The Empire of Kitara or Chwezi Empire, refers specifically to the Kingdom of the Bakitara, at the time of its greatest expansion, it had rulership that stretched throughout the Nile valley and beyond. When the Kingdom of Aksum disintegrated around 940 AD into kingdom of Makuria, the Zagwe kingdom, the Damot kingdom and the Shewa kingdom in Northeast of Africa, another kingdom broke away in the south to form the Empire of Kitara.
Founding
According to historical records, The Empire was founded by a man called Kintu who is believed to have came from Abyssinian after the disintegration of Aksum Kingdom around 940 AD. Kitara comes from two words. A Bantu prefix Ki, and the wordTar, Meteoric meaning King, hence Kingdom. Kintu is believed to have come with a White Cow, In Bunyoro-Kitara, a White Cow is Called Kitara, and is a Symbol of Kingship. Kintu and his wife kati had three sons but it was very confusing for them not to have names. They all shared the name "Kana" Whenever the father called one, they could all come and whenever he gave one child a present, they all quarreled declaring it was intended for them, So, he asked Ruhanga if they could be given names. Ruhanga agreed but he proposed two tests to help him select the boys names. In the first test, the boys had to select some items that were placed along a path. In the second test, the boys had to keep bowls of milk on their lap during a night until morning. For the first test, Potatoes, millet, leather thong/strap and a ox’s head were placed along the path, As the children walked, they found the things in the path, the eldest son picked up the potatoes and millet, the second pick up the leather thong and the youngest, picked the ox’s head. For the second test, they sat down on the ground, with their legs stretched out, each holding on his lap a full wooden milk pot. At midnight, the youngest boy started to dose and spilled half of his milk: He greatly feared and turned to his brothers and begged them to fill up his milk pot, so the two brothers filled up their young brother milk pot. But at cock crow the eldest spilled all his milk, and when he asked his brothers to pour from their pots into his, they refused, saying that he would need so much to fill up the empty pot. At dawn Ruhanga came and told each to uncover his milk pot. With the eldest, he found it empty; with the second, half full; while the youngest had his full. So Ruhanga called Kintu that he had found the names for his three children. The oldest son was named Kairu, which means “little peasant” for he had shown that he knew nothing about the value of cattle or milk. He had spilled all his milk, and he had chosen potatoes and millet from the items along the path. He and all his descendants forever would be farmers and servants. The second he named Kahuma which means, This is because he had chosen the leather thong/stap, used for tying up cattle, and only half of his milk was missing The youngest son had all his milk. And he had chosen the head of an ox in the first test. Ruhanga named him Kakama, which means “little mukama.” A mukama is a ruler. hence Kakama went on to become the second ruler of the Empire of Kitara The Kitara Empire included what corresponds to modern Uganda, northern Tanzania, eastern Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia and Malawi. According to oral tradition in the area of the Great Lakes of Africa was ruled by a dynasty known as the Bachwezi, successors of the Batembuzi Dynasty.
Territory
Decline
The collapse of the Kitara empire came along a prophesy that said when the sacred cow Died, it would mark the end of this empire. Many believed in this prophecy and so in the 1300 there was an invasion from the North and the descendants of those who ruled this empire moved south to the present Rwanda, Burundi, Ankole and Eastern Congo. Small chiefdoms arose from this in the region.
Abakama (Kings)
The earlier dates as estimated using
Batembuzi. the disintegration of Aksum Kingdom in 940 AD Bachwezi. Historical accounts Babiito. Biharwe full moon eclipse that happened in 1520 AD when Omukama Olimi I Rwitamahanga was on expedition from Rwanda and Ankole
