The Ssese Islands are an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

of eighty-four

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

s in the northwestern part of

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. The islands are coterminous with the

Kalangala District Kalangala, also known as Ssesse, is a district in Central Uganda. The district is coterminous with the Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria and does not have territory on mainland Uganda. Like other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town' ...

in southern Central Uganda, which does not have any territory on mainland Uganda.

Location

The islands occupy the northwestern corner of

, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world. The largest island in the archipelago is called

Bugala Island Bugala Island, in Uganda, is the Lake island#Naturally occurring lake islands, by area, tenth-largest lake island in the world. With an area of , it is also the second largest island in Lake Victoria, after Tanzania's Ukerewe Island, and the thi ...

, which accounts for more than half the archipelago's land area. Its largest town, called

Kalangala Kalangala is a town in Kalangala District in the Central Region of Uganda. It is the headquarters of the district. Location Kalangala is on the northern shore of Bugala Island, the largest of the Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria. It is approxi ...

serves as the headquarters of the district that carries the same name (

). Kalangala is located approximately , across water, southwest of

Entebbe Entebbe is a city in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda prior to independence, in 1962. The c ...

, in

Wakiso District Wakiso District is a district in the Central Region of Uganda that partly encircles Kampala, Uganda's capital city. The town of Wakiso is the site of the district headquarters. Kira, the country's second largest city and suburb of Kampala, is in ...

, on the Ugandan mainland. The coordinates of the district are:0° 26' 0.00"S, 32° 15' 0.00"E (Latitude:-0.4333; Longitude:32.2500). The islands lie in two main groups. The south west can be referred to as the Bugala Group, after

, the largest in the archipelago. The northeastern group can be referred to as the Koome Group, after Koome Island, the largest in that group. The two groups are separated by the Koome Channel. Other islands in the Bugala Group include: Bubeke, Bubembe, Bufumira, Bugaba,

Bukasa Bukasa Inland Port is a planned inland port in Uganda. Location The port would be located along the northern shores of Lake Victoria, on approximately in the neighborhood of Bukasa in Wakiso District, approximately , by road, south-east of the ...

, Buyova, Funve and Serinya. The main islands in the Koome Group include:

Damba The damba (''Paretroplus damii'') is a species of cichlid. Etymology The genus name ''Paretroplus'' is composed by the Greek ''Para'' (meaning ''similar to'') and ''Etroplus'' (a closely related genus of Indian cichlids). The Latin species nam ...

, Koome and Luwaji.

History

Little is known about the earliest inhabitants of Ssese, but some oral traditions associated with the creation of

Buganda Buganda is a Bantu peoples, Bantu kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Baganda, Baganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of Buganda's Districts of Uganda, Central Region, inclu ...

claim its founder

Kintu Kintu is a mythological figure who appears in a creation myth of the Uganda people of Buganda, Uganda. According to this legend, Kintu was the first person on earth and the first man to wander the plains of Uganda alone. Kintu in mythology In th ...

hailed from the islands, or at least arrived in Buganda via them. The Baganda revere Ssese as the Islands of the Gods. In pre-colonial times it was customary for the Kings of Buganda to visit the islands and pay tribute to the several balubaale whose main shrines are situated there. These include shrines to Musisi (spirit of earthquakes) and Wanema (physical handicaps) on Bukasa Island, as well as the shrine of Mukasa (spirit of the lake), on Bubembe.

Overview

The Ssese Islands are inhabited by the

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

speaking Bassese tribe, closely related to the

Baganda The Ganda people, or Baganda (endonym: ''Baganda''; singular ''Muganda''), are a Bantu ethnic group native to Buganda, a subnational kingdom within Uganda. Traditionally composed of 52 clans (although since a 1993 survey, only 46 are official ...

and the

Basoga The Soga (or Basoga) are a Bantu ethnic group native to the kingdom of Busoga in eastern Uganda. History Early contact with European explorers Busoga's written history began in 1862. On 28 July Royal Geographical Society explorer John Han ...

, and speaking a similar, though distinct language. Prior to the arrival of

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...

