Speech

by

H.E. Yoweri K. MuseveniPresident of the Republic of Uganda

On the launch of the Runyankore-Rukiga Thesaurus

7th November, 2012 - Serena, UICC

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Language is a means of communication among human

beings. It is also a store of human knowledge. You

cannot describe what you do not know. I have for a long

time known that the Bantu dialects and, possibly, the

other African languages are much richer than the

European languages. The only problem was that many of

these dialects were not written down. The Banyankore

have a history of writing in the form of hieroglyphics.

Unlike in Egypt where scarcity of water compelled people

to keep records, in tropics, awash with water, food,

building materials and many others, such a need did not

exist. The hieroglyphics, therefore, only ended up as

decorations on walls, or on food utensils, etc.

With limited writing and with our elders fast dying off, I

got very worried that we may lose these unique

languages. It is good that I learnt English for fourteen

years (1953-1966). I am able to compare that language

with Runyankore-Rukiga, which I know very well.

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This Runyankore-Rukiga is a dialect that is a sub-group of

many dialects that are spoken by the interlacustrine

Bantus – the Bantus of the Lakes. I regard all these

dialects as one language. Why? This is because they are

mutually intelligible. If I can understand what you are

saying without translation, even if you are speaking in a

slightly different way, then, we are speaking the same

language. This one language for the interlacustrine

Bantus is in concentric circles. Within the inner circle in

terms of mutual intelligibility, there is the Runyankore-

Rukiga-Ruhororo; the next circle comprises Runyoro-

Rutooro, Runyambo of Karagwe, Ruhaya of Bukoba

(Buhaya), Rujinja of Biharamulo-Sengerema Tanzania and

Rusuubi (Tanzania); Lusoga, Luruuli, Lugungu, Lugweere,

Luramoogi, Lusiki form the next circle; Luganda forms the

next circle; Runyarwanda-Rurundi form the next circle,

Lugisu-Lusamya-Luluya (Kenya) form the next circle; and,

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finally, Lukonjo-Lunande of Congo form the final circle.

Up to circle no. 5, I, a Runyankore-Rukiga speaker, can

listen in a relaxed manner and understand almost

everything without translations, just occasionally

inquiring about a slightly different word here and there.

Beyond that, I must listen very carefully and ask

frequently about, sometimes, the same words spoken

differently. When I visited the former Vice President of

Kenya, Mzee Moody Awori, for instance, the women came

in singing: “kingula Mlanga, Museveni yaizire”. Nothing

could be more Runyankore than this. In Runyankore, you

would say: “igura omuryango Museveni yaizire”.

Nevertheless, the word kukingula is also used to mean to

open although, I think, the Banyankore only use it in

reference to open ekihongore (the calf-pen). Otherwise,

they use igura.

Beyond these 7 circles, the Bantu dialects have a lot of

similarities. However, you cannot easily get the sense. It

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is amazing that a foreigner like H.M. Stanley could easily

and quickly see this but the Africans cannot see it. He

pointed out that from Ituri in Congo up to Mwanza in

Tanzania, they used the translators who spoke the

“Hima” language. By the “Hima” language he meant

precisely these interlacustrine dialects of the 7 circles

(Runyoro in Bunia-Congo, Rukonjo, Rusongora,

Runyankore, Luganda, Runyambo, Rujinja, etc. At

Mwanza, they had to transfer to the Lusukuma-

Runyamwezi translators.

The only problem is that we do not have an agreed name

for this language. Prof. Ndoleriire of Makerere called it

Runyakitara. Should all of us adopt this? I have no major

problem; however, when you use Runyakitara, the

Luganda speakers feel excluded because, in terms of

political history, the three counties of Kyadondo, Busiro

and Mawokota pulled out of the Kitara Empire quite early.

Then, hostilities between the two units characterized their

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subsequent relations. Could we not look at also other

possible descriptions? How about Rucwezi on account of

the common linkages to that dynasty – the Bachwezi.

Alternatively, we could also look at the geography of our

area. We have our lakes – the Nyanjas. Can we not call

this language Lunyanja, Lunyanyanja, etc – the language

of the lakes. This is to avoid duplicating the use of the

word “kinyanja” which is used in Malawi, Zambia,

Mozambique and Tanzania, unless of course, we want to

refer to this language as Kinyanja (North) and the other

one as Kinyanja (South).

These dialects are much closer, I am told, than the

dialects of German or Arabic. I am told that with some of

the dialects of the two languages, you cannot understand

each other. That is why in the case of Arabic, they took

the dialect of the Koran as the standard Arabic and in the

case of German, they took the dialect of the Bible, which

means the tribal language of Martin Luther, as the

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standard German. In our case, we are much luckier.

