The inhabitants of Bushi are known as the Shi (plural: Bashi; singular: Mushi), who are also referred to as Banyabungo or Banyindu.[2] The Shi language, known as Mashi, belongs to the Central (Zone J) Bantu group and served as a lingua franca across the region, while common religious practices included belief in the supreme deityNyamuzinda, venerated through ancestral spirits (Bazimu)—notably Lyangombe, a central spiritual figure in the 19th century.[2][3]Agriculture forms the basis of the local economy, with the majority of the population engaged in farming.[2] The Shi kingdom is headed by a hereditary monarch, the Mwami, currently Alexandre Kabare Rugemanizi III.[4][5][6]
Geographical extent
Historically, the concept of Bushi has been subject to varying interpretations, with earlier literature often limiting it to a narrow political definition. In many prior publications, the territorial extent of Bushi was confined to the chiefdoms of Kabare and Ngweshe, thus excluding other neighboring chiefdoms such as Kaziba, Luhwindja, Burhinyi, Nindja, and Kalonge, which were either treated as peripheral or merely affiliated entities.[1] This restricted definition has led to widespread confusion, particularly among external observers and scholars unfamiliar with the region's complex history. For instance, historian Jacques Marissal asserted that Bushi extended only from the Bahunde in the north to the Bishugi in the south and was bounded to the west by the equatorial forest.[1] He noted that, around 1880, Bushi consisted of several small kingdoms—originally seven—but had since been reduced to four principal polities: Nabushi, Ngweshe, Katana (Karhano), and Karhongo.[1] Similarly, Bernard Jean René Lugan acknowledged the ambiguity surrounding the region's territorial definition, accentuating that the geographic extent of Bushi remains contested.[1]
The Royal Court of Kabare Chiefdom, located in Kabare Territory, is also under the chieftaincy of the Bashi, who predominantly reside there
The confusion between the political and cultural dimensions of Bushi may be attributed to the tendency to equate centralized political structures, such as those found in Kabare and Ngweshe, with broader ethnic and territorial boundaries. These structures, bearing strong resemblance to Rwanda's centralized monarchy, were often used as models for understanding governance across the interlacustrine region.[1] However, cultural commonalities among the Bashi—such as language, customs, religious beliefs, and socio-economic institutions—have long constituted the foundations of a shared ethnic identity, independent of centralized political authority.[1] As such, ethnic cohesion among the Bashi does not necessarily imply a unified political system. In recognition of the cultural unity of the Bashi and the shared sense of ethnic belonging expressed by local populations, the region of Bushi is best conceptualized using the phrase coined by historian Jean-Pierre Chrétien in his work on the Buha: "one people, several kingdoms".[1]
Geographically, Bushi encompasses a substantial portion of South Kivu. It lies southwest of Lake Kivu, covering an estimated area of approximately 4,600 square kilometers, between 2° and 2°80' south latitude and 28°20' and 29° east longitude.[1] The region is bordered to the east by the Ruzizi River, Lake Kivu, and Rwanda; to the west by the forested highlands of Bulega; to the north by the Nyabarongo River, Buhavu, and Bunyakiri; and to the south by the Lumvi and Bufuliru rivers.[1] Administratively, Bushi comprises several traditional chiefdoms (later reorganized as collectivities following colonial rule and administrative reforms in 1972), including Kabare in the north, Ngweshe in the center, Nindja and Kalonge in the northwest, Burhinyi, Luhwindja, and Kaziba in the west and southwest.[1] The territory spans across parts of the administrative territories of Walungu and Kabare, as well as sections of Mwenga, Kalehe, and Bagira (Bukavu).[1]
History
Origins and settlement
The early settlement history of Bushi remains insufficiently understood due to limited and often biased sources. Existing written literature does not provide a comprehensive reconstruction of the remote origins of the Bashi, the processes through which the region was peopled, or the successive transformations of their socio-political institutions.[7] Much of the early literature on Bushi was shaped by colonial-era research, with research disproportionately centered on the chiefdoms of Kabare and Ngweshe and influenced by the policies of the White Fathers.[7] These missionaries advanced a doctrine in which traditional chiefs were to serve as intermediaries between colonial authorities and the local population. Such an approach produced a historiography disproportionately preoccupied with political and military structures, and one heavily entangled with racialized theories and Eurocentric presuppositions.[7]
