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Songora people

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Songora
Total population
15,897 (2014 census)[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
 Uganda15,897 (2014 census)[1][3]
Languages
Rusongora[4][5] and English
Religion
Christianity, Islam and Songora religion[6]
Related ethnic groups
Bantu peoples

The Songora or Shongora (pl. Basongora, sing. Musongora; also known as "Bacwezi", "Chwezi", Huma or "Bahuma") are a traditionally pastoralist people of the Great Lakes region of Central Africa located in Western Region, Uganda and Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. They have distinctive customs and speak Rusongora, a Bantu language that is similar to Runyankole and Runyoro. The Basongora population in Uganda was reported at numbering 15,897 people in the 2014 census.[7] Although various community estimates put their population at around 40,000 and 50,000 people.[7] Some Basongora also live in Eastern Congo.[8][9][10]

The colonial and neo-colonial governments in Central Africa instituted programs to encourage the Basongora to abandon their traditional lifestyle, and most of the territory traditionally owned by the Songora community has been appropriated for use as national parks or has been settled and occupied by other communities, notably the Batoro and Bakonzo. Also Songora territory has been partitioned into several districts and is distributed across Uganda and Congo.[11]

The traditional lifestyle of the Basongora is notable for its adaptation to dry savanna and scrublands, as well as mountainous terrain.[11]

Overview

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The Basongora are a mixed Nilotic/Bantu group in East and Central Africa, traditionally residing in the foothills and plains at the floor of the western arm of the Great Rift Valley and the hills around the base of the Rwenzori Mountain Range. The Songora traditional economy was largely based on cattle-rearing, as well as salt-manufacture and trade in iron. The political organization of the Songora was a form confederacy of several states united by a parliament called Muhabuzi,[11] and a constitutional monarchy led by a trimviate that consisted of an empress dowager (Omu'Gabe'kati), a female ruler (Omu'Go), and a male ruler (Omu'Kama).[12] The confederacy emerged from a single Songora state that dates back to the 12th century consisted of several provinces including Kisaka-Makara, Kitagwenda, Bugaya, Bunyaruguru and Kiyanja.[11][13]

History

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According to their own oral history, the Basongora emerged from the ancient empires of Shenzi/Chwezi. The traditional homeland of the Basongora is the region centred in the foothills and plains that surround the Rutshuru and Rwenzori mountain ranges.[11]

Some of the most notable Songora monarchs include Kyomya Bwachali who died around 1850, and was the maternal grandfather of King Ntare V of Nkore kingdom. The last precolonial King of Busongora was King Kasigano. He was deposed in 1906 by the British, ostensively for his having sought to ally himself with the Belgians in the Congo. Busongora was then partitioned and divided between the Congo and Uganda Protectorate, and the portions that fell within Uganda were further sub-divided into several districts, all of which were then annexed to the kingdoms of Toro and Nkore. The Kingdom of Rwenzururu formed in the later part of the 20th century on the territory of Busongora.[11][14]

In 1931 there was an outbreak of rinderpest that decimated the cattle populations of the Nyakatonzi Basongora, forcing them to disperse to other areas of Uganda and the eastern Congo. Basongora believe the outbreak began as a result of a virulent drugs vaccination program started by the colonial government. The biggest group that fled to the Congo did not return to the area until 1964 due to the strife caused by the Mulele rebellion there.[11]

In 1925, Parc Nationale des Virunga was created by the Belgian colonial authorities encompassing areas of the chiefdom of Kiyanja (of the Bamooli clan), Kakunda (now called Kyavinyonge), Rwemango, Makara, Kashansha and Bugaya among others and pressure to protect the adjoining ecosystem in Uganda led to the establishment of game reserves around Lake George (Known as Rweishamba by Basongora) and Lake Edward (locally known as Rweru) between 1906 and 1950. Several name changes followed and Kazinga National Park was gazetted in 1952 and in 1954 it was renamed Queen Elizabeth National Park by the colonial administration. This left only limited land for the pastoral Basongora. In 1940s the colonial government introduced cotton growing in Busongora. By coincidence, the best soil and suitable climate for cotton growing was in the Bwengo area and other plains of the Busongora County in Kasese. Although some remained in the park – albeit illegally, thousands of others moved across the border with their herds into the Virunga National Park in the Congo.[11]

