Omukama Isaza Rugambanabato lived to a ripe old age and his fame spread all over the country. One day a certain ruler of a foreign land in the Omwirima-Underworld made advances to make a mukago (blood pack friendship) with him. Nyamiyonga-(Muyonga means black smut), sent a messenger who approached Isaza with a series of riddles. In his message Nyamiyonga did not state what he wanted, except provided Isaza with six clues from which Isaza was to deduce the requests of Nyamiyonga. The riddles included:
1. The measure of time (Enterabwire)
2. The rope that arrests water (Omuguha Oguboha Amaizi)
3. What makes Isaza to turn to look behind (Ekihindura Isaza Okurora Enyuma)
4. One who knows no duty or responsibility (Entamanya Mulimo)
5. One who knows no suffering or cares and comes drunk with alcohol
6. The door that shuts poverty
The King, lost over these riddles, decided to call an assembly of elders for counsel. But this assembly could solve nothing. The saza chiefs were sent for, but they too, failed to solve the conundrum. It transpired, however, that Kogere, the saza chief of Busongora and the Kings aunt, had a maid called Kazana who offered to be taken to the King to unravel the clues. She also offered to give up her life in the event of failure. Accordingly Kogere brought the maid to her nephew, the King, and said to him; “Here is my maid who says she can solve your mystery.” The King then addressed the maid genially: Adyeeri, are you sure you know the answer? The maid replied yes. The King dismissed those present except the saza chiefs.
The maid then began to unravel the meaning of the foreign King’s puzzle.
For the first riddle, she requested a cock to be brought before her. When this was done, she said to the King: “This is the measure of time”.
For the second riddle, she asked for water, which she heated in a cooking pot, mixed with millet flour in it, and made it into dough. Turning to the King she said: “This is the rope that arrests water.”
For the third riddle, she asked for a calf to be brought, As the animal was being brought it uttered a cry and Isaza turned involuntarily to find out what was happening to the calf. The maid said to him: “Mukama, this is what makes Isaza turn and look behind.”
For the fourth riddle, she asked for a dog to be brought in and be given a smoking pipe. The dog just stared at the pipe disinterestedly. Then the maid said: “Here is one who has no sense of duty.”
For the fifth riddle she asked for a baby to be brought forward. When this was done, she requested the King to place it on his lap. The baby started scratching the King’s face and wetted his clothes. Whereupon the maid said to the king: “Here is one who knows no sorrow and behaves like a drunkard though without alcohol.”
For the sixth riddle, she requested the foreign messengers to come forward and then asked them: “Did your King, Nyamiyonga, give you anything to bring to the King?” The messengers opened their baskets and produced a small vase containing two coffee seeds, the one smeared with Nyamiyonga’s blood and the other untainted. There were also some pieces of ejubwa[name of kind of grass], four mitoma leaves stuck on a stick, and a shearing knife. Then the maid said to the King: “Omukama, that is the door that shuts out poverty, which Nyamiyonga asked you about, if you are ready to comply with his requests, cut up some part of your stomach with that shearing knife. You cut the area near your navel and smear the untainted coffee seed with your blood. You should then swallow the seed tainted with Nyamiyonga’s blood. I have done my duty and now leave you to do yours.” With these words the maid left the King’s presence. The king thanked her for her efforts and the help she rendered.
Isaza thought the advice of his saza chiefs as to whether or not swallow the coffee seeds sent to him by Nyamiyonga. A certain old man called Kyarunda advised the King against the idea of becoming a blood brother with someone he did not know, neither seen or met. “If that king really loves you,” asked Kyarunda, “why doesn’t he come and see you and talk to you? Then after that you can become friends.” Isaza accepted this advice. But since the customs demands that one should not deny another an offer of friendship, Isaza delegated the ceremony (of making a bond of friendship) to his servant Bukuku, and said to him: “Bukuku, I have delegated this task to you, make this bond in my name.” Bukuku swallowed Nyamiyonga’s coffee seeds, then cut open part of this stomach, and put it in the vase in which it was brought. He then put back the vase into the basket, which he handed to the messengers. The messengers took leave of Isaza and went back to report to Nyamiyonga.
The Birth of Isimbwa
When the messengers reached home, they narrated to their King what had transpired in Isaza’s palace. On hearing their story, Nyamiyonga became very angry. He inquired from the messengers the main interests of Isaza. They told him that the King loved two things-cattle and women-above all else.
