When one looks at the meaning the name “Kitara”, the usual explanation is : the Empire of Light in relation with the word “itara” which in Great Lakes Bantu languages means “lamp, light”. This a complex question because Kitara is an ancient toponym and find the etymology of ancient toponym without any written sources in the language in not an easy task but we will try in this article to dig into the probable origin of the name.

Kitara: the original name of a specific locality, Kitara cya Nyamenge

Oral tradition states that the Kitara state has been divided between several provinces called amasaza during Isaza reign (probably around 1100 CE). Among these « amasaza », one of them was called Kitara and was under the authority of a man called Nyamenge, hence the name Kitara cya Nyamenge to designate the province at the theart of the Kitara empire. This province correspond to the area of Bugangaizi and Kyaka. This area is limited by the Nkusi river in the North, the Katonga river in the south, the Mpongo river in the East

Some possibles etymologies of Kitara :

The Wainwright hypothesis :

According to the Egyptologist G.A. Wainwright, the name Kitara is formed by :

• Ki, the bantu prefix for the object or inanimates things
• Tar, the Meroitic (Nubian) word for King

Hence Kitara would mean « The Kingdom »

The «Tara» hypothesis :

According to this widespread etymology, the name Kitara is formed by :

• Ki, the bantu prefix for the object or inanimates things
• Tara, the word for light or lamp

Hence, Kitara would mean « the land of Light ».

«Itara» in Kirundi, Kinyarwanda and Luhya (kKmaragoli) languages means « lamp, light » but this word is probably borrowed from kiswahili language where we can found the word « taa » and its older form « taara » to designate a lamp, and especially oil lamp. Oil lamp appeared in Africa around the 19th century and it seems very unlikely that the name Kitara would be linked to a modern object arrived in Africa about a century ago.

The White cow hypothesis :

According to some oral tradition, the first man in Kitara was named Kintu.

Kintu was accompagnied by a white cow called Kitara or Kitare.

The Tware hypothesis :

Another etymology proposed by link the word Kitara with Tware

• Ki, the bantu prefix for objects or inanimates things
• Tware, the word for chief, authority

The Tar hypothesis :

In Acholi and Luo language of Northern Uganda, we found the word “Tar”:

• Ki, the bantu predix for objects or inanimates things
• «Tar» the word which means white, bright, light

The Mutara hypothesis :

In Southern Great Lakes Bantu languages (kinyarwanda, kirundi…) we found the word “Mutara” :

The root «-tara/-tura» means in these languages “to establish, settle, or take precedence,” so the name carries the meaning of “the one who comes first” or “leader”. In Bantu languages naming structure, the prefix -mu- denotes a person, so Mutara means “the one who leads” or “the founder.” It is a royal name which was bore by the King Mutara Rudahigwa, one of the last king of the Rwandan Monarchy. The word Kitara (and similar terms such as Itara, Gitara) can be considered as a similar to Mutara, based on the same root -tara. Hence Kitara could be considered as «the proeminent place, the place above all others».

Other hypothesis and etymologies :

There are other words who sounds like Kitara but have different meanings :

• ekitara : a granery to store seeds (millet) [runyoro languages]
• kitara : a sword, a bayonet [runyoro]
• gutara : to start a fire, to cook, to brew banana beer [kirundi, kinyarwanda]
• okutara : to wander about [runyoro]

These words have totally different meanings and seems not linked to the kingdom name “Kitara”.

In conclusion, the word «Kitara» is an indigenous name which designates at the origin a specific place in Western Uganda. This place, Kitara cya Nyamenge became famous due to its chief, Nyamenge, who is supposed to have been contemporaneous to Isaza, a 10th century king of Kitara. There are different potential etymologies for the word, but the most probable are the ones links with greatness, elevated position, or light and brightness. This leads to the hypothesis that the original Kitara place occupied a particular location very distinctable (possibly an elevated hill visible from far away, a place offering a great panorama over the surrouning areas). This name has eventually been extended towards the whole kingdom along with the progressive extension of the state.

A possible synthetic meaning of Kitara could be : the place who shines and has preeminence above all others.

References :

1. Dictionnaire Français-Runyarwanda
2. The Kitara Complex : The historical tradition of Western Uganda to the 16th century. Carole A. Buchanan
3. Katondogorozi – Runyoro/English dictionnary (runyakitara.com)