Early anthropological and historical interpretations, informed by evolutionist and diffusionist models, sought to classify the inhabitants of Bushi into three racial categories based on conjectured migratory "waves": the Barhwa (also known as Twa or Pygmies), regarded as indigenous forest dwellers; the Bantu, considered the dominant native population; and the Baluzi, portrayed as Hamitic migrants of Ethiopian or Nile Basin origin, frequently associated with Semitic peoples and imagined as a "dominant race".[7] These theories mirrored racial typologies that shaped Rwandan historiography and were transposed to Bushi without empirical substantiation. While such theories persisted throughout the colonial era, they were also reinforced by deterministic ideologies privileging cultural and economic hierarchies.[7] From the 1990s onward, however, scholars affiliated with the University of Zaire started a critical reappraisal of these narratives. Employing new methodologies in African historiography, they accentuated the significance of oral tradition, indigenous agency, and interdisciplinary approaches. This intellectual shift aimed to restore African voices to the center of historical reconstruction and to dismantle the distortions inherent in Eurocentric paradigms.[7]
Contemporary hypotheses about the settlement of Bushi reject the notion of large-scale, racially distinct conquests. Instead, the region's human occupation is increasingly viewed as the result of gradual and localized migration.[7] Small groups from neighboring regions—especially Rwanda, Burundi, and southern Kivu—are thought to have integrated into existing communities. In this context, the figure of the chief emerges not as a foreign conqueror of distant origin, but as a primus inter pares (first among equals), a leader chosen internally in response to social needs.[7] Notably, the term "Hamite" does not exist in Mashi. Due to the lack of extensive archaeological and linguistic research in the region, scholars caution against overreaching extrapolations based on the current limits of oral literature, which itself may not extend very far in time or space.[7]
Particular attention has been directed toward the dynastic origins of Bushi, especially the Lwindi lineage situated at the region's southern frontier. Oral traditions consistently recognize Lwindi as the sole royal line whose legitimacy is widely acknowledged.[7] While the precise genealogical origins of its ancestors remain debated, prevailing oral accounts suggest that the founding figures of Bushi's dynasties either originated from the same ancestral group or arrived in the region contemporaneously.[7]
Bushi Kingdom
According to local tradition, the Bushi Kingdom, centered around the city of Kabare, was founded somewhere before the year 1388, and remained independent until the Belgian colonialization of the Belgian Congo in the late 19th century.[8] Controlling a region of high interest, the Bushi Kingdom was often attacked, and its people's rich oral tradition tells of victories against, among others, invaders from the neighboring Kingdom of Rwanda and the Belgian colonists.[9][10]
Rulers of Kabare and other chiefdoms
Bushi Kingdom and Kabare Chiefdom
The Kingdom of Bushi was ruled by bami (singular mwami). These bami have, ever since the kingdom's establishment circa 1380, been from the same dynasty, and have all carried the name Nnabushi (Kabare), supplemented by a third name. There may have been up to 31 bami since the Bushi Kingdom was established, but the sources are doubtful.
The following bami ruled the Bushi Kingdom. Note that older names are traditional and doubtful and the list may be outdated:[8]
Nnabushi Kabare Ngabwe (? –?) (first mwami according to tradition)
Nnabushi Albert Kabare I (Ntayitunda I) (1936 – 1979)
Nnabushi Alexandre Kabare I (Rugemaninzi I) (1979)
Kazi (regentess 1979 – 1990)
Nnabushi Mamimami (disputed) (1981 – 1986)
Nnabushi Albert Kabare II (Ntayitunda II) (disputed) (1986 – 1990)
Nnabushi Désiré Kabare (Rugemaninzi II) (1990 –)
Other Bushi chiefdoms
Not only the Kabare Chiefdom, but also many other successor chiefdoms exist in the Bushi region. Some of these are formed by a different branch of the same dynasty as Kabare, while some others have different dynasties altogether.
