Bunyoro

The kingdom of Bunyoro was established in the late 16th century by Rukidi-Mpuga after the dissolution of the Empire of Kitara amid Luo migrations to the region.Mwambutsya, Ndebesa, "[http://www.ossrea.net/eassrr/jan91/mwambuts.htm Pre-capitalist Social Formation: The Case of the Banyankole of Southwestern Uganda.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080301225446/http://www.ossrea.net/eassrr/jan91/mwambuts.htm |date=2008-03-01 }}" Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review 6, no. 2; 7, no. 1 (June 1990 and January 1991): 78-95 The founders of Bunyoro-Kitara were known as the Babiito, a people of Luo origin who succeeded the Bachwezi.{{cite journal|last=Uzoigwe|first=GN|title=Succession and Civil War in Bunyoro - Kitara|journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies|year=1973|volume=6|issue=1|pages=49–71|doi=10.2307/216973|jstor=216973}}{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Bunyoro |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of African History And Culture: Volume 3 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopedia-of-african-history-and-culture-volume-3/page/35/mode/2up?q=biito&view=theater |last=Mirza |first=Umair |date=2005}}{{cite encyclopedia |title=Bunyoro |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of African History |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=umyHqvAErOAC&pg=PA636 |last=Doyle |first=Shane |date=2005 |editor-last1=Shillington |editor-first1=Kevin |pages=636–650 |isbn=1-57958-245-1 |last1= |first1=}}

Rukidi Mpuga was the first king of Bunyoro. He was called "Rukidi" because he was born in Bukidi (Luo/Madi area of northern Uganda), and "Mpuga" means "a cow with white spots" in the Nyoro language. He was named "Mpuga" because "one of his sides was very white like his Bachwezi father’s, the other black like his Bakidi mother's," which signified his mixed ancestry.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nyorostate0000beat/mode/2up|title= The Nyoro State|date= 1971|pages=52|isbn= 978-0-19-823171-4|last1= Beattie|first1= John|publisher= Clarendon Press}} The Songa, Gahi, Ranzi, Yaga, Rungu, Gabu, and Yanga clans are held to be the oldest.

According to Banyoro tradition, Rukidi sent his twin, Kato, to rule the southeast, however he declared independence and established the kingdom of Buganda (Bunyoro's historical rival). Another tradition says Buganda's third king, Kimera, came from Bunyoro to establish a Babiito dynasty. Baganda tradition fiercely disputes this,{{cite encyclopedia |title=Buganda: To Nineteenth Century |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of African History |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=umyHqvAErOAC&pg=PA636 |last=Ktyaga-Mulindwa |first=David |date=2005 |editor-last1=Shillington |editor-first1=Kevin |pages=636–650 |isbn=1-57958-245-1 |last1= |first1=}} and says that Buganda was distinct and of at least equal antiquity to Kitara.{{cite book |last1=Beattie |first1=John |url=https://archive.org/details/nyorostate0000beat/mode/2up |title=The Nyoro State |date=1971 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-823171-4 |page=246}}

Archaeological excavations of Bigo bya Mugenyi has shown that the centre of the site was "radically reconstructed so as to include a large, hemispherical mound reminiscent of those made at Shilluk capitals and elsewhere." Oral traditions say that in the long run, a capital in the grasslands proved unsuitable for a Luo dynasty, which soon moved its headquarters to the region around and north of Mubende, where agriculture could be practiced on a larger scale. It was there, in the northern half of the old Kitara kingdom, that the new kingdom of Bunyoro developed.{{cite book|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Medieval_Africa_1250_1800/4o-OZ5w-BmMC?hl=en|title=Medieval Africa, 1250-1800|page=145}}

The early Bito kings surpassed the feats of their Chwezi forefathers and achieved regional pre-eminence. Recent historical studies by Jean-Pierre Chrétien, Henri Médard and Christopher Wrigley have concluded that Bunyoro during the first one or two centuries of Bito rule was the greatest power in the region. Bito princes established themselves in the kingdom of Kiziba (in northern kagera), the northern Busoga kingdoms and west of the Rwenzoris. As far away as Buzinza, kings claimed to have their origins in Bunyoro.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZrbvzgEACAAJ|title=Crisis & Decline in Bunyoro: Population & Environment in Western Uganda 1860-1955|date=2006 |page=13|publisher=British Institute in Eastern Africa |isbn=978-0-85255-432-6 }} While most of Bunyoro were Bantu-speaking, the northern and eastern regions were mostly Luo-speaking, forging cultural and linguistic connections which aided Bunyoro's expansion of influence.

