Who are the Batooro, what are their norms?
THE Toro Kingdom is ruled by the Babiito dynasty whose origins date as far back as the 14th century. According to Charles Muhanga, one of the custodians of the Toro kingdom history, Prince Kaboyo Olimi I Kasunsunkwanzi of Bunyoro Kingdom in 1822 took charge of the southern part of his father’s kin
BY VISION REPORTER
THE Toro Kingdom is ruled by the Babiito dynasty whose origins date as far back as the 14th century. According to Charles Muhanga, one of the custodians of the Toro kingdom history, Prince Kaboyo Olimi I Kasunsunkwanzi of Bunyoro Kingdom in 1822 took charge of the southern part of his father’s kingdom and founded what is known as Toro today.
By the time Uganda got independence from Britain, Toro was one of the four kingdoms recognised in the constitution. However, in 1967 President Apollo Milton Obote abolished kingdoms and stripped the kings of their powers. Matters were made worse by civil wars, political turmoil and civil unrest of the 1970s and early 1980s. During this period, Omukama Patrick Kaboyo Olimi III was forced into exile.
In 1993, President Yoweri Museveni amended the Constitution and reinstated kingdoms and Kaboyo regained his status. Like other kings, he did not regain all the authority he had before 1966. Kings became cultural figureheads without political authority, but were to be instrumental in mobilising the country towards social, economic and cultural recovery. He was also prohibited from participating in politics.
OYO BECOMES KING
The untimely death of King Kaboyo in 1995 meant the Crown Prince had to ascend to the throne when he was a child.
On September 12, 1995, a week after his father’s burial, the ritual to hand over the reins of power to Oyo began, at midnight. They included a mock battle at the palace entrance (Mugabante), fought between enemy forces of a “rebel†prince and the royal army. It was a test of Oyo’s right to the throne. The prince responsible for the enthronement of the king, referred to as Nyarwa, called on the gods to strike Oyo dead if he was not of royal blood. On passing the test, Oyo was permitted to sound Nyalebe and Kajumba, the Bachwezi royal drums.
Oyo was then blessed using the blood of a white bull, Rutale,and a white cock. Thereafter he was crowned new ruler of Toro amid a jubilant crowd.
He was served milk and millet bread (oburo) as his first meal as king. He took the meal sitting on a virgin’s lap. After the meal, he sat on a leopard skin spread on the floor and swore allegiance to the crown.
The rituals will be repeated this weekend because at that time Oyo was too young to understand them. To help the young king to perform his duties and to groom him for leadership, three regents were appointed. They were John Katuramu, then prime minister of Toro; Rev. Mgr. Thomas Kisembo and Rev. Can. James Rabwoni. Their task was to handle the affairs of the kingdom until Oyo turned 18.
At the time of King Oyo’s coronation, his mother Best Kemigisa, his aunt Princess Elizabeth Bagaaya and President Yoweri Museveni were also named guardians.
LIBYAN CONNECTION
Libya’s President Muamar Gaddafi has had close ties with the royal family. In 2001, King Oyo, appointed him a special advisor. Later that year, Gaddafi attended Oyo’s sixth anniversary celebrations, during which he was declared a “defender†of the kingdom.
The royals have since made many trips to Tripoli. Gaddafi has been generous to the royal family. He funded the renovation of the palace at cost of $200,000 (about sh400m).
Gaddafi is set to attend today’s celebrations.
Where they are found
The Batooro inhabit the districts of Kabarole, Kamwenge, Kyenjojo and Kyegegwa. A number of immigrant tribes, most notably Bakiga and Bafumbira, have come into Toro.
Batooro neighbours are Banyoro in the south, Bamba and Bakonjo in the north, Banyankole in the southwest and Baganda in the east. Like their neighbours, they belong to the Bantu ethnic group. Their language is Rutooro.
One legend asserts that the Batooro originated from the Batembuzi, Bachwezi and the Babiito who are said to have been pioneer inhabitants and rulers of the earth.
