Podcasts · History · Education

Those Who Came Before Us

David Ibanda | African History & Pre-colonial Narratives

37 episodes · Explicit

Those Who Came Before Us is an immersive journey into African history, oral traditions, and the pre-colonial kingdoms of the Great Lakes. From Buganda and Bunyoro to the mysteries of the Bachwezi and the spirits of Lake Victoria, each episode blends history and myth to reveal the emotional and spiritual world of East Africa. Together, we hold a lantern to the darkness of the past. So that the stories, fears, and ambitions of those who came before us are never forgotten.

More about the show

New episodes explore African mythology, Buganda history, and the hidden worlds of pre-colonial East Africa.

Episodes

  1. African Spiritual Warfare: How Horns Protected and Attacked in the Great Lakes

    · 19 min

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we explore the role of horns in spiritual practice across kingdoms like Buganda, Bunyoro, and Busoga. Often filled, sealed, and carried, these horns were believed to contain forces…

  2. The Envoys Who Saw the World: The Story I Didn’t Say

    · 28 min

    Send us Fan Mail This is the story I didn’t say. In the main episode, I focused on what the envoys meant to Buganda. Here, I slow things down and follow their journey step by step from the Nile, through Sudan, into…

  3. Kabaka Muteesa I’s 1879 Mission to London: Survival Diplomacy in Buganda

    · 48 min

    Send us Fan Mail By 1879, the kingdom of Buganda found itself caught in the expanding shadow of empire. To the north, Egyptian forces were pushing deeper into the Upper Nile, threatening to extend their authority…

  4. Master of the Waves: Mukasa, God of Lake Victoria

    · 21 min

    Send us Fan Mail Lake Victoria has always been more than geography. For the people who lived along its shores in Buganda and across the Great Lakes region, it was a living domain capable of taking life without…

  5. A Spirit World Pretending to Be a Lake: The Serpent Spirits of Lake Victoria in African Mythology

    · 8:10

    Send us Fan Mail The world’s second-largest freshwater lake is more than a body of water. It is a boundary. For those who lived along its shores in East Africa, Lake Victoria was shaped by unseen presence—spirits,…

  6. At the Edge of Buganda: Why James Hannington Turned Back (Part 5)

    · 14 min

    Send us Fan Mail At Kagei the crucial port on the southern shore of Lake Victoria and the main gateway to Buganda by canoe, James Hannington finally steps free after his detention by King Romwa of Buzinza. But just as…

  7. Canoes, Cloth, and Conflict: The Wary King Romwa (Hannington Part 4)

    · 11 min

    Send us Fan Mail After a brutal trek across the interior, James Hannington and two fellow missionaries finally reach the lands of Romwa of Buzinza, exhausted, sick, and desperate for canoes to cross Lake Victoria. But…

  8. The Shadow of Mirambo: King on the Caravan Road (Hannington Part 3)

    · 14 min

    Send us Fan Mail Frail and fevered, James Hannington reaches the caravan’s camp only to find them seized by dread. Beyond the horizon lies Mirambo’s domain, a land few dare to cross. His name moves through Central…

  9. Dust, Fever, and Bitter Water: Across the Ugogo Plains (Hannington Part 2)

    · 15 min

    Send us Fan Mail The missionary James Hannington crosses the harsh Ugogo Plains of Tanzania’s Dodoma region, home of the Wagogo people. Battling wind, dust, and disease, his faith is tested in one of the most…

  10. Into the Interior: The Road to the Kingdom of Buganda (Hannington Part 1)

    · 22 min

    Send us Fan Mail Today marks 140 years since the death of Bishop James Hannington of the Church Missionary Society, killed on his way to the Buganda Kingdom on October 29, 1885. What many don’t realize is that this…

  11. Enkai: The God Who Changes Color

    · 22 min

    Send us Fan Mail Enkai is the creator god of the Maasai people. He reveals himself in three colors: white, red, and black. Among them, red and black speak the loudest. Inspired by the oral traditions of the Maasai,…