Bunyoro began to decline in the late eighteenth century due to internal divisions. Buganda seized the Kooki and Buddu regions from Bunyoro at the end of the century. In the 1830s, the large province of Tooro separated, claiming much of the lucrative salt works. To the south Rwanda and Ankole were both growing rapidly, taking over some of the smaller kingdoms that had been Bunyoro's vassals.

Thus by the mid-nineteenth century Bunyoro (also known as Unyoro at the time) was a far smaller state, though it was still wealthy due to the income generated from controlling the lucrative trade routes over Lake Victoria and linking to the coast of the Indian Ocean. In particular, Bunyoro benefited from the trade in ivory. Due to the volatile nature of the ivory trade, an armed struggle developed between the Baganda and the Banyoro. As a result, the capital was moved from Masindi to the less vulnerable Mparo. Following the death of Omakuma Kyebambe III, the region experienced a period of political instability where two kings ruled in a volatile political environment.{{cite book|last=Briggs|first=Philip|title=Uganda, 5th: The Bradt Travel Guide|year=2007|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|pages=11–14}}{{cite book | last=Doyle | first=Shane | title=Crisis & decline in Bunyoro : population & environment in western Uganda 1860-1955 | publisher=British Institute in Eastern Africa in association with James Currey Fountain Publishers Ohio University Press | publication-place=London Oxford Kampala Athens, Ohio | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-8214-1634-1 | page=}}

In July 1890 an agreement was settled whereby the entire Buganda region north of Lake Victoria was given to Great Britain. In 1894 Great Britain declared the region its protectorate. In alliance with Buganda, King Omukama Kabalega of Bunyoro resisted the efforts of Great Britain, aiming to take control of the kingdom. However, in 1899 Omukama Kabalega was captured and exiled to the Seychelles, and Bunyoro was subsequently annexed to the British Empire. Because of Bunyoro's resistance to the British, a portion of the Bunyoro kingdom's territory was given to Buganda and Tooro.

The country was put under the governance of Buganda administrators. The Banyoro revolted in 1907; the revolt was put down, and relations improved somewhat. After the region remained loyal to Great Britain in World War I a new agreement was made in 1933https://kituochakatiba.org/sites/default/files/legal-resources/THE%20BUNYORO%20AGREEMENT%201933.pdf The Bunyoro Agreement 1933 giving the region more autonomy. Bunyoro remains as one of the five constituent kingdoms of Uganda, along with Buganda, Busoga, Rwenzururu, and Tooro.{{Cite journal|last=Doyle|first=Shane|date=2000|title=Population Decline and Delayed Recovery in Bunyoro, 1860-1960|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/183476|journal=The Journal of African History|volume=41|issue=3|pages=429–458|doi=10.1017/S0021853700007751 |jstor=183476 |s2cid=162522723 |issn=0021-8537|url-access=subscription}}

During the first regime of Milton Obote, the Kingdom of Bunyoro initially benefited from regaining the two "lost counties" of Buyaga and Bugangaizi following a 1964 referendum. It was, however, forcefully disbanded in 1967. The kingdom, together with three others, Buganda, Busoga, Tooro, remained banned during the regime of dictator Idi Amin (1971–1979) and the second regime of Milton Obote (1980–1985){{Cite web |url=http://www.buganda.com/const67.htm |title=Uganda Constitution of 1967 |access-date=2010-10-05 |archive-date=2010-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100903113249/http://www.buganda.com/const67.htm |url-status=dead }} and remained banned until 1993.

In 1993Traditional Rulers (Restitution of Assets and Properties) Act 1993 [http://www.ulii.org/ug/legis/consol_act/troaapa1993622/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728142602/http://www.ulii.org/ug/legis/consol_act/troaapa1993622/|date=2011-07-28}} the Kingdom was re-established and in 1995 the new constitution of Uganda was made, allowing and recognizing the Kingdoms. The current Kingdom covers the districts of Buliisa District, Hoima district, Kibaale District, Kakumiro District, Kagadi District, Kiryandongo District and Masindi District.

