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Buganda is located in the
south-central region of the country known today as Uganda,
as shown in the map below. This is right in the heart of
Africa, astride the equator, and at the source of the great
river Nile. The people of Buganda are referred to as Baganda
(the singular form is Muganda), their language is referred
to as Luganda, and they refer to their customs as Kiganda
customs. Sometimes the generic term Ganda is used for all
the above (especially by foreign scholars). Buganda is home
to the nation's political and commercial capital, Kampala;
as well as the country's main international airport,
Entebbe. If you want to see where Uganda is located within
Africa,
click here
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'Uganda' (Swahili for 'Land of the Ganda')
was the name used by the Arab and Swahili traders on the East
African coast to refer to the kingdom of Buganda, deep in the
interior of Africa. These traders first arrived in Buganda in the
mid-nineteenth century in search of slaves, ivory, as well as
other merchandise. When the European colonialists eventually
extended their hegemony over Buganda and the surrounding
territories at the end of the nineteenth century, they used the
swahili term Uganda to refer to the new colony. Today, Uganda is
made up of almost 40 different ethnic groups with the Baganda
being the largest group at almost 20% of the total population. On
a visit to the country, the late Winston Churchill was so taken by
its beauty, he called it the "Pearl of Africa"; a fitting
moniker that has stuck to this day. For tourist specific
information, see the
Visit Buganda
section and also check out the web site of the
Uganda Tourist Board.
Buganda,
like her neighbors, had a proud history extending back centuries
before the arrival of the Arabs and Europeans. In Buganda's case;
the ruling dynasty of kings was established in the mid-14th
century AD. Unfortunately, the lack of a written history prior to
the arrival of the Arabs and Europeans makes it difficult to
establish important dates with precision. The first acknowledged
king in this dynasty was called Kato Kintu. There has been a total
of 36 kings from Kintu's time to the current king, Mutebi II. This
site endeavours to give the visitor a concise yet comprehensive
look at the history, language and culture of the people of Buganda.
If
you are interested in how and when Buganda was founded, how her
monarchy was established, who has reigned as monarch, her
territorial expansion, governance system, the colonial impact on
Buganda, or the fateful constitutional crisis of 1966 and
political developments since then; check out http://www.buganda.com/; start
with the
history
section. If you are interested in aspects of the Luganda language
such as proper authography, pronunciation, rules governing the
grammar, reviews of selected literature, and a handy Phrase Book;
these can all be found in the
language
section. If you want to learn about Buganda's clans and the roles
of the clans in Buganda's history, naming conventions and some
commonly used names, Buganda's traditional music, or her
indigenous religion, check out the
culture
section.
This site does not stop at exploring Buganda's past, it also
devotes a section to the development efforts being pursued by His
Majesty's government at Mengo highlighting current efforts to
rebuild and reinvigorate Buganda. For more, look into the
Window on Mmengo.
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