  12. Dead Kings, Alive Wives: The Royal Women of Kasubi Tombs

    · 13 min

    Send us Fan Mail The king may be gone but his wives remain. At the royal tombs of Kasubi, a small community of women continues to serve long after death. They are the royal widows of Buganda: chosen from different…

  13. Kasubi Tombs: Palace, Power, and the Afterlife of Buganda Kings

    · 17 min

    Send us Fan Mail What if a king never truly dies? In Buganda, power doesn’t end with a funeral. It transforms. Today, the royal palace is modern, more European in design than ancestral. But at the Kasubi Tombs, the…

  14. The Cannibal Night Dancer | African Book of Monsters, Episode 2

    · 49 min · Explicit

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I dive into the chilling legends of the cannibal night dancer said to feast on human flesh and embody the darkest fears of African folklore. But beyond the myths, how did accusations…

  15. Prankster Witch of the Night: The Night Dancer

    · 38 min

    Send us Fan Mail In this debut episode of the African Book of Monsters series, we unravel the haunting legend of the night dancer. What makes these figures so feared across communities? And what deeper truths do their…

  16. The God of Death Muteesa and the Buganda Martyrs of 1875/76.

    · 54 min

    Send us Fan Mail The Uganda Martyrs incident that resulted in the deaths of 45 christian converts in 1886 is widely known to christians worldwide. Unbeknownst to many, there is another martyrdom incident that occurred…

  17. The "Meat Giver" King & The Forgotten Micro-Kingdoms of Busiki & Busambira

    · 24 min · S2 E6

    Send us Fan Mail Explore the history of the Busiki and Busambira states, two forgotten micro-kingdoms of pre-colonial Uganda. While most Busoga states were ruled by the AbaiseNgobi, these two nations were led by the…

  18. The Matriarchs of Uganda: Stories from the Precolonial Era

    · 26 min · Explicit

    Send us Fan Mail Happy Mother's day to all mothers in the world. Queen - Mothers were vital to the power structures of the intralacustrine region. They were often the rallying points around which clans gathered to…

  19. Sibling States: The Forgotten Micro-Kingdoms of Bulamogi and Bukono

    · 28 min · S2 E5

    Send us Fan Mail In this installment of "Those Who Came Before Us," we explore the intertwined pre-colonial histories of Bulamogi and Bukono. These are not just neighbouring states; they are "sibling states" founded…

  20. The King of Spikes & The Defiant Cattle Keeper: Origins of The Forgotten Micro-Kingdom of Bukooli.

    · 47 min · S2 E4

    Send us Fan Mail While other states sought only to survive, Bukooli sought to dominate. Located at the strategic crossroads of the East, the AbaiseWakooli clan didn't just rule a territory, they guarded a gateway. In…

  21. The King Who Refused to Rule: The Forgotten Micro-Kingdom of Bugweri

    · 16 min · S2 E3 · Explicit

    Send us Fan Mail Discover the hidden history of Bugweri, a powerful pre-colonial micro-kingdom within the modern-day Busoga region of Uganda. In this episode of "Those Who Came Before Us," we trace the rise of the…

  22. Busoga Folklore: The Leopard that thought he was too clever.

    · 3:11 · Explicit

    Send us Fan Mail This is a morbid cautionary tale from Busoga in Uganda. It was told by Christopher Baseuse from the AbaiseKiranda clan. It was recorded by historian David Cohen at Baseuse's home on 7 October 1966.…

  23. The Bamboo Prince - Ibanda: Rise of the Forgotten Micro-Kingdom of Buzimba-Kigulu

    · 32 min · S2 E2 · Explicit

    Send us Fan Mail Was the founder of the Kigulu dynasty born among the bamboo? In this episode, we journey to the heart of Busoga to uncover the history of the AbaiseNgobi of Kigulu (formerly Buzimba). We follow the…