According to 1997 projections, the total population of the Kingdom is between 800,000[http://www.uconnect.org/bunyoro/index.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218070040/http://www.uconnect.org/bunyoro/index.html|date=2009-12-18}} 1997 projections. No current number exists but there may be 1,400,000 (depending on sources) living in 250,000-350,000 households. 96% of the population lives in rural areas, and only 1% of the population uses electricity for lighting and cooking. More than 92% of the population is poor, and earned less than half that of the Ugandan national average, and about 50% of the population is illiterate.{{Cite journal|last=Uzoigwe|first=G. N.|date=1972|title=Precolonial Markets in Bunyoro-Kitara|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/178036|journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History|volume=14|issue=4|pages=422–455|doi=10.1017/S0010417500006794 |jstor=178036 |s2cid=145160791 |issn=0010-4175|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite web |title=Banyoro {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/banyoro |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}

In the Northern and eastern parts of Bunyoro, it was difficult to determine where the borders of the Bunyoro kingdom ended, and where separate (but in some degree dependent) polities began, and due to the broadening and varying shades of influence the question might have been meaningless. Due to British colonialism, the Nile river, and not any traditional division in language, culture, or political allegiance, became the formal northern boundary of the attenuated Nyoro state.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nyorostate0000beat/mode/2up|title= The Nyoro State|date= 1971|pages=28–29, 62, 254–255|isbn= 978-0-19-823171-4|last1= Beattie|first1= John|publisher= Clarendon Press}}

Bunyoro's Nilotic neighbors viewed themselves and were viewed by the Banyoro, as "mother's brothers" to the Bito dynasty, rooted in the fact that Rukidi Mpuga's mother, Nyatworo, was a Nilotic Luo from Bukidi. Bunyoro's relationship with its Nilotic neighbors was not only defined by political dominance but also by kinship ties. In Nyoro culture, it is believed that sisters' sons are to "rule" their mothers' brothers.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nyorostate0000beat/mode/2up|title= The Nyoro State|date= 1971|pages=254-255|isbn= 978-0-19-823171-4|last1= Beattie|first1= John|publisher= Clarendon Press}}

People north of the Nile, such as the Alur and Acholi, recognized the Mukama (king of Bunyoro) as overlord and sent tribute to him. According to the cultural anthropologist Aidan Southall, the Alur recognized their "ritual subordination to Bunyoro by going there for confirmation of their title after accession to kingship".{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/alursocietystudy0000sout|title=Alur society: A Study in Processes and Types of Domination}} Gifts were given to the king of Bunyoro by Lango and Acholi chiefs, who acknowledged the Nyoro king’s supremacy.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nyorostate0000beat/mode/2up|title= The Nyoro State|date= 1971|pages=28–29, 64, 254|isbn= 978-0-19-823171-4|last1= Beattie|first1= John|publisher= Clarendon Press}}

{{blockquote|The rulers of Bunyoro acted as the ultimate arbiters of the Acholi political system. Disputes about succession to chieftainship were taken to them to settle. Many of the drums and spears which form part of the regalia of Acholi Rwodi are said to have been presented to an ancestor by a past Mukama. Representatives of the Banyoro rulers attended the installation and other ceremonies of the Rwodi of Payera.|}}{{cite book|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lawino_s_People/w-LuDwAAQBAJ?hl=en|title=Lawino's People: The Acholi of Uganda|page=282}}

After studying their vocabulary, Ronald Atkinson, discovered a profound Banyoro socio-political impact on the western Acholi starting around the year 1680. Great changes estimated to have occurred in western Acholi land between 1680 and 1780 originating in northern Bunyoro. many acholi chiefdoms were established in a period, when there was an almost constant migration of Palwo out of northern Bunyoro. The Acholi elder Fidele Lodi of the Ogole clan in Pajule explained that "the most important aspect of the Palwo who came from Bunyoro to Acholi was that wherever they went, they would establish their kingship very quickly over the other people." The Acholi Pajule clan elders say that their great amcestor, Lagoro Aboga came from Bunyoro and brought the royal drum, "bul ker", To the Pajule.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lmdTAAAAYAAJ|title=Origins of Kingship Traditions and Symbolism in the Great Lakes Region of Africa|page=96-97, 316-317|isbn=978-91-554-7295-5 |last1=Farelius |first1=Birgitta |date=2008 |publisher=Uppsala universitet }}

