Bahima and Their Culture
Bahima and their culture. In the eastern African great lake’s region, the Hima name is connected to a number of ethnic groups and governmental organisations. The term “Hima” refers to a subgroup of Tutsi that arrived in the region of Nkore in 1300s. in Ankole, Uganda, there is a tribe known as the Bahima; they are believed to have walked through the heart of Ethiopia or Abyssinia, before crossing the Nile into Bunyoro; they changed their national identity to “wahuma.”
In the former Ankole district, Bahima defeated Bairu, who had occupied the area for centuries. Bairu have treated the subordinate race on land as the enslaved people did all the production, domestic and public work. Food and drinks were always for Bahima.
Bahima, Batusi, Bahororo and Banyamulenge are cousins with the same characteristics and the main characteristic is the love for their cattle, and marrying each other is allowed. Cows are the main form of bride price. And the Bhima were not allowed to get married to non muhima.
Historical background of Bahima
The Bahima are traditionally pastoralists, often associated with cattle herding. They are considered to be of Nilotic origin and have historical ties to the Ankole kingdom in western Uganda. Bahima have always been seen as an aristocratic group within Ankole society.
Language references
Bahima people speak Runyankore but it is different from that of Beiru. Bahima people speak ‘Ruhima’ and Beiru are believed to be speaking ‘Rwiru,’ which differentiates them.
Preparing the bride-to-be in Bahima
The brides-to-be are always kept at home and not allowed to do anything and always given milk to become fat because in Bahima the woman’s attractiveness is by her size; the more the woman is fat, the better and another reason is to show that the woman is from a well-off family. Even today, a young woman is prepared for marriage in ways guaranteed to make her big in the past days when the woman was getting married; she was always hidden until the day for the give-away ceremony; she would only be seen by family members.
How to identify a wife among the Bahima
In Bahima a wife is always identified by the elders; like if you went to visit someone’s home and you saw a girl that you liked, the elder would go back home and tell the family members to start looking for the girl to look at her well, though they would do it in a hidden way using people we call the ‘Katerarume’ this is the first person who looks at the girl and then tells the family and they are also known as emissary but they have to be well-known people by both families.
Bride price deposit among the Bahima people
After showing interest in marrying their daughter and your accepted, the boy’s family deposits some money showing that they are serious, this money is known as Ekwatarugo ‘the cows that kept the kraal ‘and this money is mostly the Enkwatarugo was used to buy omugamba. Thereafter, both families would start negotiating on the bride price. When they come to the conclusion of the bride price, the groom’s family will choose the date when the bride’s family will come to choose the cows they want, which is called Okujugisa. Customarily, a girl could not be offered to be married when the elder sisters were still unmarried.
Okureta ente {bringing the bride price to the girl’s home}
This is a big ceremony; here the family of the boy will bring the cows that were chosen by the family members of the bride, and after reaching home they will put on the smoke to show that they have welcomed the bride price, and the brother of the girl has to milk one of the cows to show that the cows produce and it is one way of proving that they have brought a good dowry.
Virginity reward among the Bahima
Among the Bahima, the father’s sister always escorted the girl up to the husband’s place and was responsible for the sexual morality of the adolescent girl. Her duty is to advise the girl on how to begin a home and what to do for the husband. Since Bahima girls were meant to be virgins so they had no experience about marriage, the duty of the aunt was to prove the patency of the groom by watching or listening to the sexual intercourse between the bridegroom and the daughter, if the girl was found a virgin the aunt was always rewards with a heifer as a sign of appreciation.
Special food of the Bahima
Bahima are cattle keepers, so they feed on milk and fresh blood from cows, karo and Eshabwe, the white sauce.
Get fat quickly among the Bahima (okuhumuza).
As soon as the cattle for the bride price had been selected from the groom’s kraal, the girl was entrusted to her aunt to begin the fattening process; the girls would immediately start drinking the milk using the calabashes and wood vessels {Ebyanzi}, and the girl would be fed on milk the entire time.
The girl was not only kept in the house to be fattened, but also they believed that a woman who stayed indoors for long periods and away from people’s eyes became more beautiful.
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