The Gisu people, or ''Bamasaba'' people of Elgon, are a

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

tribe of the Masaba people of eastern Uganda, closely related to the

Bukusu people The Bukusu people (Bukusu: ''Babukusu'') are one of the seventeen Kenyan tribes of the Luhya Bantu people of East Africa residing mainly in the counties of Bungoma and Trans Nzoia. They are closely related to other Luhya people and the Gisu o ...

of Kenya. Bamasaba live mainly in the Mbale District of Uganda on the slopes of

Mount Elgon Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda.

Ancestor

The Masaba,

Bukusu The Bukusu people ( Bukusu: ''Babukusu'') are one of the seventeen Kenyan tribes of the Luhya Bantu people of East Africa residing mainly in the counties of Bungoma and Trans Nzoia. They are closely related to other Luhya people and the Gisu ...

and

Luhya people The Luhya (also known as ''Abaluyia'' or Luyia) comprise a number of Bantu ethnic groups native to western Kenya. They are divided into 20 culturally and linguistically related tribes. ''Luhya'' refers to both the 20 Luhya clans and their respe ...

believed that their ancestors were Mundu and Sera. The

people of Ethiopia Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts o ...

and the Ethiopian Highlands have no name for Kundu, except that it is a mountain peak in Oromiya. The Bamasaba

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

, Maswahaba migrated from the Ethiopian Mountains traveling via

Lake Turkana Lake Turkana (), formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, in northern Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. B ...

Sironko Sironko is the largest metropolitan area in Sironko District of the Eastern Region of Uganda and the site of the district headquarters. Location Sironko is approximately by road, northeast of the city of Mbale on the highway between Mbale and ...

and settled around Bududa where he fell in love with a

Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...

girl who was known as Nabarwa. The family of Nabarwa demanded that in order for Maswahaba to marry their daughter he had to undergo their rite of circumcision. He agreed to do so.

Culture

Circumcision in Africa is an old culture as practiced by the Bamasaaba in Eastern Uganda. The culture of circumcision was adopted by the Bamasaba from their in-laws the Maasai people. The men among the Bagisu tribe undergo

initiation Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...

ceremonies known as ''Imbalu''. The initiation ceremonies among the Bamasaaba are held every two years during August. The Bamasaaba ancestors lived on bamboo shoots also known as '' maleya'' in the Lumasaba language. These bamboo shoots are collected from bamboo trees on top of Mt. Elgon.

Origin of the name Bagisu

Maswahaba's first son with Nabarwa was Mwambu who was nicknamed Nkisu by his Maasai uncles who had stolen his fathers cows from him. Masawahaba failed to pronounce the nickname of Nkisu meaning a bull in Maasai language, given to his son his uncle and he pronounced it as Mugisu. The name Bagisu originated from the nickname Nkisu given to Mwambu by Maswababa's Maasai Brother-in-law. The Bamasaba speak a dialect of the Lumasaba language called Lumasaba, which is fully understandable by other dialects, and is also understood by the Bukusu. The Bamasaba share a lot of things with the Bukusu from Kenya. They share culture and according to the Bukusu the Bamasaba are their real brothers its only the border that divides them.

References

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