content-
ment after marriage is to be sadly lacking in modesty
and refinement. Christian women are very slowly learn-
ing to fit themselves for the new position that Christianity
and civilisation demand for them ; but few take any pride
in cleanliness, and even in some of the better class mud
and brick houses that the chiefs are now building, there
is a most stifling atmosphere, for the rooms are tightly
closed all day and night, and the tidying of them is left
entirely to the ragamuffin house boys, who receive occa*
48
Domestic Life
sional oversight from their masters. The wife will emerge
from some dark corner to receive her husband or guests,
swathed in a very much soiled house garment ; she invari-
ably answers the greeting with a description of some
ache or pain that she now has, or suffered from in the
past.,
But the same axiom applies to Bunyoro as elsewhere,
" Women are what men make them." A man by his
neglect, or rough treatment, soon extinguishes any spark
of respect and desire that his wife may once have
possessed for him, and the Banyoro women are very
liable to be easily conquered by their circumstances and
make no attempt to rise above them. Rarely will a man
consider his wife at all, and still less frequently will he
exercise any self-sacrifice for her. Many women must
most carefully preserve their one only decent cloth for
visiting, while their husbands have a reserved stock of
linen garments, coats and polished boots for every
occasion.
When a boy reaches the age of 7 or 8 he prefers to
leave his home and attach himself to some chief who
allots to him various little duties. The parents never for-
bid this, but on the other hand encourage it, for by that
time their hopeful young offspring is absolutely out of
hand and refuses to obey his parents. From infancy he
has been allowed his own way in every respect, for he has
never been reproved or checked. No parent will chastise
his child, and when his insubordination has become a
habit, the inevitable retort of the father or mother is,
" Will a child ever obey its parent ? " One of the very
saddest features of native life is the condition of the
children. Indeed, it is a land without child-life, if by
that we understand innocency, frolic, merriment and
laughter. Nothing is concealed from a child; as soon as
the understanding is awakened it listens to the sordid
and degraded conversation that is spoken in their homes
49 B
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
and public places. The sacred mysteries of life are ruth-
lessly flaunted before mere infants, so that they are men
and women in knowledge, and often, alas, in vice, before
they have left behind their childhood. It is revolting to
listen sometimes to the conversation of mere babies.
In the Mission Schools the children are being literally
taught to play, so that their energies may have a healthy
outlet.
. / The mortality among children is reputed by the natives
^^ themselves to be 80 to go per cent. This is due largely
to the gross immorality that has existed in the past.
During the prolonged wars of Kabarega, the ex-king, m-.n
were killed by hundreds, and during the famine that
followed, girls and women were left to roam about the
country selling their honour for a mere handful of grain.
A people cannot recover from such a condition in one
generation. It is no exaggeration to say that not one
child is born without the seeds of disease, which sooner
or later manifests itself, and only now are the parents
beginning to attribute it to other causes than witchcraft
or devil-possession. For every ache the very septic knife
or branding iron was freely applied to the already frail
body of the infant, and only a few could survive these
drastic measures. Children are instilled with a dread of
water from infancy. When the sun sets and the chilliness
of night strikes the air, piercing cries may be heard
outside the hut that owns a baby, for the mother is
performing its evening ablutions by throwing over it cold
water, and then leaving the -child to drip and dry on a
banana leaf. When it is deemed old enough to perform
its own toilet, it is not surprising that the child tries to
banish from its mind the very thought of water, and
when the rain threatens it with a bath, he will ingeniously
convert a big banana leaf into an umbrella to protect his
little naked body. A mother continues nursing her child
until it is two or even four years of age, and it is not
50
Domestic Life
unusual for another woman to oblige her friend by impart- LrS-i
ing the mid-day meal should the mother be otherwise
occupied.
The morning after a child is born, the parent's saliva is
mixed with the juice of herbs and administered to the
infant as a charm against sickness.
When the first tooth appears the mother does not )
proudly announce the fact to all her friends, but she
carefully conceals it for fear a jealous neighbour should
bewitch the child.
The king did not set eyes on his children until they had
reached the age of four or five. They were at that age
presented to him, and he immediately gave orders for them
to be sent away to chiefs who would be responsible for
their up-bringing. The mother was strictly forbidden to
again set eyes on her child unless she could manage it by
stealth or bribery.
The birth of twins was hailed with general conster-
nation, and was regarded as a visitation of the evil-one.
A witch-priest was immediately sent for, while all the
people of the household danced and sang outside in the
courtyard to entice out of the house the spirit. Nothing
was done to keep the life in the children, and if they died
the priest put them into a cooking pot, which he closed in
with clay to imprison the spirit, and cooked them to a
cinder, just leaving two tiny holes in the pot which he
called the eyes of the evil-one. But if the children were
lusty, and decidedly showed signs of living, a spear shaft
for a boy and a knife for a girl twin, with beans and
millet were tied up in the mother's bed mat and given to
a very swift runner, who hastened off on his secret
mission. He deposited the bundle in the courtyard of a
far neighbour, and as he hurriedly made his escape he
cried aloud : " Two dogs are born to you this day." This
bundle of charms was believed to have the power of
removing the curse from one house to another.
51
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
The mother and twins were not allowed to go beyond
the precints of the yard nor to see visitors until one year
had expired. During that time the priest remained with
them, and a fire had been kept burning without inter-
mission day and night. When the year had run out an
elaborate service of exorcism was performed, the house
and all utensils used by the mother and twins were
burned, and the mother was forcibly driven away to be
set apart for the service of witch-craft.)
The life of the people and of the individual from the
cradle to the grave is haunted with the fear of malicious
spirits. A man will never own up to a good harvest, or
to prosperity, or health, lest the spite of the spirits should
deprive him of them. He always speaks of hunger in the
home, of his herds dying, or of his wife and children
ailing — and by these lies he hopes to deceive the spirits.
"Whenever a death occurs the corpse is buried immediately
so as to prevent the spirit haunting the house. When
old women showed signs of decay, they were sometimes
buried before the breath had left their bodies, lest they
might die at night, in which case they would have to
remain in the house until daylight.
If one can imagine a people that has never possessed a
literature in any form however crude ; that has never
produced a song, except the war cry and the shout of
savage exaltation ; that has known no music, save the din
of the tom-tom with its sensual accompaniments ; if one
can picture a land without any recognised code of moral
laws ; that provides no restraint to the exercise of the
most evil passions ; if one can think of a land from which,
all through the ages, there has never arisen one prayer to
God or any deity save devils, one can faintly see these
districts of Africa before the Light broke in upon its
darkness — that true Light that lighteth every man.
82
' ' > ' J •• » j^
DODOI, SON OF KAVALLI.
CHAPTER V
The Religion
ALTHOUGH a knowledge of God underlies the belief
of these African tribes, it has no place in the system
of their religion.
They suppose that God left the world because of its
insubordination, and from thenceforth all contact with
mankind ceased.
A vague idea, however, still exists in their mind that as
Creator, He has the power to benefit man if He will, but
is above being influenced by propitiatory offerings or
sacrifices, and is beyond altogether the sphere of human
supplication.
God, being good, accepts no bribes, therefore no offerings
are necessary ; He will act as He wishes, apart from any
human consideration.
In the most irrelevant manner the heathen bring the
name Ruhanga — God — into their conversation. A sick
cow will recover if God wills — a man will escape just
punishment if God wills — God can find a man his hut tax —
if God wills, a man will succeed in litigation, even though
his defence is one sheet of lies. This does not indicate
trust in God, but in a fatalism that exempts them from
all responsibility.
When visiting among them one evening I entered a
hut, where I found a young girl on the point of death.
There were several women lying about inside, but not
one would help the poor sufferer, and I learned that for
three days no nourishment had been given her. When
53
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
I remonstrated with them on their neglect, they calmly
answered, "If God wills she will recover, and if God wills
she will die." The girl was carried to a little house in
our compound, and, after a hard fight, she was brought
back to life.
But it is very difficult to trace these remnants of their
earlier and purer faith, for the native has gradually sur-
rounded himself by a world of evil spirits and Bacwezi,
or demi-gods, who are ever seeking to reek vengeance on
mankind.
They believe very firmly in the immortality of the
soul. Unlike other heathen tribes that suppose the spirit
ceases to exist when the family or clan dies out, these
people aver that the spirit of man is immortal, and at
death it is released to be avenged on all those who have
ill-treated them in life.
Priests, however, possessed means of entrapping evil
spirits of the dead and of cremating them. Those who
have died a natural death can be propitiated by sacrifice,
but those who died by violence can never be appeased.
A most elaborate form of fetish ritual was gradually
evolved. Men and women were set apart, and dedicated
to the service of the Bacwezi ; these were called
" Embandwa," who had grades of priests and high-priests
set over them. Children were dedicated to the order of
Embandwa when any misfortune threatened the house-
hold. At its initiation scores of priests and priestesses
gathered together in a wide open space, the child was
brought into their midst, and placed on the lap of the
oldest member present, who forced the child to swallow a
large round stone in the name of the Bacwezi and High
Priest. The child was then sworn to secrecy by the
words: " If you divulge the hidden things of wisdom at
night, you will die in the night ; if you do so at noon,
you will die at noon."
At that moment a rumbling noise was heard issuing
54
The Religion
from a mound of grass, under which a priest had been
concealed ; the child screamed with fear, but he was
assured that it was the voice of the Bacwezi registering
his vow. When night fell, all the Embandwa and the
young novitiate entered a large and rudely-constructed
hut, and here the child was instructed in the most
degrading forms of vice, incantations were made over its
body in a language known only to that particular order,
and the child firmly believed that by this time he was
transformed into another being.
In the morning a crown of flowers was placed on his or
her head, and the whole company returned to their homes
with the child.
The witch-doctors are a distinct class, held in great
veneration and fear by all the people. They are believed
to have the power of intercourse with the dead, and inter-
pret their mind to the inquirer ; and on every matter of
importance they are interviewed.
The man who wishes to consult the witch-doctor brings
a chicken to him for dissection. The priest first com-
mands him to allow his saliva to pass into the fowl, after
which very exacting ablutions take place. The priest
most carefully washes the bird, uttering over it these
words ; " Are you not the bird that has perfect know-
ledge; your actions, unlike those of the cow and goat, are
beyond comprehension. When you drink, do you not
turn your face toward Heaven ? You have legs like iron
and claws like a knife ; you open out your inward parts
to be read of men. Come now, and reveal to me evil and
good, and make known to us our enemies." The witch-
doctor thereupon enfolds it in his clothing until prepara-
tions are complete for its dissection.
Fine fresh grass is strewn in the courtyard, and when
the fowl has been cut open, all its intestines are carefully
spread out and minutely inspected. If the entrails
are pure and healthy, and the blood flows freely,
55
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
the bird is tied up in grass and hung near the fire
to dry.
After leaving the carcase and entrails thus suspended
round the fire, the witch-doctor and his servant- enter the
house where the inquirer has been most anxiously
awaiting results ; he alone is allowed to remain in the
house while the revelation is being communicated to him.
The witch-doctor takes up his wand and strikes the
ground with its point, then he raises it to his left shoulder
and curses all false prophets and such as practice decep-
tion. He then places the wand on the left shoulder of
the man, and says, " Sickness be gone," to which the
inquirer replies, " So be it." " Sorrow be gone, barren-
ness be gone, let all evil depart," and to each clause the
man replies, " So be it." The priest then passes the
wand on to the right shoulder, exclaiming, " Come wealth,
come children, come long life, that I might behold my
great grand-children, come all goodness and desire."
The house is then hastily spread with wild blossoms,
which are also heaped up into a mound in the centre of
the hut. Here the witch-doctor is seated, and the fowl
is brought to him. This he breaks up — bone, flesh, and
entrails — into infinitesimal pieces, and sews them up into
tiny strands of barkcloth, which are given to the man and
his wife to be worn as charms at each new moon.
Sometimes when the fowl is killed the blood only
trickles forth slowly, and this is called " The tears of
sorrow," and on examination the entrails are found to be
defective. When the priest sees this, he mutters to him-
self, " 'Tis the evil-spirit," and then must take place the
ritual of exorcism, and for every flaw detected a human
being must be sacrificed, and their bodies thrown out
into the scrub to be devoured by hyenas. Men, women
and children are seized ; no one dares plead for mercy,
for they recognise it as the decree of the gods against
them.
56
The Religioil
At midnight, the man who is supposed to be possessed
with the evil spirit, is dressed in a barkcloth that has
been dipped in mud, and, taking a black goat and a black
fowl, he goes with the priest to the cross-roads, where
they construct a grass booth. While the man kindles a
fire within, the priest outside walks round the hut twice,
dragging the goat and fowl with him, and cursing God,
the Bacwezi, and all evil-spirits. Then the animal and
bird are killed, and the man is smeared from head to foot
with the blood ; the intestines are put in a cooking pot,
covered with dried leaves, and placed over the fire.
It is believed that the evil-spirit will be enticed out of
the man when it smells the odour of the roasted meat.
Sitting over the pot the witch-doctor drones out incan-
tations, while the man crouches in the dark, hungry and
with the dread of spirits gripping him ; his nerves are
strung to the highest pitch, as he watches the swaying
movements of the priest and listens to the weird utter-
ances that fall from him. The old witch-doctor seems to
him as if invested with superhuman power, and as his
eyes glitter through the darkness, he exercises a mesmeric
influence over his unfortunate victim.
Suddenly the priest bends over the pot, and cautiously
blowing with his lips, causes the leaves to flutter about
inside. " Ah ! that is the Spirit ; do you not hear it
moving among the leaves in search of food? " And the
man is exhausted enough to believe anything, so he
hastily brings to the priest a handful of moist clay, and
the witch-doctor closes down the pot to imprison the
spirit. He then demands a heavy fee of goats or oxen,
and on promise of payment undertakes to burn the
spirit and roast it to death. When this is done, the
priest washes the man down in a muddy swamp, then in
a clear, flowing stream, dresses him in a new barkcloth,
and sends him home to collect the fee for exorcism.
Many other forms of divination are employed by the
57
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
witch-craft priests. A certain tree is supposed to be the
bones which the Bacwezi threw away after their feasts,
and these are very carefully guarded in the time of grass-
fires, and no one but the priests are allowed to put hands
upon them. Small twigs are cut into cubes or discs, and
given round as charms on payment of a good fee. They
are used by the priests for divination. There is always a
reserve stock of ground charcoal from its burnt timber
kept in a cow's horn in every priest's house ; when he is
called out to visit a household he may take this with him,
in case there is not a white fowl obtainable there. On
arriving in the yard of the house, he digs nine little pits,
which represent the number of their Bacwezi rulers. A
wall of clay is made round each pit, and water is then
poured in ; from his bag of charms and mysteries he
produces some butter, which he holds against his body to
melt ; this oil is poured on the puddles to still the water.
When all the preparations have been made, the priest
walks round and round the tiny pools, spitting on his
hands, and calling on the Bacwezi to make known to him
if the inquirer will meet with misfortune, if he will die
without warning, be struck dead by lightning, poisoned
by a snake, speared to death, or be poisoned by a foe.
Taking a wooden knife he scrapes shavings off the
twigs of the sacred tree and lays them on the water in
each puddle. Should the piece float evenly and straight,
he screams with joy, and all the people gather round and
shout and dance. But if the water becomes ruffled, and
the splinters move uneasily alofig its surface, the omen is
ominous, so the priest takes the charcoal from his horn
and rubs it on the man in question, in every wrinkle and
joint the ashes are sprinkled — in the armpits, the knee-pit,
throat, chest, between the fingers and toes, in the eyes
and ears, and over the head. All night he remains out-
side alone with this outward and visible curse of the
Bacwezi upon him. Early in the morning he chooses out
58
The Religion
two white or piebald goats from his flock (nothing black
must ever be offered to the Bacwezi) and presents them
to the priest.
All the male members of the family are called out to
partake in the ceremonial of exorcism. After walking
round the house in procession, invoking the help of the
Bacwezi, they sit in a circle in the courtyard, while the
unfortunate man, wearing a wreath of convolvulus stands
in their midst with a sacrificial goat.
Before the animal is slain the man cuts off its ears and
smears the blood on his chest and head. Every male
present is sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice, also
the house and all its contents. The bones of the animal
are hung over the doorway, and the flesh laid at the
threshold, so that every member of the household must
pass over and under the offering. The meat is afterwards
eaten by the priest and people, after which the anger of
the Bacwezi is said to be mitigated.
The Euphobia tree was regarded as possessing rain-
making properties. The rain-maker prepared nine little
dishes of clay in which he stacked twigs of the tree,
which he had rolled in a solution of rubber and gum
juices ; live ashes were then taken from a fire and
sprinkled over the sticks. If smoke rose from all the
nine dishes simultaneously, and ascended in one compact
cloud, it was believed to draw down the rain.
All sickness is considered a visitation of the gods or
spirits, and the witch-doctor is immediately called in to
say if it proceeds from the Bacwezi or evil-spirits. If he
believes it to be from the former, he orders the sick man
to send for an Embandwa priest of that particular
Mucwezi who is causing the trouble. A wealthy man
will send a cow, others send gifts of goats or cowrie-shells
in multiples of nine with the messenger who is des-
patched.
On receiving the summons, the high priest puts together
59
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
in a basket a handful of the finest of the grain, some
mushrooms, strips of dried meat and hide parings. This
represents the food of the gods, and is taken as a bribe
for the Mucwezi. He dons a crown composed of human
flesh covered over with barkcloth and adorned with
cowrie shells. Calling for his ministers, pipers and
drummers, they set off towards the sick man ; when
they are yet a long distance away, the witch-doctor, who
has been craning his neck in their direction, breaks out
into song. Immediately all the relations who have been
called in for the ceremony, go out to meet the priests,
extolling the god who has brought this trouble on the
household. (This false toadying is very characteristic of
the Banyoro).
As the priests enter they find the house has been strewn
with fresh grass and flowers, and outside a cow stands
waiting to be milked by an eunuch, while a young virgin
stands by with a new milk pot to offer the warm milk to
the high- priest.
The chief priest then sits on a dais of flowers, while his
ministers stand in two lines beside him, and the sick man
is compelled forward, holding in each hand a burning
torch. With all the remaining strength that he possesses
he explains in detail his symptoms. The torches are then
taken from him and he is commanded to huddle himself
up on the floor and completely cover his face with his
barkcloths. The tom-toms are brought in, and for hours
the noise continues, while all the priests accompany the
sounds with motion and song', and this music has a
curious effect on all present ; gradually they seem to lose
consciousness, their bodies sway to and fro automatically
and they are like those under a spell. Then the Mucwezi
god is said to appear and talks to the high priest, who
never divulges what he has heard ; but he orders the
singing to cease, and the sick man is allowed to return to
the bed. All the next day rattles are shaken by the sick
60
The Religion
couch, and for three days and nights the same operations
are gone through.
Should the man not recover, the priest declares that he
was so evil that the Mucwezi refused to be appeased,
and all the relations break out into song and praise
to the god who has removed from them such a sinful
creature.
Only external ailments are regarded as disease, and
these do not arise from internal derangement, but from
exterior causes. A native will look with withering scorn
upon the European dispenser who administers pills for
skin trouble; he will repeat more vehemently what his
ailment is, and will finally infer that the white man does
not understand his language, and takes away the pills to
hang up in his house as a charm.
There are certain drugs known to the medicine men, or
witch-doctor, but so drastic in character, that they more
frequently kill than effect the slightest cure. Berries and
roots of plants are boiled down, and supposed to cure
cough and " snakes in the chest."
Frogs, lizards, and worms are chopped into fragments
and administered in cases of poisoning.
Headache is cured by inserting a cold knife in the
temples as far as the bone, and then applying a hot knife
to stop the bleeding. Of course when the trouble arises
from the possession of an evil-spirit, drugs are useless,
and much more stringent means have to be adopted.
Deep incisions must be made at the seat of pain, and cow
horns filled with human hair and flesh must be applied,
so that the spirit can flow out with the blood and be cap-
tured in the horn, where it stays to feast on the human
flesh, and is sealed up before it can make its escape. This
horn of an entombed spirit is a great asset to the sick-man
henceforth, for it is an unfailing weapon of witchcraft to
use against an unfriendly neighbour. When he has a
grudge against a man he has only to bury the horn at the
61
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
threshold of his house, and misfortune or death follows.
It is difficult to believe that there is nothing more than
credulity in the ineradicable belief that these people have
in bewitchment. Of course, in many instances, the
absurdity of it appears on the surface. For instance, one
day the herdsman of a lady missionary in Hoima gaily
announced that he had driven away his wife, as, since her
arrival at the kraal, cows had given birth to male calves
only ; now he could hope for better fortune — the wife
could bewitch them no longer.
But another case was brought to my observation that
is certainly more difficult to explain away. A workman
left our house one evening, a muscular and hale man. The
following morning he was brought to us, led by two
people, quite blind and emaciated in body. It was almost
impossible to recognise in him the same man that had
left but a few hours previously. He assured us that at
night he was eating and drinking with his friends from
the same pot, when he was seized with sudden pains which
destroyed his eyesight and weakened his entire system.
Inquiries were made, and his friends corroborated his
story, that one of his people had a grudge against him,
and had bewitched the food, which only had the power of
affecting the man for whom it was intended. The man
has never recovered to this day. Of course, one must
take into account the fact that deception is such an
accomplished art among them, and the people have such
implicit faith in the power of evil, that it is not difficult
to work on their feelings.
The word of the witch-priest is law, and no one dares
to question his veracity or hjs edicts. When their pre-
dictions or their remedies fail, the fault lies with the man
and not with the priest. His fee had been inadequate, or
he had not revealed to the witch-doctor all that was in
his heart, or a black hair had been detected in the tail of
the goat when a animal had been demanded. Any of
62
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The Religion
these reasons were sufficient cause for the misfortune that
had befallen the man.
Human sacrifices were until quite recently very
common. Evil spirits do not haunt only those who
afflict them during life, but when they feel lonely in the
spirit world they wander about among the living for
victims who they can kill and drag down to be their
companions. They start off on these quests when the
moon is full, so that they should not lose their way in
the dark; festive occasions when the people gathered
together for revelry were very opportune times, lor the
spirit could make a wise choice of those he would wish for
companions.
Thus it was that each month, and at the time of birth,
death, in time of war, in time of peace, in sickness or
famine, the king and chiefs killed as many men, women,
and children as the priest should command so as to satiate
the spirits of the dead.
On one occasion during the war with Baganda, Kaba-
rega ordered a deep hole to be dug, and people were
killed over it until their blood filled it to the brim. Those
who stood by at the time, affirm that many thousands of
victims were required to satisfy that yawning pit.
Herds of cattle and goats were dedicated by the kings
to their heathen deities, and sometimes the favourite wife
was sent away to an uninhabited land as a wife to the
gods. A little temple house was built, and slaves were
set apart to minister to her.
Buried in the banana groves, or in the long elephant
grass, or in the glades of the forest, the heathen people
build their tiny spirit temples, quite hidden from the pry-
ing eyes of man ; and at sunset, in the cool of the day,
when the spirits are believed to set out on their wander-
ings, the people creep out of their huts and place little
offerings therein, a few shells or a portion of their own
food. If this remains till the morning, they know for a
63
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
certainty that the spirit did not pass that way in the
night, but should some wild beast have made a meal off
the sacred food, the man firmly believes that the spirit
passed the night in the temple, and he chuckles at his
sagacity at thus warding off a most unwelcome guest, who
otherwise would have visited his home.
Oh, the pathos of these little temples in dark Africa !
They at least speak of a real faith in the unseen and
supernatural. Are they not the symbol of that religion
inherent in every man — temples raised to the Unknown
God?
Under the legends and fiction of these central African
people — under the thick refuse of it all, there underlie
fragments of a primeval revelation that have not entirely
been lost even after all the ages. If one questions very
closely the old witch-priests they will speak of a First
Cause — a Creator who was plurality in one person ;
before any offering was sacrificed the priest always threw
dust in the air and exclaimed, " Ruhanga — Nkya —
Kankya," which meant " God — His brother — One person
indivisible " !
No one can read the order of their sacrificial services,
without being struck with the similarity that exists in
many points with our own Old Testament history — the
goat without blemish : the identification of the offerer
with his offering: the sprinkling with blood of people and
house. Alas, in their case, this gradually demoralised
into human sacrifices, and no trace is left whatever of
them being offered to expiate sin or to make an
atonement for it. The idea of sin is entirely lacking,
their one and only object being, to propitiate the evil
spirits, and so prevent misfortune.
In a following chapter it will be seen that their legends
infer that man was at the beginning of the human race
immortal, but death was the vengeance of Ruhanga — God —
on a disobedient and wicked people. These facts have
64
The Religion
been obtained from old heathen men who have had no
opportunity whatever of coming into contact with
Christian teaching or civiHsation, and one can only infer
that if the legendary Bacwezi rulers were a strong race of
people that swept down from the North, they instilled
into the Banyoro some tenets of their own faith.
One of the most difficult things for a European to
understand in his dealing with these people, is, that they
possess absolutely no knowledge of sin — they do not
recognise its existence. Professor Warneck might have
been writing of the Banyoro when he described the
Battak heathen as " having the idea of what is permitted
and forbidden, but not that of good and evil." Theft,
fornication and adultery are not regarded by them as sin
which in itself is to be condemned ; but if detection or
publicity results, shame and probably punishment may
follow. It is most necessary to thoroughly grasp this
fact when attempting to judge the native ; as long as a
person can shield him or herself, no sin exists nor shame,
but should they be detected, and their stock of falsehood
(which is a most highly developed art among them)
fail to exonerate them, they are disgraced in their own
eyes and in the eyes of their friends.
A man who is not an accomplished liar is despised by
his neighbour ; to confess a fault is most despicable
cowardice, and that man is a traitor to himself. Death
is preferable to self-betrayal.
One living close to us was an inveterate thief, and in
consequence had a large circle of friends who were
always ready to champion him, as they shared the
hospitality which followed his escapades.
Under cover of night he used to steal out and poach in
the adjoining shambas. A neighbour who had for a long
time suffered the loss of all his bananas just as they were
ripening on the trees, determined to lay in wait for the
culprit and run him to earth. At midnight, while hiding
65 F
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
in a little pit, he heard the unmistakable sound of foot-
steps among the dried leaves of the banana grove, and
raising a spear he thrust it just as an arm was raised to
cut down the heavy bunch of fruit on a tree close by.
The shaft was aimed surely, and the arm fell to the man's
side; but not a sound was uttered, and the figure
noiselessly withdrew. Slowly finding his way home, he
entered his hut with the bleeding wound carefully
concealed by his barkcloth. Without saying a word to
his wife, he laid down and allowed himself to bleed to
death without calling for any assistance, which would
have meant confession.
Heaven and Hell are regarded as contemporary
kingdoms of this world, and are not connected with any
idea of an after-life. Heaven does not present any
attraction to the heathen ; it is only another country, such
as England might be, inhabited by a strange tribe of
people who have tails and bodies covered with feathers.
The same conditions of life exist there as here, and
Ruhanga — God — does not reign as a person, but exercises
the same power as the Bacwezi do in Bunyoro. It has
its kings, chiefs, community and home life, people are
born, marry, and die there ; in fact, in no respect does it
vary from this country. Hell suggests something
repulsive and abominable, although in physical features
and in the conditions of life it is similar to this world.
The spirits of the departed go neither to Heaven nor
Hell, but remain in the ether or upper air that separates
Hell from the world. It is Said that once upon a time
men were working in some iron pits of Bunyoro — they
were let down one by one in a net slung to work the iron,
which was very far beneath under seams of clay and rock.
As they digged deeper and deeper, one day a man struck
a large stone, which after a long effort he succeeded in
dislodging. Immediatelv a strong light radiated from the
crevice, and bending down to see this great wonder, he
66
The Religion
heard shouts of revelry, of laughter, the voice of weeping,
the groans of suffering, and the angry tones of quarrelling.
And then he knew this to be Hell, and so fearful was he
that he hastily withdrew, stumbling in the dark, and
implored his friends to pull him up out of sound and sight
of such dread things.
From that time no man has dared to descend the mine,
so the iron remains unworked to this day.
Possessing no moral law, no standard of righteousness
or justice, no thought of retribution or punishment here-
after, there is nothing to check these people from giving
full reign to their unbridled instincts. Present comfort
and prosperity are the only considerations of their life.
This has made the African a savage, and almost crushed
in him any God-given instinct with which he must at one
time have been endowed.
