Kigezi (Uganda)
The colonial district of Kigezi in Uganda was made up of the independent precolonial kingdoms and clan territories of Rukiga, Rubanda, Ndorwa, Bufumbira, Kayonza, Kinkiizi and Rujumbura. It is home to the Batwa, Bakiga, Bafumbira, Bashambo and other peoples from Rwanda and the Congo and was officially incorporated into the Uganda Protectorate in 1908. Three sections of the original montane rain forest that once swathed the mountains west of the Albertine Rift valley survive on the Virunga Volcanoes, Bwindi and Echuya. Parts are home to the iconic Mountain Gorilla, Chimpanxee and a host of rare endemic species.
More formidable were monsters who could not converse with men and never showed themselves unless they saw a woman pass by; then, in voluptuous excitement, they squeezed them to death.
John Hannington Speke, 1861 (The first written reference to African Mountain Gorilla folklore)
Talking to a man, and a nice man too. I asked him why not a woman or girl from his fence (compound) ever came to church or to read. Answering by a question, as a native often does, he said: “Would you teach a cow or send a cow to church?”
Contance Hornby, 1930s (On safari among the Bakiga)
Kigezi Mountain Mosaic
Kigezi Mountain Mosaic is an exploration of Kigezi colonial district which covers the modern districts of Kabale, Kisoro, Kanungu and Rukungiri in south-west Uganda, bordering the DR Congo and Rwanda. The book (256,000 words & 140 photos) is primarily a review of secondary sources researched in 2011-12.
A description of Mgahinga (Virunga Mountains) and Bwindi national parks is given; best known for the rare Mountain Gorilla and Golden Monkey. Many other species are described, from the tiny rare Delaney’s Mouse to the elephant, via primates, deer and Albertine Rift birds and other endemics. It includes the recently locally extinct leopard (once a notorious man-eater), situtanga and hippo.
There are extensive descriptions of the origins, history (with clan notes), settlement, economy, culture, language and religion (including Nyabingi) of the Batwa (forest dwellers, traders and conservation refugees), Bakiga and Bafumbira (traditional mixed farmers).
Colonial conquest is detailed with an exploration of the fundamental economic, cultural, political and religious changes wrought by European rule and post-independence globalisation. There is an analysis of modern day life and the challenges of migration, dense rural population, gender, agriculture, employment, environment, tourism and people, national park and wildlife interactions.
There are biographies of influential people (African and European), descriptions from contemporary literature from 1910, and a large bibliography that covers published and unpublished literature on all research topics with a guide to archives and libraries.
Available online at: Smashwords in the following formats: Online Reading, Kindle, Epub, PDF, RTF, LRF, Palm Doc (PDB) and Plain Text (download and view).
A 20% sample of the book is free from all publishers.Price $6.99
Kigezi Colonial Mosaic
Kigezi Colonial Mosaic (2019) is the 2nd book on Kigezi History that focuses on the colonial period with major transcripts of important colonial source: Captain Coote's daily diary of the Kivu Mission of 1909-1910; DC Elliot's memoirs of Kigezi of the 1920s; and over 200 case synopses of traditional marriage law disputes in Native Courts, primarily dealing with brideprice disputes but including inheritance and criminal cases of a sexual nature.
Additional articles include a biography of Muhumuza that includes new info from Rwandan sources and English archives, DC Philipp's 1919 article on Nyabingi and how the knowledge transferred to Jamaica and Rastafari, various published descriptions of Kigezi; a colonial assessment of the district, 1959, in the beginning of the Resettlement period; and finishes with the minutes of the 1970 History Conference in Kabale that prepared for the publication of the 1972 History of Kigezi
This is a pre-print of a forthcoming ebook and available on PDF only. Cost $6.99 payable via PayPal to iancantwell(at)gmail(dot)com