, the islands were one of the most important spiritual centers of the region. About 43 (50%) of the islands are inhabited. The islands vary in size from less than , to over in length for the largest island,

Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa Cen ...

described the inhabitants as "the principal canoe builders and the greater number of the sailors of Mtesa's empire."Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes,

Getting there

The most popular route that the islands can be accessed is through Nakiwogo near Entebbe by MV Kalangala as the main gateway to the archipelagos. Transfer between Nakiwogo and Bugala Island is usually 3½ hours. From Bukakata: From the western part of Uganda, a free car ferry links Bukakata mainland located 36 km east of Masaka with Luku on Bugala Islands about 50 minutes sailing. The ferry sails either directions every few hours from early morning to late afternoon. The morning trips on Sunday are not available. From Kasenyi landing site: To get to Banda Island, there are small wooden boats departing from Kasenyi, a fishing village 7 km off Entebbe-Kampala road; turn off is 5 km outside Entebbe. On Bugala island there are shared taxis that run from Kalangala to Luku.

Economic activity

The principal

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

in the Ssese Islands is

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

for the huge

Nile Perch The Nile perch (''Lates niloticus''), also known as the African snook, Goliath perch, African barramundi , Goliath barramundi, Giant lates or the Victoria perch, is a species of freshwater fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is wid ...

, with much of the catch being exported. Overfishing is a huge concern on these and other islands in Lake Victoria. Other industries include

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. Livestock farming is practiced on the islands. It is estimated that 3,000

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

, 250,000

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...

(

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

and

ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

), 1,235

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s and 7,000

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

s are kept on the islands. BIDCO, a private

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

processor based in

Jinja District Jinja District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Jinja is the district's main municipal and commercial center. Location Jinja District is bordered by Kamuli District to the north, Luuka District to the east, Mayuge Dist ...

, on the mainland, owns a palm oil

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

on the islands. In addition, outgrower farmers grow palm oil on contract with BIDCO and sell their produce to the processor. In 2010, the palm oil plant began generating 1.5MW of electricity through the burning of

bagasse Bagasse ( ) is the dry pulpy fibrous material that remains after crushing sugarcane or sorghum stalks to extract their juice. It is used as a biofuel for the production of heat, energy, and electricity, and in the manufacture of pulp and building ...

and some of the oil. The power supplies the oil processing plant and the excess is sold to

, the largest town on the islands.Overview of the BIDCO Palm Oil Project
/ref>

Logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

is another economic activity that is practiced on the Ssese Islands.

Flora and fauna

The islands are also home to a variety of animals including

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

s, which are not easily accessible on the mainland. The most common large terrestrial mammal is the

Vervet monkey The vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus ''Chlorocebus''. The five distinct ...

, which is often seen in the vicinity of Lutoboka and Kalangala.

Bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus'') is a common and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.Wronski T, Moodley Y. (2009)Bushbuck, harnessed antelope or both? ''Gnusletter'', 28(1):18-19. Bushbuck are found in a wide ra ...

and black-and-white

colobus Black-and-white colobuses (or colobi) are Old World monkeys of the genus ''Colobus'', native to Africa. They are closely related to the red colobus monkeys of genus '' Piliocolobus''. There are five species of this monkey, and at least eight subs ...

are also present, but seldom observed. Since Buggala was separated from the mainland, one endemic creek rat and three endemic

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

species have evolved on the island. Water and forest

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

are prolific. There's a variety of

hornbills Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandibl ...

, barbets, turacos, robin-chats, flycatchers and weavers. Particularly common are the jewel-like pygmy

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

, the brown-throated

wattle-eye Platysteiridae is a family of small, stout passerine birds of the African tropics. The family contains the wattle-eyes, batises and shrike-flycatchers. They were previously classed as a subfamily of the Old World flycatchers, Muscicapidae. Thes ...

and the

paradise flycatcher The paradise flycatchers (''Terpsiphone'') are a genus of birds in the family Monarchidae. The genus ranges across Africa and Asia, as well as a number of islands. A few species are migratory, but the majority are resident. The most telling char ...

. African fish eagles and palm-nut

vultures A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and So ...

are often seen near the lake, while immense breeding colonies of little

egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

and great

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...

occur on Lutoboka and other bays. This has led to the evolution of a nascent but growing tourism industry on the islands. Infrastructure is still rudimentary but is slowly improving.

References

External links

*
Mirembe Resort Beach Hotel in Kalangala

Ssese Island

Location of Ssese Islands At Google Maps
{{coord, 00, 26, 00, S, 32, 15, 00, E, region:UG_source:enwiki-uniquenames, display=title Kalangala District Lake islands of Uganda Islands of Lake Victoria Central Region, Uganda Palm oil production in Uganda

Victoria Basin forest-savanna mosaic Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...