BUGANDA KINGDOM

Among the forty-three ethnic groups in Uganda, Buganda is the largest one. The people of the Buganda Kingdom are known as Baganda or Ganda (a single person is referred to as Muganda) and they are part of the Bantu group. The Buganda Kingdom is located in the south-central region of Uganda around Lake Victoria.

Language: The Baganda speak a language popularly known as Luganda. Luganda is the primary trade language across the central, southern and eastern regions of Uganda. European missionaries first created the language and its pronunciation pattern is quite similar to Italian.

Government: The Baganda have a centralized system of government, the most organized system of the Interlacustrine region (the region surrounded by lakes Victoria, Albert, Edward, and Tanganyika). The Buganda culture revolves around clans (a group of families related through a common ancestor or marriage). Every Muganda belongs to a particular clan and the clans are given names of different animals apart from the king's clan, which is known as Abalangira.

The kingdom is composed of various sections as shown below. Each section has a particular name given to it. The kingdom is divided into counties, counties into sub-counties, and so on. Each of these sections has leaders chosen by the King.

Economy: Matooke) and yams. They also grow sweet potatoes, taro (Obukupa), cassava, maize, millet, peanuts, beans, squashes, gourds, sesame, tomatoes, and sugarcane. Cotton was introduced as a market crop in 1904 and later, coffee. The Baganda raise goats, chickens, sheep, and cattle, which are regarded as a sign of wealth. The banana is the most important crop and each household has a banana grove, which supplies their major food needs. A grove can produce for as long as seventy years and requires little weeding and mulching, work done by women.

Family Life: In Baganda culture, all father's brothers are called "father," all mother's sisters called "mother" and all children "brother" and "sister." They mainly live in extended families. Polygamous families are not forbidden since having a lot of children is considered prestigious and a sign of wealth. Bride prices are mandatory.

Religious Beliefs: The traditional religion of the Baganda was based on belief in a hierarchy of god-heroes (Lubale), ancestral spirits (Mizimu) and nature spirits. The most important god is Mukasa, the god of Lake Victoria, health and fertility. Other important gods are Kibuka, the god of war and the god of the rain, Musoke. Each clan also worshipped their own lubale. Priests maintain temples and shrines and cults center on the spirits of former clan leaders and kings. Mediums are able to consult with these spirits, which have influence over the affairs of the living. Although today most Baganda are Christian and a few are Muslim, they still perform traditional religious practices

Traditional Wear of the Baganda:

Baganda women wear a gomesi while the men wear a kanzu as shown in picture below..

Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on the Baganda.

Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL.

If you a Muganda, your feedback is much appreciated. 

Buganda Kingdom

    Official website. Electronic document, www.buganda.or.ug, accessed February 15, 2009.

C  R Spinner

    2003  Social Culture African Newsgroup. Electronic document, http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/36/492.html, accessed February 14, 2009.

Mukasa E. Semakula

    Buganda. Electronic document, http://www.buganda.com/, accessed February 14, 2009.

Skoggard, Ian

   1998  Culture Summary: Ganda. New Haven, CT: Human Relations Area Files.   

Edited by Esther Nalubwama, 2009