The Ssese Islands are an archipelago of eighty-four in the northwestern part of Lake Nalubaale in Uganda.
Location
The islands occupy the northwestern corner of
Lake Nalubaale, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world. The largest island in the archipelago is called
Bugala Island, which accounts for more than half the archipelago's land area.
Its largest town, called
Kalangala, serves as the headquarters of the district that carries the same name (Kalangala District). Kalangala is located approximately , across water, southwest of
Entebbe, in
Wakiso District, on the Ugandan mainland.
[ Estimated Nautical Distance Between Entebbe And Kalangala With Map] The coordinates of the district are:0° 26' 0.00"S, 32° 15' 0.00"E (Latitude:-0.4333; Longitude:32.2500).
The islands lie in two main groups. The south-western one can be referred to as the Bugala Group, after Bugala Island, the largest in the archipelago. The northeastern group can be referred to as the Koome Group, after Koome Island, the largest in that group. The two groups are separated by the Koome Channel. Other islands in the Bugala Group include: Bubeke, Bubembe Island, Bufumira, Bugaba Island, Bukasa, Buyova, Funve and Serinya Island. The main islands in the Koome Group include: Damba Island, Koome and Luwaji.
History
Little is known about the earliest inhabitants of Ssese, but some oral traditions associated with the creation of
Buganda claim its founder
Kintu hailed from the islands, or at least arrived in Buganda via them. The Baganda revere Ssese as the Islands of the Gods. In pre-colonial times it was customary for the Kings of Buganda to visit the islands and pay tribute to the several balubaale whose main shrines are situated there. These include shrines to Musisi (spirit of earthquakes) and Wanema (physical handicaps) on Bukasa Island, as well as the shrine of Mukasa (spirit of the lake), on Bubembe.
Overview
The Ssese Islands are inhabited by the
Bantu languages-speaking
Bassese tribe, closely related to the
Baganda and the
Basoga, and speaking a similar, though distinct language. Prior to the arrival of
Europeans, the islands were one of the most important spiritual centers of the region. About 43 (50%) of the islands are inhabited. The islands vary in size from less than , to over in length for the largest island,
Bugala Island.
Henry Morton Stanley described the inhabitants as "the principal canoe builders and the greater number of the sailors of Mtesa's empire."[Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, ]
Travel
The most popular route that the islands can be accessed from is through Nakiwogo near Entebbe by MV Kalangala as the main gateway to the archipelagos. Transfer between Nakiwogo and Bugala Island is usually 3½ hours.
From Bukakata: From the western part of Uganda, two free car MV Ssese links Bukakata mainland located 36km east of Masaka with Luku on Bugala Island about 50 minutes sailing. The ferries sail from either directions every few hours from early morning at 7am to late evening at 6pm. The morning trips on Sunday are not available until 8am.
From Kasenyi landing site: To get to Banda Island, there are small wooden boats departing from Kasenyi, a fishing village 7 km off Entebbe-Kampala road; turn off is 5 km outside Entebbe.
On Bugala island there are shared taxis that run from Luku in land port to as far as mulabana at the extreme end of the island and nearby landing sites. Boda boda are also a popular means of transport on the island.
Economic activity
The principal industry in the Ssese Islands is
fishing for the huge
Nile Perch, with much of the catch being exported. Overfishing is a huge concern on these and other islands in Lake Victoria. Other industries include
agriculture,
forestry and
tourism.
Livestock is practiced on the islands. It is estimated that 3,000 cattle, 250,000 poultry (chicken and ducks), 1,235 and 7,000 are kept on the islands.[ The Economy of Kalangala District]
BIDCO, a private palm oil processor based in Jinja District, on the mainland, owns a palm oil plantation on the islands. In addition, outgrower farmers grow palm oil on contract with BIDCO and sell their produce to the processor.[ BIDCO Invests US$130 million in Uganda ] In 2010, the palm oil plant began generating 1.5MW of electricity through the burning of bagasse and some of the oil. The power supplies the oil processing plant and the excess is sold to Kalangala, the largest town on the islands.[ Overview of the BIDCO Palm Oil Project]
Logging is another economic activity that is practiced on the Ssese Islands.
Flora and fauna
The islands are also home to a variety of animals including
, which are not easily accessible on the mainland. The most common large terrestrial mammal is the
Vervet monkey, which is often seen in the vicinity of Lutoboka and Kalangala.
Cape bushbuck and black-and-white colobus are also present, but seldom observed. Since Buggala was separated from the mainland, one endemic creek rat and three endemic
butterfly species have evolved on the island. Water and forest
Bird are prolific. There's a variety of
Hornbill, barbets,
Turaco, robin-chats, flycatchers and weavers. Particularly common are the jewel-like pygmy
kingfisher, the brown-throated
wattle-eye and the paradise flycatcher. African
Fish eagle and palm-nut
Vulture are often seen near the lake, while immense breeding colonies of little
egret and great
cormorant occur on Lutoboka and other bays.
This has led to the evolution of a nascent but growing tourism industry on the islands. Infrastructure is still rudimentary but is slowly improving.
See also
External links
Victoria Basin forest-savanna mosaic
•Jay adventures ( +256703636163/ +256785252903)
