The Kasubi Tombs

The Kasubi Tombs, one of Kampala’s few tourist attractions. The tombs, which hold the bodies of four kings of Buganda (the largest tribe in Uganda), are very close to downtown, but thanks to traffic it took a while -- driving anywhere takes a while in this city.

The rule once was that the Kabaka (king) of Buganda was buried in his home, and the new kabaka established a new capital in a new location. The Kasubi Tombs were once the home and court of Kabaka Mutesa I (pictured above), and are now his burial ground, though for unclear reasons three other kabaka are also buried there.

Mutesa I ruled in the 19th century. This is the third and final of his capitals (the royal court moved around a lot). The buildings were all built in the traditional style -- grass-roofed with bamboo or wooden pillar supports.

The entrance to the tombs is through the Bujjabukula, or guard house, constructed in 1882. The Buganda tribe comprises fifty-four clans, and while the kabaka can come from any clan, the position of Mulamba (chief guard) is a hereditary right that belongs to a member of the Butiko (“mushroom”) clan. Nsigo, the assistant guard, belongs to the Mbogo (“buffalo”) clan. (These spears are from the Kabaka’s tomb, not the guard house -- the guard house was just a small hut with posters for upcoming concerts on the inside.)

We enter through the guard house and are immediately diverted to a little side hut to pay our entrance fee. The hut is filled with souvenirs, but they don’t seem to mind when we walk right past them -- so I knew they’d lead us back here. The ticket seller assigns us a guide who immediately points out that the woman I was with was wearing pants. We all looked and sure enough, pants. I know pants when I see them. The problem not being self-evident to us, he explained that women must wear skirts in the house of the kabaka, and provided her a large piece of fabric to wrap at the waist to cover her shameful pants.

The first building we see on the inside is Ndoga Obukaba, the drum house. Our guide invited me to enter and maybe take some photographs while she stood on the threshold -- women are not permitted in the drum house. Kawuula, keeper of the drum house (hereditary to the Lugave clan) was expected to be celibate and it was considered problematic for women to come near him at all lest he be tempted or something.

Anyway, I walked around the drum house. The drums seemed to be piled in a big heap, but the guide explained that there were three important drums in there: Mujjaguzo, the drum played when a kabaka is crowned (this one was Mutesa I’s); Bantadde, played when a member of the royal family arrives or departs, and Kanaba, played when a member of the family dies. I couldn’t tell which was which.

Then we went through another gatehouse and entered the main compound, a large circle with smaller huts around the sides and a very large grass structure directly opposite the entrance. In the center of the space was grass drying in the sun. It takes a lot of work to maintain this much grass roof.

The guide explained that it is believed that the kabaka does not die, but rather returns to the forest. Thus, they say that past kabaka have “disappeared.” Indeed, near the entrance was a fireplace that is always kept lit to remind everyone that the kabaka is still alive. The keeper, Musoloza (hereditary to the Nyonyi Nakinsinge (“bird”) clan) used to have a much rougher time because the top was open, making it difficult to keep lit during the rainy season, but once the kabaka disappeared, things got a little lax and they roofed it over.

We then looked at some of the surrounding huts. Mutesa I had eighty-four wives and more than one hundred and twenty-five children, but not all of his wives lived on campus, as it were. Most lived in other locations, but his favorites at the time were brought to live in huts on the compound. These huts have been rebuilt with modern materials because people live in them today -- female descendants of the Kabaka’s wives. There are plenty of descendants, and some of them are chosen to live in the compound. Many need only live here one month out of every six, and those are permitted to marry and raise families (but they cannot bring their families to the tomb), but others must stay here year-round, and those women may not marry. I could not get a sense of whether it is a great honor or a horrible curse to be chosen. The houses didn’t look very nice and there was a giant swarm of mosquitoes buzzing around some of the buildings, but I’m still not sure.

We also saw the Bakyawa, a house built for the kabaka’s “twin”, that is, his umbilical cord, which is preserved from his birth and called his twin. People visit the twin and are served wine and coffee beans (to symbolize friendship) by its keeper, Nasaza of the Ngonge clan.

After looking at a few of the other houses, we went into the actual tomb, the large grass hut that was once the Kabaka’s home. There was a tour from a local school, but they left soon after we sat down. Shoes off, left in a pile by the door.

The hut itself is the largest grass building in the world. The roof is constructed of fifty-four rings, one for each tribe, covered in dried grass. The roof is supported by a series of pillars that are wrapped in barkcloth, a traditional type of cloth made from pounding the bark of the fig tree.

The interior is divided into two sections -- the tomb itself, which no one may enter, and a small area for the public. A large sheet of barkcloth marks the division. Against the divider are portraits of the kabaka who are buried there, symbolic coffins, various important documents, and some of the spears and shields of the kabakas’ armies.

Around the hut are a few other seemingly random possessions, including a stuffed leopard -- apparently Mutesa I came upon a leopard cub while hunting and raised it himself. After his death his men killed it and had it stuffed. I walked around and looked at this stuff, then sat back down and got told that it was important not to point my feet at the kabaka’s tomb -- I should have known. Fortunately, the guide didn’t seem too concerned.

There were also these two chairs. Apparently Queen Victoria heard that there was a king in one of her colonies and sent these two chairs for him and his wife. The story goes that Mutesa sent a polite note indicating that to fulfill her desire, she would have to send eighty-three more for the rest of his wives. She didn’t. Incidentally, missionaries came to Mutesa I and tried to convert him, and apparently he was very interested -- until they told him he would have to divorce eighty-three of his wives. He told them they were welcome to preach to his people, but not to bother him personally again.

Our guide approved of this behavior. He explained that in the Buganda kingdom, it is said that all women belong to the Kabaka, and that the Baganda (the people of Buganda, singular "Muganda") are happiest when the Kabaka had many wives. Using unintentionally comical language, he likened the Kabaka to a rooster in a henhouse. He expressed some sorrow that the current Kabaka has only one wife, but explained that it was necessary because of Christianity and sexually transmitted diseases.

Finally, as we were leaving, the guide pointed out the Kabaka’s personal Omwesa set. I asked him if we could play a game and he smiled -- apparently I’m not the first to ask. We sat down and he explained the rules -- basically you move small piles of seeds in and out of various cups in specific patterns trying to capture your opponent’s seeds. I think similar games are played throughout Africa. Ignoring my pleas for him to play for real, he threw the game and then warned me that if I ever play against a kabaka, I should try not to win. Incidentally, our taxi driver on the way back told us that if we go into the forest, we will see Omwesa games being played, but we will not see the players, and everyone who sees this runs screaming.

As we walked out, the guide told us that men were not permitted to turn their backs on the Kabaka lest they prepare some sort of spear attack, and in keeping with this custom we would walk out backward. Women, however, were permitted -- required, in fact -- to face away from the Kabaka as they exited so that he could, er, examine them from behind. I don’t know how that fits in with the skirt rule.

Unsurprisingly, our guide led us back to the starting hut to look at his barkcloth paintings. Really they should sell Omwesa sets.