60G BANTU NEGROES 



threatened that if it were not forthcoming he 'woiild send his lions to punish those 

 who had refused him. Several of the greater chiefs defied him, but in every case 

 they were brought to their knees by the losses inflicted on their jjeople or cattle by 

 the lions he sent* Kabarega became interested, and sent a messenger to Jluguta 

 challenging him to send his lions. Three days after two of the lions appeared 

 inside the king's enclosure and killed a cow. The people were ready in large 

 numbers, and as a lion attacked a man it was riddled with bullets, whilst the 

 other escaped. Kabarega placed no significance on the death of the lion, but 

 admitted ^Muguta had proved his power by sending the lions. Kabarega received 

 Lis talisman, and thenceforth exempted ]Muguta from all obligations. Byabaswezi, 

 the present chief, ■\\as one of the party sent by Kabarega to wait for the lions. 

 In ]N[ajnr Thrnston's time, about 1894, four of Muguta's women were captured by 

 the Sudanese. Three days after nine lions appeared in Hoima. The Sudanese 

 released the women, and paid Muguta four goats on receiving the talisman. !Muguta 

 is still living, now very old and decrepit. His whereabouts have been recently lost 

 sight of. 



The following is one of the versions mast current in rnyoro of the 

 oft-told Uganda legend respecting Kintu, the founder of the Unyoro- 

 Uganda dynasty : — 



Kintu was immortal. He was in the habit of periodically visiting God for the 

 purpose of reporting on the work he had done on earth. These visits were made 

 on a hill called Magonga, which has consequently been carefully guarded up to the 

 commencement of Mwanga's reign. There was one condition always laid down by 

 the Divinity, which was that on no account was Kintu to turn back or pay another 

 visit unless he were called. His orders were that " he was to do no evil ; he must 

 not steal." God gave him a bag which was not to be separated from him, or even 

 be touched by any other psrson. One day, whilst under the eflfects of liquor, he 

 went to the hill ^lagonga, where he dropped his bag, not immediately noticing his 

 loss. Forgetting his order, he went back for it, to find God very angry with him. 

 "Why did you come back here, when I gave you strict orders not to come unless 

 you were called 1 " Some versions of the legend say that he was forbidden to return 

 to his home, and a young man, symbolical of the Spirit of Death,+ was ordered to 

 be continually beside him. In any case, he never did return. The people regarded 

 his absence as an indication of God's wrath, and to provide for him in case he 

 was still alive they built a large house in the forest on Magonga, and every 

 nine days carried food there. This custom, as well as the guard, was kept 

 up till Mwanga's time, when the intestine wars interfered with most of the old 

 usages and habits. To propitiate God's wrath in His anger against Kintu's dis- 

 obedience it was decreed that Kintu's law, which was that nobody should Avork on 

 every seventh day and on the first day of each new moon, should be perpetuated. 

 To this day any person, no matter what his offence may have been, or in what 

 way he may be ordered to be punished, if he es::ape and reach the hill ]NIagonga, 

 must be liberated — in fact, it was regarded as a "hill of refuge" till quite recently, 

 and in every way had been considered sacred. 



* The chiefs bought ^luguta off by presents, receiving as a talisman that he would 

 not molest them again a piece of carved wood. It was never known to fail. 

 + Some sav of Sickness. 



