Those Who Came Before Us
Those Who Came Before Us is an immersive journey into African history, oral traditions, and the pre-colonial kingdoms of the Great Lakes. From Buganda and Bunyoro to the mysteries of the Bachwezi and the spirits of Lake Victoria, each episode blends history and myth to reveal the emotional and spiritual world of East Africa. Together, we hold a lantern to the darkness of the past. So that the stories, fears, and ambitions of those who came before us are never forgotten.
New episodes explore African mythology, Buganda history, and the hidden worlds of pre-colonial East Africa.
Those Who Came Before Us
The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara: The Bachwezi Identity
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
The Bachwezi attract a lot of attention because of their grandiose claim of an empire.
Many theories abound of their supposed identity. Were they Banyoro? Were they Portuguese? Egyptian? Greeks? Or simply a figment of a society’s imagination.
The answer is of course much closer to home. Join me in this episode as I talk about the real history behind the Bachwezi.
Kitara map link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19odGsKU1EsxbXoXE9q37M_zRKoGavLot/view?usp=sharing
Bachwezi Lineage Tree Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wfkxR3Trcl0knlwhXKUWfqs3phU5fK4b/view?usp=sharing
Night Runners (Night Dancers) Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wCfTAa-w4Y&t=118s
Roc(Middle Eastern Mythical Bird)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roc_(mythology)
Sources
Yolamu Ndoleriire Nsamba, "Mystique In Sovereigns’ Headgear "(Wandsbeck: Reach Publishers, 2016), p 52, 80-83,131, 146-147, 155, 163-167, 175
Christopher Wrigley, “Some Thoughts on the Bacwezi” The Uganda Journal, The Journal of the Uganda Society Vol 22 No. 1”( London: Headley Brothers Ltd, 1958) p 14
E.C. Lanning, “The Identity of the Bachwezi” The Uganda Journal, The Journal of Uganda Society Vol 22 No.2” ( London: Headley Brothers Ltd, 1958) p 188
Ruth Fischer, Twilight Tales of the Black Baganda( London: Marshall Brothers, 1938), p97, 103
Edith Sanders, “The Hamitic Hypothesis; It’s Origin and Functions in the Time Perspective” The Journal of African History, Vol. 10, No. 4 ( London: Cambridge University Press,1969), p 521
B.A Ogot, “The Great Lakes Region” General History of Africa volume 4: Africa from the 12th to the 16th Century (Berkley : University of California Press, 1984) p500,502
Shane Doyle, “From Kitara to the Lost Counties: Genealogy, Land and Legitimacy in the Kingdom of Bunyoro,Western Uganda” Social Identities Vol. 12, No. 4 (London: Routledge Taylor & Francis, 2006) p 459
Music Transition Sources
Gregorian Chant Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Infados Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/