But history scholars say the Batooro being Bantu, must have originated from Congo, where the other Bantu groups are said to have come from.
The Batooro are divided into two, namely Bahuma and Bairu. The Bahuma are pastoralists, while the Bairu are cultivators. The Bahuma used to supply the Bairu with meat, milk, hides and other livestock products, while the Bairu supplied them with food and beer.
MARRIAGE
Marriage was important to the Batooro and a man was not regarded complete before he got married.
Traditionally marriage was arranged by the parents of a couple.
Marriage arrangements involved a middleman called kirangabuko, who was deployed by the boy’s family. He did research on the girl and her family. Of great interest was the girl’s ability to do domestic chores.
If he found out that the chosen girl was lazy or had bad manners, he would advise the boy’s parents against her. If she passed the test, he would initiate negotiations with her parents. He would say to the father of the girl: “Sir, I come for you to build a home for me. I would like you to be part of my clan. I have come to ask for a wife, the builder of the house.â€
The girl’s father would reply: “I don’t have any child.â€
The kirangabuko would insist that a girl existed in the homestead. This would prompt the girl’s father to ask him to name the girl. If the father consented, the kirangabuko would kneel down to show his gratitude.
The boy’s family would then visit the girl’s parents to negotiate bride price. They carried local brew.
The bride price was worked out in terms of cows. It varied between the Bahuma and the Bairu. For the Bahuma, it ranged from six to 20 cows. For the Bairu, the ceiling was eight cows.
Another ceremony called enjugano/omukaaga was held to receive the bride price. It involved partying. The boy’s family would then send barkcloth and skins for the bride’s wedding outfit.
This was followed by the wedding ceremony, which was a three-day feast. Strong, young men from the groom’s home would carry the girl from her parents’ home at 6:00pm. Before leaving, she would first perform a ritual of sitting on her parents’ laps. This ritual was known as okubukara. She would then be carried all the way to the boy’s hut.
On arrival, she would first be carried on the laps of the boy’s parents. They then gave her a maiden name and sprinkled her with a herbal concoction mixed with water (endembeezi), to bless and welcome her into her new family.
Before the feasting started, the groom would go to bed with the bride, to perform another ritual known as okucwa amagita. If the girl was a virgin, a gift of a cow or a goat would be sent to her aunt (Isenkati) to congratulate her for raising her daughter well. If she was not a virgin, her aunt was given a sheep with a piece of bark cloth with a hoe in it.
Guests were then served with coffee beans, smoking pipes, beer and food. On the third day, the bride’s friends and relatives would come to see her new abode and also present her with gifts from home.
The bride would spend some days in confinement and this was referred to as harusiika. Finally, an elaborate ceremony would be held to bring the girl out and to initiate her into the art of cooking and house keeping.
In the event of a divorce, bride price would be refunded. However, part of the bride wealth would be retained if the woman had children.
Greeting
Besides their family names, each Mutoro has a pet name referred to as empaako. It must be mentioned as part of the greeting. When people who were related greeted each other, the younger would sit on the lap of the elder. Among the royal clans the younger would touch the forehead and chin of the elder before announcing their empaako.
Economy
The Bairu cultivated crops like millet, sorghum, bananas, sweat potatoes, peas and vegetables. The Bahuma kept cattle to provide milk, meat and hides. These were supplemented with economic activities like blacksmithing. The blacksmiths produced spears, hoes, axes, knives and arrowheads.
Besides, they also had potters who produced household utensils such as water, beer and sauce pots.The women were skilled at weaving and produced an assortment of basketry such as winnowing trays, plate baskets, bags, harvesting baskets and other baskets for household chores.
The men constructed houses, cleared bushes and hunted wild animals. Activities like hunting, and house construction were done communally. The Batooro built circular huts with grass-thatched roofs.
Political set-up
Kingship was hereditary and the king had to come from the Babiito dynasty, the ruling clan in Bunyoro.
