Palace of the king of the Tooro Kingdom - Flickr - Dave Proffer

Tooro is a

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 Nationa ...

kingdom located within the borders of Uganda. The current

Omukama of Toro The Omukama of Tooro is the name given to the king of Tooro, one of the East African kingdom of Tooro. The kingdom was founded in 1830 by Omukama Kaboyo Olimi l who was the son of Kyebambe lll Nyamutukura, the king of Bunyoro. Since that time, Toor ...

is King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV took to the throne of Tooro kingdom in 1995 at the age of just three years, after the death of his father Omukama Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo Rwamuhokya Olimi III on August 26, 1995, at the age of 50. The people native to the kingdom are the Batooro, and their language is likewise called

Rutooro Tooro, or ''Rutooro'', is a Bantu language spoken mainly by the Toro people (''Batooro'') from the Toro Kingdom region of western Uganda. There are three main areas where Rutooro as a language is mainly used and they are Kabarole District, Kyen ...

, Bakonzo, Babwisi/Bamba. The Batoro and Banyoro speak closely related languages, Rutoro and Runyoro, and share many other similar cultural traits. The Batoro live on Uganda's western border, south of Lake Albert.

History

The Tooro Kingdom evolved out of a breakaway segment of

Bunyoro Bunyoro or Bunyoro-Kitara is a Bantu kingdom in Western Uganda. It was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Central and East Africa from the 13th century to the 19th century. It is ruled by the King ('' Omukama'') of Bunyoro-Kitara. The curre ...

sometime before the nineteenth century. It was founded in 1830 when Omukama Kaboyo Olimi I, the eldest son of

Omukama of Bunyoro Omukama wa Bunyoro Translates to The King of Bunyoro is the title given to rulers of the East African kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara. The kingdom lasted as an independent state from the 16th to the 19th century. The Omukama of Bunyoro remains an impo ...

Nyamutukura Kyebambe III of Bunyoro Omukama Nyamutukura Kyebambe III ruled Bunyoro (part of modern-day Uganda) from 1786–1835. In 1822, his eldest son rebelled and established his own independent kingdom, the Toro Kingdom Tooro is a Bantu kingdom located within the borders of ...

, seceded and established his own independent kingdom. Absorbed into Bunyoro-Kitara in 1876, it reasserted its independence in 1891. As with

Buganda Buganda is a Bantu kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Baganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of Buganda's Central Region, including the Ugandan capital Kampala. The 14 m ...

, and

Busoga Busoga ( Lusoga: Obwakyabazinga bwa Busoga) is a kingdom and one of four constitutional monarchies in present-day Uganda. The kingdom is a cultural institution which promotes popular participation and unity among the people of the region throu ...

, Tooro's monarchy was abolished in 1967 by the Government of Uganda, but was reinstated in 1993.

Cultural influence

The Austrian painter

Friedensreich Hundertwasser Friedrich Stowasser (15 December 1928 – 19 February 2000), better known by his pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (), was an Austrian visual artist and architect who also worked in the field of environmental protection ...

(1928–2000) spent some time there in the 1960s where he painted a number of works and named them after the kingdom. The Batooro people have a strong culture but similar in stratification to Banyoro. They have got a strong cultural naming system (PET NAME) known as Empaako. With the Empaako naming system, children are given one of twelve names shared across the communities in addition to their given and family names. Addressing someone by his or her Empaako is a positive affirmation of cultural ties. It can be used as a form of greeting or a declaration of affection, respect, honour or love. Use of Empaako can defuse tension or anger and sends a strong message about social identity and unity, peace and reconciliation. The Empaako names are: ''AMOOTI, ABOOKI, AKIIKI, ATEENYI, ADYEERI, ATWOOKI, ABWOOLI, ARAALI, ACAALI, BBALA and OKAALI''.

''Abakama'' of Tooro

The following is a list of the ''Abakama'' of Tooro since 1800: # Olimi I: 1822–1865 #

Ruhaga of Toro Rukirabasaija Kazana Ruhaga was Omukama {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 Omukama: often translated as "king of kings", (O)Mukama means in Bantu (Banyoro-, Batoro- and other languages) something like "superior milkman/milkbringer". The title "Omuka ...

: 1865–1866 # Nyaika Kyebambe I: 1866–1871 and 1871–1872 # Rukidi I: 1871 # Olimi II: 1872–1875 # Rukidi II: 1875–1875 # Rububi Kyebambe II: 1875 and 1877–1879 # Kakende Nyamuyonjo: 1875–1876 and 1879–1880 # Katera: 1876–1877 ##'' Interregnum, reverted to

'': 1880–1891 # Kyebambe III: 1891–1928 # Rukidi III: 1929–1965 # Olimi III: 1965–1967 ##'' in pretence'': 1967–1993 (monarchy abolished) # Rukidi IV: 1995 (monarchy reinstated)

Bibliography

* Ingham, Kenneth. ''The Kingdom of Tooro in Uganda''. London: Methuen, 1975.

References

External links