Akabaare Katengatenga; the cryptic rock

Some things in life are inexplicable. What God has given to the Pearl of Africa naturally is breathtakingly beautiful.

In Ntungamo district is one of those wobbly rocks that just sits nonchalantly in a small town called Omukabaare. No amount of pressure exerted onto it can dislodge it from its original position. Does it have roots or is it possessed?

I got a tip from a friend who had learnt that I am very interested in travel writing and knew that my insatiable urge to see new places in Uganda wouldn't let me disregard this particular story.

This friend of mine, Tim told me that in his village of Rukarango in Kibatsi sub-county in Ntungamo district, there is a rock which everyone has tried to move from where it is sitting for centuries and the damn thing has just refused to relocate despite the fact that it moves when you shake it

That even a child can afford to make it move. I was immediately turned on and I knew I wanted to see this rock.

First thing in the morning of November 1^st 2017, I had some money in my pocket (thanks to the monthly pay cheque that came in earlier than expected), so I decided to take a bus and head over 300Kms west of Kampala.

The journey took me about six hours. I found myself in a very remote village called Nyakaina in Rukarango Parish, Kibatsi Sub County in Ntungamo district.

This place was very hard to manouvre as I had to look for a boda boda from as far as Rwamabondo trading centre on Kagamba-Ishaka road to take me to a place I had never been. I was lucky that I speak the Runyankole language fluently which enabled me to inquire from the evidently famished boda boda boys in the trading centre.

The place I was going was called Omukabaare near Rukarango Parish church. I told this chap who was munching a sugarcane that I needed him to take me to the popular rock called ‘Akabaare katengatenga' (literally translated as the small rock that shakes).

He looked at me and recognised I was a tourist so it was his time to squeeze me of my very little money I had but he found me stingier than glue. We negotiated up to Ush4000 from Ush10,000 he wanted for the journey.

It was about 2:30 pm and off we rode. The road is so bad and being a rainy season we fell off the bike a record three times.

I was very exasperated at this man but he couldn't listen to me as he continued to masticate on his sugarcane as he rode the motorcycle.

I thought to myself, good lord why? Not knowing how such riders behave, I chose to keep calm after all he hadn't asked for too much money.

I couldn't wait to reach because of two things; one- I wanted to see the famous rock and get the story behind it but also two- get rid of this lousy boda boda man with jackets that smelt like paraffin.

That smell still comes to my mind every time I stop a boda boda even days after coming back from my trip.

The journey from Rwamabondo took us about 25-30 minutes. When we got to the small trading centre, I quickly noticed the rock but it is not as anything I had imagined. I expected a bigger rock but to my consternation I found a much smaller rock that surely a few macho men could move in a blink of an eye.

So I quickly looked for someone who could tell me about the rock and why it was famous. People there were a bit timid and refused to even take a picture for the paper but somehow I found my way to the church at Rukarango parish.

Luckily the priest was there and he agreed to show me after introducing myself. He also managed to help me convince a one Mr.Kashaaru (whom I had to buy ‘tonto' the local brew for after narrating) to tell me the legend of the rock.

 
History

Mr. Kashaaru, a frail middle aged man in his late 50s with clear signs of too much tobacco and relentless drinking whispered to me if I was going to get him something to drink in fear of the parish priest and I replied in the affirmative.

I mean, how much does such a tired guy take? I thought to myself. The rock is just behind his small shop and he talks with utmost pride of this feature that has made him famous as one of its caretakers. He narrates;

"Once upon a time, there was a group of Banyarwanda refugees who came running from war in Rwanda in the 1950s and settled in Rukarango. They were very problematic and drank everyday which the locals were not used to.

One day, they argued about the rock that whoever pushed it to detach itself from the underneath, he would drink for free for a whole year meaning the rest would buy him all the alcohol he desired. One strong man pushed the stone and when he saw it move he thought he had succeeded but failed to dislodge it.

And then the next and the next to no avail. It is said that they were about 50 strong men who put ropes together and tried to relocate the rock. All the rock did was shake back and forth. Two men died as the ropes crumbled to pressure as they fell, hitting
It is also believed that the stone belonged to the Bachwezi who were the rulers of Ankole in the pre-colonial era. Mr. Kashaaru emphasises this by telling me that sometimes they would hear cows grazing at night and pastoralists freckling but every time they moved out to see whose cows they were, the locals would find none and yet in the morning they would see cow dung.

He also says that these Bachwezi built a house-like structure in stone just below the famous rock. These stones are well put together that they look like a shape of a house and they are believed to have been where the Bachwezi lived.

He says that inside that house-like stone structure there used to be household items of the Bachwezi like calabashes, guards and wooden spoons but ever since civilization augmented in the area, they no longer see such.

Business

Mr. Kashaaru says that the rock is given respect as a tourist attraction and he and a few others earn some money from voluntary tips from many people of different colour and tribes who come to witness how special the stone is.

The small trading centre ‘Omukabaare' of about 20 shops is also named after the rock and though it has failed to grow because of the high poverty levels in this area, the inhabitants are proud of their rock. They identify with it more than anything else.

This was an exciting visit as I got a chance to touch the famous ‘Akabaare katengatenga'. With less than Ush100,000, you can go to Rukarango and have a story to tell your grandchildren someday. But bear in mind, you must buy alcohol for the locals or else you won't even be allowed to look at the stone.