If one would rightly understand them, it is useless to
study them in their present setting, for the conditions of
life have so suddenly and radically changed, that what
might be regarded as duplicity or cunning in them, may
only be a failure to adapt themselves and live up to the
new standard put before them. Their character, their
mode of thought, of expressing that thought, their sense
of right and wrong, their idea of virtue and failing, are
diametrically opposed to those of the white man, and to
judge them from the standpoint that we ourselves would
fain reach, after centuries of opportunities and advantages,
is not just, nor is it the most effectual way of helping them
in their keen endeavour to rise to higher things.
I believe we can only truly influence and raise the
African, by divesting ourselves of all prejudice and pre-
conceived ideas, and stepping back into their past, travel
with them through their history, realise their environ-
ments, study their creed, and even recognise that there
lies buried something of the barbarian in each one of us.
Let us not be jealous of meeting him on some common
87
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
platform, for the white man may only fear of losing the
black man's respect when he denies him all right to a
common humanity. The late Archbishop Benson wrote,
** We ought to do our utmost to understand the people
we are to deal with. ... It is not true that they are
ordinarily wicked, except by contrast."
Language is comparatively the very easiest of the
studies awaiting the missionary in Africa. When the
first and second examinations have been successfully
passed, one is not completely equipped for the work ;
language is but the alphabet of that other branch of study
which one can never fully master — the soul of the people.
The following pages, the work of two of these African
rulers, may not be devoid of interest to those who are
curious to know what this part of Central Africa was like
before it came under the justice of British rule and under
the transforming pov/er of the Gospel of Christ.
68
CHAPTER VI
The Reign of the Gods
HE who created the world was God — Ruhanga. At
first he inhabited space, for there was no Heaven
and earth. Ruhanga had a brother named Nkya,
who came to him one day, saying, '* Things are
very dull, we possess nothing, we are surrrounded by
nothing, and there is nothing in existence. Did you not
promise to create ? But you have accomplished nothing
that I can see." Thereupon Ruhanga stretched forth
his hands ; with the right he pointed upward and said
" That is Heaven," and with the left he pointed down, say-
ing " This is earth." Then taking a stone in his hand he
flung it far into the air, and it became a ball of fire.
Nkya feared and cried out " It will burn us both," but
Ruhanga replied " Nay it cannot do that, but it will
lighten us, henceforth darkness is over — that shall be
called the sun." But Nkya was not at all re-assured, for
the heat of the sun was very great ; he tried to escape
from it but could not, for there was neither shade nor
shelter. When Ruhanga saw this, he put out his hand
and withdrew the sun, and threw it towards the west
and covered it with a cloud ; then darkness returned. So
Ruhanga picked up another stone and threw it upwards,
and it became a cold white light, for he and Nkya no
longer wanted to dwell in darkness where they could not
see each other. And Nkya said " I have seen the sun
and the moon that you have called into existence, they
are excellent, but bring other things into being, for
69
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
possessing but these two, what can we do with ourselves
always." Ruhanga answered " As the sun lies down
and covers itself up in a cloud, so shall man with his
eyelids shut out the day, and sleep till the darkness is
over." So Nkya did as Ruhanga commanded, he laid
down and slept until Ruhanga shook and awoke him,
saying '* Wake up, for thus shall men sleep and rise each
day, and behold I give you a fowl that shall crow when
the night has passed, and make known to men the time
appointed for sleep."
One day Nkya came to Ruhanga and said " That thing
you created and called the sun is going to melt me, all
my body is dissolving." So Ruhanga considered these
words and created tall grasses and trees, which he planted
to afford shade from the sun.
In those days Heaven was quite close to earth, it was
propped up with a fig-tree, a kirikiti (Erythrina) pole,
and a bar of iron. When it had been made quite secure
Ruhanga commanded Nkya to remain on earth, while he
would go to Heaven to see how things were going on there.
On arriving, he saw that his hands were soiled, so taking
water he washed himself, and afterwards threw it out
upon the earth. Nkya was quite unprepared for this and
it drenched him ; so in his astonishment he called out and
asked what his brother was doing up there. Ruhanga
replied " That is rain, which on falling to earth will cool
the sun." "Aye, verily," answered Nkya, "it not only
cools the sun, but myself also, my flesh is wet and my
bones are shaking ; if you are going to do that again, I
pray you, give me a shelter." So Ruhanga told him to
break off the branches of trees, and he would show him
how to provide himself with a house. Nkya struggled
with the branches, but they were too powerful for him.
So he returned and told his brother that what he had
ordered him to do was quite beyond him, the trees would
not yield to him.
70
The Reign of the Gods
Then Ruhanga seized a stone, and striking it ^with
force broke it into three pieces; one became a knife,
another an axe, and the third a mallet. These he gave to
Nkya, and instructed him to cut down saplings and
grass, and to form them into a hut, that would be a refuge
from the sun and rain.
After these things Nkya called to his brother and asked
that he would provide him with something to look at, for
the world was almost void. So Ruhanga created shrubs,
flowers, birds, insects and wild beasts ; thus the outside
world teamed with life and interest ; but Nkya felt very
lonely, for Ruhanga had departed into Heaven, and in
his hut he had nothing with which to occupy himself.
So his brother created goats and sheep to be his house
companions.
While the two brothers were talking one day, Nkya
asked why Ruhanga had formed their bodies and
stomachs, as they seemed quite useless. Whereupon
Ruhanga made cows, and, felling a tree, carved out a
bowl into which they could be milked. Nkya was
delighted, but at the same time suggested that he would
not feel very comfortable with a bag of liquid inside him ;
could not Ruhanga think of somethmg a little more solid.
So Ruhanga took up a creeper and planted it in the
ground, and m a very short time it brought forth gourds
in abundance. Ruhanga ordained that the fruit and
leaves should be for food. He commanded Nkya to cut
off the young shoots so that the fruit would grow close
at hand, and so prevent the plant from spreading all over
the ground, to be trampled upon by the cattle. Ruhanga
then formed a pot out of clay ; this he placed upon three
little ant-hills; putting the food inside and laying wood
under the pot. He then struck with a stone a rock
where the sun had shone, and forthwith came out hre
from the stone and ignited the wood ; the heat was so
great that the gourds would have burned had not Ruhanga
71
Twilight Tales ot the Black Baganda
poured water over them. He then told Nkya to take
a stick and probe the gourds, and if they were soft he
was to take them out and eat them. Nkya was so eager
to eat, that he seized the boihng food in his hands and
burnt himself. Whereupon Ruhanga rebuked him, and
explained how he ought to lay leaves on the ground and
turn the food out on to them. When Nkya had tasted
the food he pronounced it very good ; but his brother
answered " Now I have supplied all your requirements,
your eyes, mouth and body are satisfied, but it would have
been better for mankind had you not heeded the stomach ;
for it will be your master, it will cause pain, labour and
theft." But Nkya replied " Nay my brother, but it is
only hunger that has ears ; apart from it, there would be
no submission among men, for man will only obey him
who provides him with food." So Ruhanga agreed
to leave in the world the desire for food ; and he took in
his hand two bags which had but one mouth ; one bag he
called Hunger, and the other Mercy. He emptied out the
contents upon the world, saying " Wherever man is, there
shall hunger dwell, and mercy ; sorrow and love shall go
together, no one shall perish of hunger, for mercy shall
feed him. The rich shall hearken to the voice of the poor
and provide for him."
Now Nkya had four sons. One was called Kantu (little
thing), but no names were found for the other three, and
this became a great difficulty. When the father called one,
they all came, and when he gave one child a present, the
others all quarelled for it, declaring it was intended for
them. So Nkya explained matters to Ruhanga, who said
that he could find names for them, if they came to him
the following afternoon at his dwelling on the opposite
hill; for at that time Ruhanga lived in Heaven and upon
earth, and had made valleys as boundaries between men's
territories.
So the boys set out on their journey, and on arriving
72
The Reign of the Gods
at their uncle's house were told to be seated until he
should come to them. Meanwhile he entered into his
back house, had an ox killed, and took strips of the hide
and head, together with cooked millet and potatoes,
and placed them in the centre of the cross-roads. On his
return he called the lads, and gave to each a present of a
milk-pot, and when the day waned he bade them depart.
On reaching the meeting of the paths, they saw the things
lying that Ruhanga had secretly placed there. The
eldest boy immediately seized the basket of food and
began eating it, but his brothers remonstrated with him
for taking food that was not rightly his ; so he picked up
the axe, knife and basket of millet and took them home
with him. The second boy chose out the strap, thinking it
might be useful for tying up the cows at milking time,
and the youngest carried home the ox head. When they
reached their father's house, they laid the things before
him and explained everything to him. Then was he wrath
with his eldest son for having eaten of the food that was
not his. Immediately Ruhanga came in and stood among
them, and it was evening, the time when the cows are
milked. When the lads had laid down to sleep, Ruhanga
came to them with three milk pots in his hand, which he
commanded them to guard for him until the morning,
strictly warning them not to drink his milk as they had
eaten of his millet. At midnight the youngest grew
heavy with sleep, and some of his milk got spilled as he
dozed : then he greatly feared, and, turning to his brothers,
begged them to give him of their milk that his bowl might
be full ; and they did so ; but at the cock-crow the
eldest upset all his, and when he asked the others to pour
from their bowls into his, they refused, saying that he
would need so much to fill up the empty bowl. At dawn
Ruhanga came and told each to uncover his milk-pot.
When he looked into the first he found it empty; passing on
to the second he saw that a little had gone out of it, and
73
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
he asked the boy if he had drunk it. He answered '*No,
Oh God, I drank it not, but I filled up my little brother's
pot for he spilled some of his." Then Ruhanga called
his brother and told him that names had been found for
his three children. The eldest boy he cursed and named
Kairo (little servant), for he had eaten food on the public
road with unwashen hands, and had proved himself faith-
less in his watch ; henceforth he would be the servant of
man, to gather firewood, to build houses, and to be sub-
servient in all things to his master.
The second he named Kahuma (little herdsman), for
he should minister as herdsman to him to whom he had
given milk. To the youngest he said, " Your name is
* Kakama Twale ' (Ruler, little king), you shall reign over
all men, for you took from the road the ox head ; all shall
fear and worship you, and your word shall be law unto
them."
Thus Ruhanga divided mankind into three classes — the
chiefs, the herdsmen, and the peasants.
Now when Kantu heard that his brothers had received
names, he went to his father and said, " Why has
Ruhanga treated me like this ? To the others he has given
titles of distinction — one is king, another herdsman, and
the third servant — but me he has overlooked altogether,
and given no place in the world. Therefore shall I go
from hence to spoil and destroy all things that he has
created, I will bring sin into the world, hatred, strife and
murder."
Ruhanga hearing these words, and seeing that wicked-
ness had entered the world, took counsel with Nkya that
they should leave the earth, saying " Let us depart into
Heaven, for the world is corrupt, and man has become
altogether evil. When we order him to do a thing, he
only performs evil, and he speaks blasphemously of us, his
creators. If we stay here shall we not kill him ; therefore
let us go to our home in Heaven that we may not bring
74
The Reign of the Gods
death into the world." So Ruhanga and Nkya left the
earth, and in order to prevent any intercourse between
themselves and mankind, they loosened the props that
held Heaven to earth, so that it departed upwards, and
the iron bar fell ; breaking into pieces, it was scattered
all over the world, and provided man with tools and
bracelets.
The god, Kakama Twale, was left to rule the world ; but
he did much evil, for Kantu entered into him and prompted
him to wickedness ; and when he saw how sin increased
under him, he gave the kingdom to his son Baba, and he
disappeared.
During the rule of Baba, the people increased exceed-
ingly, and became rich in goats and cattle. And when
Kantu saw the world was prospering he was filled with
envy, and considered how he might destroy happiness. So
he went to Ruhanga and asked him to take from man and
beast the desire for food; and Ruhanga did so — he fastened
the mouth of all things living. Then was the King Baba
greatly troubled — everything languished, strength had
departed from man so that he could neither visit or
commune with his neighbour, and the animals went not
out to graze. And he wondered within himself because
of this that had befallen his kingdom, and thought that
it must be sent from Ruhanga. Now Kantu read the
thoughts of the king, so with a malicious spirit he went to
Ruhanga and said that Baba was cursing him in his heart.
Then was Ruhanga very angry, and exclaimed " Are not
all things mine to create or to kill, shall I not do what I
like with the work of my hands ! " And taking two bags
which had but one opening, he emptied out from them
upon the world their contents, hunger and disease. Im-
mediately the mouths of all things living were unstopped ;
but as they ate, disease took hold upon man and beast,
and it seized the king's little child so that he died. Now
death had not hitherto entered the world, and the people
75
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
knew it not. So when they found that the child did not
wake out of sleep, Baba sent to Ruhanga, saying ** My
child laid down to sleep, andwe cannot waken him ; what
can we do to rouse him ? " Then Ruhanga knew that death
had fallen on man, and he was grieved. He called Nkya
and conferred with him as to whether, when man died, he
should not resurrect on the fourth day. But Nkya replied
*' Nay, but let him die for ever, for he is very sinful." So
Ruhanga ordered Baba to dig a hole and bury his child.
But the king could not understand death, and as he satin
his house and beheld not his son, he called aloud for the
child to be brought in to him ; but the men answered,
" Ruhanga told you that the child's life was ended, and
you would never see him again." Then Baba was greatly
troubled, and lifting up his hands he cried aloud for his son,
and went to the place where they had buried him, and
falling across the grave, he wept bitterly. His people
heard his lamentations and they all wept, and there was
great mourning.
And Baba cursed, saying " Let Ruhanga empty out the
bags of his wrath, famine, disease, death — I care not :
now that my son is dead, let the grass and trees perish and
let man and beast die."
Then Kantu came into the heart of Baba, so he left
the world and was seen no more. His son, the god
Mukonko, ruled, and after him Ngonzaki and Isaza; but
the gods died not, they merely passed away from the
world when they ceased to reign, and departed into an un-
known land.
Isaza was quite j^oung when he began to rule, and he
drove away all the old counsellors of his forefather, and
surrounded himself with youths only. He was a great
sportsman, and one day while out hunting, he killed a
zebra, and when he saw the skin, he was much struck
with its beautiful markings, so that his friends advised
him to have it sewn over his own body. This pleased
76
The Reign of the Gods
the king, so they prepared a thong and gut, and stitched
it most carefully all over the body and limbs of the king.
Then he called all his people together and paraded up
and down before them in his new attire, and they lauded
him for his great beauty. The following day he went
out again to hunt, and as the sun was shining fiercely, the
hide gradually dried upon the king's body, and it con-
tracted, so that he cried out, " Whatever shall I do, for this
zebra skin is pinching terribly ? " but his friends replied,
" Do not mind that, wealth and renown always caused
some discomfort, a king's throne is it not a tight place ;
endure for the admiration you evoke." So Isaza tried
hard to suffer in silence, but at last he became so squeezed
up inside the skin, that he was paralysed, and fell down
gasping for breath. Then his friends were greatly alarmed
and knew not how to save their king, for they could not
cut away the hide without ripping his flesh. Now there
had remained in the country two old men who had
escaped banishment with the others, so Isaza sent to
them and asked what he should do ; but they returned
the answer " How should we know, have old people any
wisdom ? Consult with your young ministers." But
when the messenger had departed, one of the old men
spake "For the sake of our late master let us save
the son, though he despised our counsel, let us not forsake
the gods, our rulers, when they need us : did we not stay on
waiting for the opportunity to save the king ? " So they
commanded the young men to carry Isaza in to them,
and when he reached their house, they took him and
threw him into the pond, and would not allow him
to come out. Isaza thought they sought to kill him, and
cried out, " Will you seek to destroy the gods ? " And
immediately Isaza felt the skin loosening on him, for the
hide gradually became pliable. Then the old men drew
him out, and cut the expanded gut and released him. The
next morning the king called together both old and young
77
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
and gave out wine to them ; and as they all sat wondering
and fearing what Isaza would do to them, he stood up in
their midst, and with a loud voice declared *' From this
day no property can be held by any person except those
advanced m years and wisdom. When I refused to have
old men around me, was I not a dead man ? It is they
who have saved me, and it is they only who have power
and ability to rule aright." Thus all the old men were
recalled, and restored to their position as counsellors to
the king and rulers of the land.
Now, Nyamiyongo, the king of hell, was planning how
he might win the world for himself, so he decided to try
and inveigle the king into making an alliance with him.
One day, therefore, he sent messages to Isaza to greet him,
and to offer gifts if he received the deputation graciously.
When they arrived they were ushered into the king's
presence, and kneeling before him, said, " Our King,
Nyamiyongo, sends greetings, and desires you to accept
the offerings he is sending you. The first is that which
proclaims the dawn, the second is that which falls short
of the mark, the third is a bar that binds water, the fourth
causes kings to turn, the fifth is that which hath no
understanding, and the last is a door that shuts out
sorrow." When the messengers had left off speaking, the
king called together his chiefs and asked them privately
the meaning of this riddle. But they knew not the
interpretation, so Isaza sent for the wise men out of all
the tribes, and they came with their rulers, but no one
was able to explain to him the 'words of the man of hell.
The queen had each day been called to the council
chamber, and on one occasion as she came forth with
troubled countenance, her little maid Kazana met her and
asked, " My mistress, why do you go each day to confer
with the king ? Fear not to tell me, for how should I
gossip about it outside ?" Then her mistress made known
to her the words of Nyamiyongo. And the maid replied
78
The Reign of the Gods
" Take me to our lord the king, and I will interpret to him
the meaning of these things. Should I fail to do so, let
Isaza the god kill me." So the queen clothed the maid
in two new barkcloths, and brought her unto the king's
presence. Then spake the queen, " Let my master be
gracious unto us and receive us, for this maid Kazana
will make known to him the meaning of the words of
hell. And if she fails kill her not, as she says, but take,
O king, this knife and calf, and accept it as her atone-
ment."
Isaza rejoiced greatly at the words, and declared that
the maid should have an inheritance in the land, if she
was able to explain to him the words. So Kazana
ordered that everybody should be driven away, and she
asked that a little slave should be brought and placed on
the king's leopard's skin. Immediately the child crawled
about, and brought mud on to the skin and broke the
king's calabash. Then the maid exclaimed " Behold that
which is void of understanding." And the king answered
that it was so. Afterwards Kanaza requested that a dog
should be brought and a pipe be given it to light. The
dog came, and also the pipe, but it was able neither to
grip or light it. That, declared Kazana, was the thing
that fell short of the mark. Then Kazana asked that a
cooking pot should be brought full of water and some
millet. Placing it on three cooking-stones, she boiled the
water and dropped into it the grain, which swelled and
absorbed all the water. Taking it off the fire, she
showed the king a handful of the millet, which she said
was the bar that bound water. When she had finished
speaking a cow lowed outside in the courtyard, and as
Isaza turned to look at it, Kanaza said " Behold that
which causes the king to turn, and that which proclaims
the dawn, is it not a cock ? Now send for Nyamiyongo's
messengers, and tell them to give these things — a slave
child, a dog, some millet, an ox, a fowl, and also the little
79
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
door that shuts out sorrow." And the men came in with
the gifts and gave the king a small calabash, in which were
two coffee beans ; one was smeared with blood, and the
other was wrapped up with a knife in fibre. Kazana
said " This is blood-brotherhood, a friendship sealed
with blood, a security against trouble ; the king must
swallow the bean dipped in blood, and must make an
incision in his own body, and in the blood that flows, the
other bean must be soaked and returned to him who has
desired your alliance, and so an indissoluble union shall
exist between you."
Isaza then called in his chiefs and asked their advice on
the matter ; but they warned him that it was a fearful
thing for the king to make blood-brotherhood with a man
of hell, and urged him to choose out a man to act as his
proxy. So Isaza called his servant Kwezi and ordered
him to do as he commanded. The bean dipped in
Kwezi's blood, was then placed in the calabash and given
to the messengers of Nyamiyongo, who straightway
departed ; and when the king of hell received it, he
was very glad, and, swallowing the bean, congratulated
himself that a compact was made between earth and
hell.
But there was a little lad who had accompanied the
messengers, and he had seen how Isaza had given the
beans to Kwezi ; so he told the king, who was thereupon
filled with indignation because Isaza had led him into
union with a peasant. So he considered how he might
bring Isaza under his power. He argued thus within
himself, " If woman is the destruction of man, shall she
not exercise her power also over the gods ?" So he called
for his wife and daughters, to choose out from among
them one who was the most beautiful and wily. He and
all his people agreed that Nyamata surpassed them all,
so clothing her in a soft clinging barkcloth garment, he
bade her go forth and win the heart of Isaza, and bring
80
The Reign of the Gods
him to hell, without letting him know whence she came
and whither slie was leading hirn.
Very reluctantly iNydinaLa sec forth on her errand, out
she feared to retuse Nyamiyongo's order, so journeyed
and came to Isaza's, and found at the entrance of the
courtyard the gatekeeper Bukuku. He asked where she
came from, and she answered " From yonder." He then
went to Isaza, saying, " A woman has come to see you
of the clan and country of Macwa, and among all your
people there is none to compare with her for beauty."
On hearing these words Isaza sent his herdsman to report
on her, and he returned saying the same; likewise his
sister came, telling him there was no one like her through-
out the land. Then Isaza commanded her to be brought
to him, and when he saw her, he loved her above all his
wives, and she was exalted to the first place in the king's
household. Isaza was constantly asking where she had
come from, and she always answered, that if he would
come and journey with her she would show him her
people and her beautiful sisters ; but when he suggested
sending his representatives with her to fetch her friends,
she refused, saying, "Nay, but I cannot leave you, come
with me." One day they were standing together in the
doorway watching the cattle being brought in, for the
time of milking had come, and as the cows went into the
shed, Isaza followed them, whereupon Nyamata called
out to him, " Do not leave me alone." But he rephed,
"I want to see my cows." That evening, when he sat
down to eat, Nyamata sulked, and refused to bring in his
food and minister to him ; the king therefore sent a
messenger to her saying, " You are foolish to be jealous,
for it profits nothing, although I love you beyond all my
wives, I cannot give up my cows for you, for I love them
better." When Nyamata heard this she was piqued, for
she did not like to share the king's affection with cattle ;
so she left him that night and returned home.J Soon
81 G
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
after she gave birth to a son, and called his name
Isimbwa.
When Nyamiyongo saw what a beautiful child it was,
he was more than ever determined to procure the father,
Isaza. And seeing that Nyamata, with all her charms, had
failed to beguile him because of his infatuation for cattle,
he collected together his herds, and chose from them two
of the choicest, a male and a female, and sent them to
Isaza. At the time they arrived, Isaza was out inspecting
his cattle, and as these two far surpassed any he had ever
seen, he seized them, asking no questions as to their
ownership. He loved them so much that he would not
allow them out of his sight day or night — each evening
they were brought into his house to sleep. One day they
were sick, and he tended them himself, refusing to sleep;
but at midnight he was so weary that he slumbered, and
the cows wandered off into the courtyard and returned to
their home. When the king awoke and found the cows
had gone, he wrapped his blanket round him and followed
them ; his servants hastened after him with clothing,
but he sent them back to mind the house while he
continued to search the country for the cattle. At last
he came to a deep pit from which he saw the horns of the
cows protruding, so he went down to help them up, but
the earth opened its mouth and swallowed him up. As it
closed again over him, Isaza looked around and found
himself in a wide enclosure, in which were gathered a
large number of people. He asked who their chief was,
for he had stolen his cows, and he had come to reclaim
them. One of the men went and told their master that a
visitor had come, and on being asked his name, answered,
" Isaza of tiie world above, who is your blood-brother."
When the chief heard these words he was very pleased,
for the man was Nyamiyongo, and his country was hell.
Isaza was ushered into a guest room, which was strewn
with singed grass and charcoal ; over this were spread
82
The Rexgn of the Gods
black hides, and the couch and feeding utensils were all
covered with soot. The food given him was smoked, and
the milk of a black cow was offered him. Nyamiyongo
begged Isaza not to refuse these things, as he had nothing
else to offer ; everything he possessed was black, he had
nothing white or pure like other people. In the morning
Isaza was brought into Nyamiyongo's presence; all around
him were signs of kingship, and Nyamiyongo was seated
on a black throne covered with blackened leopard and
lion skins; his wives and daughters were placed in lines
on either side of the king, and they were dressed in
smoked barkcloths.
As Isaza entered, the cattle passed in front of the
aperture, and Isaza looked after them. Then said
Nyamiyongo, " Look not behind or around, at man or
beast, am I not the king of darkness and of hell, have I
not power to destroy you who dared to betray me into an
alliance with a peasant?" Then Isaza trembled, and
seeing his wife and child, he learned how he had been
drawn into intercourse with the powers of evil. Nyami-
yongo told him to arise and take his wife, child and cattle
and return to his country ; but this he said to mock him,
for when Isaza set out to return, he could find no gateway
and no road. All day he wandered about in search of
them, but at night he found himself back at the same
spot ; each day he tried to escape, but there was no
exit, so he remained a captive in hell.
83
CHAPTER VII
The Reign of the Bacwezi or
Demigodsj: Isaza-'Ndahura*
50 the reign of the gods was ended.
Isaza had no male child except Isimbwa who
was in Hell with his mother, so when the king
failed to return to his people, his doorkeeper,
Bukuku, proclaimed himself king in his stead; but the
chiefs absolutely refused to recognise him, so each man
became head of his district, and thus the kingdom was
divided up. The people of Toro, Bunyoro, Uganda,
Ankole, Bulega and Chopi appointed men from among
themselves to be their chief, and Bukuku was driven out
to a small district lying to the south-west of Bunyoro.
He had one daughter named Nyinamuiri, who was
born with only one eye and one ear. Her father con-
sulted the witch-priests about these infirmities, and they
warned him to guard her very carefully to prevent her
marrying, for if ever she should give birth to a son he
would rise up and kill Bukuku. They came each day
and repeated their warning to him, so at last he was
thoroughly alarmed, and determined to shut his daughter
away from the world, so that she should have no
intercourse with it; he therefore built her a hut and
surrounded it with a high fence that had no gateway and
no exit whatever except through Bukuku's house, and
he appointed an old man and his wife as her servants.
Now, Isimbwa, the child of Isaza and Nyamata, grew
up, and Nyamiyongo, the king of Hell, married him to a
84
\
Isaza^Ndahura
woman in Hell, who bore him a son, whom they called
Kyomya. When the child was old enough his father
took him to hunt in the world above. Isimbwa used to
travel near and far in search of everv kind of game.
One day he left Kyomya in Bukudi while he journeyed
on, and at last came to the country ruled over by Bukuku,
and when he saw that it was a goodly land and that
the chief was evidently rich in people and herds, he
greatly desired to possess it for himself; and, seeing a
maid coming towards him carrying a pitcher to the well
to draw water, he inquired of her whose country it was,
and she told him that it was ruled over by Bukuku. He
then asked her who was her mistress, and she replied,
" I am the serving maid of Nvinamniri, the only
daughter of Bukuku." Then Isimbwa determined to wo<^
the girl, and, gathering some wild flowers, he handed
them to the maid saving, "Tell your mistress that vou
met a man with hair flowinsr over his shoulders, and he
has sent her this love-offering of flowers, and in four
days he will return to marrv her."
So the maid returned with haste to Nyinamuiri and
told her all that had happened. When her mistress
heard the words, she wondered much how anv man could
have seen her to love her, and her heart went out in
longing to meet the stranger. Each day she sent her
maid to watch for him, fearing that he would return
and forget his promise to marrv her. On the fourth
day Isimbwa arrived, and, meeting the maid outside,
returned with her toward the house. She then explained
to him the difficulty of reaching her mistress, as the only
entrance was through Bukuku's house, and he would kill
any man passing in to see his daughter; but Isimbwa
would not be daunted, and, making a ladder, he climbed
up over the fence, he and his people and his hunting
dogs.
When he eame into Nyinamuiri he confessed his deep
85
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
love for her, and thereupon married her. He remained
with his wife for five months, but at the end of that time
he wearied of her and rose up to depart. When Nyina-
muiri heard of it she wept bitterly and implored him to
stay, as she was going to give birth to a child ; but he
insisted on leaving, promising to come back to her very
soon.
