When Omukama dies, even the chicken must not mate, says Tooro Historian
According to historian and Tooro researcher Richard Mugaiga, royal mourning comes with strict restrictions on sexual relations, including a requirement that men and women stay separately to prevent intimacy.
Tooro Kingdom historian Richard Mugaiga speaks during an interview in Kampala. PHOTO/Ronnie Kijjambu
In Tooro, the death of a reigning Omukama is traditionally believed to affect more than just the people of the kingdom.
As they observe the nine days of mourning until the fallen king is buried and the new one installed, no one is given a chance to practice intimacy.
According to historian and Tooro researcher Richard Mugaiga, royal mourning comes with strict restrictions on sexual relations, including a requirement that men and women stay separately to prevent intimacy.
“Even animals should know and 'feel' that their king is dead, just like the people who are mourning,” Mugaiga said recently during an interview. Mugaiga explained that during the mourning period, farmers must isolate the male from the female animals.
Mugaiga said the tradition is particularly relevant during the current mourning of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. He noted that the kingdom is observing a nine-day mourning period, during which sexual relations, weddings, loud entertainment, and major agricultural activities have been restricted.
“The prohibition on sex is understood as part of a wider culture of restraint. Sex represents intimacy, pleasure and reproduction, while mourning calls for solemnity and reflection,” he said, adding that apart from reflection nothing must be done.
Mugaiga explained that preventing animals from mating carries the same symbolic message: ordinary life must temporarily be put on hold. The practice, he said, is not about whether a chicken can understand the king’s death but about making the entire community and its surroundings reflect the seriousness of the loss.
The mourning period ends this Saturday September 12, 2026.