CHAPTER VIIL 



THE WAGANDA. 



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GANDA (or Buganda) denotes the 

 country, Waganda the race, Lug- 

 anda their language. 



The native constitution acknow- 

 ledges three estates : the king, the lords, and 

 the commons, known as Kabaka, Siol, and 

 ]\Iakope respectively. 



Travellers to Uganda, before the British 

 occupation of the country, were astonished to 

 find the inhabitants so highly advanced in 

 civilisation and form of government, when 

 compared with the condition of the savages 

 surrounding them on every side. 



The form of government is strikingly 

 analogous to the feudal system. The sove- 

 reign is lord paramount ; the land belongs 

 to him ; he is the fountain of justice and of 

 honour, and his consent is necessary to every decision arrived 

 at by the Great Council of the State. 



The lords are subdivided into thirty dififerent degrees of rank. 

 Of the great chiefs there are about ten. They hold certain high 

 offices which carry with them the revenue and administration 

 of some province. For instance, the ruler of the province of 

 Chagwe is called the Sekibobo, and the chief of the province 

 of Singo is known as the Makwenda ; the Kangao rules Bulam- 

 wezi (written also Bulemezi), and the Pokino has Budu. The 

 great chiefs hold their land direct from the crown, and in return 

 have certain feudal obligations to fulfil ; in case of war they 

 have to provide an army ; they have to keep the public roads 

 and bridges in repair, and they have to furnish the king with 



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UGANDA SHIELD. 