Between the 1940s and 1950s, the cotton growing enterprise lured particularly the Bakonjo from the highlands to the lowlands. By 1962, the Rwenzururu Freedom Movement had also displaced some Bakonjo from the mountains, forcing them to settle in parts of Busongora that had not been gazetted as protected areas. In 1962 Basongora started returning to their original areas only to find that the Toro Development Company (TDC) that wound up in 1970, had leased some of their land, and was running projects such as the Mubuku Irrigation Scheme.[11]

When the cotton industry plummeted in the 1970s, the general Ugandan public lost interest in cotton, thus giving the Basongora pastoralists a chance to resettle in vast plains of Nyakatonzi.[11] When the NRM government introduced the decentralization policy, it was hijacked by the extremist fringe of the Bakonjo and was seen as an opportunity to displace and subjugate the Basongora.[14] This coincided with peak cotton production between 1987 and 1989 and it is in the same period that Basongora were displaced from their ancestral lands of Bukangara and Rweihingo.[11]

Monarchy

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On 12 May 2012 Basongora revived their ancient kingdom that had been dismembered and abolished during the colonial occupation one hundred years prior. On 1 July 2012, the Songora installed Bwebale Ivan Rutakirwa Rwigi IV as the king of "BuSongora Kingdom", and claimed twenty sub-counties of Uganda as their territory.[11][15] The sub-counties include: Muhokya, Bugoye, Nyakatonzi, Katwe, Karusandara, Mubuku, Ibuga, Hamukungu, Kasenyi, Busunga, and Katunguru, among others.[12] The kingdom also claimed their ancestral areas of Shema, Bunyaruguru and Kitagwenda in Uganda, as well as Virunga National Park in the Congo, as part of the kingdom.[16][17] King Rwigi IV died on 28 April 2015.

List of Monarchs

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NB: The dates are approximate for most of the early rulers.

List of Busongora rulers:[18]

No. Name Reign Dates Years of rule Notes
Shenzi Dynasty
1 Twale 630–650 20
2 Hangi 650–670 20
3 Nyamenge 670–700 30
4 Ira 700–725 25 Son of Hangi.
5 Kazoba 725–750 25 Brother of Ira.
6 Kabangere 750–775 25
7 Ruhanga [a.k.a. Rubanga or Rubanda] 775–800 25 Co-ruled with his wife Nyabagabe.
8 Nkya I 800–825 25 Brother of Ruhanda.
9 Nkya II 825–850 25 Son of Nkya I.
10 Kakama 850–875 25 Son of Nkya II.
11 Baba 875–900 25 Son of Kakama.
12 Kamuli 900–925 25
13 Nsheka 925–950 25
14 Kudidi 950–990 40 Empress.
15 Ntozi 990–1000 10
16 Nyakahongerwa 1000–1025 25 Empress.
17 Mukonko 1025–1050 25
18 Ngonzaki Bitahinduka 1050–1075 25
19 Kogyere I Rusija-Miryango 1075–1085 10 Empress. Daughter of Ngonzaki Bitahinduka.[19] Abdicted.[19]
20 Ishaza Nyakikooto Rugambanabato 1085–1090 5 Nephew of Kogyere I.[19]
21 Bukuku 1090 – Courtier who usurped the throne.[19]
Rebellion by Kogyere I leads to founding of the BuSongora Kingdom.[19]
Chwezi Dynasty
1 Kogyere I Rusija-Miryango 1090–1120 10 Empress. Second reign.
2 Kogyere II 1120–1130 10 Empress.
3 Kyomya I kya Isiimbwa 1130–1140 10
4 Mugarra I 1140–1150 10
5 Ndahura I kya Rubumbo 1150–1160 10
6 Mulindwa 1160–1170 10
7 Wamara Bbala Bwigunda 1170–1200 30
8 Kyomya II Rurema 1200–1210 10
9 Kagoro 1210–1220 10
10 Kakara-ka-Shagama 1220–1250 30
11 Njunaki Kamaranga 1250–1280 30 Empress.
12 Shagama-rwa-Njunaki 1280–1300 20
13 Wahaiguru Rukuba-Ntondo 1300–1310 10
14 Kateboha 1310–1330 20
15 Nyakahuma 1330–1375 45 Queen Regnant.
16 Kirobozi 1375–1400 25
17 Mugarra II wa Kirobozi 1400–1420 20
18 Buyonga bwa Kirobozi 1420–1430 10
19 Kyomya III 1430–1460 30
20 Nkome 1460–1485 25
21 Ihiingo 1485–1500 15
22 Goro 1500–1525 25
23 Kasheshe 1525–1550 25
24 Kazoba 1550–1575 25
25 Nyabongo I 1575–1600 25
26 Makora 1600–1625 25
27 Nyabongo II Kikundi Nyakwirigita 1625–1655 30
28 Mugonga Rutegwankondo 1655–1685 30
29 Kitami kya Nyawera 1685–1725 40 Queen Regnant.
30 Rwigi I Wakoli 1725–1730 5
31 Buremu I Rushoita 1730–1740 10
32 Kantunguru 1740–1750 10 Queen Regnant.
33 Kyokoora 1750–1775 25
34 Mairanga ga Kyokoora 1775–1800 25
– Interregnum 1800–1825 25
35 Kyomya IV Bwachali bwa Mairanga 1825–1850 25
36 Kikamba 1850–1860 10
37 Rwigi II Kyeramaino Rweshakaramyambi 1860–1880 20
38 Bulemu II Kigwamabere 1880–1886 6
39 Kogyere III Ikamiro 1886–1889 3 Queen Regnant.
40 Rwigi III Mugasa Kakintule 1889–1891 2
41 Rutairuka 1891 –
42 Njugangya Katurumba 1891 –
43 Kuriafire 1891–1894 3
44 Kaihura 1894–1901 7
45 Kasigano 1901–1907 6 Last king to rule before the monarchy was abolished by the British.[17]
– Interregnum 1907–2012 –
46 Rwigi IV Bwebale Rutakirwa 12 May 2012[17]–28 April 2015[20] 3
47 Ndahura II Imara Kashagama Ruguuvu 29 April–1 May 2015[21] 2 days Nephew of Rwigi IV.[21]
48 Kyomya V Bwebale Rubyahi   1 May–27 November 2015[20] 6 months Son of Rwigi IV.[20] Deposed.[20]
– Ndahura II Imara Kashagama Ruguuvu 28 November 2015–present[21] – Second reign.
– Robert Bwebale Kagyenda 8 January 2016–present[20] – Acting regent.[20] Brother of Kyomba V.[20]

