Ankole

Banyankore trace their ancestors back to two different ethnic groups, the Bairu-mainly agriculturalists and the Bahima subgroup-mainly pastoralists. Both groups migrated from central Africa to what is now Uganda between the years 500 and 1000AD. The two groups formed a relationship based on trade. The Bahima, although smaller in number than the Bairu, were socially dominant as they only, owned cattle. However, this relationship has enormously changed and today, cattle rearing and agricultural practice is done by both the Bairu and Bahima. The two groups formed the Ankole (also referred to as Nkole/ Nkore) kingdom in present-day western Uganda. Originally, Ankole was known as Kaaro-Karungi and the word Nkore is said to have been adopted during the 17th century following the devastating invasion of Kaaro-Karungi by Chawaali, the then Omukama of Bunyoro-Kitara. The word Ankole was introduced by British colonial administrators to describe the bigger kingdom which was formed by adding to the original Nkore, the former independent kingdoms of Igara, Sheema, Buhweju and parts of Mpororo (Runyankore is native language in these areas). Ankole kingdom was one of four kingdoms that make up what is now Uganda. The ruler of the kingdom was called Omugabe. Below the Omugabe was a prime minister called Enganzi and local chiefs known as Abakuru b’ebyanga. The Banyankore traditional social structure emphasized clan loyalty as opposed to a central government scheme. Banyankore traditionally lived in villages and practiced both migratory animal husbandry and subsistence farming with a shift to an emphasis on cash crops such as coffee and cotton in contemporary times. Since Uganda was colonized by the British, it has been difficult for them to reinstate their form of traditional government.[4]

The kingdom was formally abolished in 1967 by Ugandan government under president Apollo Milton Obote and has not been restored since.

Like other Bantu groups, the origins of the Banyankore could be traced to the Congo region. Legends hold that the first occupant of Ankole was Ruhanga (the creator), who is believed to have come from heaven to rule the earth. Ruhanga is believed to have come with his three sons Kairu, Kakama and Kahima. There is a popular legendary story about how Ruhanga gave a test to determine which of his sons would become the heir. The test is said to have been that of keeping milk–filled pots on their laps throughout the night. At the end of it all, the youngest son, Kakama, is said to have passed the test followed by Kahima and last came the eldest son, Kairu. Judging from the performance in the test, Ruhanga is said to have decreed that Kairu and Kahima would serve their brother Kakama. Thereafter he went back to heaven, leaving Kakama or Ruhanga, as he was also called, to rule the land.