The first Bito King Rukidi and his brothers took the totem (Muziro) of the clan of their Luo mother, Nyatworo, which was the bushbuck (Ngabi) because their Chwezi father, Kyomya, abandoned them when they were infants. Today, the aristocratic lineages of the Acholi people to the north still have the bushbuck as their totem, like the Babito clan of Bunyoro.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nyorostate0000beat/mode/2up|title= The Nyoro State|date= 1971|pages=52–53|isbn= 978-0-19-823171-4|last1= Beattie|first1= John|publisher= Clarendon Press}}

The first Babito kings made sure that succession to the throne was restricted to sons born to them by their Luo wives. This gave the Paluo (luo speakers in northern Bunyoro) major political influence in Bunyo-Kitara. It was Oyo Nyimba, Rukidi's son born by Nyatworo of the Luo clan of Kwonga, who succeeded him. Nyimba, in turn, made sure that it Waswinyi, born by a Luo woman, who became king after him. The practice of restricting succession to children born by Luo women went uninterrupted, and thus, all the kings of Bunyoro-Kitara were born by Luo women until 1733.{{cite book|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41971236|title=Kabalega and the Palwo: Conflict of Aspirations|page=82}}

In the Acholi language, the term "Bito" is used "generally of the sons of an aristocratic lineage". The Empaako praise names that every Munyoro is given after birth are still found in Acholi, where they are called "Pak," meaning 'praise.' Many of the mpako names are also of Luo origin. Although many Bito personal names are Luo, Bunyoro's political terminology features only two words of Luo origin, "ekikali" ("royal courtyard" found also in the kingdom of Ankole and Rwanda) and "dyangi". Some of the objects which make up the regalia of the Nyoro kings can be identified with artifacts of Nilotic origin.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nyorostate0000beat/mode/2up|title= The Nyoro State|date= 1971|pages=51–52|isbn= 978-0-19-823171-4|last1= Beattie|first1= John|publisher= Clarendon Press}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZrbvzgEACAAJ|title=Crisis & Decline in Bunyoro: Population & Environment in Western Uganda 1860-1955|date=2006 |page=13|publisher=British Institute in Eastern Africa |isbn=978-0-85255-432-6 }} The Nyoro word "Mugole" (wife) is a Nilotic loanword that can be found in the Acholi "Nya gol" (wife) and beyond that to the Dinka-Nuer word "Gol" (clan, family). It can be found as far south as Rwanda where Mugole/Mugore simply means "woman" in Kinyarwanda. The nyoro word, "wakonga" (pangolin) is related to the Acholi "Okong" and Dinka "Akuong". the Nyoro "Mukago" ("blood-brotherhood" which is initiated by cutting the hands) is related to Shilluk "Kago" and Dinka "Kak" (cut open).{{cite book|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/SUGIA_Sprache_und_Geschichte_in_Afrika/RIwLAQAAMAAJ?hl=en|title=SUGIA, Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika|pages=582–583}}

{{blockquote|European visitors in the late nineteenth century consistently observed that Bunyoro was one of the most densely populated parts of East Africa." Wilhelm Junker, who had explored much of the Nile Valley before traveling through the heart of Bunyoro in 1886, wrote that 'of all the Negro regions visited by me, Bunyoro and Buganda were by far the most densely populated. Interestingly, in 1893. Henry Colvile, found Bunyoro as a whole to be 'far more thickly populated and highly cultivated' than Buganda, though it is important to note that Buganda had suffered heavy mortality and emigration during its recent civil wars.|}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdAhDgAAQBAJ|title=Slavery in the Great Lakes Region of East Africa|date= 2007 |page=235|publisher=Ohio University Press |isbn=978-0-8214-4574-7 }}

In describing the Kingdom of Bunyoro, Samuel Baker states that the people of Bunyoro "have become the most advanced nation in Central Africa; they are well clothed and clean in their persons, courteous and dignified in demeanor, and susceptible of enlarged political organization."{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BtSNDwAAQBAJ|title=Fieldwork of Empire, 1840-1900: Intercultural Dynamics in the Production of British Expeditionary Literature|date=20 March 2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-55829-0 }}

