Why every Mukonzo family seems to have a Baluku, Bwambale or Kule

The names of the Bakonzo of western Uganda are among the wonders that make the culture of these mountain people a marvel. When naming children among the Bakonzo, there are considerations for gender, situations within which the child has been born, etc.

The Bakonzo are predominantly inhabitants of the Mountain Rwenzori slopes occupying the districts of Kasese, Bundibugyo and Bunyangabu. The Bakonzo of Uganda share several cultural similarities with the Nande of eastern Congo. And the names of these two communities stand out.

The Observer talked to Augustine Baluku Sibendire, a retired senior secondary school teacher, who previously served in the two districts of Kasese and Bundibugyo. He knows the Bakonzo culture like the back of his hand.

“When naming a child among the Bakonzo, there are factors for consideration such as gender, birth position of the baby and circumstances that surround the birth of the newborn, among others,” he said.

Baluku explained that in their particular order, girls are named Masika, Biira, Kabugho, Mbambu, Thungu, Kyakimwa, Nzyabake and Kalibanda. These names will keep recurring in different families across the districts. This way, now you automatically know that journalist Joy Doreen Biira is the second-born girl in her family.

While other tribes such as the Baganda may name a child after a favoured ancestor in the clan, or based on a proverb, Bakonzo baby names are quite technical. Baluku clarified that baby names take a step further to announce the state of the marriage that child was born in; for example, a first-born girl may be named Kanyere if the mother of that baby was a virgin at the time of marriage to the husband!

Kanyere is like a badge of honour. Baluku also said the other circumstances under which the child can still be named Kanyere is when both sets of maternal and paternal grandparents are alive at the time of its birth.

“In the event that the names are used up and yet one is still having more girls, there is a provision of naming your child Kithawithe-rina which literary translates into ‘one that has no name’.

The Bakonzo cultural provision for girls’ names limits the naming process to eight. After Kalibanda, the girls after that will be the ‘girls without names’. “The second option you always have is to take up the family names, which are not always binding,” he said.

For example, especially in modern families, a father may choose to give his daughter his own surname. The only difference would be that, that girl’s name would not tell the complete story of her birth, like her sisters’ names.

When it comes to the boys, their names are also limited to eight, depending on their order of their arrival. It seems the Bakonzo ancestors did not believe in one man having up to 30 or even 60 children, like in some Ugandan families!

According to Baluku, for all first-born boys born when both sets of grandparents are still alive, they assume the names Kambere, or Nzanzu.

“When a first-born boy is born when some of the grandparents on either side are dead, the newborn assumes names like Baluku, Mutoha, and Nzeruku, while a first-born girl born when some grandparents are dead becomes Musoki, or Masika,” Baluku said.

Baluku noted that for one to be Muhindo, Kahindo or Mbindule, there has to have been change in gender.

“The first boy following a girl or the first girl following a boy becomes Muhindo”.

So, in practice, the Bakonzo have three names.

“A birth position name comes first, followed by the religious exception name, and finally a third name (omusyo) that is determined by the prevailing situation in which a child has been born.

My name Sibendire means ‘they don’t want him’”.

By someone hearing a Mukonzo’s full name, one can tell the religion, position of birth and what the circumstances of their birth were like. It is like one’s story summarized in one’s name.

Baluku said that there are other third names such as Baswekire, which means ‘people mock you’ – possibly given to babies whose mothers had been mocked for infertility – Balinandi, translating to ‘on whose side are they’, arising from conflicts, among other names.

Yet like other Ugandan tribes, the exception among the Bakonzo comes with twins, who are considered special children.

Baluku said: “Among our people, twins (abahasa) are considered a blessing. Of the twins, the first is Nguru while the second is Ndobya. Kitsa/Kiiza is the child that immediately follows twins, while Kamalha follows Kiiza and Karumba follows Kamalha.

The mother of twins is Nyabahasa while the father becomes Isebahasa” This is a naming system for twins that is also in some other Ugandan cultures, including the Baganda, where names such as Kigongo, Kizza and Nakamya are in relation to how much older or younger than the twins, one is.

“There’s another set of names that are given to children born after the demise of an immediate older sibling. These children shall then assume names like Bisika, Kibaya, and Bityabitya, among others,” he said.

Outside these core Bakonzo name classes, there are other names of Olughundughundu, which people assume because of their social class; for example, a witch may take on unclear names just to elevate her position or to be feared.

These are names such as Nzima, Kunukunu, Nyamumera, Nyamurangwa. Baluku says, like in other regions, some names are informally adopted to describe one’s personality; Thowakinjo is one who visits whenever he hears the mortar and pestle pounding in the vicinity – probably because of his or her love for food, Wanzabalere is usually a womanizer that likes young girls, and Mukoghotya leaves his plate clean when eating, among others.

I hope this settles the many questions about why everyone in Kasese seems to be called Baluku, Bwambale, Muhindo, Kule, Biira, etc. Every Bakonzo family, especially big families, name their children the same way, depending on order and circumstances of birth.

In Buganda, for example, names are given depending on one’s clan, and the same names may be reused by different families in the same clan, making those thousands of families ‘relatives’ by default and clan lineage, and thus forbidden to intermarry; not so among the Bakonzo. Not all the Balukus are related.

The Banyankore, on the other hand, tailor most of their names to emotions and the love of God – Atusiimire, Byamugisha, Kasingye, Asiimwe – a system not replicated by Bakonzo, in spite of the geographical proximity of the two tribes.

And as one drives further from Bukonzo to enter Tooro, the language softens into a lyrical dialect and the naming system changes even further to introduce pet names and so forth. As one continues inland into Buganda then further to Busoga and the Luo and Nilo Hamites beyond that, languages and baby naming cultures change drastically, making Uganda all the richer for its heritage and different cultures that all call it home.

samuelmhindo@gmail.com

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