Burning with revenge, Nyamiyonga decided to play a trick on Isaza. He summoned his daughters and chose one of them- Nyamata[literally, of milk]-and dispatched her to Isaza’s palace with strict instructions neither to disclose her true identity nor to reveal who sent her there. Nyamata, accompanied by her escorts, left by night for Isaza’s kingdom. Just before they reached Isaza’s palace, her escorts left her on her own and returned home. Alone, she proceeded to the palace and entered the visitor’s house, known as Muchwa.
There she met Bukuku, the guard of the house; Bukuku was astounded by her beauty. Nyamata expressed a wish to be announced to the King. Bukuku, blinded by her beauty, lost his head, and breaking protocol, marched straight to Isaza without ascertaining the young lady’s identity, her mission, and where she come from. Bukuku said to the King: “My Lord, there is a lady in front of your palace, and though I have no intention of insulting my ladies, there is no one as beautiful as she is in your entire household.” On hearing this news, Isaza sent off his young sister, Runyunyuzi(star) Nyanzigombi, to inspect this beauty. Like Bukuku, Runyunyuzi, taken aback by the visitors’ extraordinary good looks, rushed back to her brother and exclaimed: “My Lord, I must not be jealous of her because I am not as beautiful, but must declare that she is very beautiful. You, too, have never set your eyes on such a beautiful creature. There is no one as beautiful as she is in the entire Kingdom.” Isaza ordered the young lady to be brought before him at once. On seeing her, he fell in love with her at first sight and decided to take her on as a wife.
At night, Isaza inquired from Nyamata: “Where do you come from?” She laughingly replied: “I am a daughter of Bahuma parents who live in your Kingdom. There are so many of them that it is not possible for you to know my parents even if I told you their names. However, I ran away secretly from them because I respect and love you and wish you to marry me. You do not have to wait for long before my people come looking for me. Then you will have the opportunity to see them.” Isaza, consumed by love for her, was in no mood to ask further questions.
After they had been married for a long time, Nyamata wished to test her husband’s love for her. She said to him: “Who do you love more, me or your cow Bihogo bya Gaju?” The King replied: “Surely, my dear, I love you as much as I love my cow Bihogo bya Gaju.” After this incident, Nyamata was in no doubt as to where Isaza’s first love lay.
One day, as Isaza and Nyamata were seated together and conversing playfully, the King’s cows happened to stray towards their direction. All of a sudden, Isaza got up and went to find out what was happening. Nyamata was furious, and the king, realizing what he had done, came back to her and spoke coaxingly: “My dear, do not be angry with me, because I lose all sense of proportion whenever I see cows.” Nyamata simply kept quiet and only ruminated over her mission to Isaza.
In her sixth month of pregnancy, she decided to go home. “I am going back home to tell my people about you and your Kingdom,” she told her husband, Isaza. “I do not want my child to have no maternal relatives. You know that it’s been a long while since I left them and they may rightly believe that I am dead.” Isaza was impressed by these words and bade her farewell with an escort. When Nyamata and her escort reached the border of Nyamiyonga’s Kingdom, she strolled away from him. He searched for her in vain. Disappointed and terrified, he headed for home to report back to Isaza about his wife’s disappearance. “My Lord,” said the escort, “Your wife vanished from me at the border.” Isaza said nothing and showed little emotion.
Nyamata reached her father’s palace unaccompanied, after three months she had her baby. It was a boy and was named Isimbwa. One the day of her arrival, her father had asked her many questions concerning Isaza, how he was, the things he loved best, his wealth and his subjects. Nyamata explained everything to him, emphasizing Isaza’s love for cattle. “There is nothing he loves more than cows,” she told he father Nyamiyonga.
Isaza Visists Nyamiyonga
Having found out a great deal about Isaza, Nyamiyonga summoned all his herdsmen and ordered them to herd his flock together. From this collection he chose two of his best animals-Ruhogo the bull, and Kahogo the cow. He instructed two of his herdsmen to lead these animals to Isaza’s palace but warned them to travel secretly by night. Nyamiyonga’s herdsmen accomplished their mission splendidly. When Isaza’s herdsmen saw the two animals standing in the palace, they put them among those of their master.
Not unnaturally, Isaza’s animals resented the intruders and fighting started. When Isaza saw the new arrivals the following morning, he was very delighted and took possession of them. He even took the trouble to prevent the new bull from attacking his own. And when he saw hia beloved Bihogo by Gaju attempting to make love to the new Kahogo, he was delighted and decided to make the new animals his own.
