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Uganda Batoro
The Toro Kingdom evolved out of a breakaway segment of
Bunyoro some time before the nineteenth century. The
Batoro and
Banyoro speak closely related languages, Lutoro and
Lunyoro, and
share many other similar cultural traits. The Batoro live
on
Uganda's western border, south of Lake Albert. They
constitute
roughly 3.2 percent of the population, but the Toro king
(also
called omukama) also claims to rule over the
Bakonjo and
Baamba people in the more fertile highlands above the
plains of
Toro. These highlands support cultivation of coffee as
well as
cotton, rice, sugarcane, and cocoa. Jurisdictional
disputes have
erupted into violence many times during colonial and
independent
rule and led to the formation of the Ruwenzururu political
movement that was still disrupting life in Toro in the
late
1980s.
Toro is a highly centralized kingdom like Buganda but
similar
in stratification to Bunyoro. The omukama has
numerous
retainers and royal advisers. Chiefs govern at several
levels
below the king, and like the kabaka of Buganda, the
Toro
ruler can appoint favored clients to these positions of
power.
Clientship--often involving cattle exchange--is an
important
means of social advancement.
Data as of December 1990
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