Ruhembeduhakuka

Overview

Ruhembeduhakuka lives on a hilltop with his single bull. The narrator describes him as having one eye, one ear, one leg and one arm. After Bahuma cattle owners settle below, a father forbids his son to graze their herd on the hill. The boy falls asleep during hot weather and wakes to find the cattle above him. Following them, he meets the elder, who orders him to bring milk the next morning. The father recognizes the encounter as trouble, but the boy delivers the milk. Ruhembeduhakuka then announces that he will arrive at their gate at dawn.

The elder and bull duly appear. He says that he wants only to be buried, and the household gathers its people for a lengthy excavation. Next morning both are back at the kraal’s fire. The elder complains that the grave was too shallow. Larger work parties and deeper graves merely repeat the result; he is ready again for milk after each burial. Taking him a day’s journey away fails, and even carrying him many days to a lake and throwing him in does not remove him.

Kitching explains that tellers prolong the attempts according to their imagination, but do not conclude by finally extinguishing either elder or bull. The returning pair and the demand for repeated work are thus central to this recorded narrative. The bull shares each return, while the described one-sided anatomy belongs to Ruhembeduhakuka. Kitching’s comparison with an Old Man of the Sea is an editorial analogy rather than a second name given by the tale.

Origins & earliest records

Arthur Leonard Kitching records this material as a missionary working in Uganda. He names no individual contributor for the selected account. His descriptions and translations are a historical outsider witness, with his Christian comparisons and colonial evaluations distinguished from the reported traditions.

Records & interpretation

Kitching, On the Backwaters of the Nile, printed pp. 139–141, directly read; title page, foreword and relevant surrounding section checked.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   On the Backwaters of the Nile

   Arthur Leonard Kitching, missionary recorder · 1912

   Printed pp. 139–141; London, T. Fisher Unwin.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Historical missionary account of narratives and religious practicesKitching 1912 — RuhembeduhakukaResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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