Kigezi Mountain Mosaic

Kigezi Mountain Mosaic is an exploration of Kigezi colonial district which covers the modern districts of Kabale, Kisoro, Kanungu and Rukungiri in south-west Uganda, bordering the DR Congo and Rwanda. The book (256,000 words & 140 photos) is primarily a review of secondary sources researched in 2011-12.

The background of Mgahinga (Virunga Mountains) and Bwindi National Parks is given; they are best known for the rare Mountain Gorilla and Golden Monkey. Many other species are described, from the tiny elusive rare Delaney’s Mouse to the pygmy and forest elephant, via primates, deer and Albertine Rift bird and other endemics. It includes the recently locally extinct leopard (once a notorious man-eater), situtanga and hippo.

There are extensive descriptions of the origins, history (with clan notes), settlement, economy, culture, language and religion (including Nyabingi) of the Batwa (hunter-gatherers and conservation refugees), Bakiga and Bafumbira (traditional farmers). Colonial conquest is detailed with an exploration of the fundamental economic, cultural, political and religious changes wrought by European rule and post-independence globalisation. There is an analysis of modern day life and the challenges of migration, dense rural population, gender, agriculture, employment, environment, tourism and people, national park and wildlife interactions.

There are biographies of the most important people (African and European), descriptions from contemporary literature from 1910, and a large bibliography that covers published and unpublished literature on all research topics with a guide to archives and libraries.