Now Bukuku had heard nothing about the stranger's
visit nor of his daughter's marriage, so when they came
and told him that she had borne a son, he was astonished
beyond measure, and, stopping up his ears, refused to
listen to the words, but when he heard the child crying,
he knew that the messenger had spoken the truth, and
he exclaimed, "What kind of thing is a woman; her
cunning is greater than the wisdom of man ; no one can
get the better of her." Then he called his servant, and
in a rage ordered him to cast the babe into the river; so
the man took the child from its mother and threw it into
the swift-flowing stream. The little bodv was quickly
swept away and disappeared from sight ; but in a bend
of the river, there were growing tall rushes, and as the
babe was borne along on the water, it was caught by the
grasses and swept on to the sud. In the morning a
peasant named Dubumbi came down to the river's edge
to dig out clay for pottery, and seeing the child Iving
there, thought within himself that it was the child of his
mistress Nyinamuiri that had been taken from her ; so
he took it away and brought it to his wife, who had just
given birth to a little girl, and she nursed the child with
her own. Dubumbi then went and told Nvinamuiri
that he had found her child, and that it was alive. When
she heard these words she rejoiced greatly, and urged
him to keep the matter secret. He asked her to give him
a milk cow for her baby, as his wife was not able to
nourish two children ; but Xyinamuiri feared that people
would suspect if she gave her potter a cow, so she
86
Isaza^Ndahura
advised him to go to her father, Bul<ukii, with a story
that might awaken his pity. Dubumbi therefore took a
long pole and suspended from it a number of milk pots,
and came thus heavily burdened into the presence of
Bukuku while he was conferring with his chiefs and
people. He fell on his knees and sai~d, "My master, all
these years have I not served you faithfully? I Have
not failed to provide your household with cooking pots,
pitchers, and milk bowls. When will you reward me
with payment? jNIy wife has given birth to twins, but
in the home, sorrow is killing us, for can one woman
nourish two children ? I pray you give me a milk cow."
But Bukuku answered that he was the servant of Nyina-
muiri and he should take his request to her. Then
Nyinamuiri feared not to send her child gifts by
Dubumbi, for everyone had heard the words of Bukuku
in public. She gave him two cows, a sleeping mat, two
barkcloths as bed coverings, a little maid to wait on her
child, and a male and femald goat to be tied up as five
offerings according to the custom of the people.
The child was named Karabumbi, and as he grew up,
he minded the sheep of his foster father, Dubumbi ; but
he was a very wilful and impertinent boy. He used to
dig holes on the road for people to fall into, and he would
chuckle with delight when those carrying water from the
well, fell and broke their pitchers. Whenever he saw
beer being carried along the road for Bukuku, he would
seize the men and drink or spill it out, and when
Dubumbi 's herdsmen took the cows down to the cattle
trough to salt them, Karabumbi drove down his cows in
front, and they drank up all the salted water. If the
herdsmen remonstrated with him he fought them, so t"hat
they were afraid of him. At last they came to Bukuku
and complained of this peasant child, and said that dis-
ease ought to kill a boy of such impudence. Bukuku
promised to whip him soundly when he had the chance,
a?
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
One day he accompanied his herdsmen as they went to
salt the cattle; he sat on a stool under a thatch shade,
while his men digged and mortared in the trough ; when
they had finished it, they filled it with water from the
well, then threw in salt, and everything was ready; so
they went to choose out the milk cows which were to
drink first, and as the herdsmen were driving them down
Karabumbi saw them, and he hastily collected together
all his sheep and cattle and rushed them down to the
trough. But Bukuku's head herdsman tried to prevent
him, whereupon he struck him with a fanged spear.
Then Bukuku called out, "Seize him and bring him to
me." As they brought him round towards the back of
the stool, Bukuku rose and Karabumbi speared him in
the chest, and he fell forward into the trough of salt and
died.
Thereupon Karabumbi broke away from his captors
and, seating himself on Bukuku's stool, proclaimed him-
self the king of mankind. On hearing the alarm and
shouting, all the people gathered themselves together,
and as they looked at Karabumbi they detected the
strong likeness he bore to their god, king Isaza, so they
feared to molest him or to interfere, and returned to their
homes to discuss the matter and to watch developments.
Immediately messengers were despatched to Nyinamuiri,
that she should come and revenge her father's death ;
but when the men were come into her presence and she
listened to their words, she was greatly troubled and
knew not what to do, for she said, "'My ears cause me
to hear both evil and good, for is it not my son who has
killed Bukuku? My father is dead, but my son reigns;
thus I have sorrow on one arm, but joy on the other."
Then she ordered her servants to pull down and destroy
her fence, so that she might go forth into the world and
see her son, who had been banished from her since his
birth, She called for the fluters and drummers to accom-
88
Isaza^Ndahura
pany her, but they ran off on hearingf of their master's
death ; so from that day bandsmen have never been
allowed to enter the king's house ; thev remain outside
in the courtyard, because they failed to appear when the
offspring of the gods, the first Mucwezi ruler, began to
reign. Nyinamuiri set out on her journev, and when
she came to the house of Karabumbi and beheld her son,
she fell on his neck and embraced him. Then she pro-
duced a charm which she fastened round his neck as a
talisman against sickness and trouble, according to the
custom of mothers.
Karabumbi called together all his people, men, women
and children, and Nyinamuiri explained to them how he
was the son of Isimbwa, the grandson of Isaza. On
hearing these words everybodv shouted with jov, for the
world was no longer left without a king, but the gods
had returned to rule over them.
Now Karabumbi was a man of great strength and
arrogance; he was not content with reigning over the
restricted area allotted to Bukuku, but was determined
to win back the kingdom of his grandfather, Isaza, and
to unite up under himself all men and tribes. So he
despatched messengers to all the chiefs who had asserted
their own independence, demanding them to come in
and do allegiance to him ; but his messengers were re-
ceived with scorn, and they returned to him with these
words : "You are either the son of Bukuku or the potter,
Dubumbi, and as both of them were common peasants,
will we, the rulers of the land ahci the descendants of
lords, do homage to you ?" Wh'en Karabumbi heard
these insolent words he was very wrath, and declared
war against mankind ; thus bloodshed and fighting
entered the world.
He first attacked Ankole and made the chief Ntale sur-
render to him ; then he plundered and subdued Toro,
and passed over to Bugoma on the eastern shore of Lake
89
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
Albert. When the chief Nsinga heard that Karabumbi
had come out against him, he donned his crown of beads
surmounted with red parrot tails, and sought to kill him
with witchcraft, as he did not know how to fight; iTLit
Karabumbi heard of the plot and seized Nsinga. He
took off his crown and placed a wreath of wild Virginia
on his head and mocked him thus : " Is this how you
bewitch ? See how I honour such wisdom and such cun-
ning." He then ordered him to be cast down the escarp-
ment into the lake, where he was drowned.
Now when Isimbwa heard that his son had been pro-
claimed king, he decided to go to him and acknowledge
himself as his father ; so he called his servants and
started on the journey. After travelling for some days
he came near to Nyinamuiri's house, and, meeting a man
as he was wading through a swamp, asked him who
lived on the opposite bank. When he heard that it was
his wife's home, he sent a servant on in advance to
announce him as the man who years ago sent to her an
offering of flowers through her little maid. On hearing
the words, Nyinamuiri hastened to spread down mats in
the house, and dressed herself elaborately in bark-
cloths, necklaces and bracelets, and sat in readiness
to receive him. As Isimbwa entered, the drums were
beaten and a great feast was given in his honour ; very
many oxen were killed, and wine was given round to
every man and woman. Isimbwa remained there two
months, after which he rose up with Nyinamuiri to visit
their son.
As they drew near, the royal drums were sounded, and
the musicians played with all their might, for the king
Karabumbi, who was believed by many to be a sham,
was now able to establish his claim to the kingdom a-;
the rightful descendant of Isaza. He called all his
people together for a feast, and when they were satiated
with food and wine, he brought forward his father and
90
' ^ * r « r • r
Isaza^Ndahura
introduced him to the assembled people, who imme-
diately broke forth into loud acclamations of loyalty and
rejoicing.
After these things Karabumbi gave to his father
and mother a large district as their own property, so
Isimbwa fetched his son Kyomya and settled down there
with him.
Then Karabumbi called his step-brother, Kyomya,
and asked him to join in an expedition for subduing the
remaining outlying districts that still stoutly held oi;t
against him. This Kyomya agreed to do, and the king
gathering together a large army, set out towards Uganda.
The paramount chief, Ntege, they found at Kyagwe,
where they killed him, and Karabumbi gave the district
to Kyomya, who wished no longer to fight, but to settle
down quietly on his land, and rule the people around
him. So the king sent for his son Kiro to take command
of the army, and ordered him to proceed in an eastern
direction. He therefore divided his forces up, one de-
tachment he gave to Kiro, while he marched out with
the other towards Bulega. Kiro carried on continual
skirmishes throughout the districts of Busoga, Bukidi
and Madi. The chiefs who refused to surrender he in-
stantly killed, then plundered the country and reduced
the people to a state of vassalage. According to the
instructions he had received he crossed the Nile, and
keeping to the lake shore fell upon his father's tracks;
so he decided to follow him, join up forces, and thus
complete the entire subjugation of the land. One day
he arrived at the fringe of a small forest in Bulega,
and as they halted, thev heard a drum beating in the
distance, and Kiro said, "Hark, is that not my father's
drum, the voice of the king?" So he commanded his
drummer to reply, and when Karabumbi heard the notes
he exclaimed, "That is the voice of my lion-hearted son."
Then Kiro drew his cutlass from its scabbard, and cut-
91
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
tinq: a path throuo-h the forest in the direction of the
drum's call, suddenly came upon a force of Bulesfa,
who had surrounded the kin^ and were on the point
of killinsf him. Comine ud h<=^hind. he fell UDon them
with a mio-hty slausi'hter; a few saved themselves bv
flisfht, but the ground was strewn with dead bodies.
Thus the kin? was rescued, and Buleo-a was conquered.
Kiro knelt before his father, the kinsf. to do homage,
and oflFered him the richest of the spoils he had taken
in warfare — women and children, cattle and gfoats.
Amon,?" the children vvas a little maid named Nvank-
wang-a, who had hair hang^insf to her shoulders, and was
verv comely. Kiro's armv had suddenly attacked the
villasfe in which she lived, and while the people were
sleepinsr had set fire to their huts. As they fled in terror
to escape the anory flames, the soldiers had hacked down
every livingf soul. Nvankwang-a, seeing- her parents and
brother cut to pieces, had flunsf herself at the feet of Kiro
saying-, "Great and strong- master, spare me, spare me:
if you grant me life I will be your slave to bring your
water, your pipe, and your war-clothes." So Kyomva
saved the little girl and presented her to his father for a
wife.
That night in camp there were great revellings; the
drums were beaten till the morning, and when the wine
was handed round the king sang out in exultation : "Is
there any limit to the children that shall be born to me,
children of strength and of honour; but behold Kiro, the
mightiest of them all, the strongest bull in his father's
herd, whose roar is terrible."
At dawn Karabumbi and his son arose and swore
that they would not rest till the earth acknowledged the
rule of the Bacwezi god-kings; but before they started
two witch-priests came to them in secret, and warned
them, saying, "We have sought for signs and an omen
on your journey, but the grasshoppers and the fowls
92
Isaxa^Ndahura
have all augured evil." The king, however, was offended
with them and answered, " Grasshoppers are but insects,
fowls are vile, tor they peck among the dust and dirt tor
their food. Shall the Mucwezi king listen to them when
they prophesy evil or good 'i " The king and his son Kiro
thereupon set out to right, ana, going in the Ankole
direction, raided and burnt all the villages along their
route and killed every man that refused to recognise the
king.
On arriving at the village ruled over by the chief
Lukerege, they met a man whom the diviners had com-
manded to kill Karabumbi. So the man was lying in
wait with his poisoned bpear, but teared to carry out
the instructions of his master when he saw the might
and courage of Karabumbi, for he seized Lukerege, pull-
ing him out by the nose, and butted him with the horns
which he wore on his head, so that he died. In the dis-
trict of Ntanzi they found prosperity and plenty, for the
country had never been attacked by foe or sickness; but
when the people heard of the approach of Karabumbi
they fled, hiding themselves in the hills and in the
swamps ; and on returning they found their homes burnt
down and their villages ransacked.
When the king came to the country of Bugaba they
found it abounding in bees, so gourds and cooking pots
were placed in the trees, and into these the bees swarmed.
The king took these away with him, and in consequence
there followed him swarms of brown and black ants and
insects of various kinds which scented the honey. In
another village a number of prisoners were taken, and
among them were two men ill with syphilis, which
infected the whole army. Thus the disease spread
throughout the length and breadth of the land.
While they passed through the country of Jujura,
swarms of flies attached themselves to the army, and in
the neighbouring village numbers of the men fell ill wit>
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Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
sinall-pox, for among the things they pilfered, was a
pot of small-pox scabs; the custom of these villagers
being to collect in a jar the scabs from their sick and
empty them out in their enemies' village.
Passing on through Hungara and Hwehwe they con-
tracted cancer and falsehood from the inhabitants; thus
pests, disease and trouble spread over all the land.
After they had conquered the whole country, the king
and his son Kiro arrived back again in Bulega. When
he saw the bows and arrows of the Bulega he requested
them to instruct his people to make them; so they cut
down saplings, sharpened and trimmed the arrows, and
bent the sticks for the bow. Then they seized the oldest
man in the king's army, and cutting the sinews from
his body, rolled them out and strung the bow. After this
the king turned towards his home. One day as they
journeyed they saw working in the field a very beautiful
woman named Alugizi, with her three younger sisters.
When the king approached, they bowed low, and in a
modest voice Mugizi explained, in answer to his en-
quiries, that she belonged to the jMusita clan, and was
the wife of two men, Rubani and Busereko. Then the
king called his warriors, and ordered them to enter the
house and kill one husband and take the other prisoner.
The king then presented Mugizi with a barkcloth and
beads, and the woman, seeing that she had found favour
in the eyes of the king, rejoiced greatly, and she became
his wife; from that day royalty has always inter-
married with the Musita clan.-
On arriving at the capital, all the people came together
to welcome back their king, who had thus subdued the
whole country, and won back for himself the entire king-
dom of his grandfather, the god Isaza. He had brought
with him an enormous amount of spoil which he
ordered to be exhibited before the eyes of all men.
There were cattle and goats ; men, women and children ;
94
Isaza^Ndahura
bees, ants, flies and all kinds of insects ; cooking pots,
calabashes, a stool with eight legs, and an antelope hide
with seven tails, bows, arrows and spears.
As the people beheld these new and wonderful things
and the great wealth of their king, they stood speechless,
and Isimbwa, the king's father, stood up, and in a loud
voice broke out into praise and exaltation of his son, say-
ing : " You have been called Karabumbi, but I say you
shall from henceforth be known as NHahura (I will store
up). You are the invincible; your roar is terrible; you
are the mightiest ox in the herd of mankind." Then in
the eyes of all men the king gave to his father a royal
portion of the spoils, namely, 9 handmaidens, 9 slaves,
9 wives, 9 sheep, 9 cows, and 9 spears, for this was the
number relating to the gods. He also sent gifts to his
mother Nyinamuiri, and afterwards every man returned
to his own home.
Ndahura, the king, then made a rule that periodically
his sons should go out with an army to abstract cattle
and slaves from the people as tribute and an assurance
of their loyalty to him, or to enforce obedience and
homage where this was withheld. On one occasion, as
his son Wamara was expected back from one of these
expeditions, Ndahura evinced great impatience, as he
was very doubtful of the loyalty of the people among
whom he had been sent. The king continued walking
up and down outside his fence watching for him, when
suddenly the earth opened and swallowed him and his
servant. When the king did not return home, all the
people of his household made search for him, but they
found him not. So they sent messengers to his mother,
saying, "The king is lost, the kingdom totters, what
shall we do?" Then Isimbwa, his father, and all the
people came together and lifted up their voices and
wailed. In the evening Wamara and his army returned,
and as they reached the place where the king had been
95
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
swallowed up, messengers met them from Isimbwa and
Nyinamuiri, saying, " Remain where you are, enter not
into the house of sorrow, the house bereft of its master.
To whom will you now present your plunder and offer-
ings, for the king is lost?"
When Wamara heard the words, he started off with a
band of men to search for Ndahura, but when they found
him not, the drum of the kingdom was turned upside
down, for he whose right it was to rule and beat the
drum had departed from among men.
Now the king and his servant had remained two days
in Hell, but at the end of that time the latter managed to
scramble up and reach earth once more. He then turned
over in his mind how he could save his master, so
called loudly to the king, " Give me something with
which I can procure food lor you and me," but INdahura
answered, "My man, when servants travel with their
masters, do they eat them ? If so, eat me, for we were
swallowed up together in Hell, where there is no food
and nothing to satisfy ; does Hell produce anything with
which to purchase food and comforts?" Nyamutale then
asked for his master's spear, and when it was handed
to him, he wanted to kiss the king's hand to express
his gratitude, but Ndahura drew back exclaiming,
"Never will 1 offer my hand for homage in Hell." Then
the servant cut footholds in the earth with the spear, and
planting it in the ground, he held on to it firmly, and
requested the king to grasp the end of the goat hide with
which he was girded; and thus he managed to pull the
king out of Hell.
When he reached the top, the servant ran and fetched
water to wash down his master, so that the defilements
of Hell should not remain upon him, and he took off the
soiled barkcloths which he wore, and dressed him in two
new ones, which he had fetched from his own home.
So they returned together towards the house. On seeing
96
Isaza'-Ndahura
the royal drum reversed the king set it up again, and
after beating it vigorously seated himself on the
throne; whereupon all the people came together won-
dering among themselves who it was who had usurped
the prerogative of kings. They chose out one man
named Kagoro to go and inquire, and as he drew near
cautiously and beheld Ndahura, their king, sitting there,
he fell down and worshipped him. The king spoke to
him these words : " Go home and be comforted, for I have
returned ; in the morning you shall all come that I may
speak with you."
The next morning at dawn, Isimbwa, Nyinamuri,
Wamara and all the warriors came with their plunder,
and the people gathered themselves together, from the
eldest to the youngest, to hear of that strange thing that
had happened to their king. When they had all
assembled, Ndahura stood up and commanded that a suc-
cessor should be found to rule over them, as he could no
longer be their king, for Hell had opened its mouth
against him and held him ; but the people with one
voice pleaded with him to remain their ruler. He, how-
ever, refused steadfastly, saying "He over whom Hell
has exercised its power cannot reign on earth, but who
shall be your king? Wamara is my eldest son, but he
is selfish. Behold, I see the kingdom tottering, for he
must reign. I cannot overlook priority, but because
Wamara shall possess the kingdom it will be destroyed."
Thus Wamara sat on the throne of his father and
reigned. Ndahura took all the plunder that had been
brought in, and went away with his mother ; and for some
time wandered about together in Toro, looking out
for a suitable place where they could settle down. One
day, on reaching the Semliki plain, where the heat was
exceeding great, he plunged into a spring to cool him-
self, but as his body was very hot, gradually the water
boiled, and the boiling springs of Bulange remain to
97 H
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
this day, where people come and get cured of their ail-
ments.*
He then had wells sunk in the centre of two of the
highest hills there, so that the water should remain
always cold and uncontaminated. These are the crater
lakes, where people say the Bacwezi now dwell.
Ndahura and his mother then moved on, and came to a
place called Butara, where he laid a bridge which still
remains, and is called "The Bridge of Ages."
His footmarks may also still be seen on a great rock in
that neighbourhood, so that people avoid passing it even
now. He ultimately settled on the shores of the
Edward Lake, and his mother Nyinamuiri built for her-
self an island on the lake, and Isimbwa and Wamara
used to exchange greetings with them from time to time.
*These boiling springs are at the north-west base of RuwenEori
Mountains, the water contains a large proportion of sulphur, its
medicinal properties have been known to the natives for a long time ;
they direct the water ofif into little pools where it cools sufficiently
for bathing.
98
CHAPTER VIII
The Reign of the Bacwezi or
Demi'gods : Wamara.
THE King Wamara set up his kingdom at Bwera
in Uganda, and divided the land among his
brethren.
Now these are the names of the Bacwezi —
Isimbwa (son of Isaza was not reckoned among them, as
he had been born in Hell of the daughter of Hell) had
five sons — Kyomya, who had a son named Kagoro,
Ndahura, who had three children, Wamara, Ibona and
Kiro; Mugenyi, Mulindwa and Mugasa. These nine
Bacwezi were not like other men, but were gods,
for although they were born of women they had un-
ending life, and knew neither sickness nor death.
The two brothers, Mulindwa and Mugenyi, loved each
other much, and had all things in common ; neither
undertook any enterprise or journey without his brother.
On a certain day the Bacwezi all went out to hunt
together; they were dressed in royal apparel, each wore
a barkcloth of the finest fibre and two leopard skins. On
hearing a commotion in the courtyard, their wives peeped
out of their houses, and concealing themselves behind
the fence, they looked through the gaps that they might
behold the grandeur of their lords as they departed.
When Mugenyi started out, all the women remarked on
his beauty and strength, but afterwards Mulindwa ap-
peared, and they held their breath in admiration of him,
99
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
and said among themselves, "Mulindwa has quite
eclipsed Mugenyi; he excels all men." Now Mugenyi's
mother, Nyangoro, heard these words, and her heart was
filled with anger and jealousy, and she determined to kill
Mulindwa.
In the evening the men returned from the hunt, an'd,
as the custom was, each brought an offering of flowers
to his sweetheart. Mulindwa gave his gift to Nyangoro,
the mother of Mugenyi, whom he loved dearly, yet could
he not marry her as she was the wife of his father; but
he used to wait his opportunity, when he would call on
her, bring presents of bracelets and goats, and make
love to her. One day the two brothers had decided to
visit their cattle, to watch them being salted, but when
the hour arrived for them to set out, Mulindwa feigned
sickness, so Mugenyi started forth alone. Nyangoro
had listened to their conversation in the courtyard, and
surmised that Mulindwa was only seeking for a chance
to come to her, so she hastily planned his destruction, to
be carried out under the guise of love. She digged a
very deep pit inside her house, filled it with boiling water,
and covered it over with thin twigs and grass. Mean-
while, Mulindwa dressed himself in his best barkcloth,
smeared his face and chest with butter, and went to visit
Nyangoro. As he entered the hut, she rose to greet him
very effusively, and he placed on her head a wreath of
grasses and flowers. Then she spread out a skin mat
over the grass, and begged him to be seated ; but imme-
diately he put his feet down oh the skin, the twigs gave
way and he fell into the boiling water. Nyangoro then
arose and quickly covered over the pit with mats to
suffocate him. A herdsman, however, had accompanied
his master to the hut, and when he heard Mulindwa's cry
of distress, he ran quickly out to Mugenyi, and falling on
his knees before him said, "My lord, the words I bring
are terrible, yet how can I withhold them? Our beloved
100
e c c •
« <^ *
, <• f
• c . ,
< e c^ (
, « ' • , c
p < o t.
A MIINYORO PROFILE.
Wamara
master is dead ; these ears listened to his moans and
heard him throw out his arms in death. Hasten, hasten."
Immediately Mugenyi rose up and came quickly to his
mother's house, where he found Mulindwa's dogs whin-
ing and wrestling with those who tried to keep them out
of the hut. Led by the dogs' instincts, he approached
the spot, and feeling an intense heat rising from the
ground he tore away the covering and discovered his
brother in the pit burnt and blistered beyond recognition.
He lifted the body out of the boiling water, poured milk
over him, and by degrees consciousness returned,
although the fingers and toes were completely withered
up.
Mugenyi then dragged his mother out of the house
to kill her, but Mulindwa pleaded for her, saying, " No,
no, a man must not kill his mother ; if you do not avenge
me, Wamara will, and if he will not, my nephew Kagoro
will, but should he refuse, the gods will have their re-
venge." So Mugenyi forgave his mother, but her
daughters and other members of the clan he seized, and
many of them he killed, the others were cursed by
Mulindwa, who said, "You women of the Basingo clan
shall die without bearing one child, and shall never see
old age, because I have been robbed of my beauty, and
struck down in my youth, while my cows are yet young,
my wives have not reached maturity, and my children
are wearing rattles still." From that day princes have
never married into the Basingo clan.
Under the rule of Wamara evil increased exceedingly.
The Bacwezi were no longer held in veneration, nor their
persons regarded as invulnerable. When it had got
noised about that a woman had acted with violence toward
Mulindwa, many unruly persons arose and determined
to plunder and rob the gods; for Kantu had entered
into the hearts of men, and was determined on destroying
the whole work of Ruhanga.
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Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
Very soon the Bacwezi began to quarrel among them-
selves, and Mugasa, the uncle of Wamara, rebelled
against him, and sought to wrest the kingdom from him^
But Wamara successfully quashed the rising and took
the six children of Mugasa prisoners. After many futile
attempts their father, however, managed to reclaim them,
and took them away to Heaven with him, so as to remove
them from any further danger.
Now on a certain day the Bacwezi were sitting round
their fire talking together, when a storm gathered, the
thunder roared and the rain fell in rivers. Kagoro turned
to his uncle, Mugenyi, and asked him what thunder and
lightning were. Mugenyi answered that they were fowls
from Heaven that lick up the water that is on the earth,
and spit it out again as rain. When they have givert
out very much saliva in this way, the fowls become ex-
hausted and fall to earth with a crash. He said how
these fowls are of an enormous size when they leave
Heaven, but on falling to earth as thunder, they shrivel
up with the cold and damp. Kagoro asked if anyone
had ever seen the fowls, and Mugenyi assured him that
one day after a loud crash of thunder, a strange fowl was
found lying in the courtyard of a house. The bird was
taken inside and placed near the fire to dry, but as the
heat acted upon it, enormous wings unfolded themselves,
and the fowl flew upwards, burning the house as it passed
through. The bird, after falling, remains hidden in the
ground until the succeeding peal, when it rises to join its
companions.
And this theory is believed to this day. People hide
their faces during thunder for fear of the fowl casting its
eye upon them. Lightning is said to be caused by the
fowls playing together. When a house is struck by
lightning, the people fear to stay one moment to rescue
their goods, for they say the glory-light of the fowl is so
great that they will be struck blind by its radiance. If a
102
Wamara
man is killed by it, they believe that a fowl has plucked
him by the neck, drawn out his heart, and taken it to the
Bacwezi gods.*
Kagoro answered his uncle by telling him he would go
to Heaven and kill the birds that made such a distracting
noise, but his father rebuked him for abusing the things
of Heaven, and told him that Heaven was sacred to them,
for therein dwelt some of their relations who had been
taken there by Mugasa. When Kagoro heard this, he
determined in his heart that he would ascend to Heaven
and rescue his kin from such misfortune. He went away
into the bush and called to Thunder to carry him hence,
and a fowl descended and bore him thither. Now,
Mugasa had made himself king of Heaven, and one day
when he was out hunting with his servants, they found
Kagoro sitting alone in a field, on the spot where the fowl
had dropped him. So Mugasa took him back to his
home, and gave him to his daughter as a slave. But
they were greatly perplexed at his behaviour, and ques-
tioned among themselves what kind of man he was, for
he refused to drink milk out of a peasant's gourd, and
to do the work of a slave : in all things he acted as their
equal. On one occasion they took him with them as they
visited the capital of Heaven, and as they went along the
road everybody did obeisance to Kagoro. So they
turned and asked him of his parentage, and when he said
he was the son of Mugenyi, they embraced him and
wept for joy. But Mugasa refused to believe his words,
for he feared that he might become his rival in Heaven.
♦During the building of the present church in Hoima, it was struck
by lightning, without setting fire to it, however. The lightning
travelled down one of the inside support poles, splintering and
singeing it. A large crowd of interested spectators came together m
the morning to see the effects of the storm, and it was not a httle
edifying to see one and another excitedly point out to his companion,
the footprints of the legendary fowl, as it had run down the pole and
disturbed the ground beneath.
103
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
The king one day went out to hunt, and ordered Kagoro
to attend him ; but they tramped about all day, and
met with no success, so Mugasa was weary, and rested
under the shade of a tree. While he slumbered, Kagoro
cautiously came toward him with his spear quivering,
and thrust it at his knee. The king immediately woke
up with a start, and cried out, "Do not kill me; do I
not know who you are ; ask what you will, and I will give
it you." Kagoro then demanded that he should give
him all his children that he had taken out of the world.
So Kagoro saved them from Heaven, and brought them
down again to earth, and left Mugasa ruling there.