These dialects are mutually intelligible.

Once I was determined to capture especially the

vocabulary of this unique dialect, Runyankore-Rukiga, I

decided to research into most of the Runyankore words

whose meanings are not well known to me on account of

colonial intrusion. You capture these words in people’s

names, in classical songs, riddles, rhymes, etc. Names

like: Rusiribya, Rutanyohoka, Runonzya, Katsimbazi and

many others. It was a terrible thing that I did not know

the meaning of these words yet I was a much better

Runyankore speaker than many people, especially the

young ones.

It was at this stage, that I got in touch with three

academicians in the persons of: Prof. Emmanuel

Muranga, Mrs. Alice Muhoozi and Mr. Gilbert Gumoshabe.

These trained linguists gave me one good idea. They told

me, rightly, that it is difficult to just sit down and

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remember words from your head. They advised that it is

better to collect words activity by activity, such as

fighting, agriculture, animal husbandry, herbal medicine,

marriage, to mention only a few. We adopted this and it

has worked so well. We have collected about 22,000

words in the Thesaurus which we have compiled. The

reader will be able to see the richness of these dialects.

You take, for instance, the English verb “to stand”. The

Runyankore-Rukiga equivalent is: “okwemerera”. This is

the general word. However, there are other verbs that

describe the different ways of standing. Okwetsimba (to

stand still); okuhanda (to be transfixed or to stand

aimlessly); kubambira (to stand in); kuzaagira (to be

stagnant), etc.

To do all this we were assisted by a number of elders.

Mzee Amosi Kaguta, my father, was a principal source of

information. Other elders include: Mzee Rutanyohoka,

the late Mzee Israel Katuuka, Mzee Mutentsa of Kabula,

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Mzee Kagunga of Ntungamo, the late Mzee Kirindi of

Ibanda, the late Mzee Rutasheenya of Rubanga

Ntungamo and many others whom I cannot all include

here.

These dialects’ superiority to the foreign languages I have

come across, is illustrated even in the technical fields of

artisanship and manufacturing. I will use the example of

metal-work (iron) to illustrate this by reading what is

contained in this Thesaurus from pages 318 to 320

regarding iron works. I wrote this piece after having

extensively de-briefed Mzee George Kajuga of Ishaka, one

of the few surviving Baheesi (black-smiths). I pointed out

that it was a shame for the modern education system not

to expose students to the indigenous African technology.

Banyankore were organized in castes. The two well

known castes are the ones of the cultivators (Abahingi)

and the cattle-keepers (Abariisa). Yet there were other

castes. These were always family based. Certain families

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would specialize in different trades: blacksmiths

(Abahesi); bark-cloth-makers (Abakomagyi); leather-

workers (Abahazi, Abaremi); clay-workers (Ababumbi,

Abanogoozi); wood-workers (Ababaizi); arrow-workers

(Abatanagi); etc.

In this article, having utilized the unique knowledge of

Mzee George Kajuga of Ishaka, I would like to capture for

you the trade of the Abahesi (blacksmiths). What is

amazing and unique are the technical terms in the

Runyankore language. While English uses descriptions of

different scientific and technological processes,

Runyankore has got unique technical terms. One

example is the process described as “cold-shrinkage” in

English. This is a process of heating a metal to red-hot

and then cooling it suddenly by immersing it in cold

water. That sudden cooling, apparently, makes the metal

stronger. The Banyankore blacksmiths use one word for

this: kukaza. Of course, I have had occasion to quote

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other examples from other aspects demonstrating the

same point. The most striking is the English word: fore-

head. In many African dialects they use one word:

ekyenyi in Luganda, obuso in Runyankore and other

Runyakitara dialects.

Coming back to the blacksmith vocabulary, we start with

the grass thatched shed for this purpose, called ekirubi. I

do not know what they would call it in English other than

the general word of shed. Within the kirubi, there is the

furnace itself. This furnace is broken into parts. The fire-

place is called iziiko which is circular with a hole of about

one foot in the middle. You notice the closeness of this

word iziiko with the Swahili word jiiko, meaning kitchen.

African languages put to shame the reactionaries who

always proclaim how different and unconnected the

African peoples are – total falsehood. Joined to the iziiko

(the fire-place) is a funnel called encheru in Runyankore.

The funnel is linked to clay-pipes known as ebichunga.