It transpired, however, that one of the new animal(the female – Kahogo) had eloped with his beloved Bihogo bya Gaju. They headed back to Nyamiyonga’s palace, following the route they come by. Determined as he was, Isaza and some of his herdsmen ran after them in an attempt to stop them. Isaza sent a message to Bakuku, the guardian of the visitors’ house, ordering him to “Go and look after my household. I am going after Bihogo and Kahogo wherever they go.”
Isaza kept his word and with his herdsmen wandered about until eventually they reached a crater lake, where both animals ran into the water. Isaza followed, on and on they went, deeper and deeper, until they were out of sight under water, and still Isaza ran after them. To his surprise he came to land again, and there were the cow and the bull going on before him to an enclosure like his own, but somehow different. Then he saw a palace, whereupon Isaza asked some passerby: “Whose palace is this?” “It belongs to Nyamiyonga,” the people interjected: “Who are you?” and Isaza answered: “I am Isaza Nyakikooto, the King of Kitara.” “True,” the people replied, “this is the palace of your friend. We have often heard him talk about you.” Where upon Isaza ordered them to announce his arrival to the King.
When the two monarchs met, Nyamiyonga asked Isaza: “Who showed you the way up here?” And Isaza answered: “Are you not my friend?” On hearing this, Nyamiyonga ordered a house to be prepared for Isaza. He prepared a feast in his honor, sent some cows to kill, and others for milking.
The next morning, Nyaminyonga ordered two royal chairs to be got ready-one for him and the other for Isaza. He asked that Isaza be shown in. He greeted his guest cheerfully, after some conversation between the two monarchs, Nyamiyonga decided to send away the other people present so that he and his guest would be left alone. Then he said to Isaza: “You have done me wrong. Why did you decline my bond of friendship, I asked you but you instead delegated the ceremony to Bukuku, a mere servant?” To this Isaza replied: “I did so through influence of bad advice. I personally do not hate you.” Nyamiyonga accepted this explanation and added: “It is true indeed that you acted under the influence of bad advice. I am sure you yourself do not hate me.”
At this juncture Nyamiyonga decided to introduce his queen and princesses to Isaza. When they assembled and took their seats, Isaza immediately recognized his wife, Nyamata and was very delighted to see her. “Who is that one?” Nyamiyonga asked Isaza “This is my wife, who has been lost for some time now,” he replied. Again Nyamiyonga inquired: “Who is that child she is holding?” “It could be my child because Nyamata left my house in her sixth month of pregnancy,” he answered. “True, that child belongs to you, and his uncle, Rwogamata(one who bathes in milk) before you, is the one who performed all the rituals and gave him the name Isimbwa,” said Nyamiyonga. Isaza was childless and therefore was very delighted to hear all this.
But then Nyamiyonga posed the inevitable question: “Were you following your wife, your cattle, or merely to see me?” Isaza truthfully told him that he was following the two animals-Bihogo bya Gaju and Kahogo. Then Nyamiyonga said to him: “Would you differentiate your cows from mine?” Isaza said he would, and the cows were ordered to be assembled. On hearing the cows moo, Isaza turned instantly to look at them. This time Nyamata did not get annoyed but rather pretended not to have seen her husband’s reaction. She only nodded to her father, thereby drawing his attention to Isaza’s love for cows. “Look at him,” she whispered to her father. “My friend,” said Nyamiyonga to Isaza, “I see how you love cows! Cows seem to mean more to you than your wife and son!” “It is not true,” Isaza replied, “because I love them too. I love cows especially now because they have given me a son” [Meaning that if it were not for the cows, he would not have discovered his wife and son]
Whereupon Nyamiyonga rose from his royal seat and went with Isaza to the cows’ quarters so that Isaza could pick out his own animals from the flock. Isaza had no difficulty in picking out his own animals and Nyamiyoga gave him some two hundred more. He also permitted him to be reunited with his wife and son and bade them farewell. But Isaza could not find his way back to Kitara and so he remained in Nyaminyonga’s Kingdom for the rest of his life, Day after day he keeps groping about in the dark for an exit, shaking everything and causing earthquakes on earth.
In the meantime, Bukuku, the guardian of Muchwa (vistors house) and who belonged to the Baranzi clan, had proclaimed himself King of Kitara, having acted as regent for too long, He therefore became Isaza’s successor.