How strong the Ankole Kindom was in the 15th century - Cultura Safaris in Uganda

 Before making a Cultural safari to Ankole,you may need to know the
various issues concerning the history of the kingdom.Below is what you should know:
In the 15th century,the Chwezi Empire disintegrated and Wamal's son, Ruhinda Rwa Njunaki formed Nkore,currently known as Ankole kingdom.The rulers of Ankole (Bahinda) are said to be descendants of Ruhinda.The ruler was called Ruhinda simply because he had a black mark called "Ekihinda" on his face.The mother of Ruhinda used to work at king Wamala's palace who was the last king of the Chwezi dynasty  and she was called Njunaki.

The Omugabe of Ankole with the president of Uganda

The strong Chwezi also extended to Tanzania and here a new tribe called Bahaya was formed.The Bahaya and Banyankole people have very many things in common and similar dialects. It was around 1520 that Bunyoro's king invaded Ankole and Rwanda, and Ntare VI had to hide in Muzaire-Otaakwa forest which is found in Karagwe.

Just like otherkingdoms in Uganda,Ankole kingdom turned into a system of ranked statuses.In order for the men of Ankole to gain favour and demostrate their loyalty to the Omugabe (King),they offered cows.This was also a way of marking a life cycle change and even as a way over coming cattle raiding.The king could ask for cows from men so as to test their loyalty.
In case a man sohwed loyalty to the king,he was provided with full security from both internal and external enemies.Also his cows would be protected from raiders.

The kingdom had both cultivators and cattle keepers but today,this has changed.However,modernization has changed the trend in this kingdom in that the traditional cultivators now rear cows and cattle keepers grow crops.

According to history, Nkore was strong kingdom but it was affected by the 1901 Ankole agreement.This agreement made Nkole to become Ankole  and the Omugabe was to be largely a ceremonial position-an administrator within the British Colonial Government.
During this colonial period,the Ankole kingdom was compried of Isingiro,Kashari,and Rwampara.The 1901 agreement also led to addition of Buhwezi,Sheem and Mpororo chiefdoms to Ankole.This greatly led to expansion of the kingdom both economically and geographically.
Today,Ankole kingdom is the second largest kingdom in Uganda following Buganda