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Baganda
The Ganda people, or Baganda[2] (endonym: Baganda;
Baganda
singular Muganda), are a Bantu ethnic group native to Buganda,
a subnational kingdom within Uganda. Traditionally composed of
52 clans (although since a 1993 survey, only 46 are officially
recognised), the Baganda are the largest people of the bantu
ethnic group in Uganda, comprising 16.5 percent of the
population at the time of the 2014 census.[3][4]

Sometimes described as "The King's Men" because of the

importance of the king, or Kabaka, in their society,[5] the Ganda
number an estimated 5.56 million in Uganda.[4][5] In addition,
Baganda traditional dance
there is a significant diaspora abroad, with organised
communities in Canada, South Africa, Sweden, the United Total population
Kingdom, and the United States.[6] Traditionally, they speak 9,421,800[1]
Luganda.
Regions with significant
populations
Uganda
Contents
Languages
History Luganda
Early history
Religion
Arrival and interference of British colonialists
British rule and Uganda Protectorate Christianity, African Traditional
Culture and social structure Religion, Islam
Family life Related ethnic groups
The Baganda Post-Independence/Post-1962 Basoga, Bagwere and other Bantu
Gallery peoples
References
Ganda
Person OmuGanda
History People AbaGanda
Language OluGanda
Early history Country BuGanda

The early history of the Ganda is unclear, with various conflicting traditions as to their origins. One
tradition holds that they are descendants of the legendary figure of Kintu, the first human according
to Ganda mythology. He was said to have married Nambi, the daughter of the creator deity Ggulu.[7] A
related tradition holds that Kintu came from the east, from the direction of Mount Elgon, and passed
through Busoga on the way to Buganda.[8]

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A separate tradition holds that the Ganda are the descendants of a

people who came from the east or northeast around 1300.[8]
According to the traditions chronicled by Sir Apolo Kagwa,
Buganda's foremost ethnographer, Kintu was the first Muganda, and
having descended to Earth at Podi is said to have moved on to
Kibiro, and having reached Kyadondo in Uganda's modern-day
Wakiso District have formed Buganda there.

As the Ganda are a Bantu people, it is most likely that their roots are
in the region between West and Central Africa (around what is now
Cameroon) and they arrived in their current location by way of the
Bantu Migration.[8]

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 The Baganda house (1911) (top)
generally accepted as a historical who founded Buganda and became Stanley and the white heroes in
its first 'Kabaka', adopting the name Kintu in reference to the legend Africa Emin Pasha relief
of Kintu to establish his legitimacy as a ruler. He was successful in expedition (1890) (bottom).
unifying what had previously been a number of warring tribes to
form a strong kingdom.[7]

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 Ganda
call Nnalubale), a royal navy of outrigger canoes, commanded by an admiral who was chief of the
Lungfish clan, could transport Baganda commandos to raid any shore of the lake.

Arrival and interference of British colonialists

The explorer John Speke, searching for the source of the Nile, had visited Buganda in the 1860s and
back home in Britain given a glowing 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.

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Stanley counted 125,000 troops marching off on a single campaign to the east, where a fleet of 230
war canoes waited to act as auxiliary naval support.

The British in their colonial ventures were much impressed with government as well as social 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.

Under Kabaka Mwanga II, Buganda became a protectorate in 1894. This did not last and the Kabaka
declared war on Britain in on July 6, 1897. He was defeated at the battle of Buddu on July 20 of the
same year. He fled to German East Africa where he was arrested and interned at Bukoba. The Kabaka
later escaped and led a rebel army to retake the kingdom before being defeated once again in 1898
and being exiled to the Seychelles.[9][10][11]

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, was baptized with
the name of 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.[12][13][14]

The war against Kabaka Mwanga II had been 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. After much hard bargaining, the
chiefs ended up with everything they wanted, including one-half of all the land in Buganda. The half
left to the British as "Crown Land" was later found to be largely swamp and scrub.

Johnston's Buganda Agreement of 1900 imposed a tax on huts and guns, designated the chiefs as tax
collectors, and testified to the continued alliance of British and Baganda interests. The British signed
much less generous treaties with the other kingdoms (Toro in 1900, Ankole in 1901, and Bunyoro in
1933) without the provision of large-scale private land tenure.

