0:00:04 > 0:00:07The great lakes of East Africa.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12A jewel in the African crown.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17This is just incredible.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Straight away you can see why this part of Africa
0:00:21 > 0:00:25has drawn people for thousands and thousands of years.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31It's an area dominated by the largest tropical lake in the world,
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Lake Victoria.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38Even from up here its scale is hard to grasp
0:00:38 > 0:00:43but the fertility of the land around is clear to see.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50For centuries, people have fished these plentiful waters
0:00:50 > 0:00:53and cultivated the rich soil.
0:00:53 > 0:00:58But such abundance has brought with it strife.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00This region has been the site of intense rivalry
0:01:00 > 0:01:04and great power struggles,
0:01:04 > 0:01:09and it's a place whose history is still shrouded by legend and myth.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17We know less about Africa's past than almost anywhere else on Earth
0:01:17 > 0:01:22but the scarcity of written records doesn't mean Africa lacks history.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25That can be found in the artefacts, culture
0:01:25 > 0:01:28and in the traditions of the people.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31In this series, I'm exploring some of the most vibrant histories
0:01:31 > 0:01:33in the world.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37I've come to Uganda to find out how centuries of conflict
0:01:37 > 0:01:40have shaped this region of Africa.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43This is a tale of two kingdoms.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48A story of rivalry, of warfare, of opportunism.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52For over 200 years, the kingdoms of Bunyoro and Buganda
0:01:52 > 0:01:55jostled for position, competing for valuable resources
0:01:55 > 0:02:00and using history and mythology to make a claim on the land.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13For centuries the interior of East Africa
0:02:13 > 0:02:15was unknown to the western world.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27But that changed in the 1860s thanks to a geographical puzzle
0:02:27 > 0:02:30that had been the obsession of Europeans for decades.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37The European adventurers were all desperate to claim the glory
0:02:37 > 0:02:42that would come with the supposed discovery of one particular place.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50The accolade went to a young British soldier named John Hanning Speke.
0:02:50 > 0:02:56In 1862, he claimed he'd discovered the source of the River Nile.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Right now we are going to the source
0:03:04 > 0:03:06where the source of the Nile begins from.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Speke had searched East Africa for six years,
0:03:09 > 0:03:14hoping to solve the mystery of where the Nile began.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17He was finally able to tell the outside world
0:03:17 > 0:03:21that the River Nile flowed out of Lake Victoria.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26A guide, James Pakoma, is taking me to the spot
0:03:26 > 0:03:33where the water starts its 4,132 mile journey to the Mediterranean.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37So this is the source of the Nile, James?
0:03:37 > 0:03:40This is the real point where the Nile gets the water from the lake.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43This is exactly where the Nile begins.
0:03:43 > 0:03:44- This is the source.- Here.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53But the significance of Speke's adventure
0:03:53 > 0:03:57went far beyond the confirmation of where the Nile began.
0:03:57 > 0:04:02His journal is the earliest first-hand account of Buganda,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05the kingdom he found here.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09His excitement is plain from his description of Buganda's king
0:04:09 > 0:04:11Mutesa The First.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16"A more theatrical sight I never saw.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20"The king, a good looking tall young man, was sitting on a red blanket
0:04:20 > 0:04:25"scrupulously well dressed in a new umbugu.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27"On his neck was a very neat ornament,
0:04:27 > 0:04:32"not a fault could be found with the taste of his getting up."
0:04:32 > 0:04:35The writing might sound condescending today
0:04:35 > 0:04:40but European adventurers provided historians with valuable testimony.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44It's easy to question the methods and motives
0:04:44 > 0:04:48of explorers like Speke today
0:04:48 > 0:04:53but I do think that they were amazed by the sophistication
0:04:53 > 0:04:57of the kingdoms that they encountered here in this region.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04Speke was captivated by the beauty of the landscape
0:05:04 > 0:05:09but it was Buganda itself that was perhaps the biggest surprise to him.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15He'd stumbled upon an advanced kingdom
0:05:15 > 0:05:18with complex structures of government.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20It had a road network, established trade
0:05:20 > 0:05:23and an organised and well armed military.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26At the end of the 19th century,
0:05:26 > 0:05:32Buganda's power was reflected in a map drawn up by the British.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35It recognised Buganda's dominant position
0:05:35 > 0:05:37on the north western shores of Lake Victoria,
0:05:37 > 0:05:41overshadowing its neighbour the kingdom of Bunyoro,
0:05:41 > 0:05:45just half its size and on the banks of Lake Albert.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Today, both kingdoms are provincial powers
0:05:48 > 0:05:52within the modern state of Uganda
0:05:52 > 0:05:57but the country's capital Kampala is Buganda's traditional power base
0:05:57 > 0:06:00and the current king's palace overlooks the city
0:06:00 > 0:06:03from a prominent hilltop, as his predecessors did.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08The fact that Uganda gets its name from Buganda
0:06:08 > 0:06:10shows the kingdom's historic influence
0:06:10 > 0:06:13but it doesn't tell the full story.