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This word bichunga is also used for another item used to

scent milk-pots (okwitira). These bichunga have got a

curved edge known as omuhiro – like a ringed edge to the

kichunga (the clay-pipe). Around this pipe-edge (omuhiro)

is fastened a cattle-skin (oruhu). This process of

fastening the skin around the clay-pipes is called

okugyema. The usual tying in other situations is called

okukoma. In the skin is inserted wooden-rods known as

endiindi (oruriindi – singular). It is these ndiindi that are

held by the blacksmith to blow air, through the bichunga,

through the encheru to the iziiko in order to enhance

oxygen supply to the fire when the actual time comes for

melting iron-ore or iron itself. In English, apparently, the

four are called one word: ‘bellow’. I would like to know

whether the constituent parts of the bellow have got

specific names from those who may know. However, for

Runyankore the four parts: encheru, ebichunga, oruhu

and endiindi are called omujuba (the bellow). The

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process of pumping oxygen into the iziiko is known as

okujuguta.

Having described for you the shed of the blacksmith, the

fire-place and the bellows, let us now go to the raw-

material, the iron-ore. The English, obviously, found

difficulty in defining this important compound – the iron-

ore. The best they could do was to describe it – the ore of

iron.

The Banyankore, however, had a more precise and

unique term – obutare. Other iron compounds are called

differently: oburimbi (19.35% iron, 6.24% aluminium,

37.6% silicate and others); enoombe (10.6% iron, 8.1%

aluminium, 35.2% silicate and others); ebisooni is of

three types: grey (5.4% iron, 6.9% magnesium, 2.15%

aluminium, 36.9% silicate and others); and reddish pink

(1.98% iron, 9.45% aluminium, 42.0 % silicate and

others); white (12.5% aluminium, 41.8% silicate, 15.8%

carbonates and others). Many names of places are

derived from these compounds. For example, Butare

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means there is iron-ore there; Burimbi means there is

iron, aluminium and silicate; Noombe means the area has

iron, aluminium and silicate. Kebisooni means the area

has iron, aluminium, silicate, and magnesium. The iron-

ore is first crashed into pieces. Then, it is tied in a bundle

with the use of a grass known as eyojwa (Rhodenta

kageransis) and ropes from a plant known as emishinya.

According to Mzee Kajuga, eyojwa is preferred because it

burns completely (okuyonga). This bundle of iron-ore

fragments is known as omujego. Bundles of food or fire-

wood would be called differently: omutwaro, omushenga

for food, oruba, ekiba for fire-wood and grass

respectively. These bundles in plural are called emijego.

Pieces of dry papyrus stems (enkorogoto) are put in the

hole in the iziiko. The lowest ones are packed vertically

and the ones on top are laid horizontally on top of the

other ones. Then, iron-bars are laid across the fire-place

– leaving spaces between them. Across these iron-bars,

the emijego (iron-ore bundles) are put. Then, charcoal

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from special trees is piled up around the emijego. As

many as ten emijego can be dealt with at one go.

However, before you pile the charcoal, you light the

nkorogoto with fire – these are the dry papyrus stems.

Once the charcoal is piled and the fire is burning, you

start blasting the air into the furnace by the use of the

omujuba (the bellows). This is called okujuguta. It is

done by men, continuously, in relays. It can go on for

about ten hours. You may start the process at 4.00 a.m.

in the morning and continue up to 2.00 p.m. in the

afternoon. During this time you are replenishing the

charcoal. This charcoal is from certain trees only:

omukoyooyo, omuhungye, omurera, obugando or black-

wattle.

After the pumping of oxygen has gone on for about ten

hours, you will begin noticing sparks similar to those of

welding. That will mean that iron has been separated

from iron-ore and the material is now liquid instead of

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solid. It is also no longer red-hot but actually almost

white – ‘like the moon’ our blacksmiths say. These sparks

are called amasasi (same words used for bullets). It

seems when bullets were introduced into our society by

Arabs, our people compared them to these blacksmith

sparks. Hence, the name amasasi or isasi (singular).

Once the blacksmiths saw the sparks, they knew that

melting (hence separation of iron from oxygen) was

taking place. The molten iron would keep dripping into

the hole in the fire-place.

During the blasting, another process would take place.

This is the controlled process of the surface temperature

of the burning charcoal by sprinkling water on the top

layer. This process is called kuzimiza whereby, using an

instrument of loosened fibres similar to a fly-whisker

known as eisiza, the blacksmith would sprinkle water,

from time to time, over the top layer of the hot charcoal.

The purpose of this was to create a type of upper

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insulation for the heat so that the heat is directed

downwards to the iron-ore. This water would be got from

a hole next to the omujuba. This hole is called

ekizimirizo. The verb okuzimiza meant to reduce the

surface temperature of the top charcoal as already

described. I forgot to point out that the iron-bars laid

across the fire-place to hold the iron-ore bundles

(emijego) are called ebikingisirizo (holders of the

emijego). The other synonym for omujego (the bundle of

iron-ore pieces) is called akarambatsi. Again, the

closeness between the verb okuzimiza and the Swahili

word kuzimya moto is amazing. It means to put out the

fire. However, in the Runyankore of blacksmiths, it

means to control the fire.

