How would you define respect? What is respect? I see it as consideration for someone else. This is not my definition, by the way, I got it from the chop up podcast, by Brian and Tendo, you should check them out. But by considering people, you, in a sense, affirm their worth, and maybe they're placed in a certain social setting. The other side of respect is I believe reverence. This is what you usually have for people in authority like your parents or teachers. I would say most of us learn this early in our lives. When I was growing up, I was told by"bibuli egamba abakaade bo oba we ng ekiitibwa", which is Luganda for; the Bible says, you must respect your elders. N ow don't worry. You didn't accidentally stumble onto a Christian p odcast. This actually has a lot to do with African history. If you grew up in an African household, you no doubt understand the emphasis that has put on respect for your elders to not give it is blasphemy. And when it isn't given, it's demanded, there's no negotiation. You'll hear things like, Oyo yakuliira wa? Oyo mwana wa ni? which translates to where did that person grow up? Whose child is that? And you don't want to be that child that they talk about like that. Now, in pre-colonial times, the Banyoro had a story that was meant to instill reverence for the elders. This story is about the last King of the Batembuzi dynasty. And his name was, Isaza, Waraga Nyakikoto. His royal title was Rugambanabato, which literally translates to"he who only speaks to young people." You can already see where this is going. It's said that he ascended to the throne at a young age. And because of this, he despised the elders. He instead preferred to only speak to young people. Maybe the elders wouldn't just let him play with his t oys. I d unno, but apparently his distaste for them went so far as putting some of them to death. So in turn, they avoided him and started calling him what would become his royal title Rugambanabato.
Speaker 2:Isaza loved hunting. And on one fateful day, that's exactly what he decided to do. He set out with his crew, his boys, his mandem, and they came across a gazelle. Well, some versions say gazelle, some, say a zebra, but let's go with a zebra since it meets the sense of allure that he was looking for, by the way, do you hear?
Speaker 3:(Zebra noises)
Speaker 2:Those are the sounds of a zebra. I don't know what noises I expected it to make, but it, it certainly wasn't that anyways, Isaza kills the zebra and thought he would like to wear its coat. So his crew get to work. They skinned and stitch this thing and when ready, Isaza puts it on. And he got showered with praise from his boys. Yo, that coat is lit. Boy, I assume some of them said, I mean, these were young people after all, I assume they probably had their own lingo. So they all continue on their hunting trip with the sun shining brightly in the sky. And it's heat bearing down on them until Isaza began to feel constricted. And soon he couldn't take it anymore. His crew tried to take it off, but they failed. The zebra skin had dried onto his flesh. Isaza started to panic. He cried out, please take it off. I will die if you don't. His boys mocked him saying, well, if you die, at least you were King. They certainly got points for perspective, even though that's the last thing you want to hear when you're dying, the situation continued to spiral out of control. And his men decided to take him to the place of two of his aunts. When they heard the story, they went and called some of the elders to come help. And you can guess what they had to say about that, hmm."Me I thought he only talks to young people." Why don't they help him? Uh, we, we don't know how, if you don't help he will die.
Speaker 1:Eh, he should have thought of that before he ignored us. They were not too inclined to lend a hand, but after the elders were done with their"I told you so's", they did decide to help. They ordered Isaza's men to dip him in a river. And soon the zebra skin began to loosen and working with a knife. The elders were able to take the skin off this whole event marked a turning point in his life. No longer were the elders barred from his court. They became his advisors. And as for his crew of young people, they were all dismissed. To show his gratitude, Isaza gave the elders and his aunts counties to rule. These counties came to be called Sazas after his name Isaza. Now, the story of Isaza doesn't just teach respect. It also teaches that the Banyoro believed that the young shouldn't have power. What this means is that the eldest brother will step in and rule as Regent until the King is of age. Bunyoro stories seem to indicate a preference for the younger brother as shown with Kakama. But this isn't because he's wiser. But rather because the only one in the position to give advice is the one with more life experience. And that would be the older brother. Now, Isaza ruled for a long time and became an old man on the throne. The saying goes that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks, but he was about to learn another valuable lesson. You see, it's not enough to just surround yourself with those who know better. You also need to be able to pick the right advice and exercise it with both dignity and integrity. So one day a group of strangers arrived at his court. They announced that they came on behalf of the faraway King named Nyamiyonga, this King was the ruler of the underworld. Now these messengers were sent with six riddles that Isaza was supposed to figure out and thereby deduce what he really wanted. Isaza shouldn't have cared. After all this king was a stranger he had never heard of, but Isaza was a curious man. And thus wanted to know what these riddles meant besides who doesn't like a good riddle. I know I do. So