0:06:14 > 0:06:19Buganda established itself at the expense of its neighbour Bunyoro.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23400 years ago it was Bunyoro that was the region's major power
0:06:23 > 0:06:29while Buganda was then an insignificant group of lakeside communities.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34Somehow the Bugandans managed to turn the tables on Bunyoro
0:06:34 > 0:06:39and displace it as the most powerful kingdom in this part of Africa.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44To understand how Buganda came to oust Bunyoro,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47you have to know more of the history of Bunyoro itself.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58I want to find out how Bunyoro first became a major power
0:06:58 > 0:07:02and then how Buganda overtook it so dramatically.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06I'm travelling to Hoima, the Bunyoro capital.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Compared to Kampala, Hoima is a fairly modest place
0:07:21 > 0:07:25but when Bunyoro was at its height in the 17th century
0:07:25 > 0:07:27this was a major trading centre.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34It may be hard to see now, but 400 years ago
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Bunyoro was a place of considerable political,
0:07:38 > 0:07:42religious and economic significance.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Yolamu Nsamba is a court historian
0:07:45 > 0:07:49and private secretary to the current king of Bunyoro.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32How did Bunyoro actually build on its economic successes?
0:09:00 > 0:09:04So there was a kind of political sophistication that had never really
0:09:04 > 0:09:06existed before in this region.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16The clan chiefs were the recognised custodians of the land.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20As a result they wielded significant power,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23so Bunyoro needed strong kings to keep them in check
0:09:23 > 0:09:26and to keep the kingdom stable.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33The palace throne room is filled with objects
0:09:33 > 0:09:36designed to make the monarch the focus of the kingdom
0:09:36 > 0:09:38and to underline the history of its ascent.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21So all of these different things,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24they tell a particular kind of story
0:10:24 > 0:10:27or they each add a different element to the story of Bunyoro.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34The hoe, the hammer, the iron spears,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38they indicate aspects of the kingdom's power.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42But underpinning it all was something much greater.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46The kingdom of Bunyoro reached its height
0:10:46 > 0:10:50during the course of the 16th and 17th centuries
0:10:50 > 0:10:54and it did so in part due to one crucial factor.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Bunyoro claimed it was directly descended from an ancient empire
0:10:58 > 0:11:01more powerful than any other in the region.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05It was called Kitara.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10According to oral history, Kitara had been a vast empire
0:11:10 > 0:11:14ruled by a powerful dynasty known as the Chwesi.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17Historians still disagree about whether Kitara
0:11:17 > 0:11:20or its Chwesi rulers, ever existed.
0:11:20 > 0:11:26But even today, the people of Bunyoro revere the Chwesi as gods.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31Every week dozens of people from towns and villages
0:11:31 > 0:11:36throughout the region travel to worship at a Chwesi shrine.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40I've joined them on their pilgrimage to Mubende Hill.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52This sacred tree stands on what some believe to have been
0:11:52 > 0:11:55an ancient Chwesi settlement.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00Within each one of these buttresses is a different sub shrine
0:12:00 > 0:12:04and I think each one of these sub shrines is dedicated to
0:12:04 > 0:12:07a different kind of prayer.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10The presiding spirit of the shrine
0:12:10 > 0:12:13is a Chwesi matriarch named Nakayima.
0:12:24 > 0:12:29Worshippers make offerings of money, coffee beans and milk
0:12:29 > 0:12:32as they ask for answers to their prayers.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34SHRIEKING
0:12:43 > 0:12:49It obviously really matters to people, the potency of this.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52This isn't a tradition frozen in aspic.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55It is still alive and well and celebrated.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Since the earliest days of the Bunyoro kingdom in the 15th century,
0:13:00 > 0:13:04there seems to have been a strong belief in the Chwesi,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07whether or not they ever existed.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Dr Ephraim Kamuhangire has researched the Chwezi dynasty.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44What's the significance of this Chwezi ritual
0:13:44 > 0:13:46to the success of Bunyoro?
0:13:53 > 0:13:57- So it legitimises them?- Yes.- This relationship with ancient Chwezi.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Bunyoro's claim to such an illustrious pedigree was vital.
0:14:20 > 0:14:25It gave its people a proud heritage and it meant
0:14:25 > 0:14:29the kingdom could assert control over the land once ruled by Kitara.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34The fact the Chwezi were regarded as otherworldly
0:14:34 > 0:14:37gave Bunyoro a spiritual foundation.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39That belief continues to resonate.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Now this place is obviously still very special.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49Even in modern history, people have sought to make
0:14:49 > 0:14:54a connection with this place and today it obviously still means
0:14:54 > 0:14:56an awful lot to a lot of people.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06Faith in the Chwezi has lasted over the centuries for good reason.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11There's physical evidence that suggest the predecessors of Bunyoro
0:15:11 > 0:15:14may not be figments of the imagination.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29The Uganda Museum is one of the oldest in East Africa.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32It houses a range of extraordinary artefacts.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37Some historians say they prove the existence of the Chwezi.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40They may also cast light on the early days of Bunyoro.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45I persuaded the curator, Jacqueline Nyiracyiza,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48to show me some of the treasures that fill the shelves
0:15:48 > 0:15:50behind the scenes.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53This is the store, archaeology style.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57Oh, Jacqui, I love places like this.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02The contents of these boxes all come from a place called Ntusi.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06It was a vast settlement and possibly the home of the Chwezi.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09Some even say that Ntusi was the capital
0:16:09 > 0:16:13of the legendary kingdom of Kitara.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15And how old is this, Jacqui?
0:16:23 > 0:16:26I mean the glorious thing about it, is you can see how someone
0:16:26 > 0:16:31has pushed into the still drying surface a piece of cloth.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33It gives a sense...