Once the sparking has gone on for some time, the

blasting (okujuguta) is stopped and the fire is allowed to

die down. It is left to cool overnight. The following day,

the lump of metal is got out, the ashes of charcoal

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removed, the hole in the fire-place filled with soil and the

slugs removed. These slugs (the remainder of the iron-

ore after the iron has been removed) are called emomo.

The blacksmith now has got iron (ekyooma).

The next phase, on another day, is to reheat this metal to

achieve two things: make it purer and attach the iron

lump to a holder for future handling – a type of a very

long ladle for holding the iron-lump. This long handle is

called omureengo. On account of heating, the mureengo

gets joined to the metal-lump like the spoon and its

handle or ladle. The omureengo cannot be held directly

with bare hands. It will be too hot. A wooden handle is

attached. It is called embago. The rich Runyankore

language is inexhaustible. The wooden handle for panga

(omuhoro) is called ekirindi; totally different name.

Now that you have iron and it is attached to a holder

(omureengo), the next phase is to flatten it – to make it a

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type of a thick sheet (ekibanda) instead of being round

(embumburi) or oblong (omwongo-like). How do you do

this? You, again, heat and, in addition, use two big and

special stones. One is called oruhiija (the anvil) and the

other one is called omutsiindo (the hammer). Stones for

other purposes are given different names e.g. orubeengo;

and so are the hammers for different purposes e.g.

enyondo. However, for the blacksmiths these are specific

names: oruhiija and omutsiindo (musiindo in one of the

accents). These special gadgets are made out of a stone

known as omuyumbwe.

Dr. Otiti, Dr. Kwesiga and their team will have to describe

for us the types of these stones in modern geological

language.

Once you have flattened iron attached to the long handle

(omureengo), you are now in business for tools (spears,

pangas, hoes, etc). How are these made? Whenever you

want to make any item, you go to your metal, heat it and

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then cut the piece you want for further shaping. Here

you use a strengthened metal-cutter known as eshinjo.

This is a little bit sharpened at the lower end and had

gone through the process of okukaza (cold-shrinkage)

where you heat a piece of metal to red-hot and, then,

cool it suddenly by immersing it in ekizimirizo (the cooling

trough or hollow).

The Banyankore and other Africans had mastered also

the process of wire-making – thinning metal to wire – like

Casement does with the steel-bars and wires out of billets

today. The Banyankore called it okukweega (pulling).

When it comes to ordinary pulling, the Banyankore call it

kunyurura. Kukweega, therefore, appears to have been

for blacksmithing. The metal thinning and lengthening

was necessary to be able to make thin-sized items such

as empiindu for stitching crafts and textiles, orumweiso

for shaving hair, omusyo for cutting meat or anything as

well as special knives for harvesting millet (kugyesha). It

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is interesting to note that the Baganda use the word:

kumwa to refer to shaving hair. The Banyankore use a

different word in modern times (kutega). However, the

instrument they were using was called orumweiso – the

instrument for kumwa. This would mean that in the past,

the Banyankore may have used a common word with the

Baganda.

Now that we have got iron, we need to introduce you to

the instruments that are used for cutting and shaping

metal products. I have told you about eshinjo – the

metal-cutter. The big eshinjo (empango) is for cutting

iron; the small eshinjo (enkye) is for cutting copper,

brass, aluminium, etc. To cut metals you use eshinjo by

hitting it with a heavy hammer known as Rwatampiija.

At this stage, I will simply record some of the names of

the instruments without elaborating them because I also

need to understand their functions more. These are

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butundu, a hammer with a hole; emwangato, a certain

small hammer; eikombe; omutweero and the verb is

kutweera; enguta – this is for hollowing ebyaanzi; enyeyo

– is also for hollowing ebyaanzi, possibly to a finer stage;

emparo – a smoothener of ebyaanzi; etc.

Before I forget, I should point out that the process of

joining metals or welding is called okuramuura. Once

certain instruments are shaped, they can be called

different names. If you take spears, for example, the one

which is sharp on one side and blunt on the other side is

called ekibeezi or ekihuuga. This was used for hunting or

fighting. The one that is sharp on both edges is omutaari.

This was normally held by high profiled people such as

kings or chiefs.

