Uncovering the True Story of the Ancient Bachwezi People of Uganda

You may have heard of the great Bunyoro-Kitara empire, known to be one of the most prominent kingdoms in East and Central Africa between the 16^th-19^th century. However, one closely related empire which is still shrouded in a lot of mystery is the Chwezi Empire which reportedly predated Bunyoro-Kitara.

In fact, the Bachwezi (people of Chwezi) are widely credited with the founding of the latter empire. Moreso, the Chwezi Empire was alternatively known as the Kitara Empire.

In this article, we will explore the story of the Bachwezi according to both oral history and more factual accounts by historians.

The Legend of Bachwezi

First of all, it is said that the  Chwezi or Bachwezi Dynasty originated from the Batembuzi Dynasty, an even more mysterious dynasty in the Bunyoro region of present-day Uganda. King Isaza, the last ruler of the Batembuzi Dynasty, had a child called Isimbwa. Isimbwa then fathered Ndahura, who would become the first king of the Bachwezi Dynasty.

Just like the Batembuzi, the Bachwezi were believed to be humans with divine abilities and were thus revered as demigods. These divine abilities, powered by the so-called Underworld, thus enabled the Chwezi to be great magicians and hunters.

According to oral tradition, the Chwezi Dynasty ruled their empire from around 1000AD to 1500AD with two known kings, namely Ndahura and Wamara. Some accounts also cite Ndahura’s half-brother Mulindwa as the successor to Wamara.

Though Ndahura’s rule was initially met with much contention, he was eventually able to establish his throne. Ndahura led a fierce expansion campaign, bringing almost the whole of present-day Uganda, western Kenya, northern Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Congo under the fold of the Kitara Empire. Chwezi’s administrative capital was then established at Bigo bya Mugenyi.  

However, the expansion also had its downsides. For instance, many of the warriors came back from these faraway lands with various diseases, the most notorious of which was smallpox.

Not too long after these conquests and the stability that ensued, Ndahura got bored and decided to go into battle again. He had his eyes set on King Bwirebutakya in present-day Tanzania.

However, King Bwirebutakya was prepared for Ndahura as on battle day, he employed sorcery to call darkness on Ndahura’s army. Confused and panicked, Ndahura’s soldiers tried to flee, but many of them were killed and captured by their opponents. Worst of all, Ndahura was captured—though people spread rumours that he was swallowed by the earth.

Ndahura’s brother, Kyomya, would eventually rescue him. Subsequently, Ndahura lost his confidence and fervour for leadership. He told his subjects to pick another king from amongst his children and eventually vanished. Ndahura’s eldest son Wamara was then chosen as the new king.

There had long been a prophecy that if Bihogo, the beloved cow of the Chwezi, died, the empire would crumble. And indeed, following Bihogo’s death, Chwezi started to fall apart. From the start of the 16^th century, there were breakouts of disease and famine. The empire became weak, succumbing easily to external attacks from other peoples. This was also said to have been caused by King Wamara’s incompetence as a leader.

The Luo people’s invasion of Chwezi was the decisive attack that led to the eventual collapse of the empire. Interestingly, their invasion was also said to be predestined as there had been a prophecy that ‘dark-skinned people from the north’ would destroy the empire. The Luo, under the leadership of Isingoma Rukidi Mpuuga, thrashed the Chwezi. Those who survived fled to distant parts of the empire or reportedly vanished to the underworld, by way of the lakes, using their divine powers.

It was the Luo’s conquest of Chwezi that gave way to the establishment of Bunyoro-Kitara from the Kitara Empire. Mpuuga later became the first Omukama of Bunyoro-Kitara.

The True Story of the Bachwezi

According to a historian called Yolamu Ndoleriire Nsamba, the Bachwezi were priests. They practised the religion of Kubandwa. They were historically referred to as white since they were lighter skinned than many other groups in the region now known as Uganda. Historians believe that this is because they were likely descendants of fairer skinned peoples who had migrated to the region from other parts of Africa, including modern day Ethiopia.

Kubandwa focused on the possession by spirits named after prominent Bachwezi such as Ndahura, Wamara and so on. The Bachwezi weren’t the originators of the religion, but significantly contributed to its spread as they expanded their empire. What facilitated this spread was the belief that the Bachwezi travelled with the spirits.

This was in contrast to the Karamo religion of the Msaza priests, which involved the worship of natural bodies and creatures, a requirement that made the latter religion geographically confined since people would have to travel to holy sites to access certain spirits.

In the  Kubandwa religion,  the spirits could be summoned anywhere, meaning the religion could be practised anywhere. As the Bachwezi introduced Kubandwa to more and more peoples during their conquests, they not only positioned themselves as religious leaders but also as spiritual leaders in the region.

Isimbwa was an enigmatic figure. It was said that he would emerge from the ground to a crowd of believers at locations that recognised his power. He furthered the spread of Kubandwa with the help of his recruits, addressing problem like shortage of pasture and water caused by the droughts by providing alternative means of livelihood such as ivory hunting, salt production and metal work.

