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Uganda TOURISM
Uganda History
There is a legend documented by John Hanning Speke of how Uganda got its name. Uganda was the name of a prodigious hunter who came from Unyoro. He was a poor man who hunted to feed his family and was so successful, that he was soon feeding people all around.He was eventually named Kimera, the first King of Buganda.
Pre-colonial
There are four main ethnic groups in Uganda which all have different origins. By far the largest in number, the Bantus, who came from the west, include the tribes of Buganda, Banyankole, Basoga, Bakiga, Batoro, Banyoro, Banyarwanda, Bagisu, Bagwere and Bakonjo.
The Nilotics, who came from the north, include the Lango, Acholi, Alur, Padhola, Lulya and Jonam.
The NiloHamitics include the Teso, Karamojong, Kumam, Kakwa, Sebei, Pokot, Labwor and Tepeth and the Sudanics include the Lugbara, Madi and Lendu.
The pre-colonial history of these tribes is not well recorded, genealogy being the only method employed by the early settlers in the area. At the time of the first exploration of Uganda there were three main kingdoms, each ruled by a Monarch and laws and customs of their own. The kingdoms of Buganda, Kitara (sub-divided into Bunyoro and Toro) and Karagwe are all well documented by the early explorers.
The general opinion is that these kingdoms originated around the sixteenth century, the land before that probably being occupied by Bushmen. The Bantus originated from the west coast of Africa, migrating along the Niger river, they occupied the northern, central and western parts of Uganda. The eastern part of Uganda, occupied some 250 years ago by the Nilo-Hamitic tribes never formed a kingdom because the people were nomadic and the area as not well suited to agriculture.
The different tribes got their names either from their leaders or some peculiarity in their customs or origins. The Karamojong for instance (aikar-to stay; imojong old men) the tired old men who stayed behind.
Indigenous kingdoms popped up in Uganda in the 14th century. Among them were the Buganda, Bunyoro, Toro, Ankole and Busoga. Over the following centuries, the Buganda people created the dominant kingdom. The tribes had plenty of time to work out their hierarchies as there was very little penetration of Uganda from the outside until the 19th century. Despite the fertility of the land and its capacity to grow surplus crops, there were virtually no trading links with the East African coast. Contacts were finally made with Arab traders and European explorers in the mid-19th century - the latter came in search of ivory and slaves.
Colonial Era
After the Treaty of Berlin in 1890 defined the various European countries' spheres of influence in Africa, Uganda, Kenya and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba became British protectorates. The colonial administrators introduced coffee and cotton as cash crops and adopted a policy of indirect rule, giving the traditional kingdoms considerable autonomy, but favouring the recruitment of Buganda tribespeople for the civil service. A few thousand Bugandan chiefs received huge estates from the British, on the basis of which they made fortunes. Other tribespeople, unable to get jobs in the colonial administration or make inroads in the Buganda-dominated commercial sector, were forced to seek other ways of gaining influence. The Acholi and Lango, for example, were dominant in the military. Thus were planted the seeds for the intertribal conflicts that were to tear Uganda apart following independence.
Uganda Tourism
Pre-colonial
There are four main ethnic groups in Uganda which all have different origins. By far the largest in number, the Bantus, who came from the west, include the tribes of Buganda, Banyankole, Basoga, Bakiga, Batoro, Banyoro, Banyarwanda, Bagisu, Bagwere and Bakonjo.
The Nilotics, who came from the north, include the Lango, Acholi, Alur, Padhola, Lulya and Jonam.
The NiloHamitics include the Teso, Karamojong, Kumam, Kakwa, Sebei, Pokot, Labwor and Tepeth and the Sudanics include the Lugbara, Madi and Lendu.
The pre-colonial history of these tribes is not well recorded, genealogy being the only method employed by the early settlers in the area. At the time of the first exploration of Uganda there were three main kingdoms, each ruled by a Monarch and laws and customs of their own. The kingdoms of Buganda, Kitara (sub-divided into Bunyoro and Toro) and Karagwe are all well documented by the early explorers.
The general opinion is that these kingdoms originated around the sixteenth century, the land before that probably being occupied by Bushmen. The Bantus originated from the west coast of Africa, migrating along the Niger river, they occupied the northern, central and western parts of Uganda. The eastern part of Uganda, occupied some 250 years ago by the Nilo-Hamitic tribes never formed a kingdom because the people were nomadic and the area as not well suited to agriculture.
The different tribes got their names either from their leaders or some peculiarity in their customs or origins. The Karamojong for instance (aikar-to stay; imojong old men) the tired old men who stayed behind.
Indigenous kingdoms popped up in Uganda in the 14th century. Among them were the Buganda, Bunyoro, Toro, Ankole and Busoga. Over the following centuries, the Buganda people created the dominant kingdom. The tribes had plenty of time to work out their hierarchies as there was very little penetration of Uganda from the outside until the 19th century. Despite the fertility of the land and its capacity to grow surplus crops, there were virtually no trading links with the East African coast. Contacts were finally made with Arab traders and European explorers in the mid-19th century - the latter came in search of ivory and slaves.
Colonial Era
After the Treaty of Berlin in 1890 defined the various European countries' spheres of influence in Africa, Uganda, Kenya and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba became British protectorates. The colonial administrators introduced coffee and cotton as cash crops and adopted a policy of indirect rule, giving the traditional kingdoms considerable autonomy, but favouring the recruitment of Buganda tribespeople for the civil service. A few thousand Bugandan chiefs received huge estates from the British, on the basis of which they made fortunes. Other tribespeople, unable to get jobs in the colonial administration or make inroads in the Buganda-dominated commercial sector, were forced to seek other ways of gaining influence. The Acholi and Lango, for example, were dominant in the military. Thus were planted the seeds for the intertribal conflicts that were to tear Uganda apart following independence.