0:16:39 > 0:16:41Yes, I just have this thing about ceramics,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45this idea that someone actually created and used this thing,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48which would have been quite humble
0:16:48 > 0:16:51but is just absolutely exquisitely beautiful,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55gives you a real sense what ordinary people's lives were like
0:16:55 > 0:17:00during this period because for so much African history
0:17:00 > 0:17:03you don't get a sense of the ordinary,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06it's the kings, it's the powerful, but this is just beautiful.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12Along with the pottery,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16beads and iron spear heads have also been recovered.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19The finds reveal that the predecessors of Bunyoro
0:17:19 > 0:17:22had themselves developed an advanced civilisation.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29These were complex cultures, these are water vases,
0:17:29 > 0:17:33but also that these are very, very sophisticated vessels, some of them.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37Some of them used for storage or foods that would have meant
0:17:37 > 0:17:39that people travelled, that they traded.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43This just gives us a small insight into Ntusi.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50The civilisation at Ntusi would have been a significant foundation
0:17:50 > 0:17:52for the kingdom of Bunyoro.
0:17:53 > 0:17:59But Ntusi also provides evidence for the secret of Bunyoro's success,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02the reason that it became the most powerful kingdom in the region.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06I'm heading to Ntusi to see it for myself.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Ntusi lies in the grasslands of central Uganda,
0:18:12 > 0:18:1695 miles south of Bunyoro's capital Hoima.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21This region isn't in Bunyoro according to modern maps
0:18:21 > 0:18:26but at its height this whole area belonged to the Bunyoro kingdom.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37And it was here, at a time when most historians thought Kitara
0:18:37 > 0:18:40and their Chwezi rulers were simply a myth,
0:18:40 > 0:18:45that a discovery was made that forced them to reconsider.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51When archaeologists began excavating these sites in the 1920s,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55they couldn't quite believe what they were unearthing,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59an ancient organised society that dated back a thousand years.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Hidden underneath the dense vegetation
0:19:07 > 0:19:12are important clues to the foundations of the Bunyoro kingdom.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Archaeologist Dismas Ongwen
0:19:19 > 0:19:22has carried out excavations at this site.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42There are artefacts strewn for miles around
0:19:42 > 0:19:45but archaeologists were fascinated to find
0:19:45 > 0:19:49a dense concentration of material at two ancient rubbish dumps.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01In oral history, they're referred to as the male and female mounds
0:20:01 > 0:20:04for reasons that remain a bit of a mystery.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21And what was the bulk of the material found here?
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Archaeologists can tell from the volume
0:20:30 > 0:20:34and age of the material that this area was densely populated
0:20:34 > 0:20:39from the 11th century to around the 1400s.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41That dates Ntusi to just before
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Bunyoro is thought to have been established.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48It also coincides with their putative predecessors, the Chwezi.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59But some of the most significant finds aren't man-made.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09And they've been revealed to archaeologists almost by accident.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30The erosion has uncovered the centuries old remains of cattle
0:21:30 > 0:21:33among the pottery and other objects.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49It is very special just picking up something like this
0:21:49 > 0:21:56that may have been part of a herd of cattle,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59perhaps 800 or a 1,000 years ago
0:21:59 > 0:22:02that actually moved across this landscape.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05Obviously, it's changed a lot but not so much,
0:22:05 > 0:22:09there are still people here working with cattle.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11It's just very special.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16The presence of cattle bones here is hugely significant.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20It gives a clear indication of the wealth of the Ntusi society
0:22:20 > 0:22:24which the kingdom of Bunyoro is likely to have inherited.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27The animal bones also tell archaeologists a great deal
0:22:27 > 0:22:29about the lives of the people.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Most communities in East Africa at this time
0:22:58 > 0:23:01would have shared just one or two cows.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Evidence of Ntusi, shows that Bunyoro's predecessors
0:23:05 > 0:23:09had vast numbers of cattle.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13It might explain why a belief endured in the kingdom
0:23:13 > 0:23:17that the Chwezi had been great providers.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26Bunyoro continued the pastoral tradition that had been established
0:23:26 > 0:23:31in the centuries before the kingdom's rise to power.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33They probably would have been tending herds
0:23:33 > 0:23:36of a breed like these Ankole cattle.
0:23:37 > 0:23:42The extraordinary volume of livestock made Bunyoro unusual.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53There was a reason why Bunyoro could maintain vast herds of cattle.
0:23:53 > 0:23:58Bunyoro had a mineral that was vital for the welfare of people
0:23:58 > 0:24:02and cattle alike. Bunyoro had salt.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14Lake Albert sits on the Western edge of modern Uganda.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18According to legend, the Chwezi people disappeared into it
0:24:18 > 0:24:23but not before they discovered the wealth that surrounded it.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28Bunyoro may have claimed its legitimacy from ancient Kitara
0:24:28 > 0:24:32but its economic power wasn't mythical, it was very real.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41The hot springs that flow into this lake
0:24:41 > 0:24:45provided Bunyoro's valuable mineral, salt.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Essential to all animal life,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50it enabled the kingdom to grow in strength.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55Healthy herds in turn provided more food
0:24:55 > 0:24:58and helped the kingdom to prosper.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Good morning.
0:25:01 > 0:25:02How does this work?
0:25:07 > 0:25:10So you're just scraping the top layer of soil?
