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African Culture
BAGANDA INTRODUCTION The Baganda (pronounced buh-GAHN-duh) are the largest people group in Uganda.There are almost 4 million people in this tribe( about 18% of the population) Their traditional homeland is Buganda, an area of central and southern Uganda. Their first king or kabaka, the powerful Kintu, was crowned c.1380 and they have the country's highest standard of living and literacy rate as they occupy the most fertile land in the central part of the country. _______________________ Geography Buganda's boundaries are marked by Lake Victoria on the south, the Victoria Nile River on the east, and Lake Kyoga on the north.(The earliest European explorers to visit Buganda, John Speke and James Grant, dealt with Mutesa, the powerful Bagandan kabaka of the Victorian era. Ugandan president Milton Obote outlawed the Bagandan and other traditional Ugandan kingships in 1966 and the then-king, Sir Edward Frederick Mutesa II, went into exile in England. In 1993 kingship was restored by President Yoweri Museveni and "King Freddy's" son, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, was installed as kabaka.) ________________________ History It is quiet impossible to study Uganda's history without bassing by Baganda .The twentieth-century influence of the Baganda in Uganda has reflected the impact of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century developments . The first king or kabaka -As mentioned above -of baganda was the powerful Kintu, crowned c.1380 , and from that time ,a series of kabakas amassed military and political power by killing rivals to the throne, abolishing hereditary positions of authority, and exacting higher taxes from their subjects. Ganda armies also seized territory held by Bunyoro, the neighboring kingdom to the west. Ganda cultural norms also prevented the establishment of a royal clan by assigning the children of the kabaka to the clan of their mother. At the same time, this practice allowed the kabaka to marry into any clan in the society. One of the most powerful appointed advisers of the kabaka was the katikiro, who was in charge of the kingdom's administrative and judicial systems--effectively serving as both prime minister and chief justice. The katikiro and other powerful ministers formed an inner circle of advisers who could summon lower-level chiefs and other appointed advisers to confer on policy matters. By the end of the nineteenth century, the kabaka had replaced many clan heads with appointed officials and claimed the title "head of all the clans." The region of Baganda was never conquered by colonial armies ,rather the powerful king, Mutesa,(whose power has impressed British officials) agreed to protectorate status, and so on , Buganda became the centerpiece of the new protectorate , Mutesa claimed territory as far west as Lake Albert, and he considered the agreement with Britain to be an alliance between equals . Baganda armies went on to help establish colonial rule in other areas, and Baganda agents served as tax collectors throughout the protectorate. Trading centers in Buganda became important towns in the protectorate, Baganda civil servants also helped administer other ethnic groups, and they took advantage of the opportunities provided by European commerce and educationan . Uganda's early history was written from the perspective of the Baganda and the colonial officials who became accustomed to dealing with them . At independence in 1962, Buganda had achieved the highest standard of living and the highest literacy rate in the country. _______________________ Economy They make their living by farming and by making and selling various hand-crafted items, such as those made of bark cloth, woven baskets, and drums. The traditional Ganda economy relied on crop cultivation. In contrast with many other East African economic systems, cattle played only a minor role. Many Baganda hired laborers from the north as herders. Bananas were the most important staple food, providing the economic base for the region's dense population growth. This crop does not require shifting cultivation or bush fallowing to maintain soil fertility, and as a result, Ganda villages were quite permanent. Women did most of the agricultural work, while men often engaged in commerce and politics (and in precolonial times, warfare). _____________________ Society & Culture The Baganda live within family clans, and they are very proud of being Baganda. They still have their own king, which sets them apart from the rest of the people in Uganda. Catholics, Anglicans and Muslims have been very successful in reaching this tribe with their beliefs. However, many of the Baganda people have incorporated these new religions with their cultural religion. In their cultural religion, they believe in many gods and have a god for everything. The Bible has been translated into their local language, Luganda . Just a little over one percent of the Baganda are evangelical Christians. Ganda villages, sometimes as large as forty or fifty homes, were generally located on hillsides, leaving hilltops and swampy lowlands uninhabited, to be used for crops or pastures. Early Ganda villages surrounded the home of a chief or headman, which provided a common meeting ground for members of the village : most lineages maintained links to a home territory (butaka) 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. The chief collected tribute from his subjects, provided tribute to the kabaka, distributed resources among his subjects, maintained order, and reinforced social solidarity through his decision-making skills. Late nineteenth-century Ganda villages became more dispersed as the role of the chiefs diminished in response to political turmoil, population migration, and occasional popular revolts. Authoritarian control is an important theme of Ganda culture. In precolonial times, obedience to the kingwas a matter of life and death. A second important theme of Ganda culture, however, 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. Ganda social organization emphasized descent through males. Four or five generations of descendants of one man, related through male forebears, constituted a 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 lineages. Lineage and clan leaders also helped maintain efficient land use practices, and they inspired pride in the group through ceremonies and remembrances of ancestors. 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 patronclient 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. In fact, 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 twentieth 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. ----------------------------- Arranged & prepared by : Hatim Alansary(Hassouna) References: http://www.photius.com/countries/uganda/society/uganda_society_baganda.html http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/B/Baganda.asp http://www.2001pray.org/PeopleGroups/Baganda.htm
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