The Basimba (alternatively BaShimba, Musimba, or MuShimba) are a Bantu-speaking community in Uganda. The name Basimba (Swahili for "big lion" or "great lion" Simbakubwa is a label of shared identity that predates the 13th century. Basimba has been alternatively associated with the people or their place of origin. The early Ovambo people applied the name to the whole group of the leopard totem clan, known as Bena Ngo in Zambia and Abe Ngo in Uganda.
The Ethnology describes their location on the Cunene river as follows: on the right bank of the lower Kunene River, Portuguese West Africa; are Bashimba, also known as Basimba, Baximba, Musimba, Simbeba. According to Friedrich Ratzel, the Basimba or Simbeba (more commonly spelled " Cimbebas ") live along the coast to the right of the Cunene.
Mataman or Cimbebas Kingdom
The name Cimbebasia (or Cimbebas) was derived from local indigenous groups known as the Ba-Simba, who lived beyond the Cunene River. Early maps and missionary records used this term to cover vast portions of modern-day Namibia and southern Angola. According to Élisée Reclus , the peoples dwelling beyond the Cunene River known as Ba-Simba were mentioned in old documents as Cimbebas, whose ancient Kingdom was known as Mataman or Cimbebas.
Cimbebasia (or Cimbebas) was an archaic historical and cartographic name for the arid expanse of western Southern Africa, stretching between the Kunene River, the lower Kasai River, and the western reaches of the Zambezi River (encompassing parts of modern-day Angola and Namibia). Historically, European mapmakers and early documents applied the name to the indigenous Ba-Simba peoples. Early European mapmakers and explorers often used these terms interchangeably to describe a loosely defined indigenous empire or tribe living beyond the Cunene River. The name Cimbebas was derived from a local indigenous group known as the Ba-Simba. At the same time, the Kingdom of Mataman generally referred to a densely populated, pastoralist area near the Chela Mountains.
Today, while the ancient "kingdoms" no longer exist, their names live on in the region. For instance, Cimbebasia is an active, well-known southern residential suburb in Windhoek, Namibia, featuring developments like the affordable Cimbebasia Housing Project and the prominent Mataman Street.
Relations to Kitara and Kooki Kingdom The Basimba have historically lived in the Bunyoro-Kitara region. They are famous for maintaining indigenous salt-mining technology at Kibiro, a heritage practice passed down for centuries by the Basimba ancestors. The Kibiro Salt producing village is an ancient Archaeological excavation and living heritage site on the shores of Lake Albert, Uganda. Famous for an 800-year-old artisanal ash- Salt extraction method, this matriarchal industry has sustained the local community for centuries. Located in the Western Rift Valley at the base of the Hoima escarpment, Kibiro represents a rare blend of living tradition and deep Archaeology. The site has been included on the UNESCO Tentative Heritage List since 1997, and remains a focal point for global recognition.The Basimba are explicitly listed among the 13 clans that founded the Kooki Kingdom.
Relations to Herero According to Elisee Reclus, amongst the Hereros is also found a cattleless proletariate class, men unattached to the fortunes of any rich owner of herds, and who live on the chase, or lead a roaming, adventuresome existence. Such are the Ova-Tjimbas or Tjimba people, kinsmen of the Ba-Simbas (Cimbebas).
Relations to Buganda Before the creation of the Kingdom of Buganda, the area was initially known as Muwaawa. With the support of 13 clans, including the Basimba/Leopard (Ngo) clan, Kato Kintu established the Kingdom of Buganda in the 14th century. He became the nation's first kabaka, the official title of the king of Buganda. The Leopard (Ngo) clan has historically experienced high levels of persecution due to their notable role in the cult of Kintu. Under the rule of King Kateregga of Buganda, 400 members of the clan were executed 1674-1680 in the current Butambala District, prompting survivors to conceal their cultural identity. Similar clan-based violence has been recorded during the rule of Kabaka Jjunju of Buganda as well.
Royal links The Basimba are considered a ruling clan alongside other royal clans that migrated from the Kingdom of Luba to the Luapula Valley in Northern Rhodesia.
Multiple kingship groups are recognised within the Basimba, including the Leopard (Ngo) clan. The Basimba kingship group was often persecuted due to its royal links. Among the many Leopard clan branches, one was eligible for the throne. The reigning kings of Buganda would capture this group and execute most of its men to reduce the risk of being overthrown.
After the death of Kabaka Nakibinge of Buganda, his wife Nannono of the Leopard (Ngo) clan presided as Kabaka for eighteen months between 1554 and 1556 AD. After this event, the name Nabulya was introduced into the Leopard (Ngo) clan to remind other clans in Buganda that a woman from the Leopard totem clan once had power in the Buganda Kingdom. "Nabuyla" means ‘I ate it,’ insinuating that the clan once took royal power.
Migration Although there are few historical records regarding the Basimba (Big Lion) people, they should be discussed due to their close historical connection with the BaShimba, who all belong to the Leopard (Ngo) clan. Most Basimba people claim their origins lie in the Congo, among the Luba people of the Kingdom of Luba. Little is known about these immigrants, but traces of their history are found in the legend of the Tabwa ancestor.
