Gahima I (also known as Kanyarwanda I, Kayima I, Ghem, Khem, Kakama, Khm among East Africans is recited by the Rwandan "Abiru" (cultural historians and griots) as one of the primal

Mwami ''Mwami'' () is an honorific title common in parts of Central and East Africa. The title means ''chief'' or ''tribal chief'' in several Bantu languages. It was historically used by kings in several African nations, and is still used for traditi ...

, or King of

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

supposedly after

Gihanga Gihanga I ("Creator", "Founder") is a Rwandan cultural hero described in oral histories as an ancient king popularly credited with establishing the ancient Kingdom of Rwanda. Oral legends relate that Gihanga descended from a line of 12 gods heade ...

's long reign around the Nile source and beyond. Gahima I is believed to be the general ancestral patriarch of the Tutsi and helped unite them with the Twa and the Hutu groups that all form the indigenous Rwandan society. It is not clear whether his reign took place in the location of modern-day Rwanda as variants of his name exist in other parts of East Africa such as Uganda and Tanzania and Egypt as Kayima and Kham where they claim him as their ancient king. He is also believed to be the Biblical Ham commonly cited as of the sons of Noah. Just as he is believed to be the grandson of

a name that means creator, Gahima's maternal grandfather is orally cited in Rwandan theogony and mythology as Rurenge. A name that signifies an entity with a "Big foot".

Ancestry

References

Tutsi people {{Africa-royal-stub