The Death of Rwabugiri
The thin veneer of Rwandan administrative occupation is again evident from the events following Rwabugiri’s death, about a decade after the death of Nkundiye. Rwabugiri died in a canoe off Nyamisi, one of the islands near the western shore of…
The Administration of Rwabugiri on Ijwi
Ijwi under its Havu king had always been independent of Rwanda ritually, politically and militarily. However, both ritually and politically there were indeed royal elements similar to those in Rwanda—perhaps introduced by immigrants to Ijwi but more likely drawn (both…
The Death of Nkundiye
The limited aims of Rwabugiri’s attack on Ijwi are best demonstrated in the initial results. Nkundiye was placed as chief over the south by the Rwandans, politically assuming his father’s mantle but without Kabego’s ritual position. Tabaro retained power in…
The Death of Kabego
At the time of the Rwandan attacks, Kabego was an old man whose long reign had been peaceful until the outbreak of the succession struggle. It does not appear that Kabego himself took any active role in these struggles; he…
Rwabugiri and Ijwi
The heroic figure of Mwami Kigeri Rwabugiri, king of Rwanda, dominates the history of the later nineteenth century in the Lake Kivu region, not only for Rwanda but for virtually all the neighboring countries to which he turned his prominence…
The Campaigns of Rwabugiri
Kigeri Rwabugiri, king of Rwanda from 1865 to 1895, transformed Rwandan kingship. As the last independent king of Rwanda before European intrusion, people remember him in monumental terms. Within the royal domains, he reconfigured internal power relations by appointing delegates…
The Two Traditions in Time Perspective
The first section discussed the differences in the forms of the two genesis traditions. The second discussed differences in the areas of residence, the histories, and the contacts with others sustained by the Baloho and Babambo, and speculated on the…
The Traditions as Historical Documents
The previous two sections have stressed the considerable differences in these two traditions. They appear mutually exclusive in content and narrative form, as well as in their distribution: those who know one tradition do not know the other. They therefore…
The Social and Historical Characteristics of the Two Clans on Ijwi
The previous section examined the content of each of the two traditions for its consistency and historical plausibility. Their differences can be explained in part by the fact that the two traditions are so localized on the island today; each…
The Two Traditions
The more complete, comprehensive, and geographically widespread tradition is that recounted primarily by informants of the Babambo tradition relates that at a hill called Nyabihunge, near the southern end of Lake Kivu, there occurred a succession struggle within the Havu…