{UAH} My visit to the Royal Kasubi Tombs

My visit to the Royal Kasubi Tombs

-          By Moses Wilson (June 2014)

The longer I live here in the US, the more I feel drawn to reconnect with my birth country Uganda and the traditions of its many tribes.  As such, on last trip home, I set aside an entire morning to visit the Royal Kasubi Tombs – the traditional royal burial site of the Kings of Buganda.  I had visited and toured the tombs back in 2008 before the fire of 2010 and was particularly anxious to see the efforts underway to rebuild and rehabilitate the site.

As opposed to trips I had made in the past which usually lasted less than an hour and were confined to just the main plaza area, on this visit I was led on a tour of the areas in the rear of the main plaza usually considered off-limits to the general public.  However, I was brought to understand that this sentiment is changing and plans are underway to open up the entire site sometime in the near future.  For this I am glad because one cannot get a full appreciation of the importance of the "Masiro" in Kiganda culture without viewing the entire site.

So let me start with a little history.

Following an outbreak of yellow fever in the vicinity of his palace on Lubaga Hill, Ssekabaka Suuna II (1836-56) built a new palace a few miles away on the top of Kasubi Hill.  The palace was oriented to face west towards the Kingdom of Bunyoro/Kitara which was considered Buganda's greatest rival back then.

Ssekabaka Suuna was succeeded by his son Ssekabaka Muteesa I who built a new palace in the space occupied by the present tomb structure in 1882.  Upon his death, two traditions were broken.  First, his body was buried whole, and second, the body was interred in his palace at Kasubi and not somewhere else. This practice was followed when, in 1910, the remains of his successor, Ssekabaka Mwanga II were brought back from the Seychelles and also buried there, henceforth establishing Kasubi as the burial site of the Kabakas of Buganda. This status was reinforced when his son and successor, Ssekabaka Daudi Chwa II, died and was buried there in 1939.  When his son and successor, Ssekabaka Edward Muteesa II, died in exile in 1969 his remains were returned and buried at Kasubi in 1971.

Four successive Kabakas of Buganda are therefore buried in the same tomb house at Kasubi, the building which is at the core of this site. What is lesser known is that several of the royal wives, and many princes and princesses directly descendant from the four Kabakas are also buried there behind the main shrine, thus making the Kasubi tombs the ancestral burial grounds of the family of the Kabakas of Buganda.

Between 1967 and 1993 the site was controlled by the Government of Uganda, but the traditional institutions of kingship were restored in 1993.  Kabaka Ronald Mutebi II was crowned as the Kabaka of Buganda, and in 1997 the Kasubi tombs were returned to the Buganda kingdom.  To this day, the Kasubi tombs rank as possibly the most important cultural shrine for the Baganda people.

 So back to my tour.

A striking feature of my drive up to the tombs was a brand new imposing wall that now encircles the entire site of roughly 75 acres (30 hectares).

As previously noted, the entrance to the royal enclosure faces west towards Buganda's historical archrival, the Kingdom of Bunyoro/Kitara.  The main gate area features a guard house through which all non-royal visitors were made to pass.  The guard house once had uninterrupted views of the area to the west so an adequate alarm could be raised in the event of an attack.

Situated near to the guard house was another structure in which was housed the royal drums.  This was strategic as it made possible a very quick raising of alarm in the case of an attack.  However, the royal drums served many other important functions including the conveyance of a variety of messages from the royal household quite long distances away.

 

 

Proceeding from here is the site of the royal plaza area in which is located the principal tombs structure.  It is important to remember that Kasubi was once a royal residential palace and, as such, housed members of the royal household including the Kabakas' often many wives, children, other dependents and various functionaries.

In the center of the plaza but a little to the right is a fireplace which must be kept lit throughout the lifetime of the reigning Kabaka.  This fire is extinguished only upon the death of the monarch and reignited upon the installation of this successor. 

As an aside, the Kabakas of Buganda do not die.  They merely wonder off into a mystical forest to rest forever.

 

I will write more on my visit to the Kasubi Tombs including an update on the reconstruction efforts in the coming days.

-          Ssabasajja Awangale