Bigo Bya Mugenyi

Beside the Katonga River, Bigo bya Mugenyi is marked by an extraordinary system of earthen banks and ditches. The outer trenches curve around a ridge to meet the river, enclosing a group of smaller, interconnected enclosures. The outer ditches are broken by numerous openings, while four inner enclosures open into one another. The scale of the works speaks of a community able to organise considerable labour in the Great Lakes country.

The earthworks date broadly to the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries. Oral traditions connect Bigo with the Bachwezi and their rulers Ndahura and Wamala, who also feature in stories of long-horned cattle. The ditches served several purposes, including protection and the display of authority, and the enclosures gave the community a place for gathering, herding and ritual.