BAYEKE ne bande?

Bayeke ni Basumbwa ba kupuna Bugaraganza. Mu abe balimo Banyanyembe ni Banyamwezi. Lero shise shyabo shikuru ne Basumbwa bonane. Vise vyabo vidovido ng’evya: Basabaga, Babagwe, Bashirombo, Bashimbili, Bagomba, Barombo, Banzebe, Bashikaba, Baleve, Bashyetu, Basale, Bahindi, Bayogo, Balumbaga, Baduzi (Baha), etc.

Tyaha shalo shabo shekukanibwa ko Tanzania, bwerekera bwe Moba, Kalemi ne Goma.

Mfumiro ye BUYEKE

 Lusiku lumwi bahizi ba mu murombo (Barombo) balasoma nkumbi ye nzovu mu nzere ne Tanganika; lero nzovu eyo ne kufwa byololo. Balailonda nsiku na nsiku mu kuba bahayang’angu hamwi yeukagwa hana hana mu kubona magazi gavwanga mu mavulale, nahe mupamba. Kamba balatumbagira shina hi kufika bingire ne mu kaya kamwa Ngandu-Besa, ku mweri gwe Lwapula ahe bashali kumany’angu eshya shalo bali bingiremo nge shye Kadata.

Mwami Ngandu-Besa ali Mulamba. Awe ne bantu bamwe hamwine balababuzya abo banamiko oti : « Mbela imwe muli bande ? »  N’abe balitabira oti : « Ifwe tuli Bayege itwasoma nzovu ; Ku witu ne ku Busumbwa »  Balamba mu komvw’oti balayomba angu « Oo, Bayeke, kanshi Bayeke » mu bunantamanya mbuki y’elyo izina lye buyege, angu ne lusangi lwe bantu be mwizo mugume bakutwamira nzovu ne masumu tuhume. Kuvwa lusiku olwone, Basumbwa bona bizanga heno Kadata babakanyanga ko BAYEKE, kufika ne bwa lero ku bizukuru babo.

 

Who are the BAYEKE ?

The BAYEKE are also known as the Basumbwa, who came from the Bugaraganza. Among them there were the Banyanyemebe, and the Banyamwezi; however today, the largest group makes up all of the Basumbwa. Some of their families are the following: Basabaga, Bagabwe, Bashirombo, Bashimbili, Bagomba, Barombo, Banzebe, Bashikaba, Baleve, Bashyetu, Basale, Bahindi, Bayogo, Balumbaga, Baduzi (Baha) etc. There, their land was Tanzania, until they crossed the Tanganika Lake to Moba, Kalemi and Goma.

 

Where does the name Bayeke come from?

One day, a number of hunters from the Burombo stabbed a big elephant on the boundaries of Tanganika; however the elephant did not die. They followed the animal in vain for days on end, thinking that it might collapse at any time, since it was leaving blood marks in its path, as well as in the grass. It is astonishing that they were able to walk all the way to the village of Ngandu-Besa, on the other side of the Lwapula, unaware that they had now entered the land of Katanga.

King Ngandu-Besa was Mulamba. He and his court were mystified as they asked the newcomers the following questions: “Who are you?” The newcomers responded by saying, “we are the Bayeke (hunters) who stabbed an elephant. Our land is the Busumbwa”. The Balamba, upon hearing this, thought: “Uh, then they are the Bayeke, without knowing that the ‘buyege’ is a gathering of people who are very courageous; so much so that they would stab an elephant using only spears”. Ever since that day, all of the Basumbwa arriving in Katanga, even their descendants today, were referred to as Bayeke.