The History and Sulture of Mt. Elgon’s First Inhabitants

They say that a man called Mundu or Uzi whose ancestors migrated from the Ethiopian mountains where they may have been linked to the Ethiopian jews called Falashas via Lake Turkana & settled in the upper reaches of Mt Elgon above the caldera where game was plentiful and caves were many. It was from here that they lived from hunting but also ate bamboo shoots which were dried and smoked to preserve them as the shoots are seasonal from May to August.

Mundu had two sons, Masaba and Kundu and lived in a large cave at the base of Masaba Peak (Jackson’s Summit). Masaba was strong and became a leader and produced three sons, Mwambu, Mubuuya & Wanale plus two daughters, Natuyi & Seera. Later the first son, Mwambu moved to Sironko, Bulambuli and Butandiga Ridge. Mubuuya the second son moved to Bududa, Namisindwa & Kitale in Kenya. The third son Wanale moved to Wanale and the are where Mbale city now stands. That is the three main clans of Bamasaaba. Of the daughters, Natuyi was given to Masaba’s head herdsman as a reward for his dedication & hard work and Seera moved away from the mountain to an unknown location.

Masaba met a beautiful Mutwa (Masai) girl, Nabarwa & asked for her marriage however when introduced to her family they insisted that to marry he must be circumcised to which he agreed. So this started the ritual of circumcision amongst Bamasaaba (Imbalu)

Kundu did not like this idea & hide in a small cave until he managed to escape. He first moved westward accompanied by Mukhama & Simela. They crossed the Nile River to where is now the Buganda Kingdom and found sign of people who had been there but left. They continued west to the Rwenzori Mountains where they settled and multiplied. However Mukhama claimed leadership which Kundu did not agree to so he returned to Buganda where he changed his name to Kintu. Later Simela joined Kintu and together with others multiplied & started the Buganda Kingdom.

Elgonyi was the Masai name for the mountain as it was seen from Masailand. The Scottish explorer Joseph Thomson explored the southern side of Elgon in 1883 but could not pronounce Elgonyi so called it Mt. Elgon. In 1890 Frederick (later Sir Frederick) Jackson and Ernest Gedge traversed the caldera from north to south and was the first European to climb Masaba Peak (Jacksons summit).