Bunyoro consists of three classes of people: Iru, Huma, and Biito. The distinction between the Iru and Huma has never had the importance in Bunyoro, as it did in other kingdoms such as Ankole or Rwanda.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nyorostate0000beat/mode/2up|title= The Nyoro State|date= 1971|pages=24, 246–247|isbn= 978-0-19-823171-4|last1= Beattie|first1= John|publisher= Clarendon Press}}

The Iru are commoners who engage in farming and some cattle rearing. The Iru were Ironsmiths and provided tools and weapons to the Huma (who themselves did not practice smithing). Intermarriage between the Iru and Huma (Hima) in Bunyoro was never prohibited, and it has always been possible for Bunyoro of Iru (commoner) origin to rise to a high position in the state as many did in historical times.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nyorostate0000beat/mode/2up|title= The Nyoro State|date= 1971|pages=24–25|isbn= 978-0-19-823171-4|last1= Beattie|first1= John|publisher= Clarendon Press}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Early_History_of_Kitara_in_Western_U.html?id=Un_UAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y|title=The Early History of Kitara in Western Uganda: Process Models of Religious and Political Change, Volume 1|page=59}} There is a Luo speaking community in the Kibanda county of the Kiryandongo District of northern Bunyoro called the Paluo (or Palwo) or Chope/Chopi. The Paluo were generally regarded as Iru by other Banyoro people. It was possible for Paluo families settling south into the Kitara heartland and assimilating its culture to become part of the Huma category.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Early_History_of_Kitara_in_Western_U.html?id=Un_UAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y|title=The Early History of Kitara in Western Uganda: Process Models of Religious and Political Change, Volume 1|page=119}}

The Huma are those engaged only in pastoralism. The name "Bahuma" comes from the verb "okuhuma", which means the "cacophony of sound made by a herd of cattle on the move, lowing, thudding of hooves, and cries of herdsmen".{{cite book|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_Bunyoro_Kitara/_XoWAAAAIAAJ?hl=en|title=A History of Bunyoro-Kitara|page=20}} Although the Bahuma claimed and were accorded high status, they have always, as Bahuma, lacked major political importance and they have never been rulers in Bunyoro-Kitara but were herdsmen, who "attached themselves to the great chiefs as custodians of their herds".{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nyorostate0000beat/mode/2up|title= The Nyoro State|date= 1971|pages=26, 50, 57, 129, 248 and 250|isbn= 978-0-19-823171-4|last1= Beattie|first1= John|publisher= Clarendon Press}} Samuel Baker describes them:{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nyorostate0000beat/mode/2up|title= The Nyoro State|date= 1971|pages=26|isbn= 978-0-19-823171-4|last1= Beattie|first1= John|publisher= Clarendon Press}}

{{blockquote|There is a curious custom throughout Unyoro; a peculiar caste are cattle-keepers. These people only attend to the herds and the profession is inherited from past generations. They are called Bahooma. If the herds are carried off in battle, the Bahooma, who never carry arms, accompany them to their new masters and continue their employment. Nothing but death will separate them from their cattle|}}

The Bahuma loved their cattle so dearly that Gaetano Casati reports that after a Sudanese raid into Bunyoro that captured 10,000 cattle, the Bahuma preferred to serve the Sudanese as cattle keepers rather than be separated [sic] from their cows. Thus The Bahuma willingly followed the raiders with their families.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdAhDgAAQBAJ|title=Slavery in the Great Lakes Region of East Africa|date= 2007 |page=242|publisher=Ohio University Press |isbn=978-0-8214-4574-7 }}

The Biito are the royal clan of Bunyoro. The Babiito are originally descended from the Chwezi prince Kyomya and the Luo woman Nytworo. The Banyoro say, "the Babito are the children (Bana) of the Bacwezi, and the grandchildren (baijukuru) of the Batembuzi". When the Luo diviner Nyakoka left Kitara and entered northern Uganda, he encountered Kyomya's sons resting under a Bito tree, which is where the Bito clan gets its name from (although it is unknown what kind of tree a bito tree was).{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nyorostate0000beat/mode/2up|title= The Nyoro State|date= 1971|pages=51, 57–58, 254–255|isbn= 978-0-19-823171-4|last1= Beattie|first1= John|publisher= Clarendon Press}}

