Biharwe Eclipse Monument
Biharwe Eclipse Monument is located in Biharwe town of Mbarara district in southwestern Uganda. the monument was built in commemoration of the total eclipse of the sun which took place on April 17, 1520 AD. It tells a story of the wars between the early kingdoms that existed in the region at that time. The monument now serves as an artistry beauty of history and a tourism site for travelers.
History of Biharwe Eclipse Monument
Biharwe Eclipse monument was inaugurated by the president of the Republic of Uganda his Excellence Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on 30th August 2014. The monument was constructed with the help of a grant from UNDP that was given to Igongo Cultural Centre and Country hotel under the Business Enterprise Innovation Challenge in December 2019.
The Biharwe eclipse monument was designed by Joseph Sematimba, a creative director and lecturer of art and design at Makerere University in Kampala. The eclipse became a scientifical event in the early history of the region.
Meaning of the features on the Biharwe Eclipse monument
The monument features three pillars, sphere and pictorials that tells a lot of meaning. Let’s look at the meaning of all these features below.
The Three pillars on the monument
The three pillars on the monument represent the three kings, Olimi, Ntare, and Nakibinge who were affected directly by the Biharwe eclipse. The fourth pillar was not added, as this symbolized the instability amongst the kingdoms that is the cattle raids, famine, and tribal wars during that period.
The globe/sphere
The sphere represents the moon that is uniformly offset along a circular void on top to create a ring void that surrounds the base of the globe. The gap was designed to simulate the eclipse with its shadow on the ground as long as there is sunshine. The simulation is a transforming shadow that is cast at the base of the monument that keeps evolving from a crest shape shadow in the morning sunrise to a ring-shape shadow at mid-day and finally to a fading crest shadow at sunset.
The pictorials
The pictorials include drums, shields, spears, and other symbols that represent aspects of different cultures such as community values, lifestyles, beliefs, and tools that were used for different purposes. They are derived from the patterns that were used on the traditional Hima huts.
Facts about the biharwe eclipse monument
The monument tells a story about the fights that the three contemporary kings were involved in. It is believed that when the king of Bunyoro, Omukama Rwitamahanga Olimi I, was fighting the king of Buganda, Ssekabaka Nakibinge & Ankole’s Nyabugaro Ntaro I, the war was known as the battle of Biharwe having ended on Biharwe Hill.
After king Olimi 1 had attacked the two neighbouring kingdoms, he and his men raided all their cattle and were taking them to his Kingdom. When they reached Biharwe Hill, they did not notice the place was experiencing total Eclipse.
The mystery is that as darkness suddenly fell, the King thought the demons of the people they had killed during the war had showed up to haunt them. He ordered his soldiers to abandon everything on the hill so they could run to save their dear lives.
The natives took the abandoned war spoils, including the cattle and divided them among themselves. the cattle that were got from the biharwe hill by the natives were named Empenda ya munoni in their local dialect which means cattle from heaven.
Biharwe eclipse monument acts as a rich cultural heritage site in the region. Other cultural sites near the monument in Mbarara that can be visited includes, the igongo cultural and museum centre, itaaba cultural centre, nkokonjeru Ankole kingdom burial grounds, mugaba palace and much more.
Leave a Reply