'At Mabere ga Nyina Mwiru the ancient meets the modern'
Nov 16, 2018
“The place earns its name from a popular legend told by our ancestors orally,” begins a guide Joseph Muhamia. “This is where Nyina Mwiru camped when fore tellers cautioned her father that she would give birth to a child who would topple him.”
TOURISM
I am exhausting the fingers on my palms counting the things that make Fort Portal tick. I am done with the hospitable Batooro communities, the scenery of hills kissing the blue sky, green vegetation, primates, birds - you name it!
Recently I was at Amabere ga Nyina Mwiru. These caves with teat like protrusions dripping milky water left me breathless.
The virgin canopy crippling with birds, snakes and insects is a mini resemblance of the Biblical Garden of Eden. The neighborhood is surrounded by crater lakes.
"The place earns its name from a popular legend told by our ancestors orally," begins a guide Joseph Muhamia. "This is where Nyina Mwiru camped when fore tellers cautioned her father that she would give birth to a child who would topple him."
He reportedly chopped off her breasts but like love would have it a Batembezi leader saw her and fell in love with her.
Minister of state for tourism Geofrey Kiwanda urges pupils to tour their country before going abroad. Photo by Titus Kakembo
To cut the long story short, says Muhamia, she got pregnant and gave birth to Ndahura who was taken to Buganda for hiding.
Fatefully he grew up into an energetic six foot lad and eventually returned to Tooro. There he went to graze his cows on his father's pasture.
"Angered the father drew a spear and hurled it at Ndahura," narrates Muhamia. "But he missed the target. Ndahura got the spear and flexed his biceps before taking aim and throwing it back!"
Crater lakes in the neighborhood. Photo by Titus Kakembo
Ndahura hit his grandfather dead and took over the leadership of Tooro.
While passing by Mabere ga Nyina Mwiru I met the Minister of State for Tourism Geofrey Kiwanda, tourism ambassador Zari Hassan, Musician Irene Mubiru and pupils of St. Lawrence Primary School gawking at a snake. They took selfies on the nearby hills and crater lakes in the background.
Sandra Natukunda of Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) summed it up saying, "At Mabere ga Nyina Mwiru the ancient meets the modern. It is an eye opener to geography, history and our own folk lore."
