Baganda

The term Ganda means brotherhood and unity and comes from the noun "obuganda", which means bundles of stalks piled, wrapped, or tied together. it ultimately comes from the Proto Bantu word, "-ganda" (family). ==Clan structure==

The Baganda are organized in clans ( (plural); (singular)). The clan is a unit of social organization and in the past, was also a unit of political organization. Every Muganda must belong to a clan. This is usually his or her father's clan and so a "naturalized" Muganda person must pick a clan to belong to and therefore a surname or last name belonging to that clan. Each clan will have a list of at least 20 boys' surnames and 20 girls' surnames for one to pick from. Therefore, one's surname (last name) will give a clue to which clan they belong as well as their biological gender. The exceptions to this are a woman's married name (which she inherits from her husband) as well as unique names given to twins and their immediate siblings or Royals (the first-born son is called Kiweewa and the first-born daughter is called Nassolo), and gods' () names. A few exceptions exist, especially among the members of the large Mmamba clan. On occasion, these have been known to intermarry. Another taboo is that the members of a clan cannot eat or harm their totem animal, plant or thing. So a member of the (lungfish) clan is forbidden from consuming a lungfish. However, members of other clans do eat lungfish. The Baganda are organized around roughly 50 clans with the Kabaka (Ssaabataka) being the head of the clan heads (). Each clan has a hierarchical structure. The top (or roof) of this clan hierarchy is called . So the Baganda are organized around the roughly 50 roofs ( (plural); (singular)). The person who heads the clan is called Ow'akasolya. Below each roof (or Kasolya) are several units called amasiga, headed by Ow'essiga. Essiga is singular form of Amasiga. Under each ssiga are several units called (singular ), headed by Ow'olunyiriri. Below the lunyiriri are several units called emituba, headed by Ow'omutuba. Omutuba is singular form of Emituba. Below each mutuba are several units called enzigya, headed by Ow'oluggya. Oluggya is singular form of Enzigya. The Luggya is the level of the paternal grandfather (of the family). Below the luggya are several units called (houses), headed by . The House is essentially the nuclear family and is headed by a father or, if he is dead, by his male heir. The heir is a cultural head not economic head and so for instance, in a household headed by a single mother or a widow, the family property is not owned by the cultural heir. Among the Baganda, an heiress is a biological female who inherits the cultural position of a deceased woman (i.e sister or mother). In ancient times, this heiress, if she were single, could become the widower's wife as it was assumed that she would love her deceased sister's children as if they were her own. ==Culture and society==

