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Draft:The Bazigaba (Abazigaba)


The Bazigaba clan is a large multi-tribal clan of the great Banyakitara people in the African Great Lakes region. One who belongs to this clan is called omuzigaba/ Muzigaba and the plural is Abazigaba. Because of their prior nomadic pastoralist nature, they are commonly found among the Bakiga, Banyankore, Banyambo, Bahaya, Batagwenda, Banyaruguru, and to some extent among the Bakooki and Basongora tribes to this present day.[1] They are found in various places, including Nduga, Gisaka, Bwisha, Ndorwa, Mubari, Bufumbira, Rukiga and many other places chiefly in southwestern Uganda, Rwanda and northwest Tanzania.

According to Bazigaba's oral history, they are believed to have originated from regions far east of Lake Nyanza (Victoria), suspected to be in Galla (Oromia), Ethiopia. After trekking a long distance, they eventually settled in the region of Rweya, where they founded the Kingdom of Mubari, located just southwest of Karagwe,[2] with their royal drum called Sera. Their ancestors are Kazigaba, the founding father, and Mungwe, the founding mother. They often refer to themselves as "Abazigaba ba Mungwe of Mubari." The Bazigaba’s totem is the leopard (Engwe/Engo in various indigenous languages). The Bazigaba share the leopard as a totem with the Abenengwe clan[3]. Their taboo is the bushbuck (Engabi in various indigenous languages ). They highly treasure leopards, which serve as the clan emblem and heraldic regalia wherever they reside.[4] The Bazigaba were among the first clans to settle in the Great Lakes region and were exonymically referred to as "Abasangwa Butaka" or more prominently Batembuzi by the ethnic groups they found in the region.[5] They were agro-pastoralists in terms of economy. They welcomed and intermarried with the newly arriving Bantu and Batusi-Bahimaclans, which led to losing some of their original stature and customs. However, some characteristics persist, such as their tall stature, distinct linguistic dialect, and hospitable nature. They established the Mubari state of the Bazigaba, which covered an extensive area—from present-day Rwanda to the southwest of Karagwe in Tanzania.[6] While in Mubari, the clan flourished and grew in population. During the reign of King Kabeizi (Kabaije), the pastoral Batusi-Bahima people, led by Chief Kazi, arrived. Chief Kazi married a Muzigaba princess, Nyinarukangaga, and their union produced mwami (king) Gihanga I, the first king of the Rwanda kingdom.[7] Facing pressure from the emerging Kingdom of Rwanda, which sought to subdue Mubari, many Bazigaba migrated north and east into Karagwe, Ndorwa, Buhaya, Kigezi, and Nkore.[3] The Bazigaba clan members in Katerera have an anthem called "Oruganda Rw'abazigaba", which translates to "The Bazigaba clan". The song is about the clan's endearing work towards development.[8]

The sub-clans include the Banyangabo, Batendura, Bamoori, Basaakuru, Batemba, Bahoozi, Banyungu, Bagabira, Bagoma, Bajumbi, Basingoor, Baruru, Bakoko, Bareegi, Bagarama, Batare, Bashaaho, And Bajara.[9]

  1. ^ Chrétien, Jean-Pierre (January 15, 2003). The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History. Translated by Straus, Scott. Internet Archive. New York: Zone Books; Cambridge, Mass: Distributed by MIT Press. ISBN 978-1-890951-34-4.
  2. ^ Katoke, I. K. (1970). The making of the Karagwe Kingdom. Tanzanian history from oral traditions, Nairobi.
  3. ^ a b Sarah Warshauer Freedman, Harvey M. Weinstein, Timothy Longman (2006) THE TEACHING OF HISTORY OF RWANDA A PARTICIPATORY APPROACH, Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley 2006
  4. ^ Tinkatumire, L. (2011). Theological and ecological foundations for youth ministry in relation to the Archdiocese of Mbarara, Uganda-East Africa. Duquesne University.
  5. ^ Ogot, B. A. (1985). La région des Grands Lacs. Histoire générale de l’Afrique, 4, 543-570.
  6. ^ Byanafashe, D., & Rutayisire, P. (2016). History of Rwanda: From the beginning to the end of the twentieth century. National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NUCRC).
  7. ^ Vansina, Jan (2005). Antecedents to Modern Rwanda: The Nyiginya Kingdom. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 9780299201234.
  8. ^ Mugisha, A. (2010). Oruganda Rw'Abazigaba.
  9. ^ Van Der Meeren, A. (1969). The social system of the Banyarwanda. University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies (United Kingdom).

Draft:The Bazigaba (Abazigaba)

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