KASUBI Tombs were last night burnt by fire, whose origin was not immediately established. The Police Fire Brigade rushed to the scene but its efforts to put out the raging fire at the traditional burial grounds of Buganda kings were disrupted by a crowd.
About 6 kilometers from the city centre, lies one of the seven wonders of Uganda ,this is on the main road heading to hoima. Magnificent, awesome, amazing are some of the words that tourists use to describe the kasubi tombs. It always surprise many to learn that kasubi tombs was once a palace which belonged to Ssekabaka muteesa 1. Muteesa ruled Buganda from 1856 to 1884. he built many palaces like at Nakawa( Nakatema) from there he built another palace at Lubaga place was called Namirembe.
He dropped the name being a lady’s name and he named the hill lubaga which name belonged to an adjacent hill and he gave the adjacent hill the name Namirembe.(names were switched). On February 21st of 1882, smallpox and plague which had attacked the Buganda kingdom, claimed one of the kabaka’s wives. At first, he had thought that the diesese could not kill royals but after that incident, the king had to desert the lubaga palace where small pox had began to claim so many lives.
The kabaka then went to his new palace which was still under construction and that’s Kasubi palace. This was built in a better way than all other palaces he had previously built. Being near his mother’s enclosure at Kazo,the mother was called Muganzilwazza the king ordered his men to make two hills on which he could stand on one and see his mother’s enclosure(Lusaka) and on another one to monitor the enclosure of his wives. Each county chief had to bring soil from his county.
These two hills are called LWABUSAGALA and KYEKULIDDE. It is said that Nakulabye a city suburb, also got its name from these to hills because the king on monitoring his wives while stnding on one of the hills, he could see the men who were trying to flirt with his wives. He could then call these me latter and since they dint suspect that the king hafd seen then, they could try to plead innocent but the king could just say, NAKULABYE meaning that “I saw you”. Where the present Nakulabye stands now, was the wives’ enclosure.
The present hut like structure was turned into a tomb after king Muteesa 1 had ordered his people to bury him there. Muteesa 1 died on 19th 0ctober 1884 and was succeeded by his son Mwanga in the same year. Mwanga who died in exile in Seychelles islands in 1903 was also buried at the Kasubi tombs. During the reign of Muteesa ’s grandson, Daudi Chwa, the tombs were renovated.
On entering the courtyard, visitors are immediately captured by the beauty of the thick thatched roof which extends all the way down to the ground. Entrance to the Muzibu-Azaala-Mpanga is through a low, wide arch flanked on both sides by richly woven reeds. The inside is partitioned using a huge bark cloth which secludes the “sacred forest” where the four royal graves lie. Entrance to the “sacred forest” is limited to the widows of the Kabakas, the royal family, the Naalinya, and Katikkiro. The inside of the house is adorned with power insignias such as drums, spears, shields, medals, and photographs of the Kabakas buried there. The floor is covered with a thick layer of lemon grass and palm leaves mats. The whole structure is supported by gigantic straight wooden poles wrapped in bark cloth. This creates a striking impression of harmony and power.
The Muzibu-Azaala-Mpanga is circular in plan and has a dome-like shape. The main building that can be seen today was rebuilt in 1882 by Kabaka Mutesa I. The first palace originally built by Mutesa I’s father, Kabaka Suuna II in 1820 does not exist anymore.
Its massive scale can be seen in its external diameter of 31 meters and an internal height of 7.5 meters. Illustration of the plan of Muzibu Azaala Mpanga
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