He was assisted by a hierarchy of chiefs and an army. However, in times of war, all able-bodied men were called upon to fight for Toro.
The chiefly regalia included drums, spears, wooden spoons, chairs, crowns, beads, axes and knives.
The county of Mwenge contained a school of political education when Toro was still part of Bunyoro. The sons of the kings went to Mwenge to learn the art of government. There were special tutors for the king’s daughters and sons.
When Toro broke away from Bunyoro, Mwenge maintained its function.
With extracts from
Charles Muhange’s book
Batooro, the People
and Tooro History and Uganda Travel Guide
(www.ugandatravelguide.com)
BLOOD BROTHERHOOD
The Batooro had the practice of exchanging blood to cement friendship in a ceremony called omukago. The main ingredients of the ceremony included coffee berries, a new bark-cloth, a knife, two branches of a fig tree and grass called ejubwa.
At the climax of the ceremony, one person cuts his skin under the navel, scoops his blood with a coffee bean and gives it to his friend to eat. The friend does the same. The two blood brothers would take an oath to behave as real brothers.
They say to each other: “brothers fight and shave each other. They beat and help each other. If you are dishonest with me your stomach will swell. When I come to you when I’m sick, you will not send me away. When I come naked you will not forsake me. When I come to your home, I will not go hungry. We shall not do evil to each other, nor shall our children and clans.â€
Two men and one old woman were the witnesses at the occasion.
TORO KINGS FROM AROUND 1800 AD
Kaboyo Olimi I: 1822 – 1865
Kazaana Ruhaga: 1865 – 1866
Nyaika Kasunga: 1866 – 1871 and 1871 – 1872
Kato Rukidi I: 1871 – 1871
Isingoma Rukidi II Mukabirere Olimi II
Kakende Nyamuyonjo:1875 – 1876 and 1879 – 1880
Mukarusa Kyebambe II Nyamuyonjo Kakende Daudi Kasagama Kyebambe: 1891–1928
Sir George David Kamurasi Rukidi III: 1929–1965
Patrick David Matthew Rwamuhokya Kaboyo Olimi III: 1966–1967 and 1993–1997
Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV: 1995 – to date
THE Toro Kingdom is ruled by the Babiito dynasty whose origins date as far back as the 14th century. According to Charles Muhanga, one of the custodians of the Toro kingdom history, Prince Kaboyo Olimi I Kasunsunkwanzi of Bunyoro Kingdom in 1822 took charge of the southern part of his father’s kingdom and founded what is known as Toro today.
By the time Uganda got independence from Britain, Toro was one of the four kingdoms recognised in the constitution. However, in 1967 President Apollo Milton Obote abolished kingdoms and stripped the kings of their powers. Matters were made worse by civil wars, political turmoil and civil unrest of the 1970s and early 1980s. During this period, Omukama Patrick Kaboyo Olimi III was forced into exile.
In 1993, President Yoweri Museveni amended the Constitution and reinstated kingdoms and Kaboyo regained his status. Like other kings, he did not regain all the authority he had before 1966. Kings became cultural figureheads without political authority, but were to be instrumental in mobilising the country towards social, economic and cultural recovery. He was also prohibited from participating in politics.
OYO BECOMES KING
The untimely death of King Kaboyo in 1995 meant the Crown Prince had to ascend to the throne when he was a child.
On September 12, 1995, a week after his father’s burial, the ritual to hand over the reins of power to Oyo began, at midnight. They included a mock battle at the palace entrance (Mugabante), fought between enemy forces of a “rebel†prince and the royal army. It was a test of Oyo’s right to the throne. The prince responsible for the enthronement of the king, referred to as Nyarwa, called on the gods to strike Oyo dead if he was not of royal blood. On passing the test, Oyo was permitted to sound Nyalebe and Kajumba, the Bachwezi royal drums.
Oyo was then blessed using the blood of a white bull, Rutale,and a white cock. Thereafter he was crowned new ruler of Toro amid a jubilant crowd.