Now, there was a certain man named Misango, who
conceived a plot for stealing all the cattle of the Bacwezi,
which were herded together and placed under the care
of Kagoro. But the man feared Kagoro, the Mucwezi,
for he was powerful and fearless. One day, however,
Kagoro went away to visit the home of his mother-in-
law; then Misango, seizing his opportunity, plundered
the cattle, also the barkcloths and coronets of the
Bacwezi. Immediately an alarrh was raised by an old
servant who had been left in the kraal. Standing on a
very high hill, the old man cried aloud. Kagoro was at
that moment sitting and playing with his sisters-in-law,
and when he heard the alarm he stopped in the game and
listened. "That is like the voice of our old confidential
servant," said he, but the women declared that it was
only a bird chirping. When the sound reached him the
second time, he was angry with them for detaining him,
and exclaimed, "Let me go; women were made for
perfume and pleasure, not for counselling men." Then
he turned and fled with such violence that he knocked
down the door-post of the house.
When he reached the servant, he enquired of him the
cause for alarm. "Alas," answered the old man, "the
cattle of the gods have been taken; Mugenyi has been
104
Wamara
speared in attempting to rescue his goods, and your
Uncle Alulindwa reclaimed his cows, but killed and ate
them all, fearing they would be again stolen." On
hearing these words, Kagoro armed Rimself with a spear
and hastened ofif towards Ankole, where ]\Iisango had
taken refuge. When he encountered the man, he chal-
lenged him thus, " If you do not want me to kill you, kill
me" ; whereupon Misango ran towards him and flung two
spears, which only, however, grazed his knee. Then
Kagoro raised his spear, and, with a straight aim, flung
it at Misango, so that it entered into his shoulder, and
he died. Then Kagoro broke forth into song : " Do you
see me, Kagoro, the vindicator of the gods ? The sinews
of my body are iron ; am I not a descendant of Isimbwa,
of Isaza, of the gods, whose life is imperishable, whose
might is irresistible?" After killing many people, he
got back all the cattle that had been stolen, and returned
home to his father, Mugenvi.
Now, among his father's herds there was an ox named
Bihogo, which was of rare value, for it imparted frag-
rance to the water when drinking.* When Kagoro
brought it back with the other cattle, his father
fell on its neck and embraced it, and swore that, what-
ever evil should henceforth afflict it, should afflict him
also; if water was the cause of its death, he would never
again drink a drop ; if salt, none of his cattle should
ever again be salted ; if it should die naturally, he would
on that day kill himself. One day, when Mugenyi was
sitting in the house with his friends, a lad came in run-
ning, and breathlessly announced that the ox Bihogo
had been seized with a fit, and was on the point of death ;
without a moment's hesitation, Mugenyi gripped his
♦There are said to be certain cows in the country that possess this
quality, after drinking they leave a deposit on the surface of the water
which is then drawn off, and the deposit incrustates ; it is then taken
and ground to a powder, and used for scenting bark- cloths.
105
Twilight Tales ot the Black Baganda
spear to kill himself, but his brothers restrained him by
force.* They sought to turn him from his purpose
by offering him gifts. The king Wamara gave him
100 buffaloes; Ndahura, the ex-king, sent him 200
heifers; his brothers, Ibona and Kiro, gave 100 white
and 200 grey cattle ; Isimbvva, his father, brought to him
a herd of 400 red cows ; and his mother, 200 oxen. Every-
one sympathised with him, but JMugenyi was inconsol-
able ; his brothers stayed night and day to cheer him,
but he refused to be comforted.
The king Wamara sent for the witch-doctors and
ordered them to dissect the dead ox, and to divulge toTiim
the future, as portrayed in its entrails. In the morning
the ox was brought, and all the witch-priests came
together to examine it, and to read its buried secrets;
but when they cut open the body, they found it quite
empty; not one organ remained. This greatly perplexed
the witch-doctors ; they were quite at a loss to understand
its meaning. They came into the king's presence and
told him of this great wonder, but they assured him that
the carcase of the ox was perfectly clean inside, which
indicated that he should possess great wealth, and have
many children born to him. As they were speaking,
a stranger crossed the courtyard and stood at the entrance
of the house. He was dressed in the skins of wild
animals; his neck, head, and arms were laden with
strange charms. As the king and witch-doctor looked
up, he spoke to them thus, " I am Nyakoko, the wise man
of Bukidi; I hold intercourse with the gods, man, and
devils. I know no limitations; Heaven, the world, and
hell are open to me. If you would understand the
mystery of the ox Bihogo, take me to it. But first give
*This consideration for the life of their cattle is characteristic of the
liakuma race at the present day. Although human life is regarded sa
lightly by them, a man will readily kill himself at the death of a
favourite cow.
106
Wamara
me a token of blood, a seal of brotherhood between yoir
and me, O king, that no prophecy of mine, either of evif
or good, shall jeopardise my life." Wamara then called"
for Mugenyi and commanded him to make blood-
brotherhood with the stranger, who readily consented.
When their compact was completed, and the life of the-
priest was thus secured, Nyakoko stood forth in the-
middle of the courtyard, surrounded by the Bacwezi and"
chiefs of the people, and the dead ox was brought to him.
He took up the head and hoofs, and, placing them on
the carcase, split them open with a hatchet. Immediately
ail the internal organs of the body fell out from the skull
and hoofs, and as they did so, a smut flew out of the fire-
and settled on the intestines. Nyakoko took a knife and
tried to scrape it off ; he washed the part, but the smear
remained. The witch-doctor then ordered every man tO'
withdraw, excepting the Bacwezi, and, approaching
Wamara, held out his wand for him to touch, and spoke-
thus : " My master, I foresee evil only. The body of the
ox being empty, signifies that the rule of the Bacwezi is-
over, and the land is void ; the entrails found in the head
tell me that you will still, however, exercise power over
mankind; the others found in the hoofs mean that you
will wander continually over the earth. The smut is a
black man, a barbarian, who will come and usurp the
kingdom ; he will recognise no caste, will enforce na
obedience ; in his time a servant will not respond, woman
will be ungovernable, cattle will not heed the voice of
the herdsman, dogs w-ill not answer to the call of their
masters. The drum of the gods will be beaten by a
savage, and others of his kin will possess it after him."
After hearing these words, the Bacwezi went into their
house, and at night they conferred together, and decided
to kill Nyakoko, for he had penetrated into the secret,
councils of the gods, and nothing was hid from him.
But at night, when all men slept, one of the king's wives.
107
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
dreamed a dream, and in the morning she hastened
into his presence and warned him, saying, " My master
and king, in my dream I saw the Bacwezi taking a long
journey, and they got lost; they reached a land where
they were unknown and unrecognised. And this happened
to them because they killed a man named Nyakoko."
Meanwhile, Mugenyi went to Nyakoko and warned him
to depart. "Arise," said he, "you are my blood-brother
with whom I made a covenant which I cannot break ;
we, the Bacwezi, have agreed to kill you ; therefore,
return quickly to your own land and people." Mugenyi
gave him two pieces of meat for the journey, and the
witch-doctor went back to Bukidi.
Meanwhile, Wamara, the king, had commanded his
brothers and uncles to remain with Mugenyi to guard
him against self-destruction, and until he should recover
from the death of his ox Bihogo. One evening they
prepared a feast and wine in abundance, and called him
to join them !n their feastings. They drank very freely,
danced, sang, and became very excited; in their songs
they sang of iheir greatness and their might, but scoffed
at Mugenyi for wishing to cast away his life — the life of
a god — for that of an ox. Their jibeings at last prevailed,
and, casting off his mourn-ng, Mugenyi joined them in
their retellings. So in the morning the Bacwezi departed
to their own homes, for they saw that Mugenyi had
recovered from his grief. But when they had left him,
Mugenyi laid on his bed and thought over the doings of
the previous night; and as he cogifated, his old aunt
came in and mocked him, saying, "Did you not swear
that of Bihogo, the faultless, the beloved ox, died, you
would kill yourself? This night, however, you have
been merry, you have feasted and drunk while it lies
dead!" And the words pierced Mugenyi like a spear,
and he swore by Isimbwa these words, " I am despised
and jeered at by a woman ; therefore will I leave the
108
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world; it is corrupt, and no place for the gods." So he
tied up his things, and sent to wish his brethren farewell.
But when Wamara heard that his uncle was determined
to depart, he called together all the Bacwezi — his father,
Ndahura ; his grandfather, Isimbwa ; his mother,
Nyinamuiru ; his uncles and all his brethren, and said to
them, " Let us leave the kingdom of this world, for it is
defiled ; when women despise us, who will fear us ? " So
they collected their herds, and their wives, and their
goods, and departed. As they journeyed along the lake
shore they called to the people and ordered them to guard
the regalia of the kingdom — the large and small drums,
three spears, two shields, two bows bound with brass
wire, arrows, brass bracelets and anklets, two stools,
also forty heifers, eight bulls, a herdsman, a slave girl,
and two women of the household.
When they reached Bukidi, they saw people sitting
under a Mubito tree, and they called out to them, " You
people of Bukidi, go and rule the kingdom that we have
left vacant. You shall be called Babito (princes), for the
gods called you from the Mubito tree. After travelling
for some days, Wamara remembered that he had left
behind the bowl of love, so he sent Kagoro back with all
speed to fetch it. As he returned with it running, some
of the contents got spilled, and when Wamara heard of it
he was troubled, and said, " Our love now can never be
complete; only a very little, however, has been spilled;
it is not sufficient for people to love each other. If one
person will love, the other will hate. A man who loves
his wife will be hated bv her, and should a woman love
her husband, he will hate her."
So the Bacwezi departed and were never seen again.
Their footsteps were traced to the Victoria Lake, but
others say they disappeared down the crater lakes. Twice
only have they been seen again by man ; on one occasion
they appeared to one named Nyamusuma of Mwenge (a
109
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
"district of Toro), and they spoke thus to him, " Our land
is a good land that no man knows ; our road is invisible
and unknowable." They gave him a bowl of milk which
never came to an end ; in the morning they had dis-
appeared, but they left him a present of a cow tied up to a
post by a snake, and the cow bore 390 calves. Their
second appearance was to a young herdsman of Toro
named Kazoba. One day in the early morning he saw a
cow grazing alone in the bush ; as he could not catch it,
lie called to his brothers to assist him, but when they
■came up to it, the cow was caught away into Heaven, and
in its place sat three women, who called to the boys; but
they feared to approach, for they were unlike other people
— their hair was white like calico, and on their heads were
crowns of flowers. The boys ran from them and called
their friends, but when thev returned, the women had
•entirely disappeared ; and although the Bacwezi ceased
to reign over the earth, they continued to sway the lives
of men and to determine their destiny.
110
CHAPTER IX
The Dynasty of the Babito*
THE people seen by the Bacwezi under a mubito tree
were two huntsmen and their servants. The men's
names were Mpuga Rukidi and Kato ; they were
illegitimate sons of the Mucwezi Isimbwa. When
they heard the words of the Bacwezi they did not under-
stand their meaning, and as they discussed together the
matter, a man came towards them. He was Nyakoko,
the witch doctor who had fled from Bunyoro after fore-
telling the Bacwezi their fate. Mpuga, seeing who it
was, ran and embraced him, for they were great friends.
Nyakoko asked what fortune they had met with in the
hunt, and showed them a curious animal which he him-
self had shot on the lake shore. Part of it resembled a
colobus monkey and the other part a lion, and when they
skinned it the animal still lived and ran about. They
returned together to the house, and that night made a
^reat feast to commemorate Nyakoko's home-coming.
When the night was advanced, and people had gone to
their beds, Mpuga remained talking with Nyakoko, and
told him of the mysterious words spoken to them by the
strangers who had passed through their country in large
numbers, and carrying great possessions. Then Nya-
koko explained to him who the people were, and divulged
all that had occurred to him in their country — he expa-
tiated on the vastness of their kingdom, its wealth, its
beauty, its dignity and might. He told of its people, of
their herds, their rich clothing and their refined habits.
Ill
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
Then Mpuga longed to possess this land and rule over
its people, but he withdrew his heart from dwelling on
it, for he saw himself to be ignorant and savage. But
Nvakoko would not allow him to be faint-hearted, for he
saw the chance for his own ambitious desires to be
realised, so he promised to guide him to Bunyoro and
to initiate him into the customs of the country, if he would
promise to make him joint king with himself. This
Mpuga willingly agreed to, and in the morning he
ordered his mother, brethren and servants to prepare for
a journey. They all got ready in a very short time, for
they had few possessions — nothing beyond gourds,
cooking pots and chickens.
The warriors went before, armed with spears, bows,
arrows and daggers; then followed the musicians who
played on the horn ; Nyakoko, Mpuga and his family, and
an interpreter came next; while the servants, carriers
and women brought up the rear. Thus the warriors of
Bukidi set forth to seek the kingdom of Bunyoro, and to
found a dynasty of kings that should reign over it to the
present day.
It was not until the evening of the first day of travel-
ling that the people understood the purport of the
journey, for they had feared to ask their master the
reason of his order for them to depart. But as they were
all gathered round their camp fires that night, Nyakoko
suddenly turned to Mpuga and said, "In the country of
Bunyoro to which we go, there is treachery and false-
hood, the women are faithless and unchaste; whom will
you marry ?" Mpuga replied, " If that "is so we can marry
our sisters." So the people then knew that their master
was going to settle in a new land; and they were afraid
of meeting strong and unknown foes. Nyakoko saw the
dismay on their countenances and put fresh spirit into
the men, by telling them that those who fought for king-
doms must be courageous and strong, and with a leader
112
The Dynasty of the Babito
like Mpuga and a priest like himself they had nothing to
fear.
So in the morning they continued their journey, and
at mid-day reached the River Nile. The usual ferry was
not there, and after waiting till evening and it failed to
appear, Mpuga and his people greatly feared, for they
imagined that this misfortune portended evil to their
enterprise. Nyakoko then commanded a little girl to be
brought, whose mother had been healthv, pure and loved
without dissimulation, and that she should be offered to
the Spirit of the Waters. The witch-doctor laid his
wand on the face of the river and the waters separated
into two, leaving a dry path in the midst. The little
girl was placed in the middle of the river-bed, then
Nyakoko caused the waters to unite again, and they
immediately swallowed up the child and bore her away
to the land of spirits.
Instantly the boat appeared the people were all
comforted, for they knew that their propitiatory offering
had been accepted. Henceforth it became the custom
for all travellers to sacrifice children to the Nile at that
crossing.
Now among the Babito there was one named Nyarwa,
a man of strength and handsome bearing, and he was
much more popular among the people than Mpuga him-
self. And this incensed Mpuga against him, for he
feared that Nyarwa would be preferred by the Banyoro
and be elected as their king. So he formed a plan for
getting rid of him. On the evening of the fifth day
Mpuga feigned sickness, and calling for Nyarwa said,
" I am sick unto death, let them carry me back that I
may die in my own land ; but you take the huntsmen and
return home at your leisure." So Nyarwa had a stretcher
made, and when he had seen the whole caravan turning
back, he called for his huntsmen and started off in an
opposite direction with his dogs and bow.
113 I
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
Then when Mpuga knew him to be at a safe distance
away, he turned round and hastily continued his journey
into Bunyoro. But, alas! when they reached the river
Kafu they found it in flood and impassable. The
warriors called for a halt until the waters should go down,
but Mpuga was determined at all cost to cross the stream.
Men were sent in to test the depth of the water, but when
it reached their armpits the flood swept them away and
they were drowned.
Then Mpuga chose out a little girl, also two black
beads and two black fowls, and threw them into the
swollen stream, and immediately as they were lost io
sight, two men were espied punting a raft towards them,
and they ferried all the people across. And from that
day children were cast into the Kafu River during flood
time by everyone crossing at that point.
When they were within one day of the capital of Bun-
yoro, Nyakoko commanded the interpreter to go before,
crying out aloud, " Be comforted, O land, be comforted,
O people; for a king has come to reign over you." As
he passed through the villages, the men came out in
large numbers and followed him to the capital ; the
place buzzed with excitement, and an eager look-out was
kept all day for the new king to arrive. Early in the
morning the people heard a sound of horns, and descried
spears flashing in the distance ; then appeared a large
company of men, yet kept they silent, for they knew not
whether to receive the newcomer or not. As Mpuga
reached the demesne of the Bacwezi the men of Bunyoro
all drew back, for they considered it sacrilege for a
stranger to enter the home of the gods, and the visitor
they regarded with contempt, for half of his body was
white and the other part was black, and he was dressed
in a sheepskin, while his head was unshaven, his hair
reached, in greased and matted twists, to his shoulders.
But Mpuga did not notice their scornful glances, nor
114
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The Dynasty of the Babito
did he hear their remarks, for he understood not their
language; so he entered Wamara's house and sat down
to rest on the throne. He ordered huts to be erected in
the outer courtyard for himself and his people, for he
refused to take possession of the royal houses until he
was assured of his position, and had learned the use of
the different buildings.
After he had rested, he felt very homesick and fearful
of his new surroundings; he wondered if he was being
ensnared by a plot : so he called to Nyakoko and asked
him to send for a local witch-doctor that he might question
him. Kasoira was brought in to him, and Mpuga asked
him, "Where are the kings of this country? " Kasoira
answered, " I am a man of truth, and dissemble nothing;
you ask me about my late masters, and I tell you that
they went away in the direction of B Uganda to the lake,
but where they have gone I know not. They abdicated,
and told me that their rule had reached finality."
" Do kings leave their land and people unless they are
driven out by rebellion? " said Mpuga.
" Nyakoko saw other reasons which induced them to
go," answered Kasoira. But Mpuga interjected, ""Do
not drag in Nyakoko's name ; you yourself tell me every-
thing, and I will give you a large reward." "Give me,
then, some tobacco, and I will tell you," said Kasoira.
So Mpuga sent a servant to his grandmother to beg for
a plug of tobacco, and when he returned with a pipe and
had lit it, he handed it to the witch-doctor.
"Ah, that is good," said he.
"What, are you satisfied with a small thing like that?
Tell me all you know, and I will give you greater
gifts."
"Well," continued Kasoira, "into my master's life
there entered Kantu, and he was the cause of their depar-
ture."
"Who is Kantu? " asked Mpuga.
115
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
"He is the spirit of evil, who, from the beginning, led
mankind astray."
" If you speak truly, tell me, will the kings never
return ? **
" I swear by my life, they will never come back to this
land. If you want to settle here and portion out the
country, do so, for there is no ruler; our kings have
departed for ever," said Kasoira. Then Mpuga dismissed
him, but he was still suspicious, and no sleep came to
him that night. Early in the morning Nyakoko came
and found him tossing on his bed, and when he had
learned the cause of his uneasiness, he suggested calling
in the two old women whom they had found minding the
house, and who had been left there by the Bacwezi. So
Bunono and Iremera were brought in to Mpuga's pres-
ence ; they trembled and were sorely affrighted when they
saw him, and all his servants armed. But Mpuga spoke
kindly to them and told them to be seated ; then he turned
and said, "Old ladies, who are of the herdsman clan,
the clan that speaks truth and acts righteously, tell me
where your husbands, the Bacwezi, have gone, and what
has driven them from the kingdom."
The women were afraid to answer ; each looked to tlie
other to reply, but at last Bunono jerked out, "Kantu
and contempt drove them from the land, and our lords
the gods will not return — at least not until the reign of
ten or more kings is completed."
When the women had left, Nyakoko came to Mpuga
and said, "When will you rise- up and beat the drum?*
We have been here for eight days, and you have not yet
assumed the right of reigning. If you will not rule, we
will make your brother king."
This roused Mpuga, and he answered, " I am perfecdy
willing to reign, but how shall I do it; who will instruct
me in court etiquette?" The witch-doctor thereupon
*The action of a king on his accession.
116
The Dynasty of the Babito
called in the two old women to groom Mpuga and get
him trimmed up for his accession.
They cut his finger-nails, shaved off his long tufts of
hair, smeared him down with butter, and clothed him
in two bark-cloths. They then commanded that the
royal drum should be brought, but when a search was
made for it, it was not forthcoming. One declared that
it had been swallowed up by rocks, another that it had
been taken up into Heaven, but Bunono told them to
send to the Basita clan, who were the guardians of the
drums. So a messenger was despatched, and, after
travelling all day and night, he arrived at their district,
and entered into the house of a man named Mulimba.
Immediately he espied two drums hanging up on the
wall, and he asked the man whom they belonged to.
"Leave me alone," answered Mulimba, "can I discuss
trifles with you, when my wife has been confined, and
for two days has eaten no food, because there is none
in the house ? If you w-ill give me a few grains of millet,
you can take away both the drums, for their rightful
owners have left the country." The messenger straight-
way took some millet from his cobus-cob hide bag, and
filled up two baskets. So Mulimba gave him one of the
drums named Nyalebe, with the words, " May you pos-
sess wealth and many children."
When the messenger rose up to return, Mulimba
accompanied him to the capital, hoping to obtain further
supplies of food.
The other drum that had been left behind was called
Kajumba, and, finding itself alone, it came down from
the wall, and rolled itself along the road until it reached
the capital, and, entering the house where Mulimba was
staying, it sat down by its companion Nyalebe. When
Nyakoko saw the drum coming along by itself, he ran
to Mpuga, and they rejoiced together that all the omens
indicated success and prosperity.
117
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
A further search was made for the regalia, and these
are the things that were found : — Two steel spears (which
remain to this day), one brass ditto, one dirk, one basket
containing a brass bracelet, a sparkling bead, which w-as
said to have come down from Heaven at the time of
human sacrifices ; also other beads, bracelets, and anklets.
These were all brought to Mpuga, who was deligh'ted
at possessing such priceless treasures, and he ordered
that all the royal buildings and apartments should
immediately be repaired or rebuilt for his accession ; to
every family was allotted a portion of the work in the
restoration of the household.
The royal apartments were approached by a succession
of reeded-in courtyards, in w^hich were erected one or
more circular houses of reeds and thatch, each having
its own specific use. In the outer courtyard, or Court
of Assembly, there was a large roofed-in stand, called the
Kamurweya, under which the king and his suite sat on
fete days. Here also was built a pinnacle of beaten
earth, at the top of which the drummer stood to call the
people together on important occasions.
The first inner court contained the Kasenda or temple,
wherein the witch-priests alone were allowed to enter,
and hold communion with the Spirits, while the king
and his people stood without. Human sacrifices from
time to time were brought inside for divination ; the
skulls were hung round on the wall, but the bodies, after
examination, were taken out for burial. The duty of the
princesses was to keep the floor of this temple smeared
with dung, for no grass w-as allow^ed to be spread down.
In the second court there was the visitors' waiting-
room ; the next one held the guard's house ; this led to
the fourth enclosure, where stood the princesses' house
of worship, guarded carefully by a sentry. The last
courtyard led to the royal apartments, and this was
regarded as sacred ; anyone who laughed, coughed, or
118
The Dynasty of the Babito
blew his nose within the precincts was immediately put
to dekth.
At the entrance there was erected a round house, with
three outside doors — one was called the ivory entrance,
for a long ivory tusk was laid at the doorway, across
which only the king could step. The king's cows were
milked morning and evening before this doorway. The
second entrance led to the dining house, whilst the third
opened out on to the sleeping room, called the Karuzika
house. This private enclosure contained also two other
houses, Dwengo house, which was the king's harem, and
the Kapanapa house, wherein the beer was brewed.
Thus all the work was completed, and the king's
accession was announced to take place at the next full
moon.
When the day arrived, verv early in the morning the
capital was thronged with people who had come out of
all the countries around. The outer courtyard was
crowded with men eager and excited to see their new
king. The procession was headed bv the high priest
Nyakoko, holding in his hand his wand and knife for
sacrifice. He was followed by the priests leading a white
ox and a white fowl. Then came the bodyguard armed
with bows and barbed arrows. The king, looking most
majestic, walked alone, accompanied by the princes
carrying the regalia. He was dressed in two flawless
bark-cloths, round his neck he wore heaven's white bead,
which sparkled like the sun, his bracelets and anklets
were also of white beads, while on his head he wore a
crown of bead-work and red parrot tails, with a chin
strap of long white colobus monkey fur.
At the entrance of the Temple Kasenda, the procession
stood still. The High Priest then advanced towards
the white ox, and slew it before the eyes of all the
people. When the blood flowed forth, Nvakoko entered
the temple, and all the priests standing without wor-
119
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
shipped aloud, saying, •'This is the kingdom of my fore-
fathers, of many generations. Thou Ruhanga-Nkya-
Kankya,* begat the rulers of mankind, thou art god of
heaven, hell, and earth. If I, Mpuga, lie, and this is
not the kingdom of my ancestors, let me die now in the
sight of all men." Then torches were lit, and the cock
crowed, whereupon all the people stood and worshipped
with their faces toward heaven. When they had made
an end of worshipping, a priest came forward with
Mulimba carrying the drum Nyalebe, and as he stood
before the king he said, " Hereby shall man know if this
Mpuga is an impostor. If he be not the true son of the
Bacwezi, let the drum be silent and burst when he shall
strike it."
So Mulimba advanced and handed to Mpuga the two
sticks, while every onlooker held his breath anxiously.
Grasping the sticks, Mpuga flung out his arms and
brought them down forcibly on the drum, that roared
forth with a mighty sound. This he did nine times, and
the other drum, Kajumba, came rolling itself along on
the ground, booming all the time. Then the people
shouted with a loud voice, "Hail to our king." The
priest thereupon approached the king, and, laying his
hands upon him, said, "Your name shall henceforth be
Winyi, and your title Okali ; men shall no longer call
you a Mukidi (Person of Bukidi), for you are the son of
our late rulers the gods."
That evening there was great feasting. Many oxen
were killed; nine were slaughtered for the guests, who
dined in the entrance hall; three others were served
to the king and his brothers; two were given to the
chiefs, who dined with the king; and four more were
distributed among the attendants and household.
The revelry and the drum beating continued for two
♦The two gods Ruhanga and Nkya are regarded as one-indivisibic
and their united names form the title Kankya.
120
The Dynasty of the Babito
days and two nights, at the end of which all the people
were called for a solemn conclave. As the king was
preparing for it, Nyakoko came in and said, " When a
king portions out the land, does not the High Priest get
the choicest bit ? "
" Tell me what you want, and I will give it you straight
away," answered the king.
"No, no," replied Nyakoko, "but you shall invest
me publicly, so that all men may hear how the king
honours his Priest."
So they went together into the outer courtyard, where
all the people were assembled. The chiefs were seated
on stools in two lines, which led up to a large woven
grass awning, under which was placed the throne,* while
the ground was strewn with grass, covered over with
calf, leopard, and lion skins. As the king seated himself
on the throne, the vast concourse of people broke forth
into worship, saying, "Okali, king Winyi, is great; he
is high and very exalted, having pity on the needy,
clothing the naked, and uniting all men under him."
Then the king stood up and spoke thus, " Hear all ye
people of Ankole, of Busoga, of Buganada, of Chopi and
Bulega, all tribes gathered before me, behold me, your
ruler. Every man overcome with trouble, let him appeal
to me; he who is evilly treated, let him come to me."
The princes were then called one by one, and districts
were given them to administer.
Buganda was given to the king's brother, Kato. All
the Baganda present were brought and presented to him,
and they were ordered to accompany him to their country
and to recognise him as their leader.
Kiza, the King's brother, had Busoga given to him.
Toro, Ankole, Bulega and Chopi were divided out
between his half-brothers. Then Winyi turned to the
*The throne consisted of a large stool covered over with numbers of
leopard and lion skins.
121
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
High Priest, Nyakoko, and said, "Would you like the
country that was formerly ruled over by Isaza as your
inheritance? " But he answered, "None of these things
do I want, but rather let you and me reign together over
these people — wherever you hold sway, there will I also."
.._But Winyi, the king, would not listen to this proposal
now that his position was assured, but appointed him
to a district of Bunyoro, called Bugahya.
When the king had made an end of choosing out his
ministers and chief, every man departed to his own home,
and there was peace, for they all feared the king, and
each chief paid yearly tribute to him.
Meanwhile the news had reached Nyarwa that his kins-
man had deceived him, and that he had been acclaimed
King of Bunyoro by all the people; and he knew that,
for fear and jealousy of him, Mpuga had carried out this
ruse. So he left off hunting, and remained for eight
days in one place, planning out what he should do. " If
he outwitted me when he was but a chief of Bukidi, will
he not kill me as king of the whole land ? " said he to
himself. Then he climbed to the top of a high rock,
and, throwing out his arms, exclaimed, " I may as well
be swallowed up by Heaven as earth," and immediately
a strong whirlwind enclosed him in its grip, and lifted
him up to Heaven — he and all his belongings. So
Nyarwa, the beloved of men, became their intercessor in
Heaven, and to this day he is the only god loved and not
feared.
