The Traditions of the Early Kings of Buganda: Myth, History, and Structural Analysis

In the pages which follow, the traditions surrounding the first eight (of a total of thirty-five) kings of Buganda's traditional history will be investigated from a perspective that has not been utilized before. I hope to demonstrate that these traditions—beginning with the establishment of the first king, Kintu, in Buganda proper and ending with the death of the eighth king, Nakibinge, at the hands of the Banyoro—form an interrelated set which can be analyzed structurally as myth. While so doing, I do not wish to imply that the traditions in question demand this type of analysis and no other; different perspectives have been and will be useful for understanding early Buganda and its traditions. But I do want to show that such a structure can be discerned in the traditions and that the existence of this structure should be taken into account regardless of the type of analysis to be undertaken. One task which will further these ends will be a discussion of the reasons for setting off the particular traditions chosen from the larger context of the set of traditions surrounding all the kings of Buganda. Following this, the selected traditions will be subjected to a structural analysis. In the process, however, I will digress frequently from the dominant mode of analysis to discuss: (1) variant or additional traditions which seem to remain outside the particular structural themes dominating the traditions as a set; and (2) alternative interpretations of the traditions, especially historical ones, which have been or might be offered. Finally, the structural themes discussed in the body of the paper will be represented in a comprehensive chart.