The adjective Kiganda is usually used in reference to the Baganda culture. Names The surnames of the Baganda are unique and with a few exceptions depend on one's clan. Okwalula abaana (naming and confirming children in a clan) In the old days, the Baganda held a ceremony called okwalula abaana at which a child was named and confirmed as a member of the clan. A piece of the child's umbilical cord (that had been saved at the child's birth) was used to confirm belonged to the father or was a result of adultery. Modern ways of doing paternity tests have rendered the old ways obsolete although some parents still keep pieces of the child's umbilical cord. However, taking DNA paternity tests without cause has also become very controversial. Naming of twins The names and titles of people related to twins are unique. The father of twins is called ; a mother of twins is . The surname of the older twin is if the twin is a boy and if the older twin is a girl. Surnames inspired by Kiganda mythology Some surnames given to boys and girls were inspired by mythology or by traditional gods () or events. Grudges were rarely forgotten, a Ganda proverb says "He who makes you shed tears, you make him shed blood." Women In Kiganda society, women married at a later age than most other African societies, rarely marrying before the age of 20. Both bridewealth and virginity were necessary to a fully honourable marriage. A married woman's status depended on her ancestry and the rank of her husband. Women gained respect by their control of the household economy and by their fertility; loss of a baby was a woman's most common reason for suicide. Appearance John Roscoe noted that the Baganda varied in their heights, with some being just a little over 5 feet tall and others being over six feet tall (the warrior Tebukoza Kyambalango was 6'6" tall). The anthropologist Lucy Mair further describes the appearance of the Baganda: Men rarely kept facial hair–they plucked it out or shaved it off. Women were careful to keep their armpit hair shaved, unless their husbands were at war or on a journey, (custom forbade married women from shaving until the husband returned). When Speke prepared for his first audience with King Mutesa of Baganda, he put on his finest clothes, but admitted that he "cut a poor figure in comparison with the dressy Baganda [who] wore neat bark cloaks resembling the best yellow corduroy cloth, crimp and well set, as if stiffened with starch". The Baganda were careful (even described as prudish) about the covering of the body, people covered their body head to toe and nudity was seen as disgusting and shameful. Bark cloth (olubugo) was the most common form of attire used throughout Buganda. It was made from at least 20 tree species, with the best quality cloth being from the Mutuba tree, which was extensively cultivated in Buganda and considered the most valuable tree after the Matoke. Different species of trees yielded different colors and textures, from yellow to sandy brown to dark red-brown. The finest quality was the rusty brown cloth (called Kimote). A specific species of tree that yielded a white cloth was reserved for the Kabaka (king). Barkcloth also had other uses such as bedding and wrapping of goods Clothing The traditional dress of the Baganda women is the Gomesi and the Kanzu for the Baganda men. The traditional fabric used by the Baganda is barkcloth (), which is made from the bark of the Mutuba tree. Religion According to the 2002 Census of Uganda, 42.7% of Baganda are Roman Catholic, 27.4% are Anglican (Church of Uganda), 23% are Muslim, and 4.3% are Pentecostal. As shown by the official statistics, the bulk of the Baganda in Uganda belong to the new Abrahamic religions and a few to the old traditional Kiganda religion. In practice, some Baganda officially belong to one of the Abrahamic religions but also secretly follow the old traditional Kiganda religion. Creation myth The Baganda creation myth says that the first man on earth (and Buganda in particular) was Kintu. Kintu married Nnambi, the daughter of the god Ggulu. The Baganda are the descendants of Kintu and Nnambi. According to this myth, Walumbe, Nnambi's jealous brother is responsible for all human disease, sickness () and death on earth. Another brother, Kayikuuzi, tried to protect humans from Walumbe but failed. To this day, Kayikuuzi still tries to capture Walumbe from the underground where he hides and take him back home. Based on this creation myth, the Baganda are called (Nnambi's children). Marriage rites and customs Traditional Kiganda marriage involves several rites and customs that must be performed for a marriage to occur. These days to avoid blood-borne diseases, no blood is exchanged, just coffee beans. • '''Akasiki (Bachelors' party, or Bachelorette's party)''' These are roughly equivalent to the bachelor and bachelorette parties in Western weddings and they are held the night before the wedding reception, Embaga. • Kaasuze katya This is a ceremony held the morning of the wedding reception. The suitor's and some of his relatives bring some items (usually paraffin, matches, funnel and a lamp for the parents) to the bride-to-be's parent's home and ask the parents for permission to formally take the bride-to-be with them. • (Wedding reception/party) This is the wedding reception or party, and is generally funded by the suitor's family and friends. In modern times, it's held at a public place such as a hotel. • (show of appreciation) This is a ceremony that usually occurs after the brides first return from a visit to her parents home. In this ceremony, the bride takes items like chickens and butter ('''''') back to her husband as a sign of appreciation for him. • Registering the marriage with the state Getting marriage certificate from state brings several benefits to the married couple including better legal protection. In Uganda, this is done based on the Marriage Act. In modern times, not all of the above ceremonies are performed. This is especially true for couples that have accepted the Abrahamic religions. Some of the ceremonies are skipped or merged together. A number of the ceremonies are usually required (as proof of consent) if one is to register the marriage with the state. ==Death==

Among the Baganda, Death is traditionally believed to ultimately be caused by the mythical Walumbe. And when a person dies, they join their ancestors in the spiritual realm. However it is believed that the deceased (omufu) can still influence the lives of the living. Therefore a number of rites and customs must be performed or observed to avoid angering the deceased and to comfort the bereaved. In some cases, haunting, possession or unexplained illness is believed to be caused by an ancestor's ghost that is unhappy because the living family members have failed to maintain their grave or to appoint an heir/heiress or perform a specific rite or custom. So there will be some differences in how the death of a royal (a king, queen, prince, princess, queen mother), a father, a mother, a child, a twin, a spinster, a fetus, a nonfamily member who died at another person's home, a suicide, one who died from a highly infectious disease like Ebola or Covid-19, etc is handled. Death announcement (Okubika) Announcing (Okubika or Okubikira) the death to relatives, in-laws, friends, colleagues and the local community is one of the first things that is done since they are all expected to take part in the wake and/or burial of the deceased. Among the Baganda, wakes and burials are a communal events, do not require an invitation and are open to everyone. was stillborn, was a fetus in a miscarriage, or belonged to one of the Abrahamic religions that require one to be buried on the day they died. Preparation of the body Preparation of the body for viewing and eventual burial is usually done at a funeral home or the home of the deceased. This usually involves cleaning (okunaaza omufu), straightening (okugolola), embalming and then dressing up (okwambaza) the body or wrapping/shrouding the body (okuzinga omufu) in cloth (in white sheets or barkcloth). ==History==