When Kato reached Uganda, he found that the women
(/were cultivators of the soil, so he sent Winyi twenty
/maidens, who should dig for him. Kato settled down
among the people of that country, and as he increased
in power, the tithes that he sent up to Bunvoro gradually
became less, until they ceased altogether, and Kato
proclaimed himself independent and Uganda a separate
kingdom. He changed his name to Kimera (that which
122
The Dynasty of the Babito
takes root), for, said he, " I have taken root here, and'
will not move hence, and no man shall transplant me."*
The two old women, Bunono and Iremera, remained
on in the royal household of Bunyoro to instruct the
king in court ceremonials. Some of his wives were
taught to cook according to the custom of the country.
Each day they had to provide a huge bowl of vegetables,
and another of meat. The king was not allowed to feed
himself, but a servant conveyed the food to his mouth
very slowly with brass chop-sticks ; the man had to
handle them very deftly, for should they perchance touch
a tooth, he was immediately put to death.
The two women could not persuade the king to drink
milk, for he did not know what it was. This was a dis-
grace in the eyes of the Banyoro, so Bunono determined
to resort to strategy. One day when he was very ill
with fever, she carefully washed out a milk-pot, flavoured
it with smoke from the fire, filled it with milk, and when
night fell she came and handed it to the king, telling Him
to drink this medicine through a spill. As it was dark,
he could not see the contents of the bowl, and he drank
it all off and had the bowl refilled four times. When he
was well again, she showed him that milk was the medi-
cine she had administered, so he straightway called all
his people of Bukidi and advised them henceforth to
cease eating food and to drink milk only. So milk
became the national food, and the women grew very
beautiful to behold, for they were so fat that many could
not move from their houses, and the king's children all
stuttered because of the fat that affected their speech.
Each evening the cows were brought to the entrance of
the king's house, and he watched them being milked.
At sunset a child of the Mukungu clan, who was free
from physical blemish, was sent out along the road, clap-
*It will be seen that formerly all the present four separate king-
doms of the Uganda Protectorate were incorporated in Bunyoro.
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Twilight Talcs of the Black Baganda
ping his lips and sounding an alarm to clear the track,
and to warn all people off the path of the cows, for if
any man set eyes on the king's cattle as they were coming
in to be milked, he was put to death. Should the little
herald ever be taken ill, his head was chopped off by an
axe so as to prevent death from falling on the sacred
office. On arriving at the doorway, the milking man
came forward, dressed in a clean bark-cloth, with his
head and shoulders whitewashed. The king's aunt then
brought to him cow dung for smearing on his hands and
on the udders of the cows. Two princesses, with the
upper part of their body whitewashed, stood by, one
holding the milk bowl and a fly flick, while to the other
was allotted the onerous duty of holding the cow's tail
during milking operations. In order to qualify for these
honoured posts, it was necessary to be absolutely healthy
and sound in body, and these specifications had also to
be proved in all their antecedents. The king's cows were
always milked into one bowl, as an indication that the
kingdom was not divided.
One of the king's wives, a woman of Ankole, was
appointed butter churner to his majesty, and her other
duty was to keep his body well smeared with fat.
After Winyi had reigned for nine years, he fell sick
unto death, and the people feared greatly, for hitherto
their kings, the gods, had never known death ; they had
resigned their position one by one, and departed else-
where. When the king saw that he could not recover,
he killed a number of oxen and made a feast for his
people, after which he bade farewell to the kingdom. His
servants then administered poison, so that he might not
die of disease, and immediately he fell down dead. When
the news got whispered abroad that the king was dead,
the greatest consternation prevailed. Young and old
hastened to the royal dwelling to see if the gossips had
lied to them, but on entering the outer court they beheld
124
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The Dynasty of the Babito
the drum of State turned upside down, and they knew
that the land had no king.
Meanwhile, the eldest son had been called, and he was
commanded to bring with him a cow without blemish, of
good pedigree, and whose calves had never died. This
was tied to the door-post of the death chamber, and the
son was told to milk it himself into a sooty pot, and to
pour the milk into the mouth of his dead father, so as to-
feed the spirit. The favourite wife attended to the corpse
— she shaved off the hair, cut the finger and toe nails,
and placed flowers in his clasped hands. When this was
done, all the relations and people were allowed in to view
the body.
At sunset the corpse was carried into an outside shed.
Here it was cut open and all the internal organs were
tied up in a calf's skin and cast into the lake. The jaw-
was kept apart for ceremonial burial, and the body was
placed on a wooden platform erected in the centre of the
shed. On an undershelf stood bowls to receive the blood
as it dripped, and a fire was kindled underneath to slowly
roast the flesh.
The next morning all the sons of the late king were
called, and the chiefs chose out one whom they wished
to be their ruler; and to him was entrusted the duty of
completing the royal obsequies. The son who adminis-
tered milk to the corpse was never allowed to reign ; he
was sent away into a far district, so that he might never
set eyes on the living king. After the new ruler had
been chosen, oxen were slain, and the meat was carried
to the outer courtyard, where the people were assembled,
and placed on the downturned drum. Then the bowls
of blood from the late king's body were brought and
poured out over the meat, and the people all sat down and
feasted on it law.
For four months the body was left to roast over the
fire, which was tended night and day, and at the end of
125
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
that time the newly-appointed king, dressed in a sooty
bark-cloth, climbed to the pinnacle of the royal house,
holding in his hand a bowl of milk. With a loud voice
he cried out, "The milk is defiled, the king has been
taken away. Heaven has fallen." Then he broke the
bowl in his hand, and the contents were scattered over
the house and courtyard. Whereupon all the people
wept and wailed for four days.
On the morning of the fifth day, everything was
washed and purified, and the cinders of the corpse were
tied up in a new bark-cloth and taken away for burial in
the scrub. Eight wives of the late king, including his
favourite one, were chosen out to be buried alive with
the ashes. This w-as to complete the sacred number nine,
and to give the spirit of the departed a retinue of wives in
the other world.
A very deep pit had been prepared, and into it the
favourite wife was placed in a sitting posture ; then into
her lap was deposited the bark-cloth containing the
cinders of the royal corpse.
No earth was ever allowed to be thrown in over the
body of a king, but the grave was filled up with live
human beings — the seven remaining w'ives, and the per-
sonal attendants of the dead man. These were covered
over by a large ox skin, which was pegged down firmly
in the ground and smeared with cow-dung periodically.
After death and decay had set in, and the skin was seen
to sag in the centre, more bodies were laid in the grave,
and this operation continued tor six months, after which
time the grave was left and its location forgotten.
But the king's jaw had been kept apart by itself, and
been most jealously guarded against the other sons, who
tried every cunning and strategy to secure it, for the son
who buried his father's jaw was acknowledged and
crowned king.
This was buried with much pomp and ceremony in a
126
The Dynasty of the Babito
place very carefully chosen. A house was built over it,
and in this were placed trophies of the deceased. An old
princess was set apart as priestess of the royal tomb, and
she did not leave it by day or night.
These same burial rites were always carried out on the
death of a king of Bunyoro.
127
CHAPTER X
The Kings of the Babito :
Ocakl^Duhaga.
npHE months of mourning for the king had plunged
the whole country into a state of despair ; for
1
during that time the national drum had remained
with its face downwards — not once had it uttered
its voice, and silence had covered the country like a
shroud. In the homes of the people the rattles had been
put aside, and all music of the tom-toms had ceased ;
the instruments of raiding were sheathed ; everyone
donned their oldest and dirtiest garments, and they
fasted day after day with sorrowful countenances. For
death had never hitherto fallen on the throne, and it was
regarded as the curse of the gods, and a prognostication
of the overthrow of the kingdom.
When, therefore, the decree went forth that a new
king had been found, the nation breathed fresh hope,
and, throwing aside its garments of mourning, the
people hastened to the Capital to do homage to their
king. When they were all' met together in the royal
courtyard, Ocaki was presented to them by the Hieh
Priest, who placed on his head the ancient crown of the
Bacwezi.
Offerings of cattle, slaves, spears, etc., were then given
to the king by both chiefs and peasants, and deputies
from Uganda, Toro, Ankole, Busoga, and Ganyi pre-
sented their gifts, as a sign of allegiance.
128
Ocaki-Duhaga
When Ocaki had thus received the homage of his
people, he chmbed to the top of the drum-stand and
reversed the drum; then, taking the two sticks in his
hand, he exercised the royal prerogative of beating it on
his accession day, as a proof of his sovereignty ; and
as the booming resounded from hill to hill, the people
broke out into a deafening shout of " Okali, hail to
our king," and all the drums in the country were
awakened at the sound, and responded back in a roar of
rejoicing.
Thus Ocaki reigned over the kingdom of Bunyoro; -«
he was a peaceable man, and in his days the country
enjoyed rest. Kimera of Uganda, and Kiza of Busoga, ^*
remained on friendly relations with him, and exchanged
greetings and gifts. But Ocaki had no children, and
this was such a sore grief to him that he sickened and
died after reigning nine years.
He was succeeded by his brother Oyo. On the day
that Oyo was proclaimed king, he called for a witch-
doctor to offer up an ox and to mak^e known by it the
future to~ him. Karongo, the priest, after consulting
with the spirits, and most carefully inspecting the entrails
of the animal, assured the king that everything augured
well ; he should live to an old age and have many
children. And so it was, for Oyo was one of the greatest
kings that ever ruled. He had many wives who bore
him over 4,000 children, so that he was called "He who
peoples Heaven and earth."
He made one big tour throughout the length and j
breadth of his kingdom, including Uganda, Busoga,0
Ankole, Toro, and Bulega, and everywhere he received ♦-^
abject homage from his subjects. Whatever place he ^^
passed through, his paths were blocked with offerings '^
of every description — herds of cattle — humped and
horned, goats, sheep, and fowls; food of every kind,
including millet, plantains, potatoes, and vegetables;
129 K
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
spears, bows and arrows; firewood, etc., etc. Such stuflF
as he could carry away with him, he collected together,
but a quantity of food was everywhere left scattered about
on the roads and abandoned.
As the king returned, his following resembled a nation
emigrating, and as he beheld it, he determined that
henceforth during his reign there should be no more
marauding, raiding, or fighting allowed.
When he reached his house, he, therefore, ordered his
servants to call all his people that they might go with him
to Epyemi — the Hill of Covenant "* — and there perform
the customary function for the ratifying of his vow.
Thirty thousand cattle, tons of beads, and 200 princes
were chosen out for sacrifice, and these were taken to
the foot of the mountain. When they reached the
appointed place, the king ascended the hill with his
servant; there they prepared a big furnace and cast into
it the 200 princes as offerings to the gods and the Bacwezi.
The bones were afterwards collected and ground down
into powder, and strewn upon a newly-cultivated road,
which became dazzling white.
The cattle were slain at the foot of the mountain, their
carcases were piled one upon another so that they
reached to the top of the hill. The ashes of the dead
men were brought to the king, and he sprinkled them
on his head and shoulders. Thus ended the propitiatory
part of the ceremonials. Water was then brought to
the king from a running stream, and he washed himself
as a sign of purification, and dressed in two perfectly
new barkcloths. Calling two priests and his servant
Nyamajuga, who had identified himself with Ifls master
during all the operations, the king again climbed the hill,
while all the people stood below. When they reached
the top, the tons of beads were poured forth as an offering
to the spirits, and upon this heap the king and Nyama-
•This hill is in Bugangaizi.
130
Ocaki-Duhaga
juga stood together. Here Oyo lifted up his voice and
extolled himself as king of mankind, and all the people
replied by praising him and his ancestors as the great
men of the earth. When every voice had died away into
silence, Oyo approached Nyamajuga, and, taking a
knife, offered him up for sacrifice in his own stead. Step-
ping over the dead body, the king descended the hill
with his priests; the drums, big and small, were beaten;
the flutes and horns sounded, and, shouting with juy,
everyone returned to the Capital.*
As Oyo entered his courtyard, he found his old mother
waiting to caress him at the entrance to his house. She
wept with joy at seeing her son, for he had been a long
time absent, and she was fearful lest he might have been
killed during his journey into other countries.
When Oyo greeted her, he ordered his herdsmen to
loose a cow and bring it into the courtyard that he
might milk it and minister to his mother. "Shall any
other man milk for my mother; she who bore me? " sa'd
he. " Nay," answered the old woman, " let my on'y son,
the child of my womb, mv brave, lion-hearted son, minis-
ter to me and thus fill my heart with joy."
But Oyo had prepared a little packet of poison, for
the king who enters into a covenant of peace wiih his
people and the gods, must kill his mother on returning
from the Hill Epyemi. When, therefore, he had dropped
it into the bowl of milk, he gave it to his mother, and the
old woman, not suspecting her son of anv treachery,
drank the mixture, and immediately fell down dead.
Then the king Oyo commanded his servants to bring
before him all the spoil he had collected on his journey,
and he made a distribution of it among his herdsmen and
servants, and did not fear that there would be any
*This ceremony was always carried out when the king entered into
a covenant of peace with his people. He generally postponed it
until he became too old for plunder or warfare.
131
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
dissatisfaction among them, because, when a king has
made a peace covenant, no man dare find fault or quarrel
with him.
And when he gave his herdsman a few fowls only, the
man could neither refuse the gift nor ask for more ; but,
fallings on his knees before his master, said, "That
which the Great One bestows shall a man despise — if he
withhold a county chieftainship, shall not he who protests
have his eyes put out ? "
To the son of Nyamajuga, who had been sacrificed by
the king's own hand in his stead, were given lOO cows
as compensation, also a brass bell to be hung round the
neck of the head bull, which was to be called "The fibre
that binds the axehead gets loosened in the felling "
(Comp. Prov. vi. i : If thou be surety for thy friend . . .
thou art snared).
So Oyo settled down quietly, and all the land was
subject unto him ; all tribes sent men to confer with the
king, and to seek his judgment, and to appoint a suc-
cessor when their paramount chief died. Oyo lived to a
great age, and was succeeded by his son Cwa.
In his reign a murrain broke out among the cattle of
Bunyoro; the king ordered all the infected animals to be
destroyed, so as to arrest the disease, and to prevent it
spreading into other districts. The cows that were killed
were so numerous that they could not be counted, and
when the servants had finished carrying out the king's
command, they came to him-, saying they had killed and
eaten all the sick animals until not one cow remained,
and they asked what he would do henceforth for milk
and butter. The king did not wait to consider, but,
turning to his servants, said, " Let him who has a shield
smear on butter; he who possesses a spear, let him
sharpen it and prepare for plunder, so that my flocks and
herds may be replenished."
132
MASAI WOMAN : A fellow passenger on the Uganda Railway.
Ocaki^Duhaga
So the war-drum was beaten, and the men rallied
round their king, for they were wearied of the last peace-
ful days of their late ruler, and they rose up as one man
at the sound of the drum. After invoking the spirits,
the king started off with a vast army ; they raided every
province, district, and village — all the cattle that they
saw were seized; no man could withstand them, for the
warriors were possessed of superhuman strength, as they
feasted on meat every day, for all the oxen and the cows
that died on the journey were divided out among the
soldiers. When they reached Ankole, the chief and
people made a strong resistance, but they were defeated
and slaughtered like ants. The king ordered that the
county drum should be cut into pieces as a curse on the
tribe, and to signify that Ankole should cease to exist
as a separate State. Therefore was the king called Cwa
—"He who cuts."
When they were returning from Ankole, they hafted
at the fringe of a forest, and the soldiers showed a strong
disinclination to proceed, but the king jeered at them and
said, " Have the trees of the forest spears that you should
fear; if not, why do you not go forward?" But the
men answered that the forest was very dense, and night
would overtake them before they could penetrate it; so
it was decided to wait until morning before proceeding.
When the following day dawned, each man arose and
did as he was commanded; they passed along, slashing
down the undergrowth and cutting a path. Suddenly
they heard the lowing of cattle in the near distance, and
the king ordered his men to turn off in that direction, for
his greed for cattle was insatiable. But after working
all day, they had not reached the cows, and they were
still wandering about in the depth of the forest when
night fell. The men who were in the rear turned back,
but the others went forward with their king, and were
enveloped in darkness. After four days, when nothing
133
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
had been heard of them, a search party was organised,
but ^^ben they failed to find the king, messengers were
despatched to the Capital, and an army of men came out,
but all their efforts to find Cwa and his servants were
futile; nothing was ever again seen or heard of them.
So men knew that the Bacwezi had lured him on to
destruction by lowing like cattle, thus causing him to be
overcome by his own merciless greed.
When tidings reached the people of Ankole of the
king's disappearance, they came out and recaptured all
t])eir properly that had been plundered by him. They
seized also some slaves and one of King Cwa's wives,
named Iremera.
X Cv*a had no sons, so the chiefs of Bunyoro gathered
■: together to confer about the succession ; some suggested
/ putting a prince of Uganda or Busoga on the throne,
7 but they finally decided to appoint a sister of Cwa, named
L Dunego. So she became their ruler ; she attended to all
the a flairs of State, and controlled things as well as an\-
of the kings who had preceded her.
She had a lover named Igurwa, who was a prince, but
not a royal prince, and she loved him very much. Shortly
after her accession she called her rulers together, and said
to them, "As I am only a woman, can I rule over the
kingdom alone? Grant me that Prince Igurwa, my
husband, may reign conjointly with me." But on such
an important matter the chiefs could give no immediate
answer, so they agreed to hold the question over, until
they had conferred and discuS'sed the matter privately.
Now, there was a man of Bunyoro named Kyamatebe,
who used to travel into Ankole with coffee-beans to
exchange them for butter.* One day he was going from
♦Ankole was at first called Karo karungi— the beautiful little place
— but it was changed into Ankole because of the bloodshed and
murder that was so prevalent there.
134
C-,
\r'
OMUKIKUYU; As seen from the train on the Uganda Railway.
Ocaki-Duhaga
house to house, and came across Iremera, the wife of
King Cwa. After greeting her, he asked if she was not
the lost wife of their late king. She then told him how
the people of Ankole had stolen her when she was with
child, and she had since born a son in captivity. The
baby was shown to Kyamatebe, who, seeing the likeness
to his father, Cwa, was overcome with emotion and wept.
Kyamatebe then hastened back to Bunyoro, and told
his chief how he had found the heir to the throne. Twenty
people were immediately despatched to test the truth of
the man's words, and to bring the child and his mother,
if he had not deceived them. When the men saw the
boy, they unanimously agreed that there was no question
as to his identity ; so they conveved him in secret to the
Capital, to the house of the chief Mwanga, where he was
brought up and nurtured.
Meanwhile, the chiefs made excuses continually for
holding over their decision about Igurwa's accession ;
they feared to refuse the queen, but they wanted to defer
matters until the little boy was old enough to rule. But
some among the chiefs dealt treacherously, and, hoping
to obtain favour and promotion from Dunego, they
planned how they could reveal to her the State secret,
and have the child committed into her hands. They
went to her one day and said, " What will you give, O
Ruler, to the man who picks up something and restores
it to you ? " " If he returns to me a valuable thing, he
shall be richly rewarded with estates, and wives, and
cattle," answered she. Then they related to her the story
of Cwa's son, and told her that the people were already
regarding him as their king. Dunego was much troubled
when she heard the words, and commanded the child to
be brought. As she looked upon him, she wept, and,
taking him upon her knee, according to the custom of the
princesses, she caressed him and gave presents of cattle.
She then expressed the wish that the boy should sleep in
135
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
her room that night, but the chiefs refused, because they
were suspicious of Dune^o. When, therefore, she saw
that her plot to l^ill him had failed, she formed another
plan. Without waiting any longer for the chiefs*
decision in regard to her husband, she determined to
take matters in her own hands, and, to ensure her
position, announced that his accession was to take place
at the approaching dry season. When Mwanga heard
the announcement, he arranged with the chiefs to crown
the little son of Cwa, instead of Igurwa, on the appointed
day. The time drew near, and Dunego made elaborate
arrangements for the function ; she ordered three detach-
ments of soldiers to be on duty, one to be posted in the
outer courtyard, another at the entrance to her house,
and the third to patrol outside the Council Hall. She
also commanded four men to be armed with ropes, and
they received instruction to seize and bind the little boy if
any attempt was made to proclaim him king.
When the day arrived, all the people and representa-
tives of the surrounding tribes were assembled in the
Council Hall, and Dunego was seated on the throne.
She called upon Mwanga to explain to the men
present that Igurwa was this day to be installed as joint-
ruler with herself, and everybody was to recognise him
as their king, and to do obeisance to him. Then Mwanga
stood forth, and all eyes were fixed upon him, for rumours
had been circulated that there was a cleavage of opinion
among the chiefs. Turning to Igurwa, he said, in a
distinct and penetrating voice, " Igurwa, are you to
succeed to the glorious throne of Bunyoro, the kingdom
of the gods and of the Bacwczi ? You have for many
moons ruled over princes of the royal house, chiefs, and
people ; we have all done homage to you as monarch of
a kingdom that did not belong either to your fathers or
ancestors? "
On hearing these words, the men with the ropes got
136
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Ocaki-Duhaga
ready to seize the child. But a piper, who was standing-
by, whistled in his ear the warning words, " If a man is
prepared to flee, should he delay ? If a man had under-
standing, will he not comprehend ? " And as the boy
looked up, he saw the eyes of the piper fixed upon him ;
so he fled from the hall, but, jumping over the fence to-
avoid the guard, he found himself in the outer courtyard,
which was ambushed with soldiers. Instead of seizing
him, however, they fell down before him and offered him
protection. Meanwhile, in the Council Hall, there was
a great commotion, for the chiefs had seized Igurwa and
killed him before the eyes of Dunego; whereupon the
detachment of soldiers patrolling outside, had rushed in
to lay hold of the miscreants, but Mwanga fearlessly
came forward and explained to all present that a lawful
son of Cwa was in their midst to reign over them. When
he uttered the words, there fell a deep silence, and as the
people wondered at the words which they heard, the little
boy was brought in and placed on the throne of his father^
and everyone shouted, "Hail to the king."
To him was given the name of Winyi. Dunego
received the district of Butiti in Toro, where she went
and lived happily.
Winyi reigned for very many years; 400 children were
born to him, and he died of old age.
He was succeeded by his son Olimi, who immediately,
set out plundering and ravaging all the countries that
were in open rebellion against Bunyoro, and had followed
the example of Uganda by declaring themselves indepen-
dent.
He first journeyed into Uganda, and laid waste the
whole country, raiding cattle, women, and children. The
ruling chief, Maganda, fled to an island on the Victoria
Lake; but Olimi sent messengers aft^r him, calling for
an armistice, that they might arrange terms of peace. So
Maganda came back, and they decided that the boundary
137
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
between Uganda and Bunyoro should lie at the Miyanji
r River; all the territory and tribes to the North should
\be ruled over by Olimi, while the district lying to the
\ South should be independent of Bunyoro, and under the
control of Maganda.
Passing then into the cattle country of Ankole, the
king forced the people into submission ; thence he crossed
the lake and reached the village of Bugeneke in Tore.
But his servants came and implored him not to travel
along that road, as the Mucwezi Ndahura and his mother
had passed along it when they left the kingdom, and only
misfortune would attend him who followed their tracks.
Olimi called for his priest and ordered him to sacrifice
an ox for an omen. After doing so, the priest came into
his presence in great consternation, saying that every-
thing augured evil, and begged him not to carry out his
plan of campaign ; so Olimi commanded his men to
retreat, and a tree was planted in the road to warn people
from henceforth travelling along that way. He then
went into Toro and declared the people were traitors to
their king ; so he deported them to Chopi, and transferred
the men of Chopi to Toro. He left one chief in charge
of the district, and then went across to Bukidi. His
people reasoned with him against ravaging the land of
his forefathers, but no man could restrain him. He seized
nearly 2,000 cattle, decapitated men and women, and took
the children away as slaves.
He received the nickname of the Vulture, for he killed
people for no other purpose than to satisfy his own lust.
Whenever he pitched camp, he sent his soldiers into
the nearest village to lay hands on women and children.
When they were brought to him, he ordered the children
to be rubbed all over with salt, and tied to stakes, and he
'Compelled the mothers to stand by and watch as the
vultures swept down and feasted off the live bodies of their
babies. The screams from the little ones only provoked
138
Ocaki'-Duhaga
the king's laughter, and, when the suffering was silenced
by death, he had the women tortured and killed in the
same way.
Durinof his reign the national drums were smeared
«ach day with human blood, and beaten with men's
shinbones, which were replaced by new ones daily.
There remained no cohesion nor patriotism in the
kingdom, for many of the people fled into the countries
over the border, and all the tribes around that had been
subject to Bunyoro broke out into open rebellion, and
refused to tolerate the king. Among his own children,
constant friction existed, and they were frequently
making plots against the life of their father; and when
he died there was no mourning, but his sons fought one
against the other for the supremacy.
His son Isansa, in the North, gathered a large follow-
ing around him. Before setting up his claim to the
throne, he sent friendly messages to his brothers, the
other claimants, and asked them to come and confer with
him. As they arrived one by one, he had them surrep-
titiously seized and buried alive. In this way he cleared
the way considerably for himself, and, after collectmg
an army, marched upon the Capital. His mother
goaded him forward, saying, " If you will cease to
con<^end for the mastery, I shall cut myself asunder,"
and she hung a charm round her neck that would bring
luck to her son. Isansa sent a messenger to her with
the following words, " I swear by my children that a
man's hand shall not kill me. Do you not know that I
was born at the time of the full moon, when all the
attendant stars were bright? I have extracted the teeth
of lions, I have reversed evil predictions, and I shall
cut in pieces my adversaries."
A great battle was fought at the Titi sw^amp, and Isansa
prevailed, after terrible carnage.
So he reigned over Bunyoro in Olimi's stead.
139
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
He had very many wives, for besides those he married,
he inherited those of his father and brothers, whom he
had killed. But he sent delegates out into all the
surrounding districts to bring in to him all the beautiful
women in the country to be his wives.
On a certain day one man entered into the house of a
widow, who had an only daughter, who digged and
cooked, fetched water and firewood for her infirm old
mother. The woman loved her child, and when the man
demanded her as a wife for the king, she was sorely
troubled, for everyone feared to give a daughter to the
king, as he killed his wives under the slightest provoca*
tion of infidelity, or if he ceased to love them. The girl's
mother asked what kind of man Isansa was. "Vener-
able lady," answered the man, "you ask me what manner
of man is the king ? I tell you, should he visit you when
your cows come in to be milked, your children will go
hungry to bed. Strong spirits burn the intestines; the
elephant destroys and eats up the forest as it journeys ;
the hammer beats out the barkcloth ; your daughter will
see that a brand burns out nations." When the woman
heard these terrifying words, she pleaded for her
daughter, and offered a heavy bribe, but as the girl was
exceptionally beautiful, the man would not listen to the
old mother, but ruthlessly carried her off, expecting a
large reward from the king. Then the woman sought to
win the king's favour for her daughter, by sending him
an offering of the finest heifer from her herd ; but when
Isansa, the king, saw what a fine young cow it was, he
sent out a party of armed men to seize the whole of the
widow's herd of cattle. So she was bereft of daughter
and all her property.
After a life of rapine and cruelty Isansa died, and fns
son, Duhaga, succeeded him. Under him the kingdom
prospered and the people became wealthy, for each man
was able to have his land cultivated without fear of being
140
Ocaki-Duhaga
plundered, or of having his flocks and herds depleted.
But when the people of Uganda saw the prosperity of
Bunyoro, they were filled with envy, and they poured
raiding hordes into the country. Tidings of their doings
reached the king, and he called together all his sorcerers
to inquire of them if he should go out and fight the
Baganda. And with one voice they said, " Go." But a
certain priest named Olimi came to the king, and pro-
phesied defeat, unless he waited for them to attack him
in his own country. Duhaga, however, refused to listen
to him, choosing rather to act on the advice of his sor-
cerers, which was more to his inclinations ; so he sent
out an army to Uganda, and it put to flight the enemy,
after killing many. The generals in command then sent
to Duhaga for reinforcements to enable them to complete
the conquest of Uganda.