While legend portrays Nhadura as a single king, a deeper dive reveals that Ndahura was actually a title (not a name) borne by many kings in the Bagabu clan. Thus, it was multiple ‘Ndahura’ kings who expanded the Bachwezi Empire. Likewise, Ndahura was not Isimbwa’s literal son as historians believe Ndahura kings were former Msaza priests who had been converted to Kubandwa by Isimbwa. As Bachwezi priest-kings, they were known for their ability to manage scarce resources among the cattle clans during the drought.

There were rival Bachwezi clans with their own leaders. The main ones were the Basingo clan headed by the Mugenyi, the Bayaga clan headed by the Mulindwa, the Basaigi clan headed by the Kagoro, and the Bamuli clan headed by the Wamara. Consequently, many historians argue that rather than being a centralised empire, the Bachwezi were actually a collection of loosely connected empires and clans.

However, the Ndahura kings often enjoyed the most dominance over the others and would consequently be called the father. Still, there were times when other leaders, like Wamara for instance, were on top.

While most neighbouring clan leaders conceded to Bachwezi rule, there was one leader, called Nsinga, who insisted on holding to his rule of Bugoma. Bugoma controlled a crossing at the Kabale River through which Ndahura could access Kibiro, which is still home to an ancient salt industry. Salt was very important in those days since it was necessary for the diets of cattle and cattle herding was a major source of livelihood.

Nsinga ended up being killed by the Ndahura who then assumed rule of Bugoma. Still, the Msaza priests resisted his rule because he was forcing them to convert to Kubandwa. In protest, they performed night dancing which entailed painting themselves with ash before going to dance at the leader’s house and dropping a disembowelled frog. The frog typically had its eyes and tongue plucked out, a warning sign that if the leaders didn’t desist, they too would have their eyes and tongue plucked out. The Bachwezi retaliated by branding the dissenters as sorcerers who were worthy of execution. Today, night dancing has evolved into a practice known as ‘night running’ in Kenya, which is often associated with witchcraft and demonic activity.

Another part of the oral history that is inaccurate is the Ndahura’s disposition after his defeat by King Bwirebutakya. In reality, after the Ndahura was defeated, he sought his throne back. He went to Chiro, whom legend calls his son, and demanded for a portion of Chiro’s war spoils. This ended badly for the Ndahura as he was captured by Chiro and the Kagoro and was never seen again.

Nsamba, the historian, suggests that the Ndahura was either killed or forced to commit suicide. This ended the reign of the Ndahura kings, giving way to the Wamara kings. The Mugenyi at the time contested the Wamara’s sovereignty, but the Wamara was able to legitimise his rule by summoning a Bachwezi ancestor to proclaim him as Ndahura’s heir.

Not only did the Basingo clan want their own leader on top, but they also detested the Wamara’s uncouth ways, including his habit of eating wild game. Consequently, they refused to pay the Wamara tribute and were labelled as rebels. Backed by the Mulindwa and Kagoro, the Wamara attacked the Basingo clan.

On the other hand, the Basuli clan was allied with the Basingo clan in their resistance to the Wamara. Consequently, Nyagonma, a priestess from the Basuli clan, fought for the Mugenyi and the allied clans. Her attack on the Mulindwa resulted in his death. This only caused more problems for the Basingo clan as the Wamara led an even fiercer extermination campaign against them.

The Wamara was a very vengeful leader, doling out grave consequences to those who rebelled against him. Still, his moves to consolidate his power weren’t all violent. For instance, he distributed cattle to the cattle-herding clans. He also tried to delineate secular authority from spiritual authority by appointing some leaders who were not priests. It is unclear whether these methods worked, but one thing that is certain is that at this point, the Bachwezi Empire was already headed for collapse.

The legend of the skin diseases brought by warriors from faraway lands was actually true and led to the decimation of the Bachwezi people. Their iron hand of leadership also sparked rebellions from their subordinate clans. But it was the defeat by Mpuuga that finally brought the empire to its knees. Mpuuga would then lead what became known as the Bunyoro-Kitara Empire as the first king of the Babiito Dynasty.

The Remains of the Bachwezi

Today, the ancient capital city, Bigo bya Mugenyi, is a cultural and archaeological site in the western part of Uganda. Several discoveries made by archaeologists in the region allude to the economic prominence of the city in its prime. Discoveries also suggest that the Bachwezi introduced the long-horned cattle of Ankole, iron smelting, coffee growing and the concept of a centralised government to the region.

Till today, some traditionalists believe that some Bachwezi exist in the Underworld and consequently revere them as gods. These traditionalists often visit Bigo bya Mugenyi to pray to the gods and Bachwezi spirits. It has even been said that the Chwezi have made appearances to some worshippers. Scholars, on the other hand, believe that the Bachwezi were absorbed into other ethnic groups in East Africa, including the Bahima of Uganda and the Batutsi of Rwanda. This is partly because the people in these ethnic groups have similar physical features—like a tall build and light complexion—to what has been recorded of the Bachwezi.