The following list lists several Bushi successor chiefdoms, their bami and predecessors, if they are known. Note that information might be outdated:[11][8]
Current mwami: Nnanindja Balekembaka (exiled) (1989 –)
Interregnum (1979 – 1989)
Nnanindja Bertin Ndusi Ruhambuzo (? – 1979)
Institutional organization
The Bushi chiefdoms are headed by a mwamis. The Mwami exercises absolute authority over his subjects, and his person is imbued with a sacred aura, surrounded by myth and traditional reverence.[12] Close to the Mwami is a circle of figures who form the nucleus of royal power. These include the Bajinji, descendants of the earliest Bami; the Mwamikazi, who is either the Mwami's wife or, in the event of the Mwami's incapacity, the queen mother acting as regent; the Bagula, a council of elder wise men who serve as advisers; and the Baluzi or Barhwali, who are close members of the Mwami's family.[12] Collectively, they form the Banyamocha, the nobility of the Mwami's court.[12]
Within the broader feudal hierarchy of Bushi society, additional categories can be distinguished. The Barhambo were politico-land chiefs, themselves descendants of the royal line, while the Bashamuka were people who held noble status and enjoyed high social esteem.[12] At a lower level of the hierarchy were the Baganda, who acted as royal messengers, and the Balagizi, vassals or courtiers who oversaw protocol within the Mwami's palace.[12] The general population, known as the Bashizi, were subjects who had paid the Kalinzi, a traditional fee that granted usufruct rights to the land they cultivated.[12] Women, however, remained dependent in this social order and were often designated as Bajakazi or Bajanyere when they served as female attendants or servants within the royal court.[12]
Land tenure system
In principle, all land within Bushi was traditionally owned by the Mwami and his clan. Inhabitants gained access to land primarily through inheritance, though alternative arrangements allowed non-clan members to secure rights of cultivation and usufruct.[12] These arrangements were structured around three principal types of contracts: Bwasa, Kalinzi, and Bugule.[12]
The Bwasa contract represented a short-term rental agreement, renewable annually upon the payment of a token fee that seldom exceeded the value of a goat.[12] Such arrangements rarely fostered agricultural development, as tenants, aware that their rights could be withdrawn at any moment, were reluctant to invest in long-term improvements such as anti-erosion systems or soil enrichment through fertilizers.[12]
The Kalinzi system, by contrast, was a long-term lease arrangement, typically negotiated through the payment of one or more cows. However, kalinzi did not constitute an outright purchase. Rather, the person offering the cow entered into a relationship of social subordination to the recipient.[12] Within the established hierarchy, the giver of the cow became a subject of the person who received it, owing recognition, submission, and minimal contributions during significant family events such as marriages, funerals, or construction projects.[12] While, in theory, insubordination could result in the revocation of land, such instances were uncommon. More frequently, kalinzi contracts were hereditary, passing down with their obligations and privileges intact.[12] The Bugule represented a modern evolution of land tenure as it constituted an outright sale in which the seller permanently renounced all claims to the land. Such transactions were formalized through a written contract, leaving no ambiguity and establishing no subject–chief relationship between buyer and seller.[12] Over time, the system of land tenure shaped patterns of migration and investment, with many commission agents from chiefdoms moving to Bukavu and extending their activities into trade and mining. The majority of their investments came to be concentrated in Bukavu.[12]
19th century
The 19th century marked a transformative period in the history of Bushi, shaped by the gradual evolution from fragmented polities toward centralized monarchical regimes.[13] Although many of these centralization efforts were met with limited success, the century is particularly well-documented due to abundant oral, material, and written sources.[13]
