The Kasubi Tombs, traditionally known as Muzibu-Azaala-Mpanga, a religious site in the Buganda kingdom, are situated on a hill within Kampala-Uganda. The tombs are a burial place for the four previous Buganda kings traditionally known as Kabakas, and are situated five kilometers from the city center of Kampala on Kasubi Hill. Historically, the Buganda Kabaka have always built their palaces on strategic hills to find easy ways to escape during an invasion and to control the main roads to the palace.
The Baganda belong to the Bantu-speaking people, one of the ethnic groups in Uganda. According to tradition, the first Kabaka of Buganda was Kintu, who is said to have come with his wife Nambi. It is said that Kabaka Kintu did not die, but he disappeared into a forest in Magonga.
Kasubi Tombs is one of the royal cemeteries/tombs of the Kabakas of Buganda, and the site is an example of traditional Ganda architecture and living traditions. The palace was built by Kabaka Mutesa 1 in 1882, and according to the culture, each king was supposed to be buried in a separate place when he died and a royal shrine to house his jawbone, which was believed to contain his spirit, was supposed to settle elsewhere. place. Mutesa 1 was the 35th king of Buganda (1856-1884) and the first king to be buried in his former palace (the Tombs) at Kasubi without having his jawbone removed. Mwanga II, who succeeded his father Mutesa in 1884, was the second king to be interred in the Tombs after his remains were brought back from exile (Seychelles Islands) in 1910. His son Daudi Chwa II succeeded him at the age of a year in 1896 and ruled until his death in 1939. He too was buried in the Tombs. Daudi Chwa II was succeeded by his son Edward Mutesa II and the then Governor of the Uganda Protectorate. He died in exile (London) in 1966 and his remains were brought and buried in the Tombs in 1971.
The Kasubi Tombs are an important burial place for the Kabakas of Buganda because old traditions were broken at the site when the Kabakas were buried together. Every prince and princess descended from the four Kabakas is also buried at Kasubi, behind the main shrine. The site is important as a burial ground for the royalty of the Buganda kingdom.
The tombs comprised the Bujjabukula (gateway), a beautifully constructed gate, which is the entrance to the site. It is built with wooden columns and a wall of woven wooden reeds. The gate leads to a small courtyard with a circular house-House of the Royal Drums (Ndoga-obukaba) where the drums are kept. In the main courtyard there are several houses built for the widows of the kabakas and other ritual purposes.
At Kasubi and all the other royal tombs, there is an area behind a cloth curtain known as the kibira (forest) where the actual Tombs of the kabaka are located and where certain royal ceremonies such as the new moon ceremony and consultations take place. of the mediums. . In front of the curtain, there are raised platforms that correspond to the position of each Kabakas tomb behind the curtain. Entrance to the “secret forest” is only limited to the widows of the Kabakas, the royal family, the chief minister of Buganda (katikkiro), and the Nalinya (kabaka’s official sister).
The Kasubi Tombs are adorned with regal regalia such as spears, drums, medals, photographs, and coats of arms of the kabaka buried there. The structure is supported by cloth-wrapped wooden poles and the floor covered with grass mats and palm leaves. The traditionally popular backdrop for clothing is cloth made from the soft back of a fig tree (Ficus natalensis) and is of great ritual importance to the people of Uganda. The thatching of the roof is done by members of the Ngeye clan (Colobus monkey clan) and the pole decorators are from the Leopard clan, who are the only people authorized to do this work. Pregnant women and widows are not allowed to enter. the building while it is covered with straw as this is believed to cause leaks. Similarly, roofers are not supposed to have sex during the roofing period.
Baganda cultures can also be experienced at sites such as Katereke Prison, where the king imprisoned his brothers in a trench. Naggalabi coronation site, Buddo, where the Kabakas of Buganda have been crowned for the last 700 years. Wamala Tomb, the secret burial place of Kabaka Suuna II (1836-1856), who had 148 wives and 218 children. Namasole Kanyange tombs where the mother of Kabaka Suuna II was buried. Ssezibwa falls a spiritual place for kings and the tombs of Baagalayaze Nnamasole where the mother of Kabaka Mwanga II was buried.
The magnificent features of the Kasubi tombs represent the rich traditions and heritage of the Baganda people. People believe that each person’s death has a spiritual origin and that there is an interaction between the living and the dead. The Baganda cultures lie in the Grand Tombs, where the bodies and spirits of their ancestors, rulers and traditions lie to this day.