0:25:10 > 0:25:11Yes.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15OK, like this.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18So in this is the salt? The salt is actually in here.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22It smells a little bit sulphur-y
0:25:22 > 0:25:27but obviously this is very valuable material, this earth,
0:25:27 > 0:25:32and this for hundreds of years has served these women,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34and these communities, incredibly well.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40The production of ash salt here at Kibiro on Lake Albert's shores
0:25:40 > 0:25:44is thought to date back some 900 years.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49This occupation is hereditary and is carried out exclusively by women.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54I hope I'm helping rather than hindering your work.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Oh, yeah, I'm obviously hindering it.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59LAUGHTER
0:25:59 > 0:26:03There's real skill in this, I just don't happen to have it.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10And the thing to understand is, it's very warm
0:26:10 > 0:26:15and doing this sort of work, day after day,
0:26:15 > 0:26:20under these kinds of conditions, it must be pretty tough work.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28The salty soil is gathered and dried in the sun for about a week
0:26:28 > 0:26:32before being mixed with water and left to percolate.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35The resulting liquid is boiled to produce ash salt.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39The same earth is leeched over and over again,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43making this an unusually sustainable technique
0:26:43 > 0:26:47that produces salt of the very highest quality.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50This has probably gone on unchanged
0:26:50 > 0:26:54for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years, on this very spot.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57This is a valuable product, coming right up
0:26:57 > 0:27:01out of the very ground itself
0:27:01 > 0:27:05and this salt is just so important
0:27:05 > 0:27:08to the success of the Bunyoro kingdom.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13The kingdom's control of salt fields,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16both at Kibiro and further south at Katwe
0:27:16 > 0:27:18allowed them to build both a stable economy
0:27:18 > 0:27:22and in turn, a strong political base.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26Without salt, Bunyoro almost certainly
0:27:26 > 0:27:29would never have become the great kingdom that it did.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32Bunyoro produced volumes of salt far greater than
0:27:32 > 0:27:35the local population would have needed.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37The surplus helped to establish
0:27:37 > 0:27:40a vital important network of trade in the region
0:27:40 > 0:27:43which was controlled by the state.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50Today, the merchandise is prepared in exactly the same way
0:27:50 > 0:27:52as it's always been.
0:27:52 > 0:27:57This is the final stage of salt production
0:27:57 > 0:28:01when these beautiful conicals of salt are produced,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04ready to go off to market.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08Salt was a much sought after commodity.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11When Bunyoro was at its height in the 1600s,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14salt was as valuable as any precious metal.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16Compared to the rest of Africa
0:28:16 > 0:28:21this region was cut off from the outside world until relatively late
0:28:21 > 0:28:26but historians believe Bunyoro's salt still travelled long distances.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32The kingdom supplied the great lakes area with salt
0:28:32 > 0:28:36and via the regional trade network Bunyoro's salt may have
0:28:36 > 0:28:41eventually reached the foreign merchants on Africa's East coast.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48An economy was emerging. Bunyoro was wheeling and dealing.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Bunyoro was a kingdom with much to celebrate.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56THEY SING
0:29:00 > 0:29:05As trading evolved and markets grew, the people of the Bunyoro kingdom
0:29:05 > 0:29:08turned to their traditional crafts for more commodities to sell.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13Bunyoro's metal craft was renowned.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16Its blacksmiths made the king's symbolic hammer and hoe
0:29:16 > 0:29:20and there was a demand for Bunyoro's iron products throughout the region.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23The blacksmith's expertise is acknowledged at festivals,
0:29:23 > 0:29:27such as this one, which celebrates the lunar cycle.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35The new moon rises at midnight tonight and it's a time of renewal.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38It is meant to be a period when the women menstruate
0:29:38 > 0:29:42but it's also a time when the blacksmiths have special power.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53Not only did the blacksmiths conjure iron from the earth
0:29:53 > 0:29:57they created the weapons required to defend the kingdom of Bunyoro.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04And by its height in the 17th century,
0:30:04 > 0:30:08Bunyoro's assets were the envy of its neighbours.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29Thanks to the power of the king and the strong clan chiefs,
0:30:29 > 0:30:33Bunyoro's influence stretched over a vast territory.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37The resources that provided the basis for its power
0:30:37 > 0:30:39also connected the people to their environment
0:30:39 > 0:30:43and the claim of Kitara and Chwezi ancestry
0:30:43 > 0:30:46legitimised Bunyoro's authority
0:30:46 > 0:30:49and gave the kingdom a strong sense of identity.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53But on the other side of the country,
0:30:53 > 0:30:55on the banks of Lake Victoria,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58another kingdom had begun to flourish,
0:30:58 > 0:31:02thanks to a crop that would not just change the future of this region,
0:31:02 > 0:31:05but of the whole African continent.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16The kingdom of Buganda began as small groups of clans
0:31:16 > 0:31:19who cultivated land by Lake Victoria.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23Their metamorphosis from a handful of communities
0:31:23 > 0:31:28to a powerful kingdom was thanks in part to a humble food crop,
0:31:28 > 0:31:29the banana.
0:31:31 > 0:31:36The high rainfall and fertile land of Lake Victoria's northern shores
0:31:36 > 0:31:39encouraged the clans of Buganda to settle here
0:31:39 > 0:31:42in the first place, around the 15th century.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46By the 1600s, a cohesive state had emerged,
0:31:46 > 0:31:52the result of organised cultivation of its most important crop.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57Bunyoro had its salt,
0:31:57 > 0:32:01but the bananas of Buganda would create a kingdom
0:32:01 > 0:32:05that would challenge Bunyoro's dominance once and for all.
