After the death of Kimera, the prosperity of Uganda never decreased, but rather improved. The clan of officers formed by him were as proud of their emancipation from slavery, as the king they had created was of his dominion over them. They buried Kimera with state honours, giving charge of the body to the late king's most favourite consort, whose duty it was to dry the corpse by placing it on a board resting on the mouth of an earthen open pot heated by fire from below. When this drying process was completed, at the expiration of three months, the lower jaw was cut out and neatly worked over with beads; the umbilical cord, which had been preserved from birth, was also worked with beads. These were kept apart, but the body was consigned to a tomb, and guarded ever after by this officer and a certain number of the king's next most favourite women, all of whom planted gardens for their maintenance, and were restricted from seeing the succeeding king.
By his large establishment of wives, Kimera left a number of princes or Warangira, and as many princesses. From the Warangira the Wakunga now chose as their king the one whom they thought best suited for the government of the country—not of too high rank by the mother's side, lest their selection in his pride should kill them all, but one of low birth. The rest were placed with wives in a suite of huts, under charge of a keeper, to prevent any chance of intrigues and dissensions. They were to enjoy life until the prince-elect should arrive at the age of discretion and be crowned, when all but two of the princes would be burnt to death, the two being reserved in case of accident as long as the king wanted brother companions, when one would be banished to Unyoro, and the other pensioned with suitable possessions in Uganda. The mother of the king by this measure became queen-dowager, or N'yamasore. She halved with her son all the wives of the deceased king not stationed at his grave, taking second choice; kept up a palace only little inferior to her son's with large estates, guided the prince-elect in the government of the country, and remained until the end of his minority the virtual ruler of the land; at any rate, no radical political changes could take place without her sanction. The princesses became the wives of the king; no one else could marry them.
Both mother and son had their Ktikiros or commander-in-chief, also titled Kamraviona, as well as other officers of high rank. Amongst them in due order of gradation are the Ilmas, a woman who had the good fortune to have cut the umbilical cord at the king's birth; the Sawaganzi, queen's sister and king's barber; Kaggao, Polino, Sakibobo, Kitunzi, and others, governors of provinces; Jumab, admiral of the fleet; Kasugu, guardian of the king's sister; Mkuenda, factor; Kunsa and Usungu, first and second class executioners; Mgemma, commissioner in charge of tombs; Seruti, brewer; Mfumbiro, cook; numerous pages to run messages and look after the women, and minor Wakungu in hundreds. One Mkungu is always over the palace, in command of the Wanagalali, or guards which are changed monthly; another is ever in attendance as seizer of refractory persons. There are also in the palace almost constantly the Wanangalavi, or drummers; Nsase, pea-gourd rattlers; Milele, flute-players; Mukonderi, clarionet-players; also players on wooden harmonicons and lap-harps, to which the players sing accompaniments; and, lastly, men who whistle on their fingers—for music is half the amusement of these courts. Everybody in Uganda is expected to keep spears, shields and dogs, the Uganda arms and cognisance; whilst the Wakungu are entitled to drums. There is also a Neptune Mgussa, or spirit, who lives in the depths of the N'yanza, communicates through the medium of his temporal Mkungu, and guides to a certain extent the naval destiny of the king.
It is the duty of all officers, generally speaking, to attend at court as constantly as possible; should they fail, they forfeit their lands, wives, and all belongings. These will be seized and given to others more worthy of them; as it is presumed that either insolence or disaffection can be the only motive which would induce any person to absent himself for any length of time from the pleasure of seeing his sovereign. Tidiness in dress is imperatively necessary, and for any neglect of this rule the head may be the forfeit. The punishment for such offences, however, may be commuted by fines of cattle, goats, fowls, or brass wire. All acts of the king are counted benefits, for which he must be thanked; and so every deed done to his subjects is a gift received by them, though it should assume the shape of flogging or fine; for are not these, which make better men of them, as necessary as anything? The thanks are rendered by gravelling on the ground, floundering about and whining after the manner of happy dogs, after which they rise up suddenly, take up sticks—spears are not allowed to be carried in court—make as if charging the king, jabbering as fast as tongues can rattle, and so they swear fidelity for all their lives.
This is the greater salutation; the lesser one is performed kneeling in an attitude of prayer, continually throwing open the hands, and repeating sundry words. Among them the word "n'yanzig" is the most frequent and conspicuous; and hence these gesticulations receive the general designation n'yanzig—a term which will be frequently met with, and which I have found it necessary to use like an English verb. In consequence of these salutations, there is more ceremony in court than business, though the king, ever having an eye to his treasury, continually finds some trifling fault, condemns the head of the culprit, takes his liquidation-present, if he has anything to pay, and thus keeps up his revenue.
