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

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

‘Bolêla/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!’

 

The Heroes of Old

In the past, I read with interest many stories about the Bachwezi and Ab'engo who are people from the leopard clan of Buganda.  I have also read about the history of the Ssese Islands with less enthusiasm even though I wanted to know more about these Islands for the sake of my maternal grandfather Katumba and grandfather Kafeero who were brothers and who are said to have come from there.

After discovering that General Katumba Wamala came from the Ssese Islands, I began reading more about the people of these Islands.  As I read about them, I learnt that Kibuuka (the god of war) of Buganda came from these Islands.  This reminded me of how my late mother and I used to wonder about the similarities between Kibuuka’s death story and that of Luanda Magere of the Joluo of Kenya.  My mother used to joke about this saying that maybe we were once Luo.

Both men were great warriors who died after giving away the secret to their power on the battlefield to their wives. The stories of these two heroes are actually very similar to that of Samson and Delilah, where after the wives found out where the secret to the power of these men lay during battle, they spilled the secret to their people and their people were able to defeat these men and kill them.  While Samson’s secret lay in his long hair, Kibuuka’s lay in his ability to fly and hide in the clouds, while that of Luanda Magere lay in his shadow.

Now Luanda Magere's wife was from the Nandi people who are a sub-community of the Kalenjin ethnic group and who were enemies of the Joluo. Kibuuka's wife was from the Banyoro people who were enemies of the Baganda.

After reading about these two heroes, I realised that the two men might not be the same because Kibuuka is said to have lived during the time of Ssekabaka Nakibinge, a King of Buganda who is said to have reigned in the 16^th century from 1524 – 1554.  It is said that Luanda Magere was born in the 18^th century in 1720 and fought his battles against the Nandi between 1750 and 1770.

According to legend, hundreds of years ago, the Bassese people of the Ssese Islands were a race of super humans famous for their impressive size and strength and also for their connection to the supernatural world. 

Since Kibuuka who is referred to in Buganda as the god of war, was able to fly like a bird during battle, he is believed by some to have been a supernatural being.  Someone even called him one of the sons of God mentioned in the Bible, who fell for the daughters of men.  In other words, he meant to say that he might have been a Muchwezi and the Bachwezi might have been the Nephilim.

Apart from ruling the empire of Kitara between the 14^th to the 16^th century, one African writer claims that the Bachwezi were tall supernatural beings with oblong shaped heads and dark brown skin.  They are said to have had supernatural powers such as the power to instantly disappear and then reappear in a different place, the ability to move objects with their mind, the ability to read thoughts, fly and to see into the future.  These abilities helped them to avoid danger.

The origin of the Bachwezi is still under debate.  Some claim that they were descendants of the Kush, Nubian, and Khamitian (ancient Egyptian) royalty.  Incidentally, the Kalenjin people are also believed to have been from the military clan of Ancient Egypt. 

There are two legends that explain how the Bachwezi disappeared. One claims that after being overpowered by the Luo-Biito, the Bachwezi disappeared into Lake Wamala which was named after the last Chwezi king called Wamara. The second one has it that they disappeared into Lake Albert.  There is a belief held among scholars that the Bachwezi dispersed and mixed up with the indigenous people who became the Hima, Tutsi, Hinda clan, Kiga, Nyambo of Tanzania, Basoni of Zimbabwe, Baganda and related tribes on the northern banks of Lake Victoria.  This theory held among scholars might be closer to the truth.

References:

Young, Sarah P. “The Cwezi: Ancient Race of Mystical People and the Modern-Day Cwezi Cult Accused of Black Magic.” Ancient Origins, Ancient Origins, 1 July 2019, www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-africa/cwezi-cult-0012220.

Jenkins, Dr. Orville Boyd. Tutsi and Chwezi:  History and Pre-History, orvillejenkins.com/peoples/tutsihistoryandprehistory.html.

 

 

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