0:32:16 > 0:32:21So these are the banana trees?
0:32:21 > 0:32:23Oh, bananas at last!
0:32:23 > 0:32:26I was beginning to worry that we'd missed the season
0:32:26 > 0:32:30because obviously most of them have been harvested already.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33The clans of Buganda grew bananas in the fields
0:32:33 > 0:32:35and caught fish in the lake.
0:32:35 > 0:32:41It's a nutritious diet and one which helped their population to grow.
0:32:41 > 0:32:46There are over 50 varieties of banana grown in Uganda
0:32:46 > 0:32:51but this one, the plantain or the matoke, is the most important.
0:32:51 > 0:32:56For the people who live here the banana is both meat and drink.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16How wonderful!
0:33:16 > 0:33:20So the whole tree has to come down to harvest the banana.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23You get a sense of how important these are,
0:33:23 > 0:33:26that they're not just crops to be eaten.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31For the Buganda people of the 17th and 18th century
0:33:31 > 0:33:33the banana was revolutionary.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38It not only fed them but its leaves thatched their houses.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40Its fibrous stalks were used to make cord
0:33:40 > 0:33:44and its stems were used to build their defences.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05The banana and its related products quickly became commodities
0:34:05 > 0:34:10which the clans of Buganda traded in the regional economy
0:34:10 > 0:34:14just as Bunyoro had done with salt,
0:34:14 > 0:34:18and it's still part of the staple diet of the region today.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23I've had plantain before
0:34:23 > 0:34:29but this is matoke, cooked the traditional Bugandan way.
0:34:29 > 0:34:30I can't wait!
0:34:33 > 0:34:37Oh, what a glorious smell. Oh, that looks lovely.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44Mmm, it's very delicious.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46Absolutely wonderful. Thank you.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00As Buganda's economy grew, structures of government developed.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02The early clan chiefs held much power
0:35:02 > 0:35:06with the king merely the most senior among them.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09But gradually power centralised with the monarch
0:35:09 > 0:35:13and he became much more than the first among equals.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16The loyalty of the clans was assured however,
0:35:16 > 0:35:18as the king took wives from different clans,
0:35:18 > 0:35:22meaning his successor could come from any clan in the kingdom.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25And the clans remained vitally important to Buganda.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38Today more than 50 clans exist in Buganda.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41Each takes an emblem from the natural world.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43These men are from the mushroom clan.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51The role of Buganda's clans now
0:35:51 > 0:35:55is to safeguard the kingdom's cultural heritage.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57Drums are particularly treasured
0:35:57 > 0:36:01as they are believed to hold the spirit of the nation.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08None of us has lived as long as these drums
0:36:08 > 0:36:14so what they tell, is something of such a long time ago
0:36:14 > 0:36:19that you wouldn't want to let go of in your lifetime.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24Mr Gombe is the custodian of his clan's drums.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28They aren't only used as a method of communication.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31Each clan is identified by a unique rhythm.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34For you to have an identity, you have to have a drum
0:36:34 > 0:36:39because it is on that drum that you sound who you are.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44HE DRUMS AND CHANTS
0:37:06 > 0:37:08And so on and so forth.
0:37:08 > 0:37:13And how important are drums for Buganda?
0:37:13 > 0:37:15They mean a lot to us
0:37:15 > 0:37:22but most important they remind us of our ancestry.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25The clan structure was hereditary
0:37:25 > 0:37:30but the increasingly powerful kings also appointed chiefs.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33That endangered a competitive spirit
0:37:33 > 0:37:36among Buganda's ambitious young men, as well as their loyalty.
0:37:49 > 0:37:5218th century Buganda had a stable economic base
0:37:52 > 0:37:56and a growing centralised government.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58It was self-confident and ambitious,
0:37:58 > 0:38:01keen to make the most of its resources
0:38:01 > 0:38:05and perhaps also to reinforce a sense of nationhood.
0:38:05 > 0:38:10It chose a special cloth, which was associated with Buganda royalty.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13I've come down here to Nsangwa
0:38:13 > 0:38:16and there's a family down here who've been making bark cloth
0:38:16 > 0:38:20for Buganda kings for generations and I'm going to see how they do it.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31Bark cloth is made from various types of fig tree.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35There's long been a symbol of the kingdom of Buganda.
0:38:35 > 0:38:40Omutaka Kabogoza is the official maker of royal bark cloth.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07Bark cloth provided kings and clan chiefs
0:39:07 > 0:39:12with a visible symbol of the Buganda nation.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16So you take off the outer bark and then it's the inner bark
0:39:16 > 0:39:19that you actually want, which actually creates...
0:39:19 > 0:39:23This is the one you want. That is the cloth itself.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28Wow, it's very thick and rubbery.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32But this isn't the finished cloth, this is just the...
0:39:32 > 0:39:35This is just the beginning of the harvesting.
0:39:35 > 0:39:40The value of bark cloth was more than symbolic.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43During the second half of the 18th century,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46Buganda's people were encouraged to wear it,
0:39:46 > 0:39:49not just the chiefs and royalty.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53A nationwide industry took off
0:39:53 > 0:39:56and the material was renowned among Buganda's neighbours.