Kyomba, a legendary ancestor of the Tabwa, lived on the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika. Faced with Hamitic pressures in the north and other people from the south, Kyomba and his companions crossed Lake Tanganyika, migrating to the western shores of the lake after a conspiracy mounted and hatched against him reached the shores of Lake Kivu. Then they crossed the Ruzizi and arrived in Maniema on the banks of the river Lualaba in the second half of the 16th century. Fanger, son of Kyomba, and his companions continued their migration up the river while others went elsewhere. The name Tumanya means “those who have followed the route by water,’’ and Bena Kilunga means “those who followed the path on land in their migration.” The Bena Kilunga group migrated to the eastern banks of the Lualaba River and Lukunga River together with Buanza, Mumba, and the Basimba people.
The Tumanya group migrated to Ankori, or the Nkole people, and eastwards, following the Luvua (Lualaba), while their companions followed the Lualaba River to back the lagoons in Upemba Depression. It was around the 17th century when the gradual arrival of people in the mountains from the plains of Lualaba Kamalondo was named the "Kundelungu" Mountains. Finally, Tanga and his father Kyomba migrated further across the Luapula at the current location of the position of Kasenga and settled in southern Tanganyika, where they were joined by members of the Zimba Clan, avoiding quarrels with Movwe who migrated to the Marungu highlands.
The Basimba or BaShimba immigrants seem to have come in ethnic groups under the leadership of Mambwe, Mauwe, Katunku, Ngulya, Mwati, Kaabya, Ntembe, Namuyonjo, Kabolesa, Kitembwa, and Kooli, among others. When these people reached Luapula Valley in the current Luapula Province in Zambia, Mwanza Region, Northern Tanzania, and Butambala in Uganda, they decided to settle, and the leader became the family or clan head. As the Basimba or BaShimba settlement grew, the original leader, after several generations, became a mythical figure to his descendants.
Basimba or BaShimba people are recognized to be indigenous peoples because they were the first comers among the immigrants in Zambia or Northern Rhodesia by then and in Tanzania. According to local tradition, the original inhabitants were a clan called the Basimba who lived in the area of Busere on Ukara Island, in the southeast corner of Lake Victoria, but it is not known what language they spoke, and there are none of their descendants surviving. Tradition makes no mention of fighting between the Basimba immigrants and the people whom they found in Uhaya in Tanzania and at Butambala in Uganda. The Bashimba of the Leopard clan) successfully resisted Nkuba in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia).
Original homeland The original homeland of the Basimba or BaShimba people, or their ancestry, is shrouded in myths and legends. They seem to have lost contact with their original ancestors in Congo among the Luba people, leading a cluster of Basimba (Big Lion) people to migrate north from Mweru-Luapula to Mwanza Region, eventually erecting human settlements among the Haya people in Tanzania, then at: Butambala District in central Uganda, Buddu in Masaka District, Ntakaiwolu in Busoga, Mpogo in Sironko District, Butaleja District and *Lupada, Naboa, *Budaka District, among the Gwere people, in eastern Uganda. Other Bashimba people settled in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), which was part of Zimbabwe.
Culture The Basimba practice rituals and ceremonies of the Chishimba spirit similar to the Loa or Kongo Loa culture practiced by the Basimba people of Haiti, who were sold into slavery in Haiti from Congo.
The Basimba (Big Lion) people in Uganda maintain the Basimba Spiritual Stone, which represents the Chishimba spirit and is related to the institution of kingship. Its absence constitutes the absence of political power. According to traditional African religions, the Chishimba spirit is synonymous with kingship and similar to the Kintu cult practised by the leopard (Ngo) Clan people in Buganda. The Chishimba is kept in a specially prepared basket called , the basket of the nation or land. It is wrapped in bark cloth and kept in a specifically prepared shrine ( or ) dedicated to the spirit.
Basimba people worked with the Bunyoro-Kitara kingdom's priest in charge of the sacred pool of Muntebere. Each year, the Bunyoro king sent a young slave woman, two cows, and a white sheep to the priest. The slave woman was given as a wife to one of the Abasimba clan, who was a servant of the priest.
Traditional beliefs
According to the Basimba tradition, an afterlife does take place in another world in another form of existence. The Basimba attitude towards dead ancestors is like their attitude towards living parents and grandparents. A ritual to contact dead ancestors is practised by the Basimba people. It is similar to Haitian Vodou art, related to Loa, a Haitian Vodou religion practiced by the Basimba people of Haiti, an island that was proclaimed an independent republic in 1804 and often lasts all night.
The abasimba dance
The Abasimba dance of the Basimba people is a hunting dance performed by the Wajita or Jita people of Ukerewe Island. Their clan names of Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia are named after their lineal ancestors.
Beliefs Today, between 40% and 50% of the Basimba people are Christians and 50% are Muslim. Besides that, traditional beliefs are very widespread among them. The most important features are ancestor worship (the term is called inappropriate by some authors) and totemism.
The Basimba of Kisangani, who martyred Dr Paul Carison of the Christ Church during the Congo Crisis of 1964–1965, participated in the Simba Rebellion, which was later defeated.
Totems Basimba totems (Muziro) have been in use among the Basimba people since the initial development of their culture. Totems identify the different clans among the Basimba people that historically made up the dynasties of their ancient civilisation. Seven different totems have been identified among the Basimba (Big Lion) people in Zimbabwe, Congo, Zambia, and Uganda, such as the Basimba among the Haya Tribe in Tanzania. People of the same clan use a common set of totems, usually animals or birds.