When the king received the message he called for the
priest, and cursed him for prophesying falsely. He was
so elated with the success of his troops, that he determined
to lead forth in person the fresh detachment. Seeing his
master depart, Olimi, the priest, hastened into his house,
and, clothing himself in two smoked barkcloths (signi-
fying sorrow), and fastening two dark berries round his
head as a charm, he followed after the king with
drummers and pipers.
At sunset he reached the place where the king was
•encamped, and, standing before him, said, "You have
refused to believe my prophecy, let us therefore go forth
together and face death, but the son whom you wish to
.succeed to the throne, let him return to offer sacrifice."
This he said to save the young man from being killed
in battle, because he knew that sacrifice w'ould not pre-
vent the defeat of the Banyoro. On the following day
Duhaga pitched camp opposite the Baganda forces, and
prepared for battle on the morrow. ^
But that night the Baganda planned a ruse. They >
141 y
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
went into a banana plantation, and, lopping off the tops
of all the trees, dressed the stumps round in the bark-
cloths which they wore, while they themselves were
entrenched behind the thick, short scrub.
Before the dawn Duhaga and his soldiers arose, and,
looking across toward the enemies' camp, saw the
manikins, and supposing them to be the Baganda, set
in array for action ; they prepared for the attack imme-
diately. The king ordered his men to divide up into
two columns, so as to attack each side and surround the
enemy; he himself remained at the base with a body-
guard of twenty. When the Baganda, who were under
covert, saw the whole of the Bunyoro army depart, and
the king left with only a few men, they advanced to-
kill him ; then all those who were with him fled, excepting
the old priest Olimi, who, seeing the danger that his
master was in, hastily threw him down in the thick under-
growth, and, without observation, divested him of his
leopard skin coverings, and besought him to creep away
to a place of safety on his knees and hands.
Then the old priest quickly disguised himself in the
king's apparel, and, with the royal spear and shield, he
fled in the opposite direction to that which the king had
taken.
Immediately the Baganda set off' in pursuit of him, but
with all the strength of his heart the old priest led them
further and further away; and he did not give up the
flight until he knew that his king was safe. The arrows
fell thick upon him, and at last he dropped pinned to
the ground.
After having, as they thought, killed the king, the
Baganda returned, and pursued the Bunyoro army, and
completely routed it. Meanwhile, the king had managed
to escape to a swamp, where he remained in hiding until
darkness fell. He was scratched and cut about the face
142
,» » « »>
* t t «
A MUKIDI BACHELOR'S QUARTERS.
ana Doay irom plunging neeaiessiy tnrougn tne tnickets^
and stumbling into pits and over tree stumps.
But when he joined the remnant of his men at night,
bleeding and bedraggled, all the people shouted for joy,
but he immediately called for his chiefs, and, pointing
to his scars, told them that he could no longer be their
king, as his subjects would despise a marred and maimed
ruler. But they would not listen, and answered him, " If
an ox is scratched, does its master kill it ? "
So they returned to their homes, and the king ordered
all the sorcerers to be killed for having led him into a
battle in which twenty of his sons had been killed and
men without number. So the servants seized 200 of
the lying seers, and cast them from a steep rock into the
valley, where they died. Only one, named Kabandwa,
was saved, and they clothed him in two black barkcloths,.
and, giving him two black reeds, sent him out from
among men to remain in an uninhabited land.
One day, as the king was sitting in his house, he heard
his wives gossiping together outside ; they were jeering
at him, and one woman said, "That old stupid went
away with all his sons and ate them up." The words
stung the king, and, stepping out on to his porch, he
called for his chiefs and relations, and said to them, " If
the kingdom is disgraced by my defeat and my scars, tell
me, for I would rather kill myself than be despised by
man."
But they answered, "O, master, refrain from destroy-
ing yourself; if an ox fights, people recognise the scars
of warfare — they do not mistake them for disease."
These words comforted the king, and he called for
wine and meat, and feasted his loyal ministers and
friends. But when his wives saw what he had done, they
jeered all the more, saying, " Do you see what that thing
has done ? It has sought to justify its impotence by the
flattery of friends; was there ever such a craven crea-
143
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
ture ! " and Duhaga heard the words which they spoke.
Then he arose, and, going into their midst, exclaimed,
** Farewell, you have spoken the final word." And he
went out and poisoned himself.
i
144
CHAPTER XI
The Reign of the Babito :
Kasomi-'Kamurasi.
As soon as King Duhaga died, his son, Kasomi,
hastened to seize the corpse before either of his
brothers could secure it for burial. He would
not allow the usual period of mourning, but gave
orders for the body to be cremated with all speed, and
the jawbone he hid away in his own house. But when
the other sons heard what he had done, they were filled
with indignation, and the eldest, whose name was
Dubongoza, fought with him for his father's jawbone.
But Kasomi overcame him by gathering around him a
crowd of mighty warriors, so that Dubongoza was
obliged to flee. He escaped with his shield-bearer, and
they took refuge in a banana grove ; at mid-day, while
he was resting under the cool shade of the trees, a little
peasant boy came to him, and brought water to bathe his
wounds, and a small bundle of cooked potatoes for him
and his shield-bearer. The lad offered to give him all
the assistance in his power, and begged Dubongoza to
take him into his service, and he would remain his faith-
ful servant until his master had become like a fruitful ox,
and his teeth dropped out with age. Dubongoza told
the boy that he was a man of great misfortune : jealousy
and hatred sought his life, and he could only promise his
servants danger and privation ; but the lad continued
to urge his plea, and when Dubongoza at last consented
145 L
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
to take him, the little fellow ran away to the chief of the
village, and said to him, " I have found a son of the gods
in great distress; come, my master, and give him your
assistance." So the chief collected all his fighting men
together, and went out into the grove to parley with the
prince. After discussing the situation with him, he
despatched messengers to all the neighbouring chiefs,
asking them to gather their forces and fight for the heir
of their late king. They were obliged to act very expedi-
tiously, for tidings reached them that Kasomi had made
all arrangements for burying the jawbone of his father,
and their only chance of making Dubongoza king was
to prevent that operation. When all the fighting men
had gathered together for action, Dubongoza stood up
in their midst, and addressed them thus: "You go forth
to fight for a crown, and your reward shall be promotion
in the land; I, your king and leader, have escaped the
sword of the traitor, and now let the sword that I have
evaded, slay him who thrust it. The man among us who
shall cast the death spear at Kasomi shall be the shoulder
when I am head of the kingdom."
vSo they all cautiously sei out on their expedition, and i
when they reached the capital, they found that no pre-
parations had been made to withstand them, for no one
had heard of their approach. Then the chiefs and their
soldiers fell upon the princes and men who had allied
themselves to Kasomi, and Dubongoza rushed into the
house, killed his brother, and seized the late king's jaw-
bone, which he carried straight away for burial.
So Dubongoza was proclaimed king, yet was he not
beloved of his people, and in tliose days the country was
rent with discord and disloyalty from within, while the
Baganda made constant inroads upon their lands. One
day a priest came in unto the king, and told him that all
this trouble jiad befallen him because he had failed to
dedicate one of his many children to the priesthood.
146
Kasomi-Kamurasi
When Dubongoza heard these words, he called all his
sons around him, that he might choose out the one he
loved least. But they all refused to be banished from
the court, and to be set apart to an office that involved
separation from their friends, and the life of freedom,
which they coveted above all things. The king, there-
fore, had his daughters brought to him, and he chose
out his eldest, Nyinamuiri. The priest brought in ropes
and bound her so that she should offer no resistance, and
she was dragged away by him to the home of the
Embandwa priests.
Now, the king loved his sons, and especially Kaboyo
(Kaboyo was the grandfather of the present ruler of
Toro — Daudi-Kasagama), whom he endowed with wives,
handmaidens, cattle, and the richest district in the whole
country ; he gave him also a charm to keep away sickness
and misfortune. The eldest son, Kacope, was of a very
scheming and cunning nature; he was always planning
in secret how he could secure the kingdom for himself on
his father's death, and decided that the only way to
do this was to remove all his other brothers out of the
way. So he sought to sow hatred in their hearts that
they may kill each other. He went to his brother,
Karasuma, whom he found sorrowing over the infidelity
of his favourite wife, and when he had listened to his
words, he advised him to kill the woman as a warning
to his other wives. But when Karasuma had acted on
his advice, he frightened him by saying that their father,
the king, would assuredly demand his death for having
poisoned a woman of royal blood. Then Karasuma
arose, and, calling his people around him, declared war
against his father, saying, " If I am to die, let me die for
much rather than for little. I will ravage the land, lay
it waste, and destroy both man and beast, that I may die
nobly, and not ignominiously, because of a woman."
He went round into Uganda and allied himself with tTie
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Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
king of that country against his own father; and when
Dubongoza heard what his son had done, he sent mes-
sengers secretly to the king of Uganda, w^ith the words :
" If a man is a traitor to his father, will he deal honestly
to a stranger? " On three days in succession was this
message delivered, and by that time the words had
accomplished their object ; and calling for Karasuma, the
king ordered him to be speared in his presence.
Now, when Kacope saw that he had successfully
removed his brother, Karasuma, from his path, he went
up to the capital to visit his brothers, Mugenyi, Kaboyo
and Isagara. The king rejoiced greatly to see all his
children together, and made a feast for them and all iheir
friends. That night they all got very drunk, except
Kacope, who was watching for a chance of plotting for
the destruction of his brethren. He waited for them to
fall soundly asleep, and, creeping up to Mugenyi wdth a
knife, he cut off a thick tuft of his hair. In the morning,
when they had all recovered from their debauchery,
Mugenyi was greatly distressed at his own appearance,
and inquired who it was that had taken advantage of him
while he was sleeping. Everybody denied having done
it, but Kacope came to Mugenyi privately, and said,
" Last evening, when we w^ere drinking together, I saw
Kaboyo cut off a piece of your hair in order to bewitch
you. Will you live with such a malicious person ?" But
Mugenyi had no desire to quarrel with his brother, and
answered, "What will it avail him to bewitch me; I
shall never put in a claim for the throne of my father."
Then Kacope went to Kaboyo and said to him, "You
live on here and endure the commands and forbiddings
of your father, in order that you may inherit the throne;
but I know that neither you nor your children will ever
reign, for the king is plotting against your life. I see
he has a spirit of madness, and I am going to get back
to my home before it shows itself against me."
148
Kasomi^Kamurasi
Now, when the king heard how his son, Kacope, had
been stirring up suspicion and strife among his brothers,
he called for him, and said, " My son, what is this that
you have done, setting children against their father, and
brother against brother? Do you hope by these means
to inherit the kingdom ? But I tell you that this throne
of my ancestors and the gods shall never be occupied by
a man with crooked feet and wrinkled hands, so know
for a surety that your plots are futile."
Kaboyo had, however, believed the words of his
brother, and sought for some excuse for leaving his
father's house, that he might get together an army to
defend himself.
Coming into the king's presence, he asked permission
to go to his country estate, which he heard was being
raided by the Baganda ; but his father answered, " That
must be a false alarm, for if it were true, would not the
king be the first to receive the tidings? Stay here, my
son, and comfort me in my declining years."
Again he came in, saying, " I hear that one of my
wives in the country has given birth to twins; what shall
I do?" And the unsuspecting old king answered, "Go
quickly, my son, and offer the sacrifices, and fulfil the
ceremonies demanded by the gods."
So Kaboyo left the king, and immediately got together
an army, and declared war against his father. Dubon-
goza sent out his soldiers, with strict injunctions not to
lay violent hands on his son, but to speak with him and
seek to win him back into submission.
Kaboyo, however, fell upon them with such might
that they were all killed; not one remained to carry
the news of their defeat to the king. Their bodies were
all heaped up one upon another, and when Kaboyo
beheld the mountain of corpses he was inflated with his
success, and ordered his men to march into Toro and
there set up an independent kingdom.
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Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
As soon as Kacope heard how his brother had com-
pletely broken with his father, he sent messengers into
Uganda, saying: "Come over and kill the old, infirm
king, for his power is at an end; all his sons are fighting
against him."
So the Baganda swept into the country, laying waste
the whole land, and seizing all the territory up to
the Kafu River. The king, Dubongoza, fled to Bugoma,
but when he saw the hordes of Baganda pursuing him,
he descended the escarpment, and crossed in a boat to
an island of the Lake Albert. For four days he had
nothing to eat or drink, for the island was very small and
rocky, so that no one could live on it. At great personal
risk one of his servants managed to ferry across a milk
cow, but as it was black, the men feared to give the milk
to the king; but when they saw that he would die of
hunger, they showed great wisdom by painting the cow
with red earth, and rubbing chalk on its horns. When,
therefore, the evil spirits saw that the cow was no longer
black, they left it, so the milk was given to the king, and
his life was saved.
Now, when Mugenyi had heard of his father's distress,
he came out with twenty white cows, and rowed
out to the island to speak w^th the king. He strongly
advised him to sue for peace with Kaboyo, and thus
together make a stand against the Baganda. This
Dubongoza agreed to do, and, under the terms'arranged,
South Toro was henceforth to be independent of Bun-
joro, and Kaboyo was to have the right of nominating
his own successor.
Unitedly they managed to push back the Baganda,
but did not succeed in winning any of the terri-
tory beyond the Kafu River. By this time Dubongoza
was very old, and when Mugenyi saw that he was not
able to rule without help, he left his own home and went
to live with his father.
150
Kasomi-'Kamurasi
One day two of Mugenyi's children stole a sheep from
a peasant man, who was so angry that he prepared poison,
and blowing it in the air, calling upon the spirits to
avenge him. Immediately lightning fell from heaven,
and killed the two boys.
When Mugenyi saw that his children were dead, he
seized the owner of the sheep and killed him ; he also
sent to his father, the king, and begged him to exter-
minate the man's entire family and clan, but Dubongoza
refused, saying that his sons had met with the just
punishment for theft. Whereupon, Mugenyi wanted to
kill himself, but his father told him that if he did so, he
ought also to kill off all his children, for people would
only scornfully call them the remnants of thieves whom
the spirits killed. So Mugenyi did not destroy himself,
but he cursed sheep, and from that day no prince of
Bunyoro has ever eaten of the flesh of sheep, and no
woman will eat thereof, for fear of the curse falling on
her children.
Now, when the king's wives saw that he was bent and
infirm, but showed no signs of dying, they placed needles
in his path and in his bed to kill him, and these made
the king so ill that he very soon died. Mugenyi
despatched messages to all his brothers, telling them to
come in for the mourning, but they all refused. He
then sent for Kacope to succeed his father, but he
answered, "Look out from among the king's infants one
to succeed him. You have taken possession of the best
land, Kaboyo has seized Toro, the Baganda have en-
croached to the capital itself ; shall I leave my land of
Chopi to reign over fragments?"
Kaboyo likewise refused to rule over a country where
hatred and dissension alone existed, but he suggested
that Mugenyi should be made king. Mugenyi, how-
ever, replied, " Why do you tempt me ; do you want all
of my children to perish by the sword ? I am a peaceable
151
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
man, and prefer to remain with my cows and goats. Seek
out another man to be your king."
But the chiefs and people would accept no refusal, so
Mugenyi buried his father, and on his accession day he
killed off all the chiefs who did not give him their whole-
hearted allegiance.
In the days of Mugenyi, the Baganda were at peace
with the Banyoro, for Mugenyi's mother was twin sister
Tto the mother of King Suna, of Uganda. The two
Qiations made a truce, and in those days trade was estab-
('lished between the two countries : Bunyoro sent in salt
and dripping in exchange for barkcloths and other
merchandise.
On a certain day the king sent to his son, Kalyebara,
chief of Bugahaya, and ordered him to come and bring
the tribute from his district, because for a long time he
had neither come in person nor had he sent in ambassa-
dors; but Kalyebara returned insulting messages to his
father, and informed him that he recognised no authority
but his own.
When Mugenyi received the message, he was filled
with anger, and exclaimed, "Shall a pimple like that
irritate me ! Shall that infant upset my home, and cause
me to send my wives, children, and cattle' to a place of
safety, while I go and fight him !" Thereupon the king
sent a servant to collect some ashes from Kalyebara's
fire, and when they were brought, he blew them into the
air and bewitched his son, so that he was seized with
spasms and died.
Then the king ordered the drums to be beaten to speak
of victory, and to announce to mankind that a child
cannot trample on its elder with impunity, and a man
that seeks to trip up a king is himself overthrown.
Kalyebara was buried at the entrance to his house,
with one wife and his pipe. His brother, Lwasa, was
with him when he died, and he swore within himself that
152
Kasomi-Kamurasi
he would avenge his brother's death ; so he fought
against his father, Mugenyi, but suddenly was seized
with small-pox, and he died. When his father the king,
heard of his death, he rejoiced exceedingly, and ordered
the drums to be beaten, and to proclaim to mankind that
a child cannot kick its elder without being crushed.
But these words incensed the third son, Mugamba, so
that he sought to kill the king, but he was speared in the
attempt. Mugenyi then commanded that a mighty drum
beating should proclaim to the country around that he
had put down all rebellion and the machinations of his
adversaries.
When Mugenyi had reigned for nine years, he called
for his sons, and told them that he wished to appoint
his successor, as he was going to abdicate, for he was
now stricken in years, and an old man wanted nothing
more than food, beer, and a pipe.
That night, however, he sickened with small-pox and
died, and his son, Kamurasi, thereupon performed the
burial of the jawbone before it was day, so that no one
should dispute his right to reign ; but when the news of
the king's death got noised abroad, the whole country
rose up, and every man fought with his neighbour, pil-
fering houses, stealing cattle, slaughtering women and
children, for now that the king was dead, there was no
one to ensure or exercise order and law.
The people stoutly refused to recognise Kamurasi's
claim, for they declared that he had acted contrary to
the custom of the country and to the law of the gods, in
burying his father before four moons had elapsed. But
Kamurasi seized all his father's possessions and removed
them from the scene of warfare, together with all his own
property — wives, children and cattle. Five chiefs were
appointed to superintend the transport of the goods,
while Kamurasi followed in the rear with an armed body
of men. They travelled all day and night eastward,
153
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Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
halting not even for food. On reaching the bank of the
Nile, Kamurasi ordered his people to pitch camp, for he
feared to send across his goods until he had ascertained
if the tribes were friendly on the other side.
He sent out spies, who in the morning returned with an
offering of six white cows, which the people had sent as
a sign of their fealty ; then the whole company crossed
over the river, and journeyed on until they reached
Muruli, where Kamurasi decided to build his capital and
set up his kingdom.
In Bunyoro he had left behind spies, who should keep
him acquainted with the state of things there.
Now, when Lwakabale, one of the princes, saw that
Kamurasi had left Bunyoro, he rose up and proclaimed
himself king, and all the country rallied round him and
refused to recognise Kamurasi's claim. Likewise, the
priestess, Nyinamuiri, espoused his cause, and sent a
magician named Butonya to remain at court, and give
Lwakabale the benefit of his great wisdom ; for this
Butonya was a man of mighty influence; his reputation
for wonder-working and superhuman power had reached
to the uttermost ends of the kingdom, and people wished
to make him king, thinking he was a Mucwezi ruler who
had come back to reign over them; for about this time
there was a great expectation among the people that the
Bacwezi would return ; the words that had been spoken at
their departure by the woman Bunono were regarded
as prophetic: "Our lords, the gods will not return until
ten or more kings have reigned."
When, therefore, Butonya, the magician, took up
Lwakabale's cause, there was not one dissentient among
the people, but every man came in willingly and swore
allegiance.
The spies left Bunyoro, and, hastening into Muruli,
told Kamurasi how the whole of the country had gone
over to Lwakabale.
154
Kasomi-Kamurasi
When the chiefs heard the words, they were sorely
troubled, and went in to Kamurasi, saying, " Did we not
tell you that you were making a mistake in leaving things
at that critical time ; if you do not rouse yourself, the
kingdom will pass into the hands of a peasant, while we
sit here drinking vsint through spills. Let us be up and
doing."
So Kamurasi called the people of Bukidi -to come to
his aid, and thus, with a very large army, he entered
Bunyoro. They overtook L'wakabale on the road with a
small following, so they killed him without any difficulty.
There still remained, however, the magician, Butonya,
and he was like a king, for the honour that people showed
him. He knew his life to be secure, for not even a prince
would wittingly slay a magician ; therefore he withstood
Kamurasi very steadiiy and successfully, but seeing that
Kamurasi must conquer in a pitched battle, on account
of his superiority in numbers, Butonya harassed him by
continual petty skirmishes during the whole of his life.
Kamurasi, after several attempi^s, drove Butonya from
the royal enclosure, and called all the people together
for a parley. lie soufidly abused those who had refused
to stand by him, and declared that they had acted
treacherously toward the ancestors of the throne, by sup-
porting a prince who had not performed the office of
burial to the decear.ed king. He levied fines on all those
who had resisted him : one was fined 4,000 cattle, another
3,000, another foo women and slaves; all the minor
chiefs were turned cut of office, and ignominious duties
were allotted to them. To the general of Lwakabale's
army was given the task of caring for the king's forty
dogs; he had instructions given to him that his house
was to be given over to the dogs, and every day he was
to kill a cow, so that they would not be hungry, and the
milk of his whole herd was to be given to them. He
then ordered all the chiefs to accompany him and his
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Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
army through the country, that they might see how he
rewarded disloyalty and punished offenders. They
travelled day and night, and rested not, for Kamurasi, in
anger, was like a man intoxicated — fire burned within
him, and there was no satisfying him. Everywhere he
went, he killed and plundered; he spared neither man,
woman nor child. If the people of a village did not
meet him with hostages of cattle and wives, he burned
down the houses, and slaughtered all who sought to
make their escape. He instilled dread into his sub-
jects by his acts of cruelty, yet no king had ever been
more reverenced, for everyone spoke of the power and
might of the king of Bunyoro, and feared him more than
the very gods.
y The Baganda made many unsuccessful raids into the
(^country, and on one occasion Kamurasi was forced to
v^flee to the island of the lake. They followed him down
t, to the shore, but Kamurasi had secured all the
canoes, and as they stood looking across the waters,
the king set his bowmen in array, while he himself
stood at the forefront of the attack. Their arrows fell
like rain upon the Baganda; scores of them were killed,
and the others fled back to their own country.
When he had thus managed to rid his land of the
Baganda, he went north to Chopi, where he found two
Europeans.* Now, the Bunyoro had never seen a white
man, and when they saw their dazzling skin, their pierc-
ing eyes, and all the wonderful things they possessed,
they asked among themselves if the strangers were from
heaven or hell.
Kamurasi called a secret council, and inquired of it
what reason these visitors gave for coming to his country.
They answered with one voice : " They are the Bacwezi,
for they know this country ; they ask no man to direct
■*Mr., afterwards Sir Samuel Baker and his wife, who arrived is
1864.
156
Kasomi-Kamurasi
them, and they do not wander about like strangers, but
go steadily forward and know no fear, and show no
respect, not even to our greatest chiefs. And at night
no man dares to approach them, for they carry stars in
their hands, yet are they not burned. They carry sacks
of terrible charms, and their priest is always sitting round
a fire, making poison to bewitch the people.* The "day
after Kamurasi's arrival, the strange visitors called on
him; he commanded his servants to spread down leopard
skins, and to bring two small stools for them. When
they were seated, the king cast furtive glances, and con-
cluded in his mind that they were father and son ; tlie
elder man with the fierce beard he called "The Beard,"
while the young man he called "The Little Star."
But the Beard explained to him that his companion
was not a man, but his wife, and they had taken this very
long journey out from England to look for a large lake
which his friends had heard lay somewhere near to Bun-
yoro, and he wanted the king to give him sufficient
porters to take him there. Then Kamurasi knew that
the stranger was speaking lies, for no man would leave
his own country and people, and face danger and fatigue,
merely to look at water. He saw at once that the white
man had come to wrest from him his kingdom. Had he
not brought fearful implements that spat out fire and
killed birds and beasts ; was he not asking for men with
*For a long time this was the belief of the natives, and the report
spread through the country that the Bacwezi had returned. And each
district added its own proof to the identity of the white man. To a
people who had been content with their fire of twigs at night, the
camp lamp of the travellers appeared like a star, while cook at work
four times a day with such mysterious things as kettles and pot?,
could be none other than a witch doctor mixing up decoctions. The
villagers of Toro, still find it difficult to believe that the European is
any other than the Bacwezi, for every visitor who comes to their
country climbs to the crater lakes hidden deep down in the heart of
the hills, and those craters have always been associated with weird
and terrible doings of their ancient rulers.
157
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
whom he could form the nucleus of an army ; had he not
brought with him a wife, who should bare him sons to
succeed him? So Kamurasi determined within himself
that he would not allow these strangers out of his sight,
to wander about his country sowing rebellion in the
hearts of his subjects ; he would make them prisoners
and try to kill them with hunger.
So Beard and the Little Star were not allowed to leave
the place. Every day the king sent a chief with some
excuse for the delay in finding porters, and gradually the
food supplies stopped.
Then Beard was angry, and he came to Kamurasi,
and, speaking through his interpreter, said, "When I
ask for food for my men, do I not pay for it in beads
and wire; v^hy, then, do you not send it? Do you not
understand that a white man will not be mocked; his
word is a command. You have not so much sense as
my boot, for how do you know that you and your chil-
dren will not be killed, even though you are a king, if
you do not heed the words of the white man." Now
Beard had in his hand a pipe, and he shook out the ashes
from it on the head of Kabarrga, the king's son, w-ho
was sitting on the ground, and some of the ashes fell into
a milk bowl that the lad was holding; then was the
king very wroth, for he saw that the stranger had
bewitched his son, and he swore in his hen it that he
would kill the white man.
But when the visitor had departed, Kamiirasi's ser-
vants came to him and said, "Can you kill a n^nn that
has forty soldiers armed with fire? We beseech you
save us and our children by sending these people out
of your country." So the following morning a number
of trembling men were sent to the lunopean with orders
that they must depart immediately. 'I'he stronger gave
the king, as a parting present, a pistol, nnd they left the
country. When they had gone, Kamurasi began prac-
158
Kasomi-Kamurasi
tising with the pistol, but with the first shot he blew off
his forefinger. Then the chiefs gathered round him and
said, " Now that you are maimed you must kill yourself,
for no man who is disfigured can reign ;" but others said,
" Nay, but we will call in the surgeons and see if they
cannot cure him." So they fetched in a surgeon, who
cut out the shattered bone, and inserted a piece from a
goat that had been without blemish, and in a few weeks
the king had completely recovered, so he continued to
reign over his people.
Now, Kamurasi had heard that the women of Ankole
were very beautiful, so he sent a man to the king of that
country with 200 herds of cattle, asking him to send
him in exchange the fairest woman in the land. But
while the woman was yet within three days of arriving,
Kamurasi fell ill, and no one gave him any medicine or
nourishment, for they said, " Let the old man die ; he
who has always cursed others with sickness is now him-
self cursed; and he who wished the death of his
blood-brother, let him first die."
159
CHAPTER XII
The Reign of the Babito : Kabarega.
BEFORE Kamurasi died, he called together two of
his brothers, and appointed them his executors,
and expressed to them his wish that Kabarega
should succeed to the throne after his death.
When the time came for him to be appointed, his
sisters declared that he was a headstrong and uncon-
trollable youth, and the chiefs swore that they would
not have a son of the devil to reign over them. When
Kabarega heard that his family were objecting to make
him king, he consulted a witch-priest as to whether or
not he would stand any chance if he withstood them.
The priest cut up a fowl, and, after most carefully
inspecting it, he came and spoke thus to Kabarega :
"The bird is sound and clean, but I see one spot on the
gizzard — this tells me that your enterprise will meet with
success — you will be rich and bear many children, but
you will be afflicted with an infirmity — probably cataract
— and this will remain with you to your death.* On
hearing these words, Kabarega called upon his sub-
ordinate chiefs and his followers to arm and go with him
to fight for his father's corpse. A's they journeyed to
the capital they set fire to every house they passed, and
when his relations and adversaries saw the country in
flames, they knew that Kabarega was on the warpath.
*Kabarega's arm was afterwards amputated, having been shot
when fighting against the British troops. The Banyoro declare that
this was a fulfilment of the priest's prophecy.
160
Kabarega
So they sent out an army to oppose him, while his
brothers fled into Bugangaizi with the body of Kamurasi.