Politically, 19th-century Bushi was characterized by the coexistence of multiple independent states alongside emerging ambitions for regional hegemony. These dynamics gave rise to numerous internal and external tensions that destabilized the region. Fragmentation, political instability, territorial annexations, famines, and wars were recurring phenomena.[13] One of the most notable events of the period was the second secession of the Kingdom of Kabare in 1860. Following military campaigns against the Bahavu of the north, Bigomokero—sent by his father Makombe-Kabare—proclaimed independence over the territories he had conquered, including parts of Ngweshe.[13] His successors, particularly Karhano, attempted to reclaim or expand these territories, resulting in the formation of the Irhambi-Karhano principality. This political division was later formalized by colonial authorities in 1929–1930.[13] Conflicts were not limited to inter-state rivalries; disputes frequently arose among Bami and rival princes, often over succession.[13] These disputes led to frequent warfare, including notable clashes between Kabare and Ngweshe, Kaziba and Burhinyi, and Kalonge and Nindja. Such conflicts were typically motivated by the desire to seize land or conduct razzias (raids).[13]
Foreign threats and regional solidarity
The fragmentation of Bushi was exploited by external powers, most notably the Kingdom of Rwanda under Kigeli IV Rwabugiri, which launched three invasions into Bushi during the second half of the century. However, a collective defense by the Shi states ultimately expelled Rwandan forces in 1894 and a year later Rwabugiri died.[13] Earlier in the century, around 1860, Mwami Muganga of Burhinyi defeated Mwami Kabuka of Lwindi. By 1890, Cimanye of Kaziba successfully defended Nyamugira (in Bufuliiru) against Arab-Swahili-led raids and defeated Bakari, a key Arab-Swahili leader, at Rumaliza.[13] Following this, trade with the Arab-Swahili became peaceful, with exchanges often mediated through local intermediaries. Arab forces were later repelled entirely by a coalition of Bashi from Burhinyi and refugee Balega communities.[13]
Major territorial expansions during the 19th century included the annexation of Karhongo, later known as Nyangezi, by Chirhahorhange-Ngweshe, and the seizure of Kashanga in Bufuliiru by Kabonwa I-Nkazibaya in 1815.[13] Northern conquests by Bigomokero extended Bushi's frontiers between the Langa and Nyabarongo rivers.[13]
Economic developments
Bushi transitioned from a barter-based economy to a monetary economy during the 19th century. Despite intermittent warfare, southern and southwestern Bushi experienced relative economic prosperity, fueled by commerce and artisanal production and further enhanced by contact with Arab-Swahili traders.[13] Even prior to external trade contacts, some Bushi states—especially Kaziba—engaged in long-distance trade, importing livestock from Rwanda and Burundi, mineral salt and iron from Bufuliiru, ivory, rubber, parrots from Bulega, pearls, cotton goods, salt, and dried fish introduced by the Arab-Swahili.[13] In exchange, the Bashi exported hoes, brass wire bracelets (known as burhege and used as currency), leather goods, weapons, foodstuffs, and occasionally slaves.[13] Trade operations were regulated through a variety of mechanisms, including standardized marketplaces, shared currencies, long-distance caravans (sometimes exceeding 50 people), legal arbitration systems, and loan structures among trading partners. These arrangements facilitated not only economic complementarity but also cultural cohesion among Bushi states and their neighbors.[13] Artisans trained local and foreign novices, while merchants introduced new languages and customs throughout the region. This exchange helped break down ethnic prejudices, such as the myth of Balega-Babembe cannibalism, and promoted interethnic marriages, including between Bashi men and foreign women.[13]
↑ (in French) Paul Masson. Trois siècles chez les Bashi [Three centuries among the Bashi]. Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren. (Ethnographical Archives, 1), 1960
↑ Antecedents to Modern Rwanda: The Nyiginya Kingdom. Karthala Editions, 2012.
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