0:39:56 > 0:40:01It's lovely work to do because the results are just so immediate.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05You can see the fibres already beginning to separate and widen
0:40:05 > 0:40:09and it's beginning to feel a little bit more like cloth.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14But the desire to increase bark cloth's production
0:40:14 > 0:40:16had a profound effect.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19Buganda expanded its territory to acquire new lands
0:40:19 > 0:40:23on which to plant fig trees and its aggressive approach to commerce
0:40:23 > 0:40:27meant its influence in the region grew.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30It's actually products like bark cloth
0:40:30 > 0:40:34that allow Buganda to forge a cultural identity,
0:40:34 > 0:40:38but it also allows them to participate
0:40:38 > 0:40:40in new, emerging economies.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51The state capitalised on the productivity of the people.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53Taxation paid for a network of roads
0:40:53 > 0:40:57that pushed Buganda's commerce further afield,
0:40:57 > 0:41:01and the kingdom took advantage of its geography in other ways.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06Buganda's position on the northern shore of Lake Victoria
0:41:06 > 0:41:09gave it access to the burgeoning trade routes
0:41:09 > 0:41:11to the East coast of Africa.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15The fiercely competitive kingdom of Buganda,
0:41:15 > 0:41:20was now ready to take any advantage to aid its growth.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23Control of trade over the lake was critical
0:41:23 > 0:41:27if Buganda was to increase its power and influence in the region.
0:41:27 > 0:41:32The kingdom built up a vast royal navy of canoes, just like this one,
0:41:32 > 0:41:36each one could carry between 60 and 100 men.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40The enormous vessels that the craftsmen built
0:41:40 > 0:41:41were put to good use.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44The fleet was used to conquer islands
0:41:44 > 0:41:47and new territory along the shore.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53The kingdom's navy also escorted traders from the east coast
0:41:53 > 0:41:56directly to Buganda, ensuring the kingdom controlled
0:41:56 > 0:42:01the lion's share of new commerce coming into the region.
0:42:01 > 0:42:06In the mid 19th century the first foreign traders arrived,
0:42:06 > 0:42:10Swahili and Arab merchants were interested in ivory and slaves.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15It was a significant moment in Buganda's history
0:42:15 > 0:42:17according to Professor Ndebesa.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21The arrival of Swahili
0:42:21 > 0:42:26and Arab traders from the East African coast had great impact.
0:42:26 > 0:42:31One, they brought in guns that tilted the balance of power
0:42:31 > 0:42:35in favour of Buganda because it controlled that trade
0:42:35 > 0:42:37from the East African coast.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41Two, they brought in goods that had not been in this region
0:42:41 > 0:42:46and were sought after, so the Buganda kingdom controlled this new trade.
0:42:46 > 0:42:52So this was a formidable culture both in terms of trading
0:42:52 > 0:42:55but also in terms of military might.
0:42:55 > 0:43:00It was actually an organised state that could organise law and order.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03It had at one time a standing army
0:43:03 > 0:43:09and it could defend the lives and property of its people
0:43:09 > 0:43:14so it was a state, although not in the modern sense of the word,
0:43:14 > 0:43:18but it was a state that could organise such a big force,
0:43:18 > 0:43:23feed it, and manage to control it and command it.
0:43:23 > 0:43:31The point, however, is that Buganda kingdom could amass such a force
0:43:31 > 0:43:35in that period without any external assistance,
0:43:35 > 0:43:39which demonstrates that Africans, before the coming in of foreigners,
0:43:39 > 0:43:44were organised and could amass a standing army of such a big force
0:43:44 > 0:43:47and deploy it at any one time.
0:43:52 > 0:43:56This sophisticated kingdom had shown it would use its resources
0:43:56 > 0:43:58to further its own interests.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01A predatory politics was emerging.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03Buganda had the power to take what it wanted
0:44:03 > 0:44:05from its neighbours at will.
0:44:05 > 0:44:10Valuable export commodities like ivory were collected.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12Buganda was on the make.
0:44:15 > 0:44:19For 200 years Buganda had lived in the shadow
0:44:19 > 0:44:22of its more powerful neighbour, Bunyoro,
0:44:22 > 0:44:25now Buganda was ready to seize any opportunity
0:44:25 > 0:44:29to replace Bunyoro as the region's greatest kingdom.
0:44:31 > 0:44:35While the kingdom of Buganda had developed and grown,
0:44:35 > 0:44:39Bunyoro had also continued to trade and prosper.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43But unlike its neighbour, Bunyoro had not centralised political power
0:44:43 > 0:44:47and the clan chiefs still held a great deal of authority.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50The structure of Bunyoro's royal succession
0:44:50 > 0:44:53meant that the clan chiefs could contest the throne.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57The kingdom became mired in a series of internal divisions
0:44:57 > 0:44:58and wars of succession.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01The once great kingdom was in decline.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12Buganda exploited its rival's weakness.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16It began occupying Bunyoro's more vulnerable territories.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21With a combination of their strategic lakeside position
0:45:21 > 0:45:26and their unrivalled military power, Buganda seemed unstoppable.
0:45:29 > 0:45:33Buganda seized land that cut off Bunyoro from the lake
0:45:33 > 0:45:36and from the lucrative trade that crossed it.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43Then around 1830 a shattering blow.
0:45:43 > 0:45:46Bunyoro lost crucial territory that would weaken
0:45:46 > 0:45:48the kingdom as never before.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Bunyoro lost its salt.