He was served milk and millet bread (oburo) as his first meal as king. He took the meal sitting on a virgin’s lap. After the meal, he sat on a leopard skin spread on the floor and swore allegiance to the crown.
The rituals will be repeated this weekend because at that time Oyo was too young to understand them. To help the young king to perform his duties and to groom him for leadership, three regents were appointed. They were John Katuramu, then prime minister of Toro; Rev. Mgr. Thomas Kisembo and Rev. Can. James Rabwoni. Their task was to handle the affairs of the kingdom until Oyo turned 18.
At the time of King Oyo’s coronation, his mother Best Kemigisa, his aunt Princess Elizabeth Bagaaya and President Yoweri Museveni were also named guardians.
LIBYAN CONNECTION
Libya’s President Muamar Gaddafi has had close ties with the royal family. In 2001, King Oyo, appointed him a special advisor. Later that year, Gaddafi attended Oyo’s sixth anniversary celebrations, during which he was declared a “defender†of the kingdom.
The royals have since made many trips to Tripoli. Gaddafi has been generous to the royal family. He funded the renovation of the palace at cost of $200,000 (about sh400m).
Gaddafi is set to attend today’s celebrations.
Where they are found
The Batooro inhabit the districts of Kabarole, Kamwenge, Kyenjojo and Kyegegwa. A number of immigrant tribes, most notably Bakiga and Bafumbira, have come into Toro.
Batooro neighbours are Banyoro in the south, Bamba and Bakonjo in the north, Banyankole in the southwest and Baganda in the east. Like their neighbours, they belong to the Bantu ethnic group. Their language is Rutooro.
One legend asserts that the Batooro originated from the Batembuzi, Bachwezi and the Babiito who are said to have been pioneer inhabitants and rulers of the earth.
But history scholars say the Batooro being Bantu, must have originated from Congo, where the other Bantu groups are said to have come from.
The Batooro are divided into two, namely Bahuma and Bairu. The Bahuma are pastoralists, while the Bairu are cultivators. The Bahuma used to supply the Bairu with meat, milk, hides and other livestock products, while the Bairu supplied them with food and beer.
MARRIAGE
Marriage was important to the Batooro and a man was not regarded complete before he got married.
Traditionally marriage was arranged by the parents of a couple.
Marriage arrangements involved a middleman called kirangabuko, who was deployed by the boy’s family. He did research on the girl and her family. Of great interest was the girl’s ability to do domestic chores.
If he found out that the chosen girl was lazy or had bad manners, he would advise the boy’s parents against her. If she passed the test, he would initiate negotiations with her parents. He would say to the father of the girl: “Sir, I come for you to build a home for me. I would like you to be part of my clan. I have come to ask for a wife, the builder of the house.â€
The girl’s father would reply: “I don’t have any child.â€
The kirangabuko would insist that a girl existed in the homestead. This would prompt the girl’s father to ask him to name the girl. If the father consented, the kirangabuko would kneel down to show his gratitude.
The boy’s family would then visit the girl’s parents to negotiate bride price. They carried local brew.
The bride price was worked out in terms of cows. It varied between the Bahuma and the Bairu. For the Bahuma, it ranged from six to 20 cows. For the Bairu, the ceiling was eight cows.
Another ceremony called enjugano/omukaaga was held to receive the bride price. It involved partying. The boy’s family would then send barkcloth and skins for the bride’s wedding outfit.
This was followed by the wedding ceremony, which was a three-day feast. Strong, young men from the groom’s home would carry the girl from her parents’ home at 6:00pm. Before leaving, she would first perform a ritual of sitting on her parents’ laps. This ritual was known as okubukara. She would then be carried all the way to the boy’s hut.
On arrival, she would first be carried on the laps of the boy’s parents. They then gave her a maiden name and sprinkled her with a herbal concoction mixed with water (endembeezi), to bless and welcome her into her new family.
