Masaba people

The Masaba people, or Bamasaaba, are a Bantu people inhabiting the Eastern Ugandan districts of Sironko, Manafwa, Bududa, Mbale and Bulambuli. They are closely related to the Bukusu and Luhya of Western Kenya. They are a mainly agricultural people, farming millet, bananas and sorghum on small-holder plots. Maize became popular with the coming of Europeans in late 1890s.

The Bamasaaba are famous for their traditional male circumcision ceremonies, held every even year. In a three-day ceremony of dancing and feasting, preceding a couple of months preparations, the initiates are admitted into adulthood and expected to begin their formal contribution to the growth of their respective communities.

The name Bamasaaba is sometimes used interchangeably with the name Bagisu, even though the latter is actually a tribe of the Bamasaaba nation.

The current Babukusu of western Kenya are believed to have migrated from the Bamasaaba, particularly from areas around Bubulo, in current Manafwa District. Many clans among the Babukusu have their origins among the Bamasaaba, a testimony to this linkage. Masinde Muliro, once a veteran politician and elder of the Babukusu from Kitale, was from the Bakokho clan, with its base at Sirilwa, near Bumbo in Uganda. Other clans common to both sides include Batiiru Babambo, Baata, Bakitang'a and Batiiru. There are other clans whose names, however, that are only on one side, such as Babichache and Balonja who are mainly among the Babukusu. The common cultural ties are a further indication of close relations among the two sister ethnic groups. During the Constituent Assembly that led to the 1995 Constitution of Uganda, Mulongo Simon, a Delegate from Bubulo East, introduced Babukusu as one of the ethnic groupings of Uganda, acknowledging the fact that both groups, Bamasaaba and Babukusu are intertwined.

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