But Kabarega followed hard after them, and a big fight
took place, in which the princes w-ere routed and fled in
dismay. Their father's jawbone they threw away in a
swamp, so as to prevent Kabarega from seizing it, but
one of the deserters from the princes divulged the spot
where it had been cast, and, after a diligent search had
been made, the bone was found and buried with great
pomp.
The brothers had taken refuge in Ankole, and they
persuaded the king of that country to help them with a
strong force of fighting men ; but they were hopelessly
defeated by Kabarega, whose warriors killed from ten
to twenty men -each.
The prince, Kabugumire, fled to Uganda, and pro-
mised that if the king of that country, Mtesa, would help
him to drive out Kabarega and place him on the throne,
he would pay him yearly tributes of salt, iron and cows.
But the king of Buganda refused to be mixed up in the
quarrels of Bunyoro, and ordered Kabugumire out of
his country ; so he returned and settled down in Chopi.
When the king had thus crushed all opposition, he
removed the capital to Bulyasaija. He had only just
finished building, when he was greatly perturbed by the
return of "The Beard " and his wife, "The Little Star."*
Kabarega had never forgotten how he had tried to
bewitch him with his tobacco ash, so he determined that
he would not allow the European inside his house under
*Sir Samuel and Lady Baker on their first trip only succeeded in
viewing the Lake from the Escarpment, and much over-estimated its
size. They described it " with a boundless sea-horizon to the south-
ward." This statement created some criticism, and after being made
Governor-General of the Egyptian Sudan, Sir Samuel Baker again
visited Bunyoro in 1869 to verify his first impressions, and to explore
south towards Buganda, but was prevented through the extreme
unfriendliness of Kabarega.
161 M
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
any consideration. When the Beard sent a messenger
to say he was going to call on him, Kabarega hastily
returned word to prevent him.
One day the Beard asked the messenger of the king if
his master was suffering from measles or small-pox that
caused him to refuse an interview. The man replied,
"Yes, in his house there are measles, small-pox and
many other evils."
"Why do you dissemble thus?" asked the white man.
And Kabarega sent back the answer, " My servant
speaks the truth. But why do you want to enter my
house? A visitor stays where his host puts him, and
does not seek to pry into his house."
These words made the European very angry, and the
following afternoon he came down to Kabarega's house
with some soldiers, without first sending to be
announced. The king immediately summoned his
chiefs, and plotted with them to kill the stranger. He
said to them, " Let us go and meet him in flie open court-
yard, and the moment I raise my spear, all of you fall
upon him and spear him to death. Are we not an army
against a few?"
So Kabarega went forth to meet the white man
followed by all his chiefs, armed with spears. The
European greeted him, and said, " I have brought my
soldiers to show you how we teach them to drill."
Kabarega answered, " I will also show you how I can
drill my men."
Then the Beard made all .his men to pass before him
twice with their arms shouldered, and, as he was com-
manding them, Kabarega raised his spear and sent it
quivering toward the European, but it missed its mark
and fell to the ground after having grazed his arm.
The white man then picked it up, and, handing it back
to Kabarega, said, " If you have anything against me
say so ; I have only come on a friendly visit."
162
Kabarega
Kabarega was speechless when he saw the fear-
lessness of the man he had tried to kill, and he turned
and went into his house, while the European returned
to his fort.
Then the king called his chiefs and said, "You cowards
and traitors to your king ; did we not make a compact
that when I thrust my spear you would all fall on him
and kill him ? You have failed me, and jeopardised my
life, for I know that the white man will seek to slay me."
But on the following morning the Beard sent friendly
greetings to Kabarega, and invited him and his chiefs
to visit him that evening. When they arrived they were
shown many fearful and marvellous things. The Beard
brought out some little bullets, and, after setting fire to
them, he threw them high up in the air, and immediately
the whole country became light as day, although it was
nearly midnight, and sun, moon and stars appeared in
the sky, but disappeared again just as they were falling
to earth.
Kabarega was now quite sure that this stranger must
be one of the Bacwezi, for no man could play with the
things of heaven and be so immune from death.
So the king was determined that he would do as his
father had done before him, and hold the white man
as a prisoner, and he would never be persuaded by his
people to let him escape again. He sent men into all
the shambas, forbidding the peasants to take food to the
stranger for barter under punishment of death, so the
Beard sent his soldiers into the villages to take food by
force. When Kabarega heard of it, he despatched mes-
sengers to him, ordering him to desist from plundering
his people, and threatening him with the same treatment
if he continued doing so.
He assured the Beard that if he disobeyed him, he
would be treated as a felon.
These words so incensed the European that he com-
163
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
manded his soldiers to take the two messengers prisoners
for uttering such words of insult.
That night the interpreter of the Beard dealt treacher-
ously, for he came stealthily in unto the king, and said,
" My master intends to fight you ; he has doled out
ammunition to his soldiers, and seized your two men.
Send away your cows, your goods, your wives and chil-
dren to a place of safety, for in the morning he will attack
you."
Kabarega was very affrighted at the words, and
answered, " If I send them away now, the lowing of the
cattle will betray us, and if they come out against us by
night, what resistance can we offer, and who will be able
to withstand their fires?"
The interpreter replied, " Look out a large tusk of
ivory, and send it to the European as a pretence of friend-
ship ; perhaps that will mollify his wrath, and then in the
morning you can fall upon him unawares."
Long before dawn Kabarega cautiously went to call
his herdsmen, to order them to depart with the cattle to a
place of safety, but he found that they had all fled in the
night ; so he rallied his servants together, and sent away
his herds, women and children under an escort.
Meanwhile the two messengers who had been taken
prisoners by the Beard managed to escape, and when the
people saw them fleeing, they took fright, for everyone
had heard that war was pending between the European
and the king. So they rushed from their houses, clap-
ping their lips, and raising an alarm.
This precipitated matters, for the European, hearing
the shouting, imagined that the natives were actually
marching upon him, so he drew up his men in line and
(ordered them to advance.
Outside the courtyard of the king's house they found
a solid mass of men, all armed with spears, and at their
left flank stood tl^ king and his chiefs. The soldiers of
164
* -
Kabarega
the Beard marched forward so deliberately that before
the native forces could understand this new mode of war-
fare, shots were fired into them like hail, and four men
dropped dead. The chiefs begged Kabarega to retire to
a place of shelter, and, as he stubbornly refused, they
took him away by force. Immediately the king had left,
the hearts of his men failed them, and, seeing that the
people offered no defence, the European ceased firing and
withdrew his troops. -
That afternoon rain fell heavily, so that all the people
shut themselves up in their houses, but the European
was busy making preparations to escape, and, under
cover of night, he and his men left the fort, and travelled
hastily northward.
The next morning, when the natives arose, they looked
towards the fort and found it deserted, and they ran
breathlessly to Kabarega, and acquainted him with the
news. He ordered the war-drum to be beaten, and the
men responded like ants in number, and they all pursued
after the white man. They overtook the little company
just before sunset, but the Beard showed great wisdom,
for he and his men scattered beads and cowrie shells (the
currency of the country) broadcast along the muddy
path, and among the tall grass and scrub on the roadside.
Then their pursuers gave up the chase and scrambled
for the booty until darkness closed in upon them. They
agreed among themselves to wait there until daylight, so
that nothing should be lost, for the men cared more for
the beads and shells than for the commands of their king.
Meanwhile, the European had reached the banks of the
River Nile, where he commandeered all the available
dug-outs to ferry him and his soldiers across. On reach-
ing the opposite bank, thev hid the canoes, and the
paddlers were compelled to travel along with the soldiers
for some days.
When therefore, Kabarega's army arrived at the
165
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
river, they found no canoes to take them across, so they
returned from pursuing the white man, and went back
to the capital.
During this time affairs were in a very troubled state
in Toro. Kaboyo had settled to the south, in Buson-
gora, but the northern and eastern districts were still
included in Bunyoro. Kaboyo made continual attempts
to widen his boundary, but met with the stoutest opposi-
tion from both the people and the rulers.
When Kaboyo heard of the death of his father, he
had shown great remorse, for he remembered how
viciously he had treated him, and he felt sure that the
spirit would now be avenged on him. For nine days he
mourned, and refused to allow any man to intrude upon
him in his grief. Ashes were sprinkled about the house
and courtyard, and he ordered that no beads or orna-
ments should be worn by any man or woman, but black
banana fibre was to be twisted into strands, and worn as
necklaces and bracelets.
On the death of Kaboyo, his son Nyaika, was
appointed in his stead as ruler of South Toro, and during
Kamurasi's reign he was left in undisputed possession;
but Kabarega absolutely refused to recognise Nyaika
as independent of Bunyoro, and sent arrogant messages,
ordering him to come and pay homage to him as king.
Nyaika replied : " Did my father pay tribute to Kamu-
rasi, was not all connection between Toro and Bunyoro
severed in the reign of Duhaga Nyamatukura, and shall
I, his grandson, come again under the yoke? "
So from that day hostilities were opened : petty raiding
and quarrels constantly took place on the borders, yet
was there found no real cause for an open rupture.
But on one occasion, some of Kabarega 's cattle were
stolen by the Batoro, so the king sent to Nyaika,
peremptorily demanding their return, but he refused to
do so until two of his cows, stolen by Kabarega, were
166
Kabarega
restored. Then was Kabarega very wroth, and sent
out an army against Nyaika. The Banyoro poured into
the country like locusts, and stripped the land bare.
After capturing tens of thousands of cattle, they returned
to Kabarega, who again sent a message to Nyaika,
ordering him to come and pay tribute to him.
But the answer came back: "When the children of
Bakuhya (the most prolific clan of the herdsmen) shall
cease from off the land, then will I bend the knee to
you."
Soon afterwards Nyaika died, and Kabarega sent to
the chiefs, telling them to bring all his children into
Bunyoro, that they may be nurtured on milk in his
household. But they said among themselves: "Did not
Kabarega bewitch our ruler, Nyaika, that he died; and
now shall we send his children to be poisoned by
him ? "
When, therefore, Kabarega saw that the Toro chiefs
heeded not his injunctions, he called his general, Kiku-
kule, to take out an army and enforce submission. For
four months they remained in Toro, plundering, burning
and killing. Most of the inhabitants fled to the moun-
tains (Ruwenzori), where they subsisted on berries and
roots of plants; but the chiefs repented when they
beheld the havoc that had been wrought, so they made a
truce with Kikukule, who agreed to leave the country if
the young princes were handed over to him.
Thus the children of Nyaika were carried away
prisoners into Bunyoro, but the eldest son, Kasagama
and his mother were smuggled away into Ankole, where
they remained in hiding under the protection of Ntale,
the ruler of that country.
When the army returned to Kabarega, the two Batoro
chiefs, Dwomire and Kalikura, were tried; the former
in his defence declared that no blame rested on him, as
he and his fathers before him had always been peaceable
167
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
and unoffending men; not one had died from violence;
the fault entirely lay with the other chief, Kalikura.
Kabarega then turned to Kalikura, and said, "Have
you, a Mukonjo, with sharpened teeth and blistered
countenance, assayed to make yourself king, and defied
me, the descendant of princes and gods? "* Then men
from Bugungu were called, who were the tribe of execu-
tioners, and they beat Kalikura to death.
The following years were marked by continual trouble
and warfare, for while Kabarega had his mind set on
subjugating Toro, the Baganda were bent on seizing the
large district of Bugangaizi, that extended between Torc>
and Bunyoro to the Albert Lake; thinking that
if only they could thus get in like a s'Avamp between the
two countries, they would soon be able to overflow into
both.
So absorbed was Kabarega in Toro affairs, that the
Baganda succeeded in annexing Bugangaizi with little
opposition, and so elated were they with their victory
that they stepped across into Bugahya to effect the con-
quest of Bunyoro. When they were within a day's
journey of the capital, they encamped at the base of a
high hill that stands as a garrison of the country. (It
is a conical-shaped hill, rising abruptly from the flat land
to a height of 1,500 feet. It is called "Omusaija
Mukuru " — the head man — its perpendicular sides and
wide crest stand out like a landmark for miles around.)
Unbeknown to the Baganda, hundreds of Banyoro had
stumbled up its precipitous paths and taken refuge there.
The enormous ant-hills that adorn its crest were dug
out, and formed shelter for the women and children,
while the men slept under the shade of the trees. The
top of the hill is thickly strewn with massive boulders,
*The Bakonjo ai'e the mountain tribe who give themselves a very
savage appearance by blistering the face and shoulders in fantastic
patterns, and filing down their teeth into sharp points.
168
• • • (,
• •' -' - ' . - ', , ' .
A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE :
A Mukidl Chief, with the Author's little boy> George.
Kabarega
and when the Baganda were all peacefully sleeping at
night, the Banyoro dislodged these rocks and hurled
them down the mountain side; falling with enormous
rapidity into the camp of the Baganda, they crushed
scores of them to death, and caused so much surprise and
discomfiture, that the Baganda hastily retreated in the
morning.*
But, although Kabarega was rid for a time of his
troublesome neighbours, the Baganda, he was greatly
perturbed by a succession of ominous signs that appeared
in Heaven and in the earth. For nearly three months a
ball of fire was seen suspended in the air, and, on depart-
ing, it struck with disease all the cattle, so that thousands
died; indeed, hardly any of them escaped from the
scourge; thus the country was miich impoverished, its
wealth gone, and starvation threatened to kill off as
many people, for as their diet had been milk almost exclu-
sively, and they did not know how to cultivate effectually,
they had almost forgotten how to eat.
Afterwards a star appeared as a long torch, and shone
every evening at sunset ; and when it disappeared, many
*It is more than probable that no one visited that spot again, unti
a few years afterwards, we climbed this same hill, trying to escape
from the burning heat of the plain with our little boy George, who
had for weeks been prostrate with fever and haemorrhage. After
the never-to-be-forgotten climb up its precipitous side, we reached
the top, but the life of our child seemed ebbing away, as a steady
stream of blood flowed from his mouth. After applying restoratives,
he rallied as night fell, and looking up with a glance of recognition
he whispered, " Mother, I have not sung my evening prayer." Sa
lying in his tiny crib the little lad faltered out : —
Tesus, tender Shepherd, hear me.
Bless Thy little lamb to-night ;
Through the darkness be Thou near me,
Keep me safe till morning light.
Thus the Banyoro battle-field was a Httle white child's altar, and to
both it proved the place of victory. (The author apologises to the
reader for this personal reference).
169
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
of the princes and chiefs died. Now, Kabarega's mother
had not seen her son since he became king, and she
feared to show herself to him, for, according to the
custom of the country, and the order that had been given
in regard to her, she ought to have been buried alive
with her husband, Kamurasi ; but she had fled and
hidden herself, and thus escaped death. So one day she
ventured into his presence, disguising her identity, and
as she left again a tree grew up on the spot where she
had stood, and the witch-priest interpreted this as a warn-
ing that Kabarega would be supplanted. This saying
greatly disturbed him, and he commanded the princes
and chiefs to bring offerings, and to present them to the
tree. He himself sacrificed a human being there eve'-y
day, and had a little grass temple erected near, where
offerings were placed each evening.
After the whole country of Bunyoro had been depleted
•of its cattle, Kabarega sent a raiding party into Ankole,
the great cattle district, to seize all the cows with humps
and long horns. When Kasagama, the fugitive prince
of Toro, heard that the Banyoro were coming into
Ankole, he fled with his mother into Uganda. He dared
not venture into Toro territory, for ever since the death
of Nyaika, the country had known no peace or security.
All the princes were at variance with each other, fighting
for the supremacy. Kabarega was not able to deal with
the affairs there, for the Baganda were making another
big effort to conquer Bunyoro. Mwanga, the king,
determined lo lead his army out in person, so as to instil
his people with courage; but before setting out he burnt
down his own house, so that no M Uganda should dese-
crate it in his absence, and, in case of his defeat, no king
of another nation should appropriate it.
When the news reached Kabarega, he had spies posted
along the road to warn him of their approach, and he
busied himself with mighty preparations for battle.
170
Kabarega
On hearing that the enemy was close to the border
at the Kafu River, the war drums were beaten, and the
bugles sounded, to rally together his forces. As the
two armies advanced, the whole country resounded
with the roar of the drums and the song of battle, and
every man turned out of his house to fight. The army
sent by the queen-mother of Bunyoro made the first
attack upon the right flank of the Baganda troops. Her
people fought with hoes; they rushed in among the
enemy, hacking them down. The Baganda split up
into two columns, and surrounded Kabarega's force,
attacking them at the rear. The king called back to his
men to make a strong resistance while he engaged the
fore column; but his men all fled, and left him, his
uncle, and one man alone. They had two spears and
one rifle between them, and with these they managed to
hold out until relief came. The remainder of the army
made a stubborn fight, and mid-day found the troops
thoroughly exhausted, so a brief armistice was agreed
upon, in order to rest the men.
During this interval, the Baganda general went in and
out among his soldiers, cheering and urging them on,
and the Banvoro leaders did the same. The next morn-
ing the fight was renewed. Kabarega shot the Baganda
general — the Kangawo — and, lifting the body high in
the air, so that all might look upon it, he shouted " Vic-
tory " ; ana when the Baganda saw that their leader
was dead, they hastened to the camp to tell their king,
Mwanga, and he ordered them to retreat.
On searching among the dead, the Banyoro found
that only two men of their own had been killed, whereas
the Baganda casualties amounted to scores, and as they
retreated, the road was strewn with the dead, who suc-
cumbed to their wounds on the journey back.*
*This must be taken with a grain of salt ; as it must be remem-
bered that this is the Banyoro's account of their fight.
171
CHAPTER XIII
The Reign of the Babito : Kabarega.
THE Baganda made many more attempts to conquer
Bunyoro, but, under Kabarega, the people had
become more consolidated, and they made a united
effort to retain this last fragment of their kingdom.
Piece after piece had broken awa)^ — first, Buganda and
Busoga, then Ankole, Bukidi, Chopi, Bulega and Toro;
large tracts of Bunyoro itself had been appropriated by
the insatiable Baganda, and now the ancient kingdom of
Isaza was limited to a very restricted area. To a race
who had once been the predominating power of the whole
country, and who could trace their origin back to the
gods themselves, the avaricious attacks of these infant
tribes on their parent kingdom were regarded as sacri-
lege, and Kabarega infused into his people an overpower-
ing desire to fight desperately to retain their liberty, and
unite once more the kingdom of their ancestors.
He made overtures to the Bakidi, whose territory
adjoined Uganda and Bunyoro, in order to secure their
allegiance before the Baganda could step in and obtain
their co-operation.
Then occurred a cleavage in the Baganda ranks, for
the Mohammedan faction were desirous of driving the
king, Mwanga, away, and placing the Mohammedan
prince, Kalema, on the throne. This they succeeded in
doing, and Mwanga fled to an island on Lake Victoria;
but after a short time he returned at the head of
172
Kabarega
a large army, and drove out Kalema, who escaped into
Bunyoro.
Then Kabarega saw a chance of shattering his old
-enemy, and, placing a considerable force at the disposal
of the two Baganda princes, Kalema and Mbogo,
marched with them against Uganda.
They found tHat things were in a bad condition there,
for the Mohammedan conflict had reduced the country to
a state of famine, and women were being sold for a
chicken or a few sweet potatoes.
The Banyoro troops, however, suffered defeat, and were
obliged to precipitately flee back to their own land ;
travelling all day and night, they covered the distance
{130 miles) in 24 hours.
After arriving in Bunyoro, Kalema the Muganda pre-
tender, fell sick with small-pox, and died.
Meanwhile, a European, named Captain Lugard, had
reached Uganda, where he found Kasagama hiding.
After securing from him a promise of fealty to the British
Government, he took him back to Toro, and presented
him to the people as their ruler. From that day the
chief? gradually came in, one after another, and did
homage to him, for the European had filled them with
awe, and they feared to reject one who was under the
protection of the white man.
Captain (now Sir Frederick) Lugard arrived in 1890
as the representative of the British East African Com-
pany, which had taken over the control of Uganda. He
proceeded north to the Albert Lake, and brought away
with him the 400-500 Sudanese soldiers, and their 5,000-
6,000 wives, children and retainers, who had been left
there by Emin Pasha. He built a line of forts extending
through Toro into Uganda, in which he placed them
under the charge of Kasagama.
When Kabarega heard these things, he sent out expe-
ditions against the Batoro, for he hoped to incense the
173
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
Sudanese against Kasagama, and to win their
sympathies.
A European was then sent from Uganda to crush
Kabarega, but the policy of the Banyoro was to divide
up their forces into several small detachments that could
harass the enemy in many places at one time, and avoid
being annihilated by defeat.*
After two years of this desultory fighting, runners
came to Kabarega, saying that a white man was march-
ing upon Bunyoro with a large army of Nubians and
Baganda ; they were travelling with torches, so as to
halt not by day or night.
Kabarega decided to go out to meet them, and attack
when they would be tired from marching, and this he did
so successfully that the Baganda fled in all directions.
But the European, whose name was Captain (Colonel)
Colville, blew his whistle, which brought his men
together, and they repulsed Kabarega. This European
was a man of great strength, and troubled the country
so much that the chiefs came to Kabarega and begged
him to surrender, as the Baganda had done.
The king being so wearied and distressed that he
agreed to their suggestion, and sent to the European
general a peace offering of a tusk of ivory.
But no sooner had he sent the messenger than he
repented of his action, and, calling his chiefs around
him, said, " Why did you advise me to become the puppet
of the white man ? If I surrender to him, he will worry
and dictate to me, as they have done to Mwanga. Has
Mwanga any rest, liberty or power? I will never be
ruled by any man, nor will I hand over the kingdom of
Isaza, the Bacwezi, and my ancestors to a foreign race.
*Probably this European was Captain Roddy Owen, who was
attached in 1893 to a Mission under Sir Gerald Portal, sent out by
the British Government to report on the country before they took
it over from the B.E.A. Company.
174
Kabarega
What a man is born to, so will he die. I was born a
king, and I will not die a captive."
So Kabarega fled with all his soldiers, and went
towards Bukidi, and the European returned to 'Uganda;
but they very soon sent another white general to quell
Kabarega. He did not bring his soldiers overland, but
came in canoes down the Nile; his men cut down all
the papyrus and scrub, so as to get a good view of the
country on both sides of the river.
Kabarega deemed it safer to attack them before they
could land and concentrate, but this was not easy, as
there was no covert under which they could draw near;
but at night he commanded his men to dig deep
trenches along the shores, in which they could hide. So
the next morning, as the canoes slowly advanced in
single file, the Banyoro suddenly rose from their trenches
and rained spears into the canoes. The European was
killed and his boat sank, and all the Baganda turned
back and fled to their own country. (This was Captain
Dunning, who lost his life so tragically ; his body has
since been brought into the little churchyard in Hoima,
where there are six graves — four Government staff and
two missionaries.)
Now, some years previously, messengers had come to
Kabarega from the Mahdi, offering him his assistance,
assuring him that he had successfully driven the white
men out from his land, and would help Kabarega to-
do the same. Kabarega had jeered at the suggestion at
the time, but now that his fortunes were so precarious, he
determined to ask for his aid. He chose out, therefore,
for this mission, chiefs of impressive stature, and gave
them a large retinue of followers; they travelled for
very many days, for the land of the Mahdi was far north,
and when at last they reached the country, they found
that the Europeans were back again there, harassing the
Mahdi, who had no time to give to the consideration of
175
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
another man's misfortunes, so he laid hands on Kaba-
rega's messengers and made them slaves. Only two
■escaped and returned to Bunyoro; the others were never
seen again.
In the year 1897 fortune favoured the king, because
the Nubian soldiers in Uganda rebelled against their own
rulers, the Europeans, and Mwanga the king, joined
them and came to his old enemy, Kabarega, and entered
into an alliance with him against the British Govern-
ment; for the white man's rule had become irksome to
him, and he was longing to break from it, and drive the
European out of his country; but the Banyoro, Baganda
and Nubians could not agree to join forces and make
a united attack; the Nubians refused to work under the
•command of the native kings, and they, on the other
hand, declared they had a better knowledge of the
•country, and knew its most strategic point for operation.
Kabarega and Mwanga went in the direction of Bukidi,
and the Nubians, with a small force of Baganda, marched
to the border of Uganda, where they were completely
'Cut up.
The two kings did not meet with much better success,
for they rowed out in a flotilla of canoes up the Nile to
prevent a European from landing, who was bringing up
a strong contingent of soldiers. They met in mid-stream,
and the Banyoro were put to flight, and the same night,
when they were encamped, the luiropean troops again
attacked them. They fled into Bukidi, but the people
there saw that the spirits we-re warring against the king,
so they greatly added to his distress by stealing cattle
and such food supplies as they carried with them.
Kabarega sent all his wives, chikircm and cattle that
remained, to a distant village of Bukidi, for the European
troops were hemming him in on every side. Mwanga
•suggested that they should capitulate, but Kabarega
answered : " Everything has its time appointed ; a woman
176
Kabarega
travailing with child reaches the time of her deliverance;
so also does a cow ; the banana is planted and takes root,
but when it arrives at fruition it must fall ; and how we
have reached the hour of our fate ; and, if so be that
our appointed time to die has come, let us not be faint-
hearted." Kabarega sent to Mwanga two fat oxen to be
slaughtered, that the flesh and blood might fortify him.
That same night the European, whose name was
Colonel Ewart, called two Bakidi into His tent, and bribed
them with beads and barkcloth to disclose to him Kaba-
rega's hiding place.
The two men then went to one of their chiefs named
Kuturu, in whose house the king was concealed, and
they discussed the matter together ; the chief accepted
part of the bribe, and allowed the two men to return and
betray Kabarega, his master.
Kuturu was very fearful lest the king should escape
before the European arrived, in which case he knew the
white man would kill him, so he came to Kabarega and
urged him to rest there for a few days, as the European
had returned to Uganda, and there was, therefore, no
immediate danger.
This the king decided to do, but at the same time he
sent his sons out to reconnoitre, and ordered them to fire
their rifles if they saw. any signs of the white man and
his soldiers.
Very soon after they had started, the report of their
guns was heard; immediately Kabarega aroused his
men, but they had not gathered together when the
European and his troops bore down upon them.
To avoid the firing, Kabarega ordered his men to lie
flat on the ground and fling their spears. Mwanga
immediately fled and hid in a swamp, but the Banyoro
all rallied round their leader ; but they were soon sur-
rounded by a force of men, who emptied out all their fire
upon them. When Kabarega looked around and saw
177 H
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
all his men lying dead at his feet, he called on his two
sons, who alone remained, and told them to die like men
worthy of their ancestors.
Seizing the spears that were lying about at his feet, he
flung them desperately into the enemy's line, and only
when his right arm was shot through, and he could no
longer raise a spear, was Kabarega taken prisoner, and
the kingdom of his forefathers came under the rule of the
white man.
THE CALL BELL OF "THE
Now used as School Bell.
KHEDIVE
CHAPTER XIV
The Conquest of Christianity
over Fetishism.
THESE preceding chapters form the background to
the history of Christianity and of British rule
beyond Uganda; and through the operation of
these two mighty forces wording together, this
storm centre of the fiercest African passions has become
so tranquil, that Englishwomen have proved that they
can fearlessly travel through the country with no guard
or firearms, but merely with a string of cheery natives,
who show her every respect and consideration.
And yet there are some few travellers who pass through
Central Africa, probably to beat record for speed, reaping
all the advantages that the pioneer missionary or Govern-
ment official have made possible after years of toil, or, it
may be w-ith their life, who return and tickle the ear of
the superficial thinker by saying, "that the native is Best
left to himself." Best left to himself ! Would the thou-
sands of victims sacrificed to witchcraft in Bunyoro say
so? Would the plundered, half-exterminated tribes
around say so ? Would the entire adult population, witli
their bodies scarred and maimed through a tyrant's whim
or the fetish priest's demand say so? Would the
bleached bones that strewed the trail of the slave raider
say so? Would the wrecked child-life of Bunyoro say
that they were best left to themselves? Did Mtesa, king
of Uganda, think so, when satiated with the blood of his
enemies and his friends, he listened for the first time, to
the words of a God of love, as they fell from the lips of
179
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
the late Sir Henry Stanley ? The charm of that strange
new word, "Love," just arrested the heart of the ofd
pagan despot, and, feeling its force, while as yet but
dimly comprehending its power, he pleaded for the white
man to stay and teach him of his God.
When one considers the miraculous spread of Chris-
tianity throughout this country, one naturally desires to
know what has been the predominating factor that has
so mightily influenced the people, and effected so great
a change in their lives.
