Showing posts with label Kato Kintu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kato Kintu. Show all posts

Saturday, June 5, 2021

The Ab’engo (People from the Leopard Clan)

Just like the Chwezi who were believed to have had oblong shaped heads, one African writer, claims that Kintu who is recognised by the Banyoro as the first king of the Batembuzi, and the Baganda as the first person on earth, had an oblong shaped head. The African writer claims that that is why he was called Kintu which means ‘thing’ in Luganda.  The Batembuzi reign was from 1100 to 1500 and they are believed to have been gods coming from heaven. The same African writer believes that the Batembuzi and the Chwezi Kings ruled for hundreds or thousands of years because they had age defying DNAs.

It is said that Kato Kintu, the first king of Buganda named himself ‘Kintu’ after the first person on earth according to Buganda mythology. There are about four theories as to the origin of Kintu.  One theory claims that he was born in Bukasa Village in the Ssese Islands, which were known as the islands of the gods.  The other three versions hold a different story about Kintu and where he came from.   

The Lion (Mpologoma) clan is believed to have begun with Kintu and his son after the two ate lion meat and fell sick.  This made them put themselves under an oath, declaring that they and their descendants would never eat lion meat.

Although Kato Kintu came from the Mpologoma clan, today, this clan is not officially recognised as the royal clan. One is counted a royal if they are direct descendants of Kimera who is claimed to have been the third king of Buganda. However, according to the Banyoro, Kimera was Kato Kintu and was the twin brother of their King Isingoma Rukidi Mpuga and so they regard him as the first king of Buganda and not the third.

As a result of the royal link between the Mpologoma clan and Kato Kintu, many members of this clan were persecuted.  This led to some of them fleeing to Bunyoro and some parts of Buddu.  Others hid themselves under other clans. My maternal maternal great grandfather was one such person.

During the reign of Ssekabaka Kateregga from 1644 – 1674, four hundred members of the Ngo (leopard) clan were killed because of their royal links and eligibility to the throne. This is because the Ngo clan was one of the 13 clans that came with Kintu to Buganda. This oppression continued during the reign of Ssekabaka Jjunju from 1780-1797.

I once read about the Basimba or Bashimba of the leopard clan on Wikipedia, where it is mentioned that Basimba is a Kiswahili word meaning big lion and that the Basimba of the Leopard Clan means (The Big Lion Clan of the Leopard Totem). Today, the Basimba live in the Northern, Luapula Valley and Copper Belt Provinces of Zambia, Mwanza Region, northern Tanzania, northern Zimbabwe, eastern Uganda among the Bagwere and Haiti. They claim to have come from the kingdoms of Luba and Lunda which was found in what is now the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

After I learnt that the Basimba people found among the Lungu and Bemba of Zambia and the DRC speak a language that is similar to the Haya language (in Tanzania), Luganda and Lugwere (in Uganda), I became interested in listening to various Zambian YouTubers who spoke Bemba.  I was struck by the similarities between Bemba, Luhya, Kiswahili and a bit of Luganda. In fact, I noticed the same similarities in many other Southern Bantu languages. (By the way, the Luhya language is closely related to my late father’s Gishu or Lumasaaba language).  This similarity made me wonder whether the people in Buganda once spoke Luhya or rather, the Luganda language evolved from Luhya to what it is now.

Here are some examples that I found on the internet:

In the Nyanja language of Zambia & Malawi:

‘What is your name?’ - ‘Dzina lanu ndani?/Dzina lanu ndi yani?’ – In Kiswahili ‘Jina lako ni nani?’

‘See you later/We shall meet’ – ‘Tionana’ - In Kiswahili  ‘Tutaonana.’

‘Night’ - ‘usiku’ just like in Kiswahili.

In the Bemba language of Zambia:

‘Ishina lyandi ni’ - ‘My name is’ - in Lugisu, ‘Lisina lyase.’

‘Nga’ - ‘like/as’ and this is the same word used in Luganda.

‘Iwe’ - ‘you’ just like in Kiswahili and it is similar to the Luganda ‘gwe.’

‘Isa kuno’ - come here - in Lumasaaba ‘Itsa hano.’

In the Sotho language of Lesotho & South Africa:

‘Ntate’ - ‘father’ which is akin to the Luganda ‘Taata.’

‘O dula kae?’ - ‘where do you live?’ This is close to the Luganda  ‘Osula wa?’

‘Se lebale’ - ‘don’t forget’. This almost sounds like the Luganda ‘towelabila.’

In the Tonga language of Zambia & Zimbabwe:

‘Chakulya’ - ‘food.’ Except for the spelling, this is identical with the Luganda ‘kyakulya’ and related to the Kiswahili ‘chakula.’

‘Atwende’ - ‘let’s go.’ In Kiswahili  - ‘twende’ and Luganda  - ‘tugende.’

‘Banakazi’ – ‘women.’ This sounds a lot like the Luganda ‘abakazi.’

‘Meso’ - ‘eyes.’  In Luganda - ‘amaaso’ and Kiswahili - ‘macho.’

‘Seka’ - ‘laugh.’  This is the exact word used in Luganda and is close to the Kiswahili ‘cheka.’

In the Tswana language of Botswana & South Africa:

‘Gana/gannĂȘ - ‘refuse’ which is much the same as the Luganda ‘gaana.’

‘Lwala/lwetse’  - sick, just like the Luganda ‘lwala.’

‘BolĂȘla/boletse’ - ‘tell.’ No different from the Luhya ‘bolela.’

‘Leba’ - ‘look’ which is close to the Luganda ‘laba.’

‘Botsa’ - ‘ask.’ In Luganda - ‘buza.’

‘Batsadi’ - ‘parents’ which almost sounds like the Luganda ‘bazade.’

In the Xhosa language of South Africa:

‘Ndiyeke!’ - ‘leave me alone!’  In Luganda - ‘ndeka!’

 


 

Growing up with Teacher Parents Published @ 2014 by Ipietoon