Before the feasting started, the groom would go to bed with the bride, to perform another ritual known as okucwa amagita. If the girl was a virgin, a gift of a cow or a goat would be sent to her aunt (Isenkati) to congratulate her for raising her daughter well. If she was not a virgin, her aunt was given a sheep with a piece of bark cloth with a hoe in it.
Guests were then served with coffee beans, smoking pipes, beer and food. On the third day, the bride’s friends and relatives would come to see her new abode and also present her with gifts from home.
The bride would spend some days in confinement and this was referred to as harusiika. Finally, an elaborate ceremony would be held to bring the girl out and to initiate her into the art of cooking and house keeping.
In the event of a divorce, bride price would be refunded. However, part of the bride wealth would be retained if the woman had children.
Greeting
Besides their family names, each Mutoro has a pet name referred to as empaako. It must be mentioned as part of the greeting. When people who were related greeted each other, the younger would sit on the lap of the elder. Among the royal clans the younger would touch the forehead and chin of the elder before announcing their empaako.
Economy
The Bairu cultivated crops like millet, sorghum, bananas, sweat potatoes, peas and vegetables. The Bahuma kept cattle to provide milk, meat and hides. These were supplemented with economic activities like blacksmithing. The blacksmiths produced spears, hoes, axes, knives and arrowheads.
Besides, they also had potters who produced household utensils such as water, beer and sauce pots.The women were skilled at weaving and produced an assortment of basketry such as winnowing trays, plate baskets, bags, harvesting baskets and other baskets for household chores.
The men constructed houses, cleared bushes and hunted wild animals. Activities like hunting, and house construction were done communally. The Batooro built circular huts with grass-thatched roofs.
Political set-up
Kingship was hereditary and the king had to come from the Babiito dynasty, the ruling clan in Bunyoro.
He was assisted by a hierarchy of chiefs and an army. However, in times of war, all able-bodied men were called upon to fight for Toro.
The chiefly regalia included drums, spears, wooden spoons, chairs, crowns, beads, axes and knives.
The county of Mwenge contained a school of political education when Toro was still part of Bunyoro. The sons of the kings went to Mwenge to learn the art of government. There were special tutors for the king’s daughters and sons.
When Toro broke away from Bunyoro, Mwenge maintained its function.
With extracts from
Charles Muhange’s book
Batooro, the People
and Tooro History and Uganda Travel Guide
(www.ugandatravelguide.com)
BLOOD BROTHERHOOD
The Batooro had the practice of exchanging blood to cement friendship in a ceremony called omukago. The main ingredients of the ceremony included coffee berries, a new bark-cloth, a knife, two branches of a fig tree and grass called ejubwa.
At the climax of the ceremony, one person cuts his skin under the navel, scoops his blood with a coffee bean and gives it to his friend to eat. The friend does the same. The two blood brothers would take an oath to behave as real brothers.
They say to each other: “brothers fight and shave each other. They beat and help each other. If you are dishonest with me your stomach will swell. When I come to you when I’m sick, you will not send me away. When I come naked you will not forsake me. When I come to your home, I will not go hungry. We shall not do evil to each other, nor shall our children and clans.â€
Two men and one old woman were the witnesses at the occasion.
TORO KINGS FROM AROUND 1800 AD
Kaboyo Olimi I: 1822 – 1865
Kazaana Ruhaga: 1865 – 1866
Nyaika Kasunga: 1866 – 1871 and 1871 – 1872
Kato Rukidi I: 1871 – 1871
Isingoma Rukidi II Mukabirere Olimi II
Kakende Nyamuyonjo:1875 – 1876 and 1879 – 1880
Mukarusa Kyebambe II Nyamuyonjo Kakende Daudi Kasagama Kyebambe: 1891–1928
Sir George David Kamurasi Rukidi III: 1929–1965
Patrick David Matthew Rwamuhokya Kaboyo Olimi III: 1966–1967 and 1993–1997
Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV: 1995 – to date