Speaker 4:The first was, what is the measure of time? Second! What is the rope that holds water? Third! What makes him, Isaza turn around. Fourth! Who is the one who knows no responsibility? Fifth! Who was the one who knows no suffering or cares and becomes drunk without alcohol Six! What is the door that shuts out poverty? Are you confused yet? Because so was Isaza. He assembled the elders at his court to help him figure this out. And he clearly learned his lesson from before, but despite them muling over this, none of them could answer the questions. He even sent for his Saza chiefs, but they couldn't hack it either. Isaza was dumbfounded and quite frankly, he'd had enough. Just picture all of them, trying to answer these questions and every answer they provided, the strangers would say, Nope, not it, It's a no, nay, are you even trying? Now the maid of Isaza's aunt heard about the King's conundrum? She not only claimed to know the answers, but offered to give up her life if she was wrong. Ooh, talk about certainty. So she was brought before the King and began to answer his riddles. The first riddle, the measure of time was a rooster. The second riddle, the rope that holds water was powdered millet that when put in boiling water, absorbs it. The third riddle. What makes him, Isaza, turn around. The maid asked him to bring in a calf. And as it was being brought in, it uttered a cry and Isaza turned around instantly to find out what was happening to the calf. And that is what made Isaza turn around. The fourth riddle, who is the one who knows no responsibility? The answer to that was a dog would given a smoking pipe. It simply looked at it and looked away. The answer to the fifth riddle, the one who knows no suffering and acts drunk without alcohol. That was a baby. It cries and pees everywhere. Without a care in the world, like a drunk person. Number six, the door that shuts out poverty. To that question, the maid asked the messengers to show what they had brought. They then produced two coffee beans. One had blood on it and the other didn't. Now I know what you're thinking. What the hell does that have to do with poverty? Let me explain the coffee bean with blood on it was an offer of friendship, a chance to become blood brothers. If Isaza accepts, he has to swallow the blood covered bean and in turn, put his own blood on the other coffee bean, which will be taken to Nyamiyonga. The whole process is called Omukago. Once the process is complete, the two Kings were to treat each other as brothers, which meant coming to the aid of the other one. They requested it. In other words, the door of the shuts out poverty is having someone to lean on. So why all of these riddles I'd be lying. If
Speaker 1:I said, I understood all of what's happening here, but given that we know that it says it was supposed to deduce from these riddles, what Nyamiyonga wanted, and that the end goal was friendship. The question then becomes, well, how do the riddles show a request for blood brotherhood? Let me tell you what I think. I see these riddles as affirmations of what their relationship,(should he accept it) will entail. The first one, the measure of time, which was a rooster. I feel as though Nyamiyonga was saying their relationship will stand the test of time. The second one, the rope that holds water was. I think he was saying that the millet holding the water symbolizes the strength of their bond. And also that they'll provide each other with food in dire situations such as drought and famine. The third, what makes Isaza turnaround? The real question Nyamiyonga was asking is"what is important to Isaza? As it turns out it was cows. More on that later. He was trying to show that he knew him. For the fourth one. He who knows no responsibility. The answer to which was a dog. This is a pledge to honor that bond, that they'll form. In other words, Nyamiyonga won't be like that dog. Number five, the one that knows no suffering. The answer to that was a baby. Again, another pledge. May you know no suffering when I become your brother. Then lastly, the door that shuts out poverty, it is the formal request for friendship, with the presentation of the b lood-stained coffee bean. Their blood pact is the door that shuts out poverty because they'll have each other's backs. But that's just what I think. If you have more in depth knowledge on the subject and have a different take message me by all means, I'd like to learn. Phew. That's enough of riddles for today. Let's move on with the story. Now that an official offer of friendship had been made. Isaza found himself in a dilemma. On one hand, he didn't know Nyamiyonga and thus didn't feel comfortable making a blood pact with him. On the other hand, tradition shunned the idea of rejecting an offer of friendship. The elders(oooh you cannot forget the elders) advised that why doesn't he"Nyamiyonga", come over and see Isaza. And that way he can judge for himself, whether or not he should go through with this. Isaza acknowledged this, it was good advice. But then ultimately decided to trick Nyamiyonga and have his servant Kwezi take the coffee bean on his behalf. Some versions say that it was Bukuku the gatekeeper who did this, but either way, problem solved. He didn't really have to be in a blood pact with a stranger. And as far as Nyamiyonga will know, he will be in a blood brotherhood with this Isaza. However, one of the messengers saw this and reported back to Nyamiyonga and he was livid. He says, I had not only entered him into a blood pact with another person, but he had done so with a Muiru, a commoner. It was here that he vowed his revenge. Nyamiyonga asked his messengers, cattle and women. They responded even younger summoned the prettiest of his daughters,(Nyamata which literally means of