Samuel Baker praised the crafts made by Bunyoro artisans. He said that the Banyoro "make good earthenware, they sew with needles of their own make, the eye of the needles being simply a fine end overlapped; their smiths are clever and use hammers instead of stones as in neighbouring countries and they draw fine brass and copper wire for ornamenting belts, knife handles".{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BtSNDwAAQBAJ|title=Fieldwork of Empire, 1840-1900: Intercultural Dynamics in the Production of British Expeditionary Literature|date=20 March 2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-55829-0 }}

European travelers in the Great Lakes region of Africa during the 19th century reported cases of surgery in Bunyoro.{{Cite web|url=https://theafricanhistory.com/1812|title = Empire of Kitara: One of the oldest African Empires that existed since 900 AD to date|date = 2 May 2021|website=Theafricanhistory.com}} Medical historians, such as Jack Davies argued in 1959 that Bunyoro's traditional healers were perhaps the most highly skilled in precolonial sub-Saharan Africa, possessing a remarkable level of medical knowledge. One observer noted a "surgical skill which had reached a high standard".{{cite journal |last1=Davies |first1=J. N. P. |title=The Development of 'Scientific' Medicine in the African Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara |journal=Medical History |date=January 1959 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=47–57 |id={{ProQuest|1301876103}} |doi=10.1017/s0025727300024248 |pmid=13632207 |pmc=1034446 }} Caesarean sections and other abdominal and thoracic operations were performed on a regular basis with the avoidance of hemorrhage and sepsis using antiseptics, anesthetics and cautery iron.{{cite book|author=Shane Doyle|title=Crisis & Decline in Bunyoro: Population & Environment in Western Uganda 1860–1955|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYHTQRBGjikC&pg=PA32|year=2006|publisher=James Currey Publishers|isbn=978-0-85255-431-9|page=32}} The expectant mother was normally anesthetized with banana wine, and herbal mixtures were used to encourage healing. From the well-developed nature of the procedures employed, European observers concluded that they had been employed for some time.[https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/cesarean/part2.html Cesarean Section – A Brief History](2008). National Library of Medicine, part 2 Bunyoro surgeons treated lung inflammations, Pneumonia and pleurisy by punching holes in the chest until the air passed freely. Trephining was carried out and the bones of depressed fractures were elevated. Horrible war wounds, even penetrating abdominal and chest wounds were treated with success, even when this involved quite heroic surgery. Amputations were done by tying a tight ligature just above the line of amputation and neatly cutting off the limb, stretched out on a smooth log, with one stroke of a sharp sword. Banyoro surgeons had a good knowledge of anatomy, in part obtained by carrying out autopsies. Inoculation against smallpox was carried out in Bunyoro and its neighbouring kingdoms. Over 200 plants are used medicinally in eastern Bunyoro alone, and recent tests have shown that traditional cures for eczema and post-measles bloody diarrhea were more effective than western medications. Bunyoro's medical elite, the "Bafumu", had a system of apprenticeship and even "met at periods for conferences". In Bunyoro, there was a close relationship between the state and traditional healers. Kings gave healers "land spread in the different areas so that their services would reach more people". Moreover, "in the case of a disease hitting a given area", the king would order healers into the affected district. Kabaleega is said to have provided his soldiers with anti-malarial herbs and even to have organized medical research. A Munyoro healer reported in 1902 that when an outbreak of what he termed sleeping sickness occurred in Bunyoro around 1886–87, causing many deaths, Kabaleega ordered him "to make experiments in the interest of science", which were "eventually successful in procuring a cure". Barkcloth, which was used to bandage wounds, has been proven to be antimicrobial.{{cite journal |last1=Butler |first1=J.A. |last2=Slate |first2=A.J. |last3=Todd |first3=D.B. |last4=Airton |first4=D. |last5=Hardman |first5=M. |last6=Hickey |first6=N.A. |last7=Scott |first7=K. |last8=Venkatraman |first8=P.D. |title=A traditional Ugandan Ficus natalensis bark cloth exhibits antimicrobial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus |journal=Journal of Applied Microbiology |date=July 2021 |volume=131 |issue=1 |pages=2–10 |doi=10.1111/jam.14945 |pmid=33247525 |s2cid=227191862 |url=https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/626905/1/jam.14945.pdf }}