It is clear, therefore, that the Africans had a

comprehensive metal industry – totally vertically

integrated – from raw-material (iron-ore), to the iron, iron-

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tools for making other items and the final use – items

themselves – spears (amachumu), pangas (emihoro),

axes (empango), swords (rurara), hoes (efuka), etc. Due

to instability, our past leaders and the educational system

did not appear to grasp this fact. When you look at a

modern steel plant, the only difference is in the use of

motors, using electricity or diesel, to make the machines

do the work instead of the muscles of the Africans.

Otherwise, science does not appear to be very different. I

am waiting for comments from my science team of Prof.

Otiti (Physics), Dr. Kwesiga (Industrial Engineering), Dr.

Stephen Nyanzi (Chemistry) and their team. What is

clear is that the Banyankore and I am sure other Africans

had unique and richer technical terms than the

Europeans including the Latin whose technical terms are

so much loved by scientists. Why, for instance, say

acacia hohii, etc., when there are unique words for these

acacias among the African languages? Every acacia type

has a name: obugando; omutongore; omunyinya;

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omutyaaza; omukiinga; etc. I am curious to know the

logic. The same goes for the animals: bush-back; roan-

antelope; spring-back; etc. There are unique African

names: empara, enuuma, enzaza, ekishwaaga,

enyemera, enkorongo, engabi, esirabo, enjobe, etc.

While I have learnt the blacksmithing, the ceramics, the

wood-work, etc., processes from others when I was

already old, I learnt cattle-keeping from infancy. I can,

therefore, say without equivocation that if our modern

scientists could master our indigenous technology, they

would find work much easier. This is why I rejected so

many recommendations of the veterinary officers in

Uganda in respect of cattle and insisted on modified

indigenous methods. One practice I rejected is, for

instance, separating cattle kraals into: weaners, the in-

calf, the heifers, etc. I can assure everybody that I am

doing very well without those European practices in

relation to cattle.

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Some of the dialects ingeniously invented additional

sounds (letters) to enrich the language so that

differentiation of words is easier and clearer. These

additional sounds (letters) are: ts, sh, ky, ch, ai, ei, etc.

These help us to distinguish between okusinda (to get

drank) vs okutsinda (to groan when you are sick);

okutsiga (to leave something behind) vs okusiga (to sow);

ebisya (new things) vs ebitsya (nape); okusaasa (to cause

to hurt) vs okushaasha (to hurt); ndire (I ate) vs ndaire (I

spent a night); ekyasha (a spot on the cow’s forehead),

ekikyere (frog), omukyeeka (mat), ekiconco (gift),

ekicoori (maize), ekicuncu (lion), okucooka (to select);

abaitu (our people), arwaire (she/he is sick), ahaiguru

(above); omweija (the other person), twongyeirwe

(additional); etc.

There are a few mistakes in the Thesaurus such as on

page 317 where the printers or the final editors put the

word: omurimbi (sailor) next to oburimbi, a type of red

soil with 19.35% of iron, 6.24% aluminum of 37.6%

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silicate and others. These will be corrected in the next

version. There are also many words we have not

included. They will be included next time. The different

pronunciations evolving around the use of the extra

sounds (letters) mentioned above, ts, sh, ky, etc, do not

substantively alter the meaning or the intelligibility. In

the Thesaurus and in the next dictionary we present the

two pronunciations as much as possible. Where there

has been omission, it will be corrected in the next

editions.

I still have some issue with my academic partners – Dr.

Muranga and others. I would like to use the double

vowels extensively and universally so that the future

generations who did not speak Runyankore from birth are

not confused. One example is: Omukyeeno (curse)

versus Omukyeno (shortage of something especially

labour). They have their own academic mystifications

which I decided to ignore for now. I may, however, have

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to review that because I want a clear package for our

children. I am continuing to discuss with my partners.

In the end, East Africa will have to use Swahili as the

Black man’s language because it is a neutral Bantu

dialect which is easy to accept in contrast to the tribal

dialects like Runyankore, Luganda, etc. The problem is

that Swahili is not as rich in vocabulary as the dialects of

the interior of the continent. That is why they borrow so

much from Arabic which is not necessary. Swahili has

already borrowed the Bantu word: Ikulu – meaning State

House – from, I think, the Wanyamwezi; they have

borrowed Kwangatu from, I think, the Wazanaki. Swahili

can borrow more words from the Bantu and Luo dialects

of the interior – for instance obufura to mean protocol

instead of hitifaaki if it is from Arabic or Lubaala –

meaning National Anthem, instead of continuing to use

the descriptive word of Wimbo - wa Taifa - the song of

the Nation.

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I think the sky is the limit in the development of the rich

culture of the African people.

I thank you so much

7th November, 2012 - Serena, UICC

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