Following Uganda's independence in 1962, the kingdom was abolished by Uganda's first Prime
Minister Milton Obote in 1966. Following years of disturbance under Obote and dictator Idi Amin, as
well as several years of internal divisions among Uganda's ruling National Resistance Movement
under Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda since 1986, the kingdom was finally restored in
1993. Buganda is now a kingdom monarchy with a large degree of autonomy from the Ugandan state,
although tensions between the kingdom and the country remain.

British rule and Uganda Protectorate

The Ganda came into contact with the British in the nineteenth century, resulting in widespread social
upheavals in Buganda. The population of the Ganda, said to have numbered three million during the
reign of Muteesa I (1856–1884), diminished to around a 1.5 million as a result of famine and civil war.
By the early 1900s, their population had been reduced to around one million as a result of an
epidemic of sleeping sickness.[15] Changes to Bugandan society, the first major change being the
introduction of a standing army during Muteesa I's reign,[16] were accelerated when Buganda became

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the centre of the newly formed Uganda Protectorate as part of the British Empire in 1894. Land which
had previously belonged solely to the Kabaka, was divided among the Kabaka and the tribal chiefs.
Many of the old clan burial-grounds, previously considered sacred, were desecrated.[17]

Culture and social structure

Ganda social organization emphasized descent through males.

Four or five generations of descendants of one man, related
through male forebears, constituted a patrilineage. A group of
related lineages constituted a clan. Clan leaders could summon a
council of lineage heads, and council decisions affected all lineages
within the clan. Many of these decisions regulated marriage,
which had always been between two different lineages, forming
important social and political alliances for the men of both
Baganda people in their cultural
lineages. Lineage and clan leaders also helped maintain efficient
outfits. Men put on Kanzu, and
land use practices, and they inspired pride in the group through
ladies Ggomeesi
ceremonies and remembrances of ancestors.

Most lineages maintained links to a home territory (obutaka)

within a larger clan territory, but lineage members did not necessarily live on butaka land. Men from
one lineage often formed the core of a village; their wives, children, and in-laws joined the village.
People were free to leave if they became disillusioned with the local leader to take up residence with
other relatives or in-laws, and they often did so.

As of 2009, there are at least fifty two (52) recognised clans within the kingdom, with at least another
four making a claim to clan status. Within this group of clans are four distinct sub-groups which
reflect historical waves of immigration to Buganda.[7][18][19]

Family life

The family in Buganda is often described as a microcosm of the kingdom. The father is revered and
obeyed as head of the family. His decisions are generally unquestioned. A man's social status is
determined by those with whom he establishes patron/client relationships, and one of the best means
of securing this relationship is through one's children. Baganda children, some as young as three
years old, are sent to live in the homes of their social superiors, both to cement ties of loyalty among
parents and to provide avenues for social mobility for their children. Even in the 1980s, Baganda
children were considered psychologically better prepared for adulthood if they had spent several years
living away from their parents at a young age.

Baganda recognize at a very young age that their superiors, too, live in a world of rules. Social rules
require a man to share his wealth by offering hospitality, and this rule applies more stringently to
those of higher status. Superiors are also expected to behave with impassivity, dignity, self-discipline,
and self-confidence, and adopting these mannerisms sometimes enhances a man's opportunities for
success.

Authoritarian control is an important theme of Ganda culture. In precolonial times, obedience to the
king was a matter of life and death. However, a second major theme of Ganda culture is the emphasis
on individual achievement. An individual's future is not entirely determined by status at birth.
Instead, individuals carve out their fortunes by hard work as well as by choosing friends, allies, and
patrons carefully.
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Ganda culture tolerates social diversity more easily than many other African societies. Even before the
arrival of Europeans, many Ganda villages included residents from outside Buganda. Some had
arrived in the region as slaves, but by the early 20th century, many non-Baganda migrant workers
stayed in Buganda to farm. Marriage with non-Baganda was fairly common, and many Baganda
marriages ended in divorce. After independence, Ugandan officials estimated that one-third to one-
half of all adults marry more than once during their lives.[20][21][22]

The Baganda Post-Independence/Post-1962

Following Uganda's independence in 1962, the kingdom was abolished by Uganda's first Prime
Minister Milton Obote in 1966. Following years of disturbance under Obote and dictator Idi Amin, as
well as several years of internal divisions among Uganda's ruling National Resistance Movement
under Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda since 1986, the kingdom was finally restored in
1993. Buganda is now a kingdom monarchy with a large degree of autonomy from the Ugandan state,
although tensions between the kingdom and the Ugandan government continue to be a defining
feature of Ugandan politics.[23][24][25]

Since the restoration of the kingdom in 1993, the king of Buganda, known as the Kabaka, has been
Muwenda Mutebi II. He is recognised as the thirty-sixth Kabaka of Buganda. The current queen,
known as the Nnabagereka, is Queen Sylvia Nagginda.[26]

Gallery

Traditional Ganda Buganda Masiro Late 19th century

Kanzu Boundaries print of Buganda
royal retinue

Ssekabaka
Basamula Ekkere
Mwanga II.