milk) and instructed her to lure Isaza to the underworld. So she approached Isaza's palace and met Bukuku the gatekeeper. He was so taken by her beauty that he marched her straight to the King without establishing where she was from. Bukuku announced to the King by saying my Lord, I don't mean to insult my ladies, but there isn't anyone as beautiful as she is in your household. Such a bold claim. But upon seeing her, he too was smitten. So with hearts in his eyes,.he made her his wife. From time to time, Isaza would ask her where she was from. And her answer was always the same. Oh, she was a daughter of Bahuma parents And he wouldn't know who they were. And since Isaza was so in love with her, he wouldn't press the subject. But soon Nyamata realized that Isaza wasn't as in love with her, as she had thought. Whenever she tried to ask him to go with her, to see her parents, he would offer instead to send his representatives. This wasn't going to work. She needed to bring him to the underworld. Furthermore, he was obsessed with his damn cows and she now found herself in competition with these heifers. Frustrated, she decided to leave when she was in her sixth month of pregnancy. In Nyakatura's version, Isaza showed little emotion upon hearing that his wife had disappeared. Maybe because he h ad other wives, who knows. But Nyamiyonga wasn't done yet. Having learned that cows were indeed what Isaza loved the most. He sent two of his most beautiful cows and merged them with Isaza's herd at night. The next day, the King saw them and instantly fell in love with them. And they became part of his herd. However, the animals decided to head back to Nyamiyonga's palace and took with them his beloved cow. Isaza took off after them. Look after my kingdom, he shouted back Bukuku the gatekeeper. Isaza followed, completely consumed by his desire to find them. Now, one version says that he was swallowed by the earth while the other says he got lost and found himself in a foreign land. Either way Isaza was now in a strange land. And it turns out it was the underworld.
Speaker 3:[inaudible]
Speaker 1:The two Kings finally met and the elephant in the room was addressed. Why did you reject my offer of friendship? Nyamiyonga asked. Rather than take responsibility, Isaza insisted that he had been given bad advice. The King of the underworld said, all right, he accepted. Ruth Fischer's version describes the King as seated on a black throne, covered in blackened leopard and lion's skins. His wives and daughters placed in lines on either side of him. And they were dressed in smoked bark cloths. At this point, Isaza recognizes his wife Nyamata. The King of the underworld then asks"who is she?" She's my wife, Isaza responds."She's been lost for some time now" Again, the King of the underworld asked, who is the child she is holding?. It could be mine as Nyamata left on her six month of pregnancy. The underwater King asked a third question, Were you following your wife or did you come to see me? Again, Isaza answered truthfully and said he was following the animals. Would you be able to tell your cow from mine? Isaza said that he would. The cows were assembled and one of them mooed instantly. Isaza looked to see if it was all right, Nyamata motioned to her father to him just show him how much the King of the surface liked his cows. My friend, how you like your cows so much. You seem to like them more than your wife and child. A statement made to expose Isaza's hubris. To which he responded. No, he loves them, but he loves cows even more now, especially since they led him to his wife and son. At this point, Nyamiyonga rose from the seat and took Isaza to pick out his cow. He then let him leave with his wife and child. And in addition, he gave him 200 more cows. Now, if you think the King of the underworld had forgiven him, you are sorely mistaken. It was a trap. Isaza couldn't find his way back and remained imprisoned in the underworld forever. Some say that earthquakes and tremors are actually, Isaza trying to escape to the surface. And Nyamiyonga surely had the last laugh
Speaker 5:[inaudible]
Speaker 1:I originally was going to end this episode here, but then I came across some more information about our man Isaza. It's obvious that this is folklore, but because a lot of African societies didn't have writing systems. And that includes Bunyoro. History was remembered through oral tradition. Now that doesn't mean however, that the, these are just stories with no historical data, as we'll soon, find out these stories contain some information that is worthwhile to study. According to the works of Bunyoro historian Yolamu Ndoleriire Nsamba, Isaza was not a name, but a title. In fact, it was a title that was held by many before the Isaza of this story. The one in this story, his real name was Waraga. The title of Isaza was given to the high priest of the Kuraama religion, a religion that Nsamba describes as the worship of nature forces. These nature forces were seen as personifications of spirits that they called misambwa. Musaza priests would pray and make sacrifices to these misambwa that they believed would inhabit things in nature, such as Hills bodies of water and various animals, including leopards, crocodiles, and snakes. And speaking of snakes, they were already the objects of worship by other previous rulers. These rulers were known as Abagole which meant priestess Lords. However that word today is mostly used to mean brides. Now the Batembuzi dynasty is actually divided into two sections. These are the Abagole Queens and the Musaza priests that followed, including Isaza of this story. The Abagole were matriarchs who ruled agricultural communities that they protected. They were also known as the Python priestesses, because as I mentioned, they