Kasubi Tombs are a burial grounds for the preceding 4 Buganda kings thus making it significant for the royal family in the Ganda culture. It represents a pictogram for the Ganda history and culture. A visit at the kasubi tombs will involve a walk around the palace, view the architecture of the long ago Africans, made of reeds, souvenir given to kabaka’s by foreigners like the gun, then several types of spears and kabaka’s pet animal. Apart from the Royal burial ceremonies, other traditional rituals are carried out throughout the year. They include; the new moon ceremony and the consultation of the mediums. But the main spiritual life is not visible to the ordinary visitor as many ceremonies are performed secretly inside the buildings.
The mighty tombs of Buganda Kabakas at Kasubi make up a site covering 30 hectare of hillside within Kampala. It is a traditional burial site for Kabakas of Buganda, a tribal group in Uganda. In 2001, it was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The core of the hilltop of Kasubi was the palace of the Kabakas of Buganda formerly that was established in 1882 and it was by then constructed as the palace of Kabaka Mutesa 1 which was later changed to royal burial grounds for the Kings of Buganda in 1884.
Muzibu Azaala Mpanga house which is found within this site consists of four royal tombs. This is the master piece and the major structure of this site that was established in a round circular dome shape. It has existed since the 13th century and mainly made up of wood, grass thatched, wattle, daub and reeds. The site has several values of beliefs, continuity, spirituality and identity all of which are tangible. The powerful Buganda Kingdom is recognized for its extraordinary and thriving architectural examples since the 13th century. This site isn’t just a cultural place for the Baganda in Uganda, but also a popular site which attracts more than 50000 visitors per year thus highly contributing to the nation’s foreign earnings.
These tombs are mainly divided into three major parts; the main has the tomb in the western side of the site-an area with buildings and grave vards that is behind the tombs and in the East a large area which is primarily used for agriculture. The tomb site is where traditional and cultural practices have kept and also take the most active role for religious practices mainly for the royal family in the Kingdom with rituals being performed around this place on a regular basis. It is the most popular as spiritual center for the Baganda and most religious site in the Kingdom. To the site lots of historical, traditional and spiritual values are attached.
The continuity of the living tradition and African culture is well exhibited and represented in the structure and traditional practices of the site. Since 2010, the boundaries of the site have been well kept and to protect them from who may want to encroach on the land of the tombs. This has also largely helped to preserve and respect the kingdom’s cultures, values and norms. All kingdom religious, spiritual and ceremonial functions are conducted around this site.
History and culture of Baganda
The Baganda are Bantu speaking people and date their political civilization back to the 13th century AD. According to oral tradition, the first Kabaka of Buganda was Kintu. He is said to have come with his wife Nambi whose hand he won by performing heroic deeds at the command of her father Gulu, the god of the sky. King Kintu is believed not to have died but to have disappeared into the forest at Magonga.
At Kasubi and the rest of the royal tombs, there is place behind a bark cloth curtain popular as Kibira or forest where certain secret ceremonies are performed. At the Kasubi tombs, the Kibira is the area where the actual tombs of the King are, while in front of the curtain there are raised plat forms corresponding to the position of each King’s tombs behind the curtain. The first King to be buried at Kasubi tombs was Mutesa 1 who was the 35th King.
The dates of the reigns of the Kings are only precisely known from King Suuna 11, who ruled from 1836 and 1856. History, Buganda Kings have always established their palaces on strategic hills to control the major roads to the palace and find easy ways to escapes in case of an invasion or rebellion.
When they died the traditional practice was to bury each King at a separate site to establish a royal shrine to house his jaw bone that was believed to posses his spirit at another site. These shrines were staffed by descendants of the Kings leading chiefs, his wives, ritual half sister and by spirit medium through which the dead king communicated with his successors. Most of the shrines are still kept.
How to reach the Kasubi tombs
Situated in Kampala, Kasubi tombs is about 5 kilometers. It is 15 minute drive from Kampala. The site is found on Kampala-Hoima road. Head past Makerere University and continue to Nakulabye as you come from Kampala city centre. When you arrive at roundabout in Nakulabye, take your right to Hoima road and drive for about one kilometer where you will move to your left heading to the Kasubi hill. Turn on your left along the Masiro road from the top of the hill and there you will be at entrance of the Kasubi tombs which has a landmark of a grass thatched hut.
Tragedy that befell the Kasubi
Around March 2010, the Kasubi tombs experienced a major setback after it was set ablaze. The cause of the fire has remained a mystery till to date. This destroyed the main building in which the tombs lie. This took place 8 years after the site had been inscribed on the world heritage site. The King Ronald Mutebi 11 announced a week of mourning in the Buganda kingdom after this fateful event.
There is need for craftsmanship to re-establish the architectural structure of the building even when the burial system was still preserved. The extensive documentation of the site also was destroyed. The kings at Kasubi tombs include King Mutesa 1 born in 1835 and crowned in 1856, Kabaka Daudi chwa 11 and Kabaka Mutesa 11.
In conclusion, the Kasubi tomb site is Buganda’s exceptional cultural site worth visiting to explore numerous traditions and cultures of Baganda people in Uganda. As you plan your wildlife safaris or you wish to engage in city tours in Uganda, Kasubi tombs are some of the few remarkable places that you should visit.