The status of intermarriages in the Great Lakes Region
While commenting on my article titled “How Rujumbura’s Bairu got impoverished” in The Weekly Observer, December 4 – 10, 2008, Dr. Ephraim R. Kamuhangire brought up the issue of intermarriage in a manner that requires clarification in a larger context – the Great Lakes Region – which offers useful lessons. More information is available in chapter 8 of my new book “Uganda’s Development Agenda in the 21st Century and Related Regional Issues” (2008) available at www.jonesharvest.com.
The Great Lakes Region covers Uganda south of the Nile, North West Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Eastern DRC. The area is peopled by two major groups who entered the region from different directions. Bantu speaking people originated from the Cameroon/Nigeria border and entered Uganda some 3000 years ago through South West corner with short-horn cattle, goats and sheep (R. O. Collins, 2006). The Luo-speaking Nilotic pastoral people entered Uganda about 1400 with long-horn cattle from Southern Sudan (R. O. Collins and J. M. Burns, 2007, R. Y. Pelton, 2003 and B. A. Ogot, 1999).