  24. Busoga Folklore: Why the Monkey and Elephant are friends

    · 2:52 · Bonus · Explicit

    Send us Fan Mail This story is based on the folklore called "The famine" which was collected by Mrs George Baskerville. I think the name change is more fitting. lol. The name of the book it was published in is called…

  25. Kintu vs. Mukama: The Founders of The Forgotten Micro-Kingdoms of Busoga

    · 23 min · S2 E1 · Explicit

    Send us Fan Mail Before the modern borders of Eastern Uganda were drawn, there was a land of 68 states known as Busoga. Today, it stands as one of Uganda's five major monarchies. But how did it all begin? In this…

  26. The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara: Pre-colonial Warfare

    · 58 min · S1 E12

    Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, we talk about the military of the pre-colonial African kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara. For most of its history, Bunyoro did not have a standing army. Instead, they relied on the common…

  27. The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara: The Kubandwa Religion

    · 39 min · S1 E11

    Send us Fan Mail Before the arrival of Christianity and Islam, the religion of Kubandwa was an East African spirit possession faith practiced by many groups in the great lakes region. It is still practiced today to a…

  28. The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara: Pre-Colonial Bunyoro Society

    · 46 min · S1 E10 · Explicit

    Send us Fan Mail This episode is an attempt to reconstruct the pre-colonial society of Bunyoro. I discuss their clans, livelihoods, marriage and justice etc. Please note that the information presented was collected…

  29. The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara: Pre-colonial Authority

    · 31 min · S1 E9

    Send us Fan Mail The following episode is an examination of the kingship and authority in the pre-colonial Bunyoro state. Sources John Beattie, Bunyoro; An African Kingdom (New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston Inc,…

  30. The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara: Bunyoro in the Colonial Era

    · 1 h 12 min · S1 E8

    Send us Fan Mail Great Britain succeeded in forcing the submission of Bunyoro after the 1890's war of conquest. In their wake was left an utterly dejected people who struggled more than their regional counterparts to…

  31. The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara: Kabalega

    · 1 h 13 min · S1 E7 · Explicit

    Send us Fan Mail The death of Omukama(King) Kamurasi in 1869 triggered the customary succession war between 2 of his sons Kabigumire and Kabaleega. The latter won the duel and went on to be Bunyoro’s greatest king.…

  32. The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara: The Babiito and decline in Bunyoro

    · 44 min · S1 E6

    Send us Fan Mail After the collapse of the Bachwezi empire, the Babiito took over as Bunyoro’s 3rd dynasty in the 16th Century. The precise year this happened is hard to pin down. However, the Babiito began their…

  33. Black Lives Matter : The African Context

    · 44 min · S1 E5

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we discuss police brutality in Africa. A slight detour from the Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara series. #BLACKLIVESMATTER Sources Glasman,Joel. 2017. What is the Concept of…

  34. The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara: The Bachwezi Identity

    · 37 min · S1 E4

    Send us Fan Mail The Bachwezi attract a lot of attention because of their grandiose claim of an empire. Many theories abound of their supposed identity. Were they Banyoro? Were they Portuguese? Egyptian? Greeks? Or…

  35. The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara: Rise of the Bachwezi

    · 27 min · S1 E3

    Send us Fan Mail The Bachwezi are the second dynasty in Bunyoro-Kitara's history. This family is the most revered due to the fact that they are credited with the creation of the legendary empire of Kitara. In this…

  36. The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara: Isaza's Lessons

    · 27 min · S1 E2

    Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the second episode of the show "Those Who Came Before Us". We continue the history of this ancient kingdom with the story of Isaza, the last king of the Batembuzi. It's a popular tale about…

  37. The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara: In the Beginning

    · 22 min · S1 E1

    Send us Fan Mail Bunyoro-Kitara is a prestigious kingdom in Uganda. One that is said to be the heir to the legendary empire of Kitara. Join me, as I go through the birth of this esteemed kingdom that is known as the…

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