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Uganda Eastern Lacustrine Bantu
Baganda
The Baganda (sing., Muganda; often referred to simply
by the
root word and adjective, Ganda) make up the largest
Ugandan
ethnic group, although they represent only about 16.7
percent of
the population. (The name Uganda, the Swahili term for
Buganda,
was adopted by British officials in 1894 when they
established
the Uganda Protectorate, centered in Buganda.) Buganda's
boundaries are marked by Lake Victoria on the south, the
Victoria
Nile River on the east, and Lake Kyoga on the north. This
region
was never conquered by colonial armies; rather the
powerful king
(kabaka), Mutesa, agreed to protectorate status. At
the
time, 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, and the Baganda took
advantage of the opportunities provided by European
commerce and
education. At independence in 1962, Buganda had achieved
the
highest standard of living and the highest literacy rate
in the
country.
Authoritarian control is an important theme of Ganda
culture.
In precolonial times, obedience to the king was 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.
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).
Ganda social organization emphasized descent through
males.
Four or five generations of descendants of one man,
related
through male forebears, constituted a
patrilineage (see Glossary). A group of related lineages
constituted a clan
(for
lineage and
clan--see Glossary). 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 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.
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. 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.
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 twentieth-century influence of the Baganda in
Uganda has
reflected the impact of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century
developments
(see Uganda Before 1900
, ch. 1). 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 power of the kabaka impressed British
officials,
but political leaders in neighboring Bunyoro were not
receptive
to British officials who arrived with Baganda escorts.
Buganda
became the centerpiece of the new protectorate, and many
Baganda
were able to take advantage of opportunities provided by
schools
and businesses in their area. Baganda civil servants also
helped
administer other ethnic groups, and Uganda's early history
was
written from the perspective of the Baganda and the
colonial
officials who became accustomed to dealing with them.
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.
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.
Data as of December 1990
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