Further Readings
Balandier, G., & Maquet, J. (1974).Dictionary of Black
African Civilization. New York: Leon Amiel.
Lamp, F. (1996).The Art of the Baga:A Drama of
Cultural Reinvention. Washington, DC: Museum of
African Art.
BAGANDA
The Baganda people are an important ethnic group
in the country of Uganda. The country takes its
name from the people. The people are concen-
trated on the northwestern shores of Lake Nyanza
(also called Ukerewe, Victoria). This lake is the
source of the longest branch of the Nile River.
From here, the Nile flowed down toward the
Mediterranean Sea. The Baganda’s ancient king-
dom was called Buganda and was bounded on the
north by Bunyoro and on the east by the Nile
River. With more than 3 million people, the
Baganda are the most populous group in Uganda.
Of all the former kingdoms that comprise Uganda,
the Baganda were the largest and comprised
slightly more than a fourth of Uganda’s land mass.
The Baganda possess a powerful culture that is
based around the kingship. The king is called the
Kabaka, and when the earlier governments of
Uganda wanted to express their complete control
over the country, they had destroyed the Baganda
and other kingdoms. Nevertheless, the people
maintained their calm and, because of the strength
of their culture, it was easily resurrected when the
political climate changed.
In addition to the centrality of the kabaka, the
people take great pride in their verbally rich cul-
ture. They use many folktales and proverbs to
teach their children moral behavior and ritual cor-
rectness. The children are taught to express them-
selves through word games such as ludikya, which
is often called “talking backward.” For example,
a child may sayomuzima(spirit) and then sayam-
zi-umoas a way of talking backward. There are
many variations of these word games. At home
the children observe the adults at play with riddles
and learn by studying their elders. They refer to
the collective riddling game asokukokkya.
According to the traditions of the Baganda,
Kintu, the first Kabaka, is said to have married
Nambi. But it was said that Nambi had to return
to heaven, where her father, Gulu, objected to her
marriage because Kintu did not know how to
farm. He only knew how to get food from ani-
mals. Kintu was tested by the relatives of the girl
to see whether he could identify his own cow in
the midst of a herd. Hundreds of cows looked like
his, but nevertheless he befriended a bee who told
him that when he landed on the horns of a cow
that would be his cow. By virtue of his help from
the bee, Kintu was able to find his cow and was
given the girl. The father was stunned by the wis-
dom of the young man. He said to the young man,
“Please take my daughter and go before Walume
(death) show up and want to travel with you.”
They took cows, sheep, birds, goats, and a
plantain tree. However, Nambi wanted to go back
and retrieve some grain that she had forgotten.
Her husband protested, but off she went.
Unfortunately for her, death was waiting for her,
and she ran fast but death ran faster. She could not
get away. After living on the Earth for many years
in peace, death, that is, Walumbe, started to bring
sickness and illness to the people he met.
Most Baganda practiced an indigenous religion
until the assertive positioning of Islam and
Christianity in the 20th century caused the people
to abandon balubaale. They worshipped gods
who represented various physical properties and
mental attitudes. Temples were often identified
with fertility, warfare, water, or health. Even as
Islam and Christianity were growing, the people
still believed in the spirits of the ancestors. They
visited the temples to learn of impending dangers
and how to avoid them. Because the muzimu are
the most important spirits as ancestors, the people
they are able to protect and shelter are always
those who express faith in them.
The rites of passage of the Muganda are a four-
step process:- Omwana (child)
- Omuvubuka (youth)
- Omusajja (adult)
- Omuzima (spirit)
Finally, the person becomes a candidate for rein-
carnation. Everything in life prepares the person to
become a part of the unbroken line between the
living ones and the eternal living ones. Among theBaganda 89