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Shrines of the Bacwezi Dynasty

Thursday February 20 2020
shrine

Pilgrims at the Ekyabagabe tree shrine in Ntungamo District, Uganda. PHOTO | MORGAN MBABAZI

By BAMUTURAKI MUSINGUZI

On a late sunny afternoon, pilgrims of all ages are praying, singing and drumming under the shade of the giant Ekyabagabe tree in Ngoma sub-county, Ntungamo district in southwestern Uganda.

The tree is believed to be more than 4,000 years old. The shrine is located 45km from Ntungamo town, less than 600 metres from the Uganda-Rwanda border post at Mirama Hills. Most people in the locality speak Kinyarwanda.

The Bacwezi reign lasted from 1350AD to 1400AD. The Bacwezi legacy survived from the 15th century when their dynasty fell and their empire disintegrated, to the end of the 19th century.

During the reign, the Ekyabagabe tree shrine was a place of high regard, said to be the origin of healing and power.

The shrine, which sits on about 70 square feet, has large gnarled roots that separate the entrances into seven sections. The roots spread over 50 metres away from the trunk.

At one of the entrances in the trunk, a kerosene lantern is lit whenever there is someone praying either during the day or night. The faithful believe that God works in the light. At the entrance, there is a scared fireplace (ekyooto) fuelled with cow dung, which burns throughout the day and night.

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The priest stores some of the gifts in one of the trunks. The gifts include money, cows, sheep, goats and bananas.

Whoever arrives at the shrine has to remove their shoes at the eastern side of the tree. They then proceed to make a wish, sit to pray, present their gifts and walk around the south side by visiting the three “rooms” of the tree.

The faithful say that healing happens at night because that is when God listens.

 “People come from as far as Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They come to worship, and we believe they get what they want,” said Robert Aturinda, the Ntungamo District tourism officer.

“It is one of our tourism products that we want to preserve and promote. This includes the possibility of acquiring the land on which the tree sits and turning it into a national site. There are few people who know that such sites exist,” Aturinda said.

The Nakaima Tree Shrine

At the Nakaima Tree Shrine on Mubende Hill, pilgrims are consulting the priest, praying, singing, making offerings, smoking pipes and eating fresh fruit.

The indigenous forest tree known as mukoko in the Runyoro-Rutoro language, is estimated to be between 350 and 400 years old. The Nakaima shrine, Embuga ya Nakayima e Mubende in Luganda, sits on 10 acres. It is located just over 3km from Mubende town, about 172km west of Kampala.

There are sacred fireplaces at different corners for Ddungu (God of the hunters), Bamweyena (God of prosperity), Kiwanuka (God of war and army commander) and Kalisa (the cattle keeper). The pilgrims come to pay homage to matriarch Nakaima of the Bacwezi Dynasty.

The faithful claim that Nakaima appears to them in dreams, dressed in white clothes, giving instructions on what to do. It is said that the Bacwezi spirits disappeared into this tree, so trees at the shrine are not cut down or used for any other purpose. The branches that fall off are left to decompose.

Pilgrims bring gifts and offerings of money, a litre of fresh milk, tobacco, coffee beans, chickens, sheep, goats, cows, ghee, millet, sorghum and sim sim.

According to tour guide James Wambwire, the tree has large protruding roots that spread out for close to 50 metres. The roots are partitioned into nine rooms.

“When you come here and pray for blessings and you get them, you are required to return and show appreciation by bringing fresh fruits and food, which is cooked here, and share it with other pilgrims,” Wambwire said.

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