IDNO

N.19096.ROS

Description

Distant view of the King of Bunyoro under the canopy (Omukaraiguru), against one of the fences in the seventh courtyard (olugo) of the seventh sacred hut (lwemigo - where the sacred cattle are herded) of the Royal enclosure at the New Moon Ceremony. The King stands under a canopy, on a grass mat, which is attached to an elephant grass fence to form a canopy. The King wears the official robes of bark cloth and crown with attached beard of monkey-skin (characteristic of the King and members of the Sacred Guild). The Royal spear-bearers are just visible in the central background. In the foreground, to the left, the ‘sacred cattle’ are visible.

Place

E Africa; Uganda; Bunyoro; ?Hoima

Cultural Affliation

Banyoro (Bakitara)

Named Person

Andereya Bisereko Duhaga II (b. 1882 - d. 1924)

Photographer

?Roscoe, John R.

Collector / Expedition

Roscoe, John R. [Mackie Ethnological Expedition, Uganda, 1919 - 1920]

Date

1919 - 1920

Collection Name

Roscoe Collection

Source

Format

Film Negative Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

This negative was kept in an envelope marked C30/45/ by the cataloguer. The envelope was kept in box marked C30/ by the cataloguer.
Previously stored on Shelf 4, in group of 4 wooden boxes numbered 180.

Publication: Image published in Roscoe, J., 1923. The Bakitara (or Banyoro): The First Part of the Report of The Mackie Ethnological Expedition to Central Africa. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), p. 76, with the caption: "New Moon ceremony. King standing under the canopy in the seventh sacred court awaiting a prisoner for sentence. Sacred cattle in the foreground.” [ED 9/1/2008]

Context: "...When the King reached the last courtyard he found three animals awaiting him; one was an old cow whose milk had stopped, and which was being fattened for killing, another was a calf, and the third a young bull. The King looked after these animals in the courtyard for some twenty minutes or half an hour daily, thus conferring his blessing on all herdsmen throughout the country. On his way back he took the same path until he reached the throne room, which he entered by one of the side doors. He then might pass through to the dairy and drink milk, but as this was not one of his compulsory meals no attention was paid to it, and he might drink and pass on as desired. Other matters might now call for attention, but as a rule he was free from official duties in the throne-room for an hour or two, and was at liberty to attend to private matters or to take exercise or two amuse himself.
A little before three he had again to take his place in the throne- room to partake of his sacred meal of meat, and by the time this was finished there would be heard the call of the herald as he led the sacred cows home to be milked. After that the king was again occupied with public business and audiences until the time came for him to inspect the guard of the royal enclosure before retiring to bed.” (Roscoe, J., 1922. The Soul of Central Africa: An Account of the Mackie Ethnological Expedition. (London: Cassell and Co.), p. 208.). [ED 9/1/2008]

Context: "Through the influence of the middle class also, the old stringent regulations of the milk diet are now to a large extent neglected and disregarded. The middle class possessed large herds of cow, and lived to a great extent upon milk, but not entirely so as did the purely pastoral people; their influence therefore tended to make the pastoral people more lax in the observance of their milk customs. The regulations which were until recently carefully followed by the kings and the pastoral families of unmixed blood show what was the custom of the whole tribe in earlier times.
The king used to be allowed to eat meat only once a day, when, as religious offering rather than as a meal, he was given a few pieces of sacred meat. With the exception of this sacramental meal, the food of the king was milk and milk alone, and it had to come only from cows specially set apart for the purpose. The king was held to be sacred, and therefore might not drink milk from cows which supplied ordinary mortals. There was a sacred herd, numbering hundreds of animals, from which nine cows at a time were selected for the daily use of the king. These cows were chosen for their beauty and good health, and were taken to a district where they might be kept apart from other herds, especially from the bulls of other herds. Besides these sacred cows, the king possessed large numbers of cattle which were divided into herds according to their colour, each colour having a special name; striped cows, cows of one colour, even cows with different spots, had each their own name and were kept in their own herds.
Though all the Royal herd were carefully guarded against contamination for other animals, the chief of the royal herdsmen paid special attention to the nine sacred cows. They were herded in the vicinity of the royal residence, and had a kraal near. They were never permitted to come through the main entrance to the royal enclosure, but had their own special gate leading into the court adjoining one of a row of sacred huts through which the king passed daily to herd his cows, and which were forbidden ground to the ordinary person. The herald of the cows came first, and the animals followed him through two of the huts into the royal presence, where they stood before the throne room to be milked.
Men were carefully chosen and set apart as herdsmen and milkmen, and the herald had to be a member of a particular clan. The milkmaids were chosen by the King from among his wives.” (Roscoe, J., 1922. The Soul of Central Africa: An Account of the Mackie Ethnological Expedition. (London: Cassell and Co.), p. 143 - 144.). [ED 18/12/2007]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Elisabeth Deane 9/1/2008]