0:45:54 > 0:45:59The chiefs of the Toro province declared it an autonomous kingdom.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03Its territory included Bunyoro's most valuable salt fields.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08It was a devastating blow to the economy of the kingdom.
0:46:08 > 0:46:14Whilst Bunyoro threatened to fall apart, Buganda was ever stronger.
0:46:14 > 0:46:19The days of growing banana crops and expanding their plantations
0:46:19 > 0:46:23had instilled a notion of communal effort in Buganda.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25At the height of the kingdom's power
0:46:25 > 0:46:28it was able to marshal its people and resources
0:46:28 > 0:46:31to act in the national interest.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35But its neighbour Bunyoro was not about to give up the fight.
0:46:35 > 0:46:40These are the tombs of King Kabalega,
0:46:40 > 0:46:44remembered as one of the greatest kings this country ever knew.
0:46:53 > 0:46:58In 1869, Kabalega took the Bunyoro throne.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00He rallied the kingdom's forces
0:47:00 > 0:47:05and began pushing Buganda back to its original borders.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07This place...
0:47:07 > 0:47:12There's a real poignancy to this gravesite.
0:47:12 > 0:47:18He's actually buried down in a chamber beneath here
0:47:18 > 0:47:21but up at the top level you can see that
0:47:21 > 0:47:25they've marked the spot with nine hoes.
0:47:25 > 0:47:30I think that iron is so important to people here.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33It's just wonderful. These were his personal effects.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36There are things like spears.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39There are shields that would have been used in battle.
0:47:39 > 0:47:43This was a man who, he fought for this place himself.
0:47:46 > 0:47:52Kabalega reinforced the trade routes that brought firearms into Bunyoro.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56That strengthened the kingdom and challenged Buganda's trade position.
0:47:56 > 0:48:01His actions gave him heroic status.
0:48:03 > 0:48:10I think because he brought a renewed sense of confidence to Bunyoro.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14It was a sort of last stand.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18And obviously he's still loved, these things are still venerated
0:48:18 > 0:48:21and in a way they tell the story of Bunyoro.
0:48:21 > 0:48:26Under Kabalega, Bunyoro was once again a force to be reckoned with.
0:48:31 > 0:48:36The kingdoms were toe to toe, and into this volatile situation
0:48:36 > 0:48:39new players arrived, the European explorers.
0:48:48 > 0:48:54John Hanning Speke's 1862 account of Buganda and the source of the Nile
0:48:54 > 0:48:57had inspired other expeditions to the region.
0:48:57 > 0:49:02In 1874, Henry Morton Stanley was making his own journey
0:49:02 > 0:49:06across the continent, three years after he'd found David Livingstone.
0:49:06 > 0:49:11His explorations left him convinced of Livingstone's argument
0:49:11 > 0:49:15that Christianity would improve the people's lives.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19Stanley wrote a plea to the Daily Telegraph.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23"Oh, that a pious practical missionary would come here
0:49:23 > 0:49:27"who can teach people how to become Christians, cure their diseases,
0:49:27 > 0:49:31"construct dwellings and turn his hand to anything."
0:49:31 > 0:49:34And Stanley's letter had the desired effect.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37In 1877 the trade routes from the coast
0:49:37 > 0:49:42brought a new kind of import across Lake Victoria, missionaries.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51The arrival of missionaries in Buganda
0:49:51 > 0:49:56had profound implications for the kingdom and its rival.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59The missionaries discovered a country full of willing converts.
0:49:59 > 0:50:04Many chiefs believed the kingdom was in need of divine assistance.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10It had suffered military defeats in skirmished with Bunyoro.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16Epidemics had struck without warning.
0:50:16 > 0:50:20King Mutesa was weak with disease.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23Those offering salvation were welcome
0:50:23 > 0:50:27whether European Protestants, Catholics or Muslims from the coast.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50Religious conversion didn't result in peace and goodwill however,
0:50:50 > 0:50:53instead it destabilised Buganda even further.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02I'm on the outskirts of the capital city Kampala
0:51:02 > 0:51:06to witness one of the country's biggest annual Christian holidays,
0:51:06 > 0:51:07Martyrs' Day.
0:51:15 > 0:51:20These pilgrims are commemorating the deaths of 22 Catholic martyrs,
0:51:20 > 0:51:26who in 1886, paid with their lives for choosing God over their king.
0:51:26 > 0:51:31Their executions were followed by those of 23 Protestants.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45The killings had been ordered by King Mwanga.
0:51:45 > 0:51:49He'd inherited a weakened monarchy after Mutesa's death.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52His assertion of authority was an attempt to control
0:51:52 > 0:51:57the religious factions that were now competing at Buganda's court.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06But Christianity had a significant following among Buganda's chiefs.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09They felt that Mwanga needed to be reigned in.
0:52:09 > 0:52:13They turned to the British.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15At the same time Protestant missionaries
0:52:15 > 0:52:18implored the British government to intervene in Buganda
0:52:18 > 0:52:22to prevent the loss of potential converts to Islam.