worshiped pythons. In fact, they would keep and take care of these snakes. They would feed them milk, fowls and allow them free reign to come and go as they pleased from the shrines where they were kept. These Queens were not just leaders, but warriors as well. They would wear snake skin as armor into battle. And they would also train people to fight. The institutions of these community queens survived throughout the ages, although their roles were falsely altered and reduced to nothing more than wives and daughters in oral tradition. Take for instance, Nyamiyonga's daughter, Nyamata was not his daughter, but rather the Python priestess of the polity Kisozi that he ruled. Nsamba says that this was because of the highly patriarchal nature of these newcomers and those that followed. These Queens lost power to Musaza priests and subsequently converted to their religion of Kuraama. Now, the advent of the Musaza priests caused the expansion of these smaller communities into bigger polities. This is because it was the duty of the high priest, the Isaza to promote inter-clan unity. Isaza being the paramount musaza as a priest, cared more about his cows than doing his duty. So Bunyoro wasn't always this unified kingdom that was presented by writers in the early 20th century, but rather a collection of clans that were each ruled by a priest or priestess, whether Python or Musaza. Nsamba also tells us that during the time of their rule, there was a great drought. It's said to have began around 1200 Ad and ended by the 14th century. So we can place the story around the 12 hundreds. This drought caused a shortage of resources that then began a series of conflicts between rival leaders. These leaders would fight for water and pasture for their cows specifically around the Katonga river Valley. And seeing how Isaza's kingdom stretched past the katonga river. This brought him into direct conflict with Nyamiyonga. He was then prompted by whom oral tradition calls his daughter Nyamata to seek a blood pact with Isaza. The story as told by oral tradition makes no mention of Nyamata's role in the beginning, but it turns out that the matriarchs took on the role of kingmakers. So they could offer advice on how a King could handle a specific situation. This blood pact that she suggested would have ended the fighting between these two, but Isaza rejected the offer. And instead had his junior priest Bukuku, do it on his behalf. But there's also another reason why an alliance with Isaza was desirable. You see, not all Python, priestesses had been defeated. One in particular will still in the fight. Her name was queen Kogere of the Bafunjo clan. She was the Python priestess of the snake goddess Ndyoka. Her army was advancing from the West of Nyamiyonga's polity of Kisozi and he needed to act fast. Only to have his offer spat back in his face with a lie. And he was not going to take that lying down. So he sent Nyamata the warrior queen to spy on Isaza. And when she had completed her duties left, although pregnant with Isaza's baby. And then Isaza was lured to Nyamiyonga's kingdom, by putting new cows in his kraal. These cows were different from his white and black cows that were primarily reared by his clan, the Bagabo, and thus caught his eye. According to oral tradition, he was lured and swallowed by the earth, then found himself in the underworld. This Nsamba says is a metaphor for enemy territory. The Banyoro saw Nyamiyonga's k ingdom as this foreign, strange and evil place. It's why Ruth F isher's version mentions that he was seated on a black throne covered with blackened leopard and l ion's skins. A way to signify his association with the unknown and nefarious. Like the underworld where ghosts live. In fact, the proper translation for his kingdom is the land of ghosts. The being swallowed by the earth part, that was a metaphor for death. So when some stories say that, Isaza was swallowed by the earth, they're alluding to his demise. And Nsamba goes on to say that Isaza lived out his days as a prisoner until he was probably forced to commit suicide. The reason for this hypothesis was because Isaza had lost all of his cows to Nyamiyonga and in a society where cows are currency, as well as a status symbol, an act like this was considered disgraceful for a King. Bunyoro Kings, when disgraced, injured or ill were required to kill themselves, using a mixture of milk poison, and honey, if you couldn't do it yourself, your wives would feed it to you. It didn't matter if you were ready to go custom demanded it. This was because the Omukama's body, the Bunyoro King's body was considered the kingdom's body. If he was dying, then the kingdom was dying too. Then of course there's the shame part of it as well. So it seems that Nyamiyonga took advantage of the stipulation and used it to get revenge against his would be ally. So to summarize religion was very central in pre-colonial Bunyoro society. The Batembuzi Kings and Queens possessed a combination of religious and political power. It would even be more accurate to call them priest Kings and priestess Queens. This combination of power is similar to the papacy after the collapse of the Western Roman empire. Popes began to gain considerable political power because of their influence over monarchs. The difference in Bunyoro is that there was no distinction at the time. The religious leaders were the Kings and Queens. Okay. So that is all for today, everyone for the next episode, we'll continue with the story as told by oral tradition, what happens now that the Isaza throne is vacant and his son. What happens to the young boy as he grows up in the underworld? Will he come back to reclaim the throne of his father? Find out next time on the, those who came before us podcast.
Speaker 6:[inaudible].