IDNO

LS.139252.TC1

Description

On Catalogue Card: Uganda. XLIX. Uganda. 51 48.29 - 31.
Kibuka, the War God (2 slides)
- Kibuka's Stool (in the Museum.)

Documentary photograph of four relics of Kibuka, the War God, including:
In the centre the "Mulongo or Umbilical cord of Kibuka, the great warrior chief of the Baganda. It is enclosed in an egg-shaped leather case, decorated with cowries and the oldest known kind of glass beads. Transferred to the Uganda Museum, Kampala, 1962." [Description from record E 1907.265 (1)]
On the left is "Lower jaw-bone of Kibuka, the great warrior chief of the Baganda. It is stitched up in a leather case, dressed with the fur, cowries and copper beads. Transferred to the Uganda Museum, Kampala, 1962." [Description from record E 1907.265 (2)]
"Small pointed leather case containing part of the genital organs, probably the penis of Kibuka, the great Baganda warrior chief. It is decorated with a single row of cowries and glass beads. Transferred to the Uganda Museum, Kampala, 1962." [Description from record E 1907.265 (3)]
On the bottom right is "Small oval leather case covered with cowries and a few glass beads. It contains part of genital organs, presumably a testicle of Kibuka, the warrior chief of the Baganda." [Description from record E 1907.265 (4)]

Place

E Africa; Uganda; East Uganda

Cultural Affliation

Buganda

Named Person

Kibuka

Photographer

?Roscoe, John R.

Collector / Expedition

Roscoe, John R.; Church Mission Society

Date

1910 - 1920

Collection Name

Teaching Slide Collection

Source

Format

Lantern Slide Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

Biographical Information: "Kibuka is the war god of the Buganda tribe of East Africa. According to legend, the king of the Buganda asked Kibuka's brother, the great god Mukasa, for assistance in a war. Mukasa sent Kibuka to help but told him to be sure the enemy did not know where he was stationed. He also warned his brother to avoid contact with the opponent's women. On one occasion, Kibuka stayed hidden in a cloud, where he killed the enemy by shooting arrows, winning the battle for the Buganda. Afterward, Kibuka became interested in a woman taken as a prisoner and took her back to his hut. When she discovered who he was, she escaped and told her people about his hiding place in the cloud. During the next battle, the enemy's archers shot arrows into the cloud where Kibuka was hiding and killed him." [Source: Enotes.com, http://history.enotes.com/myths-legends/kibuka, JD 6/12/2006]