Bunyoro drew various communities together in trade. This trade heavily depended on Bunyoro's rich salt deposits in the lucrative Kibiro saltworks of Lake Mwitanzige and the saltworks located in Lake Katwe.{{cite book|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Katwe_Salt_in_the_African_Great_Lakes_Re/fcxEAQAAIAAJ?hl=en|title=Katwe Salt in the African Great Lakes Regional Economy, 1750s-1950s}} Bunyoro's markets fostered complex interactions between the Banyoro and regional groups such as the Alur, Acholi, Langi, Kumam Iteso, Basoga, Banyankore, Congolese, and Haya populations, and, further, witnessed brisk trade not only in iron implements, salt, and ivory, but also in items like cattle, foodstuffs, beer, tobacco, and coffee.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BtSNDwAAQBAJ|title=Fieldwork of Empire, 1840-1900: Intercultural Dynamics in the Production of British Expeditionary Literature|date=20 March 2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-55829-0 }} Even despite their bitter rivalry, Bunyoro traded iron hoes and salt with Buganda in exchange for Barkcloth and Bananas{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxHGiP-Be70C|title=Casualty of Empire: Britain's Unpaid Debt to an African Kingdom|date=2007 |page=9|publisher=Ituri Publications |isbn=978-0-9536430-7-3 }}

Bunyoro blacksmiths were regarded as among the greatest in East Africa. Bunyoro's historical ties with Luo speakers to the north, many of whom considered Bunyoro as "home," and with Buganda to the south secured the stability of trade in Bunyoro. The ties also ensured that "Bunyoro's ironsmiths had a guaranteed market among the Iteso and Langi [to the northeast], peoples who did not smelt". Having the highest quality of metallurgy in the region made it one of the strongest economic and military powers in the Great Lakes region.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BtSNDwAAQBAJ|title=Fieldwork of Empire, 1840-1900: Intercultural Dynamics in the Production of British Expeditionary Literature|date=20 March 2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-55829-0 }}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ih6vCwAAQBAJ|title=An Economic History of Kenya and Uganda, 1800-1970|date=January 1975 |pages=116–117|publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-02442-1 }}

Historian John Nyakatura delineates three categories of slaves in the Bunyoro region. The first category, known as "Embomboza," consists of individuals who were found wandering without a home or family, likely as a result of conflict or famine. The second category encompasses individuals who were captured during warfare. The third category comprises those who were acquired through purchase from neighboring kingdoms.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdAhDgAAQBAJ|title=Slavery in the Great Lakes Region of East Africa|date= 2007 |page=238|publisher=Ohio University Press |isbn=978-0-8214-4574-7 }}

King Kabalega forcibly relocated various ethnic groups into Bunyoro to ease the demographic crisis the kingdom was experiencing. When he reconquered Busongora and the Tooro Kingdom he relocated many Bahuma herders into the Nyoro heartland. The Masindi area was settled by Alur slaves and entire Bakonjo families from the Rwenzori region were settled into central Bunyoro and were almost completely culturally assimilated into Bunyoro society by 1900.

The Banyoro tried not to mistreat their slaves too harshly, due to the fear of their ghosts returning to seek retribution. The Banyoro say, "If you ever mistreated a slave, his ghost would always disturb the family. And that one is very, very dangerous, even more, dangerous than the ghost of a relative".{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdAhDgAAQBAJ|title=Slavery in the Great Lakes Region of East Africa|date= 2007 |page=237|publisher=Ohio University Press |isbn=978-0-8214-4574-7 }}

If a female slave had a child with her master, then that child would be considered free and not discriminated against in Nyoro society. Female slaves who married their masters were no longer treated as slaves and overworked.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdAhDgAAQBAJ|title=Slavery in the Great Lakes Region of East Africa|date= 2007 |page=243|publisher=Ohio University Press |isbn=978-0-8214-4574-7 }}

Slaves were able to rise to political power. A famous example of this is Nyakamatura, who was a slave of Iru origin. King Kamarusi recognized Nyakamatura's talents, freed him, and made him a chief. Nyakamatura was a friend of Kamamrusi's son, Kabalega, which caused the Iru chief's status to rise even further in society. After Kabalega took the throne he honored Nyakamatura by naming him the first minister.