Personalities

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Other notable figures in ancient Songora history include at least two empresses; Nyakahuma, and Kitami rwa Nyawera. The Queen Kiboga of Nkore was a Songora. She was also mother to Nkore's King Ntare V, and sister to King Kaihura of the Songora.[11] Princess Kantunguru of Nkore was also a Songora and has a town named after her in western Uganda. Many of the rulers of states of Rwanda, Mpororo, Bunyoro, Toro and Nkore chose their wives from among the Songora. Other notable Songora kings in the pre-colonial era include: Kyomya III father of the founder of Bunyoro - Rukidi Mpuga; Bulemu I Rushoita, Rwigi II Kyeramaino Rweshakaramyambi, Nyabongo II Kikundi Nyakwirigita, Ihiingo, Goro, Nyabongo I, Kasheshe (for whom the municipality/city of Kasese is named), Rutairuka, Makora, and Kaihura.[22]

During the post colonial era, beginning in the early 1960s, the Songora didn't formally have rulers recognized by the central governments in Uganda and Congo/Zaire. However, there are several notable Songora personalities in various fields that have played a key role in maintaining the presence of the community. Among them are Timothy Bazarrabusa-an educationalist who served as Uganda's first High Commissioner to London, Amon Bazira, who served as Director of Intelligence, as Chair of the Security & Defence Parliamentary Committee, and as State Minister of Lands, Waters and Mineral resources in Uganda from 1981 to 1985, General James Kazini was commander of the Uganda People's Defence Force, Lt. Col. Jet Mwebaze a commander within the UPDF. Other notable Basongora include the Noble Sirasi Kisankara, the prophet Yombo Yowasi, the Rwabukurukuru family, Baguma Sam Twebaze, Wilson Isingoma, Boaz Kafuda, Prof. Mbabi-Katana, Enoch Rukidi, Kosia Mpazi, the Rwamashonje family, the Rubuubi family, the Rwakashamba family, Yefesi Saiba, and Ananais Mulumba, Isimbwa Kiiza Kagoro Mayor Katwe-Kabatoro Town Council 2006 to 2016.[23]