0:52:23 > 0:52:28The British were keen to extend their influence in East Africa
0:52:28 > 0:52:32and declared Buganda a protectorate in 1894.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35The British benefited from Buganda's well-formed
0:52:35 > 0:52:38social and political structures, as a means to rule,
0:52:38 > 0:52:42but this wasn't just the British taking advantage of Africans.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45Buganda realised that this was an extraordinary opportunity
0:52:45 > 0:52:48to ensure that they, rather than Bunyoro,
0:52:48 > 0:52:50were the most powerful kingdom in the region.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58For the chiefs of Buganda the alliance with the British
0:52:58 > 0:53:00was a marriage of convenience.
0:53:08 > 0:53:12Their new partners established themselves in a fort
0:53:12 > 0:53:13on Old Kampala Hill.
0:53:20 > 0:53:24So there was actually a flag that sat over a building on this site?
0:53:24 > 0:53:25Yes.
0:53:25 > 0:53:28- A Union Jack?- A union jack, yes.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32Historian Deo Katono has analysed the relationship
0:53:32 > 0:53:36between the British and Buganda when the protectorate was established.
0:53:36 > 0:53:42I think the protectorate was a benefit for both parties
0:53:42 > 0:53:49because for one part for Buganda it helped them to stabilise,
0:53:49 > 0:53:54to create a new foundation for the kingdom in Buganda
0:53:54 > 0:54:02and then for the British the creation of a protectorate over Buganda,
0:54:02 > 0:54:06laid the foundations for the establishment
0:54:06 > 0:54:11of the colony of Uganda.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13So the benefit was on both sides.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17For the British gained on their part
0:54:17 > 0:54:21and the kingdom of Buganda gained also on their part.
0:54:23 > 0:54:28In 1896, two years after signing the treaty with Buganda,
0:54:28 > 0:54:30the British extended the protectorate
0:54:30 > 0:54:33over the territory that would become Uganda.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37It included the kingdom of Bunyoro.
0:54:38 > 0:54:43But Bunyoro's King Kabelega had no intention of co-operating
0:54:43 > 0:54:48so the Buganda-British alliance launched a pre-emptive strike
0:54:48 > 0:54:50with the British calling the shots.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54It involves the majority of the soldiers of Buganda
0:54:54 > 0:55:01so they use Buganda as a stepping stone now, as a springboard.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03They're using the personnel,
0:55:03 > 0:55:07they use the military system of Buganda to invade Bunyoro.
0:55:10 > 0:55:15Isn't this humiliating for Buganda as well? To be...
0:55:15 > 0:55:16No.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18..subservient to the British in this war?
0:55:18 > 0:55:23No. No, it's not. No. It is an opportunity.
0:55:23 > 0:55:27Buganda looks at it as an opportunity to expand.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30But I imagine that the long-term strategic aim
0:55:30 > 0:55:33of getting rid of the Bunyoro
0:55:33 > 0:55:37is completely obscuring everything else?
0:55:37 > 0:55:41- Yes.- And they're losing sight of the fact that...
0:55:41 > 0:55:42That they are being taken over.
0:55:42 > 0:55:47Their country's being taken over by the British. They lose sight of that.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50Buganda's chiefs were focused on ensuring their kingdom's supremacy
0:55:50 > 0:55:54over their rival and they succeeded.
0:55:54 > 0:55:55During the violence,
0:55:55 > 0:55:59Bunyoro is thought to have lost three quarters of its population.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02Tens of thousands were killed in action.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05Many more succumbed to famine or fled the country.
0:56:05 > 0:56:09The deaths of such a staggering number of people
0:56:09 > 0:56:13decimated the kingdom, not just physically, but spiritually too,
0:56:13 > 0:56:17and for a kingdom that believed in its permanence in this environment
0:56:17 > 0:56:19it was a brutal blow.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24Bunyoro was crushed.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30Just when Buganda might have been expected to celebrate,
0:56:30 > 0:56:33its king made an astonishing decision.
0:56:33 > 0:56:38Mwanga realised he was little more than a puppet.
0:56:38 > 0:56:43He rebelled in 1897, joined forces with his arch enemy Kabalega,
0:56:43 > 0:56:46and waged war on the British.
0:56:46 > 0:56:50Their joint effort resulted in the two men being captured
0:56:50 > 0:56:54and exiled to the Seychelles in 1899.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57But in the centuries-old conquest for supremacy,
0:56:57 > 0:57:00Buganda had emerged the victor.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03The British protectorate was named Uganda
0:57:03 > 0:57:06and the British used administrators from Buganda
0:57:06 > 0:57:10to enforce the law across all the kingdoms of the nation.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15Many outside Buganda felt unfairly treated.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18The old rivalries would never die.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23In 1967, however, the kingdoms themselves did.
0:57:23 > 0:57:28Under the dictatorships of Milton Obote and Idi Amin,
0:57:28 > 0:57:31they ceased to exist for a generation.
0:57:31 > 0:57:36But while the kingdoms may have seemed dead, they weren't buried.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38They were reborn
0:57:38 > 0:57:41when Uganda's government sanctioned their restoration in 1993.
0:57:49 > 0:57:54In both Buganda and Bunyoro there was common cause for celebration.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57TRADITIONAL MUSIC
0:58:00 > 0:58:05The traditions such as Buganda's royal music were revived.
0:58:05 > 0:58:09All of Uganda's kingdoms had suffered during the turbulent years
0:58:09 > 0:58:12of the country's modern history.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14But the fact that the culture
0:58:14 > 0:58:18and the history returned with them quite so readily,
0:58:18 > 0:58:22tells us how much these kingdoms continue to mean to the people.
0:58:43 > 0:58:46Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd