Kasubi Tombs In Kampala

Vibrant Holiday Safaris takes you through The Kasubi Tombs in Kampala, Uganda, which is the site of the burial grounds for four kabakas and other members of the Baganda royal family. As a result, the site remains an important spiritual and political site for the Ganda people, as well as an important example of traditional architecture. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 2001, when it was described as “one of the most remarkable buildings using purely vegetal materials in the entire region of sub-Saharan Africa”.

Some of the major buildings there were almost completely destroyed by a fire in March 2010, the cause of which is under investigation. As a result, in July 2010 it was included in the list of World Heritage Sites In Danger.

The Buganda Kingdom has vowed to rebuild the tombs of their kings and President Museveni said the national government of Uganda would assist in the restoration of the site. Reconstruction started in 2014, funded by the government of Japan.

Kasubi Tombs which is a  World Heritage Site is built on around 26 hectares on the Kasubi hill in the city of Kampala, which is about 5 kilometers northwest of the city center. Most of the site is open as agricultural land that is farmed using traditional techniques. One corner contains a royal palace built in 1882 by Mutesa 1, the 35th Kabaka of Buganda, to replace a palace that was built by his father, Ssuuna ll in 1820.

The new palace became a royal burial ground after his death in 1884 thus making the site one of 31 royal tombs across the Buganda kingdom since the kingdom was founded in the 13th century. Traditionally, the body of the deceased king was buried in one palace, with a separate shrine for the deceased king’s jawbone which is believed to contain his soul. Unusually, in a break from tradition, the site in Kampala contains the royal tombs of four Kabakas of Buganda:

• Muteesa I (1835–1884)
• Mwanga II (1867–1903) (died in exile on the Seychelles Islands, and remains returned in 1910)
• Daudi Chwa II (1896–1939)
• Sir Edward Muteesa II (1924–1969) (died in exile in London, and remains returned in 1971).

Descendants of these four Kabakas are buried elsewhere on the site and the border of the ceremonial site was established in 1882 on Kasubi Hill, also known as the Ssekabaka’s Tombs. The borders are still marked with bark cloth which has protected it from the low-rise residential development that now surrounds the site on all sides.

 The main ceremonial area is located on the northwest of the tombs at a gatehouse called Bujjabukula that leads to a small courtyard and the drum house called Ndoga-Obukaba which houses the royal drums, and the courtyard Olugya located on the hilltop, surrounded by a reed fence.

The Kasubi Tombs were originally constructed from wooden poles, reed wattle, and daub, topped by a thick thatched dome, with a straw resting on 52 rings of palm fronds representing the 52 traditional clans of the Baganda people. The last major renovation in 1938 was done by Kabaka Mutesa II of Buganda, including a steel structure, concrete columns, and bricks, largely concealed behind traditional materials. The tombs are housed in a sacred forest called Kibira which is enclosed from public view by a bark cloth curtain. The floor is covered by lemon grass and palm leaf mats.

There are other houses that are constructed around including the wives’ houses for the deceased kabaka’s widows, who attend to the family graves.

Their houses are traditionally constructed by the materials of metal and brick roofs which are also homes of the royal family, and royal officials including the Nalinya who is a spiritual guardian, her deputy the Lubuga who is responsible for coordinating the farming on the site, and her administrative assistant the Katikkiro. It is also a center for the traditional manufacture and decoration of bark cloth by the Ngo clan and for the traditional thatching techniques of the Ngeye clan.

The building was maintained and managed by the Buganda Kingdom, the largest of the four ancient kingdoms of Uganda, but was abolished by Prime Minister  Milton Obote in 1966, and again after it was reinstated by President Museveni in 1993.

Kasubi Tombs can be visited during a safari around Kampala city at any time or it can be added to your tour package as you make a safari to Uganda. During the tour to Kampala, you can stay in the beautiful and magnificent hotels which make you feel the amazing beautify of the city since they are affordable and conducive where you can decide which to use during your stay in Kampala since they also regard from Budget, Mid-range, and Luxury lodges