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Kabaka Mwanga II was Buganda's Last Powerful Kabaka. After his reign Buganda Kingdom's
influence in the region was weakened significantly. Kabaka Mwanga II was betrayed by some of his
Mengo confidants who collaborated with colonial British Bazungu to exile the Kabaka to Seychelles
Islands where he later died as a loner. It was under these circumstances that Buganda Land was
divided among regents and the British colonialist on behalf of the Queen of the United Kingdom.

References
1. https://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/GroupDetails.aspx?peid=15080
2. "Ganda" (https://oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=Ganda). Oxford English Dictionary
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ww.oed.com/public/login/loggingin#withyourlibrary) required.)
3. Mukasa E. Ssemakula. "The Clans of Buganda" (http://www.buganda.com/ebika.htm). The
Buganda Home Page. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
4. "2014 Uganda Population and Housing Census – Main Report" (https://web.archive.org/web/2017
1012091133/http://www.ubos.org/onlinefiles/uploads/ubos/NPHC/2014%20National%20Census%
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f) (PDF) on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
5. "Baganda" (http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Tajikistan-to-Zimbabwe/Baganda.html). Countries and
Their Cultures. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20100729163454/http://www.everyculture.c
om/wc/Tajikistan-to-Zimbabwe/Baganda.html) from the original on 29 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July
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6. Mukasa E. Ssemakula. "Baganda in the Diaspora" (http://www.buganda.com/diaspora.htm#baan
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w.buganda.com/diaspora.htm) from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
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Buganda Home Page. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
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Uganda" (http://www.uganda-visit-and-travel-guide.com/baganda-people.html). Uganda Visit and
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s/people-power/kabaka-exiled-as-buganda-calls-for-independence-1616914). Daily Monitor.
Retrieved 2021-05-31.
11. "The Uganda Crisis, 1966" (http://www.buganda.com/crisis66.htm). www.buganda.com. Retrieved
2021-05-31.
12. "The four Kabakas buried at Kasubi" (http://www.kasubitombs.org/en/about/kabakas.php).
www.kasubitombs.org. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
13. "Kabaka tombs - Kasubi Tombs | Buganda Kingdom Tours" (https://www.achieveglobalsafaris.co
m/kabaka-tombs/). Achieve Global Safaris. 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
14. Brierley, Jean (1988). "Mutesa, The Missionaries, and Christian Conversion in Buganda". The
International Journal of African Historical Studies. 21 (4): 601–618. doi:10.2307/219743 (https://do
i.org/10.2307%2F219743). JSTOR 219743 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/219743).
15. Roscoe, pg. 6
16. Roscoe, pg. 2
17. Roscoe, p. 2
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18. "Introduction to Uganda culture" (https://www.kings.edu/non_cms/pdf/UgandanCulture.pdf) (PDF).

19. Kasfir, Nelson (2020). "The restoration of the Buganda Kingdom Government 1986–2014: culture,
contingencies, constraints". Journal of Modern African Studies. 57 (4): 519–540.
doi:10.1017/S0022278X1900048X (https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0022278X1900048X).
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(4): 757–786. doi:10.1086/494702 (https://doi.org/10.1086%2F494702). JSTOR 3174572 (https://
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49213).
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24. Lancaster, Andy (2012). "The Divisive Nature of Ethnicity in Ugandan Politics, Before and After
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s-before-and-after-independence/). E-International Relations.
25. Nyeko, Balam (2021). "THE BACKGROUND TO POLITICAL INSTABILITY IN POST-AMIN
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50e144e17cc9a28b4.pdf?t=mniq7j) (PDF). Ufahamu. 15 (3): 11–32.
26. Golooba-Mutebi, Frederick (2008). "COLLAPSE, WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION IN UGANDA
AN ANALYTICAL NARRATIVE ON STATE-MAKING" (https://www.lse.ac.uk/international-develop
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Sources

Roscoe, John (2005). The Baganda: An Account of Their Native Customs and Beliefs. Whitefish,
MT: Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4179-7538-9.

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