The Paluo in Bunyoro conducted their own slave raids. Slaves were given to the wealthy and powerful men of their community. If a slave behaved in a good manner, he was permitted to participate in all community activities, much as any Paluo-born man, and he could marry a Paluo girl. The slave would still remain serving his master and dependent on him, but he could attain wealth and status in Paluo society.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ih6vCwAAQBAJ|title=An Economic History of Kenya and Uganda, 1800-1970|date=January 1975 |pages=178|publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-02442-1 }}

Kabalega created a standing army called the "Abarusura". Most members of Bunyoro's army were Iru, such as Rwabudongo, who was the leader of the army.{{cite book|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_Africa_African_societies_an/6knAMseFPpIC?hl=en|title=A History of Africa: African societies and the establishment of colonial rule, 1800-1915|page=33}}

The army of Bunyoro was supplemented with mercenaries from foreign ethnic groups such as the Lango. War captives could also be integrated into the military, such as in the case of Ireeta, who was freed and eventually became one of Bunyoro's leading generals.

Kabalega defeated the rebellious Paluo in northern Bunyoro and put them back under Bunyoro's authority, and the Acholi and Alur tribes across the Nile were forced to pay tribute.{{cite book|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_Africa_African_societies_an/6knAMseFPpIC?hl=en|title=A History of Africa: African societies and the establishment of colonial rule, 1800-1915|page=33}}

Bunyoro's army achieved a significant victory against the Baganda (who outnumbered them) at the Battle of Rwangabi (or Rwengabi) in February 1886. Following this victory, the army occupied parts of western Buganda and enslaved 20,000 Baganda.{{cite book|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_Africa_African_societies_an/6knAMseFPpIC?hl=en|title=A History of Africa: African societies and the establishment of colonial rule, 1800-1915|page=33}}

{{cite book|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Crisis_Decline_in_Bunyoro/KYHTQRBGjikC?hl=en|title=Crisis & Decline in Bunyoro: Population & Environment in Western Uganda 1860-1955|page=58}}

Bunyoro boasted an impressive and well-maintained network of roads, which facilitated efficient movement throughout the region. Henry Colvile effectively utilized these routes to swiftly transport his army, taking advantage of the carefully constructed bridges that spanned the streams. John Roscoe, a missionary, also picked up on Bunyoro's network of roads.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxHGiP-Be70C|title=Casualty of Empire: Britain's Unpaid Debt to an African Kingdom|date=2007 |page=8|publisher=Ituri Publications |isbn=978-0-9536430-7-3 }}

The people of Bunyoro developed a form of writing based on a floral code{{cite journal |last1=Doyle |first1=Shane |title=The Language of Flowers: Knowledge, Power and Ecology in Precolonial Bunyoro |journal=History in Africa |date=2003 |volume=30 |pages=107–116 |doi=10.1017/S0361541300003168 |jstor=3172084 |s2cid=153346091 }}

{{Blockquote

|text=It is especially interesting that the form of writing that developed in Bunyoro was based on a floral code, as the absence of both writing and flowers in African culture have been used by Jack Goody as evidence of African culture's separateness from that of "Eurasia." Goody has written that African peoples generally did not make significant use of flowers in worship, gift-giving or decoration. He does "not know of any indigenous use of odours", nor of plants playing a role in stories or myths. This is thought to be because of Africa's "simple" agriculture, "non-complex" societies and absence of a "culture of luxury". This description of African life does not fit well with what we know of precolonial Bunyoro, a large, relatively ancient, and extremely hierarchical kingdom, and the analysis of the role of flowers was quite inaccurate.|author=Shane Doyle|source=The Language of Flowers: Knowledge, Power and Ecology in Precolonial Bunyoro}}

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{EB1911 poster|Unyoro}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120414124338/http://nucss.ac/ The National University of Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom]
• [http://www.bunyoro-kitara.org/ Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom]
• [http://www.arkbk-clbg.org/ Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom NGO.]
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20200124063813/http://www.czipm.org/vladarski01.html Royal Coat of Arms of Bunyoro-Kitara]}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100115022521/http://www.ugandatravelguide.com/bunyoro-culture.html More on the Bunyoro Culture]

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