It might easily be supposed that the advent of the
missionary, like that of the explorer, would have been
regarded by them with the strongest suspicion, for they
had always been exploited by the strong. Especially
might this impression force itself upon them, when the
missionary was succeeded by the British Government
hoisting the Union Jack, and proclaiming their country
a British Protectorate. Then again, Christianity did
not offer any temporal blessings, the only thing that
would naturally appeal to them, but it promised spiritual
and future blessings, which they could not appreciate.
It made heavy and uncompromising demands on their
lives : a chief, from his scores of wives, must make the
choice of one, who neither physically nor socially could
make him a true helpmeet ; he must break away entirely
from all those heathen practices of fetishism to which he
had always pinned absolute trust for prosperity and
deliverance from adversity, and he must settle down to
a life of abstinence and of industry, for no longer could
the household larder be replenished at the cost of his
neighbour; and, instead of that spontaneous and ecstatic
response to the war-drum, he must daily gird himself for
a grim fight against all the influences of evil within and
without — evil deep-rooted, the heritage from generations
of heathenism.
To no human agency or power can one attribute this
180
Conquest of Christianity over Fetishism
mighty change, but the countries of Uganda to-day are
an eloquent testimony to the living force of the Gospel
of Christ. What was unto the Jews a stumbHng block,
and unto the Greeks foolishness, has been abundantly
manifested in the weak and ignorant African — Christ the
Power of God and the Wisdom of God.
It is because fetishism had buried the only grain of
truth it had ever possessed, and erected over it an edifice
of corruption and falsehood, that it tottered and crumbled
away on the approach of Christianity.
In spite of the almost unthinkable difficulties of those
years, when the Uganda Mission was started — the
months of toil, of nearly i,ooo miles marching from the
coast through unopened country, fever-haunted districts
and antagonistic tribes; in spite of the fact that one after
another of the strongest and noblest of the first mis-
sionary parties succumbed to the hardships of the road,
and never reached Uganda, it was no mistaken policy of
the Society that led them to pass by for a time the many
peoples inhabiting that stretch of country from the coast
inland, and to make Uganda its base.
The Baganda are undoubtedly the dominating tribe
of Central Africa ; patriotism and cohesion have
characterised them as a race, whereas its neighbour
nation of Bunyoro has become shattered by its spirit of
disintegration. The Banyoro and Batoro are suspicious
and sensitive to a degree, and their racial pride will be
the greatest hindrance to their progress. The Baganda
are made of harder stuff ; they are an aggressive people,
and fearless to step out — almost impudent in the cool
way they make themselves instantly master of any situa-
tion : possessing keen business instincts, a Muganda will
turn his hand to anything that promises reward, whether
it is caligraphy, languages, money sums, building,
tailoring, cotton growing — nothing comes amiss to him.
When these traits are directed aright, they become real
181
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
virtues, and thus the warring and conquering Baganda
have proved most effectual missionaries. There is not
a district round Uganda where its Christian teachers are
not found to-day.
In 1894 they went out to Toro with the message of
peace and goodwill toward men, where they were most
enthusiastically received. The year following, Kasa-
gama, king of Toro, was baptised during a prolonged
stay in Uganda, and returned to his country to be a true
missionary to his people. His duties as ruler and teacher
became so arduous, that in 1896 it was decided to assist
him in his noble endeavours to help his people by estab-
lishing there a European station.
Bishop Tucker accompanied Mr. Fisher, who was
appointed to the work ; the journey was a most toilsome
task, for at that time there was nothing in the shape of
a road ; their path lay for nearly 200 miles through
elephant grass that grew to extraordinary height, and
through swamps that sometimes plunged them neck deep
in mud.
The reception they met with will ever be remembered
by them. All along the road, the natives, clad in goat-
skins, had fled in terror at the sight of the white men,
but on reaching the crudely-built capital, the effect of
Christianity was already seen in the excited and fearless
crowd of men, women and children that came out to
welcome them. A large building composed of poles and
reeds had been erected as a church, and here gathered
together daily, old and young. The little paper reading
sheets on which were printed the alphabet, syllables, the
Lord's Prayer, Ten Commandments, and a few texts,
awakened extraordinary interest. Everybody seemed
anxious to understand the curious twisted hieroglyphics
which they called, " A voice that can be heard," and day
by day hoary-headed old chiefs squatted down with mere
infants to master the white man's learning.
182
DAUDI KASAGAMA OF TORO.
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Conquest of Christianity over Fetishism
The large hill on which the visitors pitched their tent
was given to the Bishop by Kasagama for church build-
ings. It was covered for the most part with long grass,
that was the favourite of wild animals. Fires had to be
kept burning all night to keep off the leopards and lions,
and for this purpose a good supply of firewood was
necessary. This was thought to be a useful means of
employing the scores of folk who clamoured for reading
sheets, but had not the few cowrie shells with which to
purchase them.
Such an army of people, however, set to work, tliat
after only a few hours of issuing the order, a Ruwenzori
of firewood stood stacked outside their tents. Eggs were
then suggested as an alternative, and the following morn*
ing as many were brought in, as must have taken all the
fowls in the capital at least four montlis to lay.
Early in 1900, Miss Pike and myself were sent to Toro
in answer to Kasagama's touching appeal to the Church
at home, in which he begged for ladies to come out and
help his women and children. "Women will learn from
women; therefore, I beseech you, help my country."
Such was his message, and although it was a very
isolated life for two young girls who had just left the
shelter of home and large family circles, and in spite of
the great waves of home-sickness that came over us at
times, we regarded it as a peculiar honour to be chosen
for the work. From the very first, the whole population
seemed bent on shielding and loving us for coming
out to them, and they were most wonderfully patient and
long-suffering, w-hen they found that even the European
could not learn their language in one day. Some of the
experiences we passed through I have tried to tell in my
little book, "On the Borders of Pigmy-land."
Meanwhile, in the adjoining province of Bunyoro,
pioneer work was being carried on, despite the political
unrest caused by the protracted opposition of Kabarega
183
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
to the British occupation of his country. In the year
1895, before being appointed to Toro, Mr. Fisher had
crossed the River Kafu, which was then the boundary to
his mission station in Uganda. xA.t the time Kabarega
had fled from the capital, and had collected his forces
round him in the eastern district. The most influential
county chief, Byabacwezi, had capitulated to the British,
and he, with all those who had joined him, remained in
Hoima under the protection of a fort that had been
erected by the late Sir Henry Colville.
To this chief, Mr. Fisher sent messengers, telling him
of his arrival at the Kafu, and expressing a wish to come
and confer with him; an escort w'as immediately sent
to bring him in to the capital.
On hearing of his intended visit, the English officer in
charge wrote, advising him not to venture, as Captain
Dunning had just been killed by Kabarega, and only a
few days previously another officer had been fired at in
Hoima, and his donkey shot from under him; but tliis
letter did not arrive until the missionary had actually
reached the fort. As they had journeyed from the Kafu,
natives were hiding in the scrub, with the intention of
killing the European, but seeing that he carried no fire-
arms and had no foreign bodyguard, and hearing him
talk their own language, they made no attack upon him.
Here let me say that firearms are not needed in Africa
as a protection against the natives. We have journeyed
and stayed among the wildest, and even cannibal tribes,
but have only met with friendly curiosity and crude
courtesy. I will not say that one has always felt quite
comfortable at heart, but that was the fault of our sus-
picions, and not of their behaviour. Firearms at once
create suspicion and alarm, and the most trivial incident
is likely to fan their fearfulness info open hostility.
Sometimes one's tent may be surrounded by a crowd of
men armed with spears, but this may only be precaution
184
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Conquest of Christianity over Fetishism
on their part, or a desire to show respect to the stranger
by appearing thus in full dress.
After arriving in Hoima, the missionary put up at the
fort, and every day crowds of eager folk gathered round
as he taught them. The reed house previously occupied
by Sir Henry Colville, but since vacated, was trans-
formed into a little synagogue, and from that fort house,
in the time of great national stress, the Banvoro were first
taught to pray — simple pravers, but the first that had
ever arisen from that dark land throughout all the ages.
At the earnest request of the people, two Baganda
teachers were left with them. The chief, Byabacwezi,
built them a little house in his own enclosure, and gave
them every assistance, and he himself became one of
their most persevering pupils.
When ]\Ir. Fisher went to Toro, an ordained Muganda
clergyman, two more teachers were sent to Bunyoro to
carry on the work, while they received occasional visits
from other missionaries.
But, on returning from leave in 1899, Mr. Fisher was
located to Bunyoro, as the work had reached that point
when European supervision was necessary.
Bishop Tucker again travelled out with him, and bap-
tised the first Banyoro converts at Masindi. These
included the little prince Kitaimba, who had been put
in temporary charge of the province by the British
Government, while his father was still wandering about
the country. The whole district was then in an inde-
scribably wretched condition. The invading British and
Baganda troops had made heavy demands on the food
supply of the country, and things were too stormy and
unsettled for people to think of cultivating anything
beyond their daily needs ; and when a long drought
followed upon these other misfortunes, despair fell on
the people.
On the roadside were seen poor, emaciated folk, who
185
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
had crawled out of their huts to crave for a morsel, but
had died in the effort, and their corpses were left un-
buried, and hawks and vultures swept down to feed on
the carrion.
Mr. Fisher and his two Baganda helpers were reduced
to ground nuts; a yam was regarded as a veritable
luxury. When even these supplies threatened to fail, he
called to him his two teachers, and suggested to them
that they should return to their own country until the
famine was over, as it was impossible to do anything
but care for the sick and dying. They consulted together
over his words, but soon came back, saying, " My master,
if we leave the people in their distress, they will think
we came merely for what we could get; but if we stay
on and suffer with them, they will learn to love us, and
they will listen to our message afterwards."
So these two splendid fellows remained, and did all
they could to help and sympathise with the Banyoro in
their sore distress. When the Christians in Uganda
heard of the famine, they collected together all the food
they could possibly spare, although they were also feel-
ing the effects of the drought, and sent it in regular
supplies to their "father " for distribution.
This food was most jealously guarded in the little
rnission house, and given out each day to the starving
crowed that gathered at the door; but while hungry folk
besieged the house from without, rats were driven by
the grass fires to take refuge within, and they literally
fought with the occupants for the food. These were soon
followed by snakes, so, altogether, the position of the
missionary as general provider was scarcely an enviable
ane.
But when the famine was over, on the return of the
rains, it was found that those weeks of suffering with
the natives had won their confidence as nothing else
could, and when there was no longer need to come to
186
Conquest of Christianity over Fetishism
the mission house for food, the visits of the people did
not cease. At the same time, Kabarega wds captured,
and warfare ceased, and the country that had passed
through years of fighting was at last to know what peace
meant.
The message of faith, love and life was just what the
people needed, to infuse into them new desires and new
hopes, and, in spite of the warnings and prognostications
of the witch-priests, men and women publicly burned
their charms, or exchanged them for the little reading
sheets which would teach them of the white man's
God.
In 1899, Mr, Farthing joined the mission, and, besides
the station at Masindi, a second one was opened at
Hoima, consisting of a reed church and house. This, in
the following year, was occupied by Mr. and Mrs A. B.
Lloyd. During the three and a-half years they were
there, the work was considerably strengthened and built
up. The reed church gave place to a substantial mud
building, and a house was erected for ladies, who were
sent out to develop the work among the women and chil-
dren. A dispensary was opened, a school built, and in
the surrounding villages teachers were being sent out
after receiving some special training. But Bunyoro soon
made a heavy claim on its little mission staff. After
three years of most devoTed service, Mr. Farthing laid
dowa his life — a life that had been spent whole-heartedly
in the Master's service.
From those days the work has gone steadily forward.
The little prince, Yosiya Kiatimba, had proved himself
incapable of dealing with the onerous task of ruling and
developing his country at that most trying time, so the
British Government appointed his elder brother,
Andereya Duhaga, in his place, and he has wisely and
cautiously led his people forward, doing all in his power
to be an example to them. He has always been the
187
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
greatest help in all church and school work, to which he
contributes very generously.
In 1904, Mr. Fisher was located again to his old work
in Bunyoro, and here we have been labouring since. Like
the neighbouring kingdom of Uganda, Toro and Bun-
yoro are active centres of missionary enterprise. In the
respective capitals stand to-day handsome solid brick
churches, erected entirely at the cost of the native Chris-
tians : the brickmaking, bricklaying, plaster work,
roofing had been carried out by mission boys under
direction, while in the Hoima church, the beautiful furni-
ture, including table, lectern, font and prayer desks,
have been made by lads in the little industrial department
under an Indian instructor.
The opening of the church was a truly memorable
occasion. The Provincial Commissioner, F. A. Knowles,
Esq., brought down the full Government staff of officials,
civil and military, while half the native population
seemed gathered in the large space round the church.
The enormous drums, used in lieu of church-bells, stood
on the verandah awaiting the King Andereya to break
the silence, and thus proclaim the building open. At
the entrance doors stood churchwardens, with rows of
baskets, into which the people cast their offerings. Mr.
Knowles, in a most effective and influential speech, which
he addressed to the huge crowd assembled, explained
how it was the aim of the Government to work hand in
hand with the mission in the uplift of Bunyoro and its
people. There was a debt of ^80 still remaining on the
church, and the native Christians had been asked to do
what they could, to free their House of Prayer on its
opening day. The counting of the collection afterwards
was a most pathetic experience, for the contributions had
been rolled up in paper, and they ranged from a shirt
button to Andereya's kingly gift of ;^2o, and included
needles, calico, eggs, fowls, goats, oxen, all kinds of
188
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Conquest of Christianity over Fetishism
vegetable produce, cowrie shells and rupees. After all
this stuff had been sold in the market, it was found that
the collection had amounted to ;^i09, and constituted
the largest offering ever taken up in the whole history
of the Uganda Mission.
The entire work of education is in the hands of the mis-
sionary. Toro has its schools of women, girls and little
boys, besides a spinning and weaving industry for girls.
Bunyoro has still its two European centres at Hoima
and Masindi, where there are schoofs for women, girls
and little boys, besides normal and boarding schools, and
industrial department, where carpentering and simple
tailoring are taught. The importance of educational
work cannot be over-estimated. In the Uganda Mission,
the greatest results have occurred among the ruling
classes. The fact is, that among the peasants, especially
in the villages, the mind is in such a state of torpor, that
they seem almost lacking a spiritual capacity, and
incapable of absorbing a new idea. It is true, however,
that very many of these people have embraced Chris-
tianity, because its glorious truths can be adapted to the
simplest, but if they are to grow stalwart Christians, it
is necessary to set their mental faculties free, so that
their faith may not be implanted but indigenous. Then,
again, lessons set in the morning school provide occupa-
tion for the chief, as well as his serving lad, when the
lamps or fires are kindled in the hut at night. Chris-
tianity has tabooed their old occupations of drinking,
dancing and sensuality, which sunset heralded in each
night ; but prohibition can only prove practical if it
provides an antidote, and this is how the school can
supply a need of the church. At nightfall, after the
household drum has called together the members for
family prayer, the master can sit down with his son, or
even his wife, and work out a perplexing little sum which
would be self-evident to an English child, but seriously
189
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
addles his brain. If a man has 12 goats and 5 die, how
many will be left ? Such a problem ! Should he add,
multiply, divide or subtract the figures? How can he
possibly solve such a question when he has never owned
even six goats? But he finally arrives at some answer,
and retires for the night, wondering at his own wisdom,
and very eager for morning school to find out if the
wisdom of the European and his agree on the point in
question.
The natives also see for themselves that only a
"scholar" is capable now of controlling a chieftainship,
and of putting into operation the rules and regulations
of the British Government.
Talk about the stir the census caused in the British
Isles, it was absolutely nothing compared to the con-
sternation it caused in Bunyoro. "Children under 12,"
when they only count by moons! "Bachelors and spin-
sters," when people marry at 14 or 15. But these were
but the beginning of troubles; the census paper then
contained space for religious persuasion ; those afflicted
with infirmities, and a long list of professions, beginning
with the law, passing down through labyrinths of trades
until a most accommodating space was left for " unskilled
labour," where most of the population breathlessly took
shelter. Another column was allotted for the number of
cattle owned by the householder, and this caused grave
questionings. " Did the Governor want to know where
he could procure beef for himself and his caravan when
he should pass this way? " So many subterfuges were
invented, and one man gave as a substitute, the number
of dogs and fowls he possessed, and the number of eggs
waiting to be hatched.
In 1908, when a redistribution of chieftainships was
made in Bunyoro, out of the 58 men appointed, no less
than 52 were Christian pupils of the senior school at
Hoima.
190
, J a J
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Conquest of Christianity over Fetishism
The chiefs do not regard it as an indignity to come to
school and learn side by side with a peasant. One of
the most strenuous pupils at Hoima was Byabacwezi, the
most influential chief in the whole of Bunyoro. Nothing
but the most pressing business would deter him from
attending; one morning he arrived panting, streaming
and looking decidedly damaged. For some days he had
been slowly assimilating a lesson in oxen-ploughing, and
had determined to secretly try the experiment. With a
roughly-constructed yoke, he went with his herdsman
to a quiet, secluded spot to break in two powerful oxen,
but they had "refused to hear," shattered the yoke,
kicked out at their masters, and made their escape.
Bruised and bleeding, Byabacwezi left the herdsman to
pursue the truculent beasts, while he hurried in to school
for another dose of "wisdom." I felt that he was
decidedly entitled to the position of Senior Wrangler
that term.
The pioneer missionary must needs be a compendium
of crafts and an encyclopedia of knowledge. An aero-
plane does not create so much astonishment to a native
as a white man to say, " I do not know." He laughs
with incredulity, and, nodding sagaciously to himself,
says, "The European wants his tea,'* and he goes away
to repeat his inquiry at another opportune occasion.
He must at least know something about medicine, not
only for his own sake, but because the African would fail
to understand a cure for the soul that could not cure a
pain in the body. The witch-p)iest and medicine man
were synonymous terms to them. All suffering came
from the spirit world, so anyone who could teach* them
about the gods could, of course, tell them how to turn
away the wrath w'hich caused the sickness. Dire ignor-
ance, dirt and immorality, will have robbed these people
of all constitutional vigour for generations yet to come.
The dread sleeping sickness of Uganda has not yet
191
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
reached Toro or Bunyoro, and the people have been
forcibly withdrawn from the tsetse fly areas, but small-
pox and a form of beri-beri have depopulated large dis-
tricts, while it is no exaggeration to say that there is
scarcely one family unaffected with syphilis in one or
more of its deadly forms.
In the early days, when it took any time from one to
five years to get an order out from England, the mis-
sionary's medical stores often got tragically on the verge
of giving out. For some weeks the undaunted Batoro
patients were treated with Yorkshire relish for all internal
pains, and carbolic tooth powder, adulterated with chalk,
for external applications. But all such amateur treat-
ment has receded in the far past, and now the quack
dispensary has given place in Toro to a most imposing
brick hospital, holding about loo beds, which is under
the proficient charge of Dr. and Mrs. Bond and a trained
nurse, while it has thrown out a well-equipped dispensary
at Hoima. Now, the work of pioneering has been lifted
from off the European, and is being undertaken by the
African Christians themselves. Those years of tedious
toil, living down suspicion of the natives, overcoming
persistent opposition, and slowly winning the confidence
of the people are spared to the missionary ; the native
evangelist goes forth to the heathen villages and distant
tribes, with only his sleeping mat and little bag of books,
and, living like the people among whom he is sent, he
is able to win their attention from the first.
In this way, the whole country has become networked
with little mission stations. In Toro there is a staff of
nearly loo, and in Bunyoro 120 of these trained native
teachers, besides a large staff of voluntary workers,
are labouring in the villages around, or among neigh-
bouring tribes as "foreign missionaries," each country
having now two ordained native clergymen. These men
are the backbone of the native church. To those who
192
Conquest of Christianity over Fetishism
have given up chieftainships, a life of real sacrifice is
involved, for they must isolate themselves from all their
friends and Christian surroundings, and go forth" alone
to wage a continual battle against the deadening forces of
heathenism around, and, as one man described, "the
heritage of generations of heathenism within." They
represent the most educated class in the country, for they
receive a solid groundwork of training, and after periods
of service, return to the central station for further instruc-
tion. They receive a mere nominal wage of los. 6d. to
32s. a year, according to the standard they have reached,
and this sum is just sufficient to provide them and their
wives with clothing. They are dependent for food on
the people to whom they are sent, who willingly do their
part in this respect, and also build their own little church.
These crude little buildings are church, synagogue and
school combined; probably the European travelling
through the country would conclude that they were sheds
only, for they are composed of poles, reeds and thatch,
and many of them have no windows. The light enters
through the doorway, until the people stand up to sing,
when both light and air are completely shut out. But,
when compared with the chief's house in the village, it
is a most imposing structure, for it is square, and a man
can stand upright inside it, and it also boasts of a pulpit !
For no native would consider his church complete with-
out a pulpit, and this sometimes takes up a quarter of the
entire seating space. On one occasion, my husband
entered one of these village pulpits during an itineration,
that was distinctly lopsided, for it was erected on tree
stumps, which had taken root one side. And a fowl had
evidently not reckoned on an Irishman occupying the
pulpit that day, for it had deposited a nest of eggs inside.
After the service the eggs were ceremoniously presented
to him as his rightful perquisite.
So eager are the heathen to be tauglit that the demand
193 o
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
for teachers is always greater than the supply. Some-
times when a teacher is not forthcoming, a Christian man
in the village will allow his house to become the mission
room, where the people can gather daily, while he will
teach the elementary truths of Christianity and give them
instruction in the reading sheets, so that thev can learn
to read the Gospels for themselves. In some cases the
villagers have erected a little church in anticipation,
hoping that this would constrain the white man to send
them a messenger of his God, and when he has failed to
arrive, they have chosen out the sharpest-witted boy
among them, to go into the capital and learn all he can,
so that he may return and pass on to them what he has
been taught. And what a change takes place in that
little village, which has never been visited by a messenger
of Christ ! As these poor simple folk gaze at the letters
in the reading sheet which he has brought to them, their
minds are a perfect blank, but by daily endeavour they
gradually learn to attach a sound to the figures, and at
last the meaning of it all breaks in upon their minds, and
as they read the beautiful story of that Perfect Man who
was without sin, the sad and savage expression passes
away from their countenances, and they become trans-
formed. On one occasion we had a serving lad, who for
months had been struggling with his letters, and could
make nothing of them at all, but suddenly he seemed to
grip their purpose, and, rushing into our room, he
exclaimed, " My master, what can I do to show my joy ?
Give me your gun that I may fire it off, else my heart
will burst for joy, for now I have caught the book
reading, it is mine."
No haste or pressure is brought to bear upon the
inquirer and catechumen. They must first pass a reading
examination (old people excepted), so as to prove that
they are able to study for themselves the Bible, and
understand it. Then they bring two Church Communi-
194
.*SinL».i
Conquest of Christianity over Fetishism
cants as witnesses, who vouch for the consistency of their
lives, and promise to help them ; they then enter the
catechumenate for six months or more, which consists of
a daily course of Bible and other religious instruction.
The object the native teacher is taught to keep in mind
is to impart to them a simple, clear and intelligent know-
ledge of what Christianity is, and what it demands. If,
at the end of the course, they present themselves for
baptism, the two witnesses must again come forward,
and the candidates' names are then read out in church
two Sundays in succession, and the Christians are asked
to bring any reasons they may have for preventing them
from receiving the ordinance of baptism.
The reality of the faith of the Banyoro is seen in their
honest desire to carry the Gospel to those tribes whom
they plundered and oppressed in former years. Banyoro
teachers are now at work among the Balega and Babira
tribes in the Belgian Congo, and they are receiving every
encouragement and assurance from the officers in charge
there. Northwards they have been sent to the peoples
of Chopi, Madi and Ganyi, near neighbours of the Ban-
yoro, and who were in the past all, more or" less, ruled
over by these kings.
The Government have recently opened a new admini-
strative centre in this district, and they wrote, asking tTie
mission if it could not send teachers, as they would prove
the greatest help to them in their endeavours to help and
control the natives. Two of the Government officials
stationed there, sent in private contributions to enable
mission work to be started; and the Banyoro have not
forgotten their old king in exile in the far-away Sey-
chelles ; they longed that he should share with them the
joy and peace that Christianity brought to them.
Andereya Duhaga consulted with the mission, and
obtained the permission of the Government to send a
missionary to him ; from those who immediately offered
195
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
to go, was chosen a senior Church worker, who had stood
by the old king, Kabarega, during his chequered for-
tunes, and this man bravely set out with his wife to face
the long journey that lay before him, and an unknown
foreign land. He had never stepped beyond the
boundaries of his own country before, and only knew his
own limited language; his sole experience of travelling
on water, was paddling across the Nile in a dug-out, but
he fearlessly started forth to face the terrors of the rail-
road to Mombasa, the rolling and pitching and novel
life on an ocean liner, the confusion of tongues, and the
bustle of changing boats at Port Said, and at last the
civilised conditions of life in the Seychelles. He had no
one to travel with him who could steer him through the
difficulties, but he and his wife faced them alone, with a
label tied round their necks.
For months Kabarega showed the same obstinacy that
had characterised him in the old days, but by earnest
and unceasing prayer, Abimileka prevailed with God
and with man, and after nearly two years' work he had
the great joy of seeing his old king and master, who had
always so steadfastly refused to yield to any earthly
authority, surrender his heart to Christ. The old man
is constantly visited by the English chaplain there, who
writes of the definite change that has taken place in
Kabarega's life. He himself often corresponds with his
son, Andereya, and his letters always speak of his faith'
and joy in Christ.
A very striking demonstration of the results of British
rule and Christianity in the country was given in
November, igo8, when an international exhibition was
organised in Uganda by H.E. the Governor. For the
first time in the history of the land, the four kings of
Uganda, Bunyoro, Ankole and Toro met, and all the
national hatred that had always existed between them
was forgotten. On Sunday morning, in the cathedral,
196
Conquest of Christianity over Fetishism
which has, alas ! since been destroyed by fire, these four
Christian kings knelt together, and not one present,
whose mind could travel back over the past years of
bitterness and bloodshed, could fail to marvel at the
mighty change that had taken place, and to attribute all
praise to Him Who died to reconcile all things unto Him-
self.
A new age has dawned for these peoples. The deep
scars from the medicine-man's knife and branding irons
that have destroyed the features of every adult in the
countries of Toro and Bunyoro, are not seen on the
children of the present generations; tfie haunting fear of
devils that possessed every man, woman and child is
being driven out by belief in an all-loving and beneficent
God ; polygamy and slavery have received their death-
blow ; woman is learning to take her rightful place as
helpmeet, and not drudge, in the family life ; instead of
drunken debaucheries and the sinuous accompaniments
of the tom-tom in the homes of the people, family prayer
ascends, and many wee tots can unite with their parents
in the hymns that are so dear to the native. These are
the changes that have taken place on the surface; the
other results can only be appreciated by those who have
dipped a little deeper, and realised what fetishism was,
how it seemed woven into their very nature, and seen
what it must have meant for these people to break from it.
When we stand in that attitude, we can dimly under-
stand what mighty changes have been wrought. The
ignorant and weak fetish worshipper has been suddenly
brought right about face, to the loftv standard of the
Christianity of the modern civilised world. The history
of the moral and spiritual training of mankind from
Genesis 3 to the Acts of the Apostles must necessarily
be omitted in his case, for there must be no relaxation
of the law to accommodate the African of to-day; but
we must be patient with him, and not disappointed, if he
197
Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda
cannot grow from infancy to manhood in a day; for
it must rrot be forgotten that the convert has not only to
learn what we so inadequately practise ourselves — the
Fruits of the Spirit — but he has also to learn that there
are works of the flesh which must be mortified. "Now
the works of the flesh are these : adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, witchcraft, hatred, wrath, strife, murders,
drunkenness, revellings and such like."
And against these he has no natural weapons to
wield — no self-respect, self-control, public opinion,
healthful instincts, and inherent virtue, but a heritage of
corruption, a weak physique, and an inertia born of the
tropics to handicap him in his daily warfare. It is no
discouragement to me to find one and another overcome
in the conflict, but that there should be such a strong
army of those who have conquered, is to me the greatest
witness to the Divine power of our Faith.
God grant that in the words of Kasagama, king of
Toro : "This land may ever be a high lamp of God, that
shall not be extinguished, but shall illuminate the peoples
and tribes living in darkness around."
198
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