No one dare stand before the king whilst he is either standing still or sitting, but must approach him with downcast eyes and bended knees, and kneel or sit when arrived. To touch the king's throne or clothes, even by accident, or to look upon his women is certain death. When sitting in court holding a levee, the king invariably has in attendance several women, Wabandwa, evil-eye averters or sorcerers. They talk in feigned voices raised to a shrillness almost amounting to a scream. They wear dried lizards on their heads, small goat-skin aprons trimmed with little bells, diminutive shields and spears set off with cock-hackles—their functions in attendance being to administer cups of marwa (plantain wine). To complete the picture of the court, one must imagine a crowd of pages to run royal messages; they dare not walk for such deficiency in zeal to their master might cost their life. A further feature of the court consists in the national symbols already referred to—a dog, two spears, and shield.
With the company squatting in large half-circle or three sides of a square many deep before him, in the hollow of which are drummers and other musicians, the king, sitting on his throne in high dignity, issues his orders for the day much to the following effect:—"Cattle, women, and children are short in Uganda; an army must be formed of one to two thousand strong, to plunder Unyoro. The Wasoga have been insulting his subjects, and must be reduced to subjection: for this emergency another army must be formed, of equal strength, to act by land in conjunction with the fleet. The Wahaiya have paid no tribute to his greatness lately and must be taxed." For all these matters the commander-in-chief tells off the divisional officers, who are approved by the king, and the matter is ended in court. The divisional officers then find subordinate officers, who find men, and the army proceeds with its march. Should any fail with their mission, reinforcements are sent, and the runaways, called women, are drilled with a red-hot iron until they are men no longer, and die for their cowardice., All heroism, however, ensures promotion. The king receives his army of officers with great ceremony, listens to their exploits, and gives as rewards, women, cattle, and command over men—the greatest elements of wealth in Uganda—with a liberal hand.
As to the minor business transacted in court, culprits are brought in bound by officers, and reported. At once the sentence is given, perhaps awarding the most torturous, lingering death—probably without trial or investigation, and, for all the king knows, at the instigation of some one influenced by wicked spite. If the accused endeavour to plead his defence, his voice is at once drowned, and the miserable victim dragged off in the roughest manner possible by those officers who love their king, and delight in promptly carrying out his orders. Young virgins, the daughters of Wakungu, stark naked, and smeared with grease, but holding, for decency's sake, a small square of mbugu at the upper corners in both hands before them, are presented by their fathers in propitiation for some offence, and to fill the harem. Seizing-officers receive orders to hunt down Wakungu who have committed some indiscretions, and to confiscate their lands, wives, children, and property. An officer observed to salute informally is ordered for execution, when everybody near him rises in an instant, the drums beat, drowning his cries, and the victim of carelessness is dragged off, bound by cords, by a dozen men at once. Another man, perhaps, exposes an inch of naked leg whilst squatting, or has his mbugu tied contrary to regulations, and is condemned to the same fate.
Fines of cows, goats, and fowls are brought in and presented; they are smoothed down by the offender's hands, and then applied to his face, to show there is no evil spirit lurking in the gift; then thanks are proferred for the leniency of the king in letting the presenter off so cheaply, and the pardoned man retires, full of smiles, to the ranks of the squatters. Thousands of cattle, and strings of women and children, sometimes the result of a victorious plundering hunt, or else the accumulated seizures from refractory Wakungu, are brought in; for there is no more common or acceptable offering to appease the king's wrath towards any refractory or blundering officer than a present of a few young beauties, who may perhaps be afterwards given as the reward of good service to other officers.
Stick-charms, being pieces of wood of all shapes, supposed to have supernatural virtues, and coloured earths, endowed with similar qualities, are produced by the royal magicians. The master of the hunt exposes his spoils—such as antelopes, cats, porcupines, curious rats, etc., all caught in nets, and placed in baskets—zebra, lion, and buffalo skins being added. The fishermen bring their spoils; also the gardeners. The cutlers show knives and forks made of iron inlaid with brass and copper; the furriers, most beautifully-sewn patchwork of antelopes' skins; the habit-maker, sheets of mbugu barkcloth; the blacksmith, spears; the maker of shields, his productions;—and so forth; but nothing is ever given without rubbing it down, then rubbing the face, and going through a long form of salutation for the gracious favour the king has shown in accepting it.