Tracking down hints from the new printing of Death in the Dark Continent

[chicklewis]

Received my gorgeous copy of the latest printing of Death in the Dark Continent earlier this week, and have been reading the army lists with great interest. 

Several of them only HINT at interesting information which I don't seem to be able to satisfactorily follow up with Google or Wikipedia.

I would be very glad if other Lead Adventurers would be willing to fill in the details, or give me pointers to the information for the following:

From the Bunyoro army list:  "Kabarega seldom took the field himself, but when he did he made quite an impact with his famous 17-shot Winchester repeater, nicknamed "Bagwigairebata".  I found "bagwigairebata" mentioned in several african-pride-type websites, but zero details, only that it fell to the ground when Kabarega was finally captured.  I cannot find any mention of a Winchester repeater with a capacity of 17 rounds. 

From the Luo army list:  "A chief representing Okore Oganda (1870-79) may be Outstanding (25 points)."  I found lots of references to one or more schools named Okore OgUnda, but no bio of the guy under either spelling. 

From the Hehe army list:  ""- - - they are chiefly remembered for Mkwawa's war of resistance to the Germans between 1891 and 1898, and especially their victory at the River Rugano in 1891."  This battle must have another name, because I couldn't find it through "Rugano". 

Please advise and assist. 

Thanks, Chick

[Plynkes]

For the last one try googling "Emil von Zelewski", "Zelewski's Last Stand", "Battle of Lugalo", or "Battle of Lugalu."

Don't know where "Rugano" comes from. I've seen it rendered as "Rugaro" but not Rugano before. I believe the river in question is actually these days known as the Ruaha. Perhaps those others are old names for it, or misinterpretations of the time by Europeans. Standardization of names wasn't really a thing back then, it can be quite confusing reading someone like Speke, as he will quite often litter his text with half a dozen ways to write the name of a single place.

[Plynkes]

As for this Okore Oganda customer, my only references for him come from Chris Peers, the same guy who wrote those rules. He says he was the great hero of the Luo, who died sometime in the late 1870s. His fame was due to his fighting prowess, and it was said that on occasion he had killed ten opponents single-handed. His nickname was "Chieng" which means the sun, and his band of followers was known as the "fighting he-goats." he was eventually treacherously felled in an ambush, killed with a poison arrow.

If he was from the 1870s, that's before any real contact with Europeans, so anything we have about him would be oral folk tales.

Haven't been able to find any reference to him outside of Chris Peers, however I did stumble across a chap called Okore Chieng' Wuod Ogonda who rose to prominence at a time of much privation due to diminishing cattle herds and famine. He and other gang leaders like him made their names via banditry and cattle theft, providing for their people by preying on neighbouring peoples and becoming folk heroes in the process. As a champion of the Luo in a time of hardship, I think that's why he has all those schools named after him (he's regarded as a protector from outsiders, never mind that he was off nicking all their cows!) The name is too similar to be a coincidence, yet I think the time of mass famines and epidemics of disease from outside occurred later than the 1870s, from the mid 1880s until the early 20th Century. So either this fellow is a relative of the other chap, or maybe somebody has got their timelines muddled up, not sure.

Perhaps you could write to your former president and ask him. Mr. Obama might know, he's part-Luo, I hear.

(I'd rather ask Lupita Nyong'o, personally.)

[Plynkes]

If you are interested in the Banyoro and Kabarega, the East Africa book by Chris Peers that was published by Foundry has about eight pages on their various campaigns from the 1860s to 1890s. Doesn't shed much light on your man's rifle, mind. Says it could fire 17 shots without reloading, but in this text it's less certain what sort of gun it was: Only "probably" a Winchester.

It does say this gun was wielded by Kabarega at the battle of Rwengabi in 1886, when a Baganda army led by a chief named Kibirango invaded Bunyoro. Kabarega deployed his royal guard of musketeers in a formation 12-ranks(?) deep; and while by all accounts the Banyoro were rotten shots, their musketry made quite an impression on the Baganda, who fled. Kabarega then pursued, but Kibirango had rallied his force and the battle commenced again, this time with both sides spreading out into skirmish formations. Once more multiple volleys seemed to have seen off the Baganda, and Kabarega personally shot and killed Kibirango with his famous repeater. This did not have the hoped-for effect of further demoralising the enemy as they actually rallied to try and retrieve the body of their chief, and so had to be seen off for a third time.

Third time lucky, this time they ran and kept running. It had been a bloody business, with heavy losses on both sides.

[chicklewis]

WOW, Plynkes, your comprehensive knowledge and apparently extensive library are both very impressive !!

Thanks much for all the fascinating information !

Chick

[chicklewis]

Altfritz on Theminiaturespage suggested that bagwigairebata might have been a lever-action Henry rifle, one of the predecessors to the lever action Winchester. 

I responded:

Altfritz, I'll bet you are CORRECT !

The Henry Rifle. 16 round tubular magazine, and one in the chamber !

Thanks !

[Dr Mathias]

It can be a challenge to dredge information out of the Chris Peers East Africa book. The table of contents is minimal... no index... no footnoted references. The bibliography will have dozens of sources, but who knows which one might have been used for a particular tribe, unless the author mentions it specifically in the relevant passage. I found the same info Plynkes did on my brief perusal.

I still love the Foundry Africa books. Money very well spent

[Plynkes]

Aha! Nice to see you found a likely candidate for that gun.