Culture

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Songora society is strongly pastoral. Cattle motifs form an important part of the language. Cattle have an important place in the imagination, poetry and art of the community. The disciplines required in the management of cattle have a great import impact on the diet, health and appearance of the Songora. Age determines seniority in social relations, and men and women are considered equal. The Songora are generally monogamous. Traditionally the Songora were monotheistic.[11][10]

The Songora reacted to a tetanus epidermic in the 1880s by requiring everyone in the community to remove the four front lower teeth, as a means to force-feed medication to victims of the disease. When the epidermic ended, many Songora continued with the teeth removal even though it was no longer necessary in the era of syringes and other means of treatment.[11][24]

In recent decades the traditional Songora territory has yielded interesting artefacts that are of great value to general human history. The Ishango Bone is one of the items that was found in Songora territory. While the Eastern Arm of the Great Rift Valley located in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania has yielded the greatest amount of ancient human fossils, the northern portion of the Western Arm of the Rift Valley - home of the Songora - remains largely unexplored, although it appears to contain important fossils. The lack of exploration has been caused by the high level of war and civil conflict in the region.[11][25]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Uganda". World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples. 19 June 2015.
  2. ^ Uganda Bureau of Statistics. "National Population and Housing Census 2014 - Main Report" (PDF).
  3. ^ Singiza, Douglas Karekona; de Visser, Jaap (2015-09-03). "The unresolved ethnic question in Uganda's District Councils". Law Democracy & Development. 19: 124. doi:10.4314/ldd.v19i1.6. eISSN 2077-4907. hdl:10566/4857. ISSN 2077-4907. Archived from the original on 17 June 2022.
  4. ^ Fischer, Klara & Schulz, Katja & Chenais, Erika. (2020). “Can we agree on that”? Plurality, power and language in participatory research. Preventive Veterinary Medicine. 180. 104991. [10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.104991].
  5. ^ "Minority ethnic groups battle to preserve their heritage". monitor.co.ug. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 16 Feb 2023.
  6. ^ "Population Composition" (PDF). ubos.org. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Basongora". World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples. 19 June 2015.
  8. ^ "The Details of the Basongoro of Rwenzori and their Culture in Uganda". Go Visit Kenya. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  9. ^ kawlaw (2021-11-16). "The Culture of the Basongora People | Uganda Cultural Tours | Congo tour". Uganda Safaris. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  10. ^ a b "Busongora-Chwezi Kingdom - Culture". www.busongora-chwezi.org. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "The Details of the Basongoro of Rwenzori and their Culture in Uganda". Go Visit Kenya. 2014. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  12. ^ a b "Orders of Precedence - Busongora-Chwezi Kingdom". www.busongora-chwezi.org. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  13. ^ "UNESCO - Koogere oral tradition of the Basongora, Banyabindi and Batooro peoples". ich.unesco.org. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  14. ^ a b "A Brief History of Busongora Kingdom - Busongora-Chwezi Kingdom". www.busongora-chwezi.org. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  15. ^ "Rwenzururu kingdom accuse government of siding with Basongora". Ugpulse (Ultimate Media). 2 August 2012.
  16. ^ "Busongora Kingdom (Uganda)". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  17. ^ a b c "The Resurrection of the Egret Throne - Busongora-Chwezi Kingdom". www.busongora-chwezi.org. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  18. ^ "Busongora Kinglist". Busongora-Chwezi Kingdom. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  19. ^ a b c d e "Kogyere Epic". Busongora Kingdom. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g "Busongora Kingdom (Uganda)". www.fotw.info. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  21. ^ a b c "Busongora Kingdom - HRM King Ndahura II". www.busongora-chwezi.org. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  22. ^ "Rival Songora Queens Kibooga & Kahinju Saved Nkore and Toro - Busongora-Chwezi Kingdom". www.busongora-chwezi.org. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  23. ^ "A Chronology of Busongora's History - Busongora-Chwezi Kingdom". www.busongora-chwezi.org. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  24. ^ "Culture - Busongora-Chwezi Kingdom". www.busongora-chwezi.org. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  25. ^ "songora culture - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
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