Early history As for the founding of the Kingdom of the Ganda (Buganda), the most widely acknowledged account is that it was founded by Kato Kintu. This Kato Kintu is different from the mythical Kintu, as he is generally accepted as a historical figure who founded Buganda and became its first 'Kabaka', adopting the name Kintu in reference to the legend of Kintu to establish his legitimacy as a ruler. He was successful in unifying what had previously been a number of scattered clans to form a strong kingdom. As such by the 18th century, the formerly dominant Bunyoro kingdom was being eclipsed by Buganda. Consolidating their efforts behind a centralized kingship, the Baganda (people of Buganda) shifted away from defensive strategies and toward expansion. By the mid 19th century, Buganda had doubled and redoubled its territory conquering much on Bunyoro and becoming the dominant state in the region. Newly conquered lands were placed under chiefs nominated by the king. Buganda's armies and the royal tax collectors traveled swiftly to all parts of the kingdom along specially constructed roads which crossed streams and swamps by bridges and viaducts. On Lake Victoria (which the Baganda call Ennyanja Nnalubaale), a royal navy of outrigger canoes, commanded by an admiral, Gabunga, who was chief of the Mmamba (Lungfish) Gabunga clan, could transport Baganda commandos to raid any shore of the lake. Arrival and interference of European colonialists The explorer John Speke, searching for the source of the Nile, had visited Buganda in the 1860s and back home in Britain givewithlowing account of the advanced Bantu kingdom he had found in East Africa, and fellow explorers as well as colonialists were to soon follow him into the kingdom. The journalist Henry Morton Stanley visited Buganda in 1875 and painted a good picture of the kingdom's strength, as well as providing an estimate of Buganda troop strength. At Buganda's capital, Stanley found a well-ordered town of about 80,000 surrounding the king's palace, which was situated atop a commanding hill. A wall more than four kilometers in circumference surrounded the palace compound, which was filled with grass-roofed houses, meeting halls, and storage buildings. At the entrance to the court burned the royal gombolola (fire), which would only be extinguished when the Kabaka died. Thronging the grounds were foreign ambassadors seeking audiences, chiefs going to the royal advisory council, messengers running errands, and a corps of young pages, who served the Kabaka while training to become future chiefs. For communication across the kingdom, the messengers were supplemented by drum signals. In 1876, Christian missionaries started entering the kingdom of Buganda to introduce the Baganda people to Christianity. Between 1881 and 1890, the Baganda people started to convert to both Islam and Christianity. To Europeans, the Baganda belonged to a distinct political and social order and were thus privileged over other ethnic and cultural groups in the region. Early travel, missionary, and colonial accounts often called the Baganda the "most advanced and intelligent of all central African societies". The British in their colonial ventures were much impressed with the government as well as the society and economic organization of Buganda, which they ranked as the most advanced nation they had encountered in East Africa and ranked it with other highly advanced nations like the ones they had encountered in Zimbabwe and Nigeria. Buganda was, indeed, an aggressive empire building monarchy at the moment when the British entered the region; other African peoples "paled into insignificance when compared with the Baganda." Kabaka Mwanga II of Buganda was allowed near complete autonomy and a position as overlord of the other kingdoms. While in exile, Mwanga II was received into the Anglican Church, and baptized with the name Danieri (Daniel). He spent the rest of his life in exile. He died in 1903, aged 35 years. In 1910, his remains were repatriated and buried at Kasubi. The war against Kabaka Mwanga II was expensive, and the new commissioner of Uganda in 1900, Sir Harry H. Johnston, had orders to establish an efficient administration and to levy taxes as quickly as possible. Sir Johnston approached the chiefs in Buganda with offers of jobs in the colonial administration in return for their collaboration. The chiefs did so but expected their interests (preserving Buganda as a self-governing entity, continuing the royal line of kabakas, and securing private land tenure for themselves and their supporters) to be met. ==References==