The Order of the Omujwaara Kondo (English: Order of the Coronet Wearer) is the oldest and highest royal order of the Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom

Bunyoro

Bunyoro is a kingdom in Western Uganda. It was one of the most powerful kingdoms in East Africa from the 16th to the 19th century. It is ruled by the Omukama of Bunyoro...

 and is awarded solely by the Omukama (King) of Bunyoro

Omukama of Bunyoro

Omukama of Bunyoro is the title given to rulers of the central African kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara. The kingdom lasted as an independent state from the 16th to the 19th century. The Omukama of Bunyoro remains an important figure in Ugandan politics, especially among the Banyoro people of whom he...

. It is a single-grade honor, separated into two classes - Class I and Class II. Class I is limited to other royal families of the world and heads of state, while Class II is open to all persons.

History of the Order

The first recorded recipient of the Order was Kasaru, the interpreter of Omukama Rukidi of Bunyoro, who ruled in the late 15th century - Therefore the Order is believed to be more than 500 years old . It was normal that recipients of the Order were awarded ownership of land and it was believed that they obtained a special divine power called mahano with the admission into the order.

Recipients were awarded an Ekondo (English:coronet

Coronet

A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. Unlike a crown, a coronet never has arches.The word stems from the Old French coronete, a diminutive of coronne , itself from the Latin corona .Traditionally, such headgear is – as indicated by the German equivalent...

s) and other regalia

Regalia

Regalia is Latin plurale tantum for the privileges and the insignia characteristic of a Sovereign.The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, 'regal', itself from Rex, 'king'...

, and had special seats during ceremonies of the Kingdom. Recipients were not allowed to eat common food like potatoes and beans, instead they were expected to follow a special diet, containing primarily meat, poultry and other finer/rare foods.

When awarded the Order, recipients obtains the title of "Omujwaara Kondo" (English: Coronet wearer) and became an Abajwaara Kondo (Name for a group of Omujawaara Kondo's). It was also normal to award recipients with elaborate headdresses made from beard and skin of the Colombus Monkey

Black-and-white colobus

Black-and-white colobuses are Old World monkeys of the genus Colobus, native to Africa. They are closely related to the brown colobus monkeys of genus Piliocolobus. The word "colobus" comes from Greek κολοβός kolobós , and is so named because its thumb is a stump.Colobuses are herbivorous, eating...

.

The Order has, compared to European standards, more characteristics of a title of nobility (The award being a title and a coronet) then of an Order of Chivalry. When the British conquered the Kingdom however, the Bunyoro Agreements of 1933 and 1955 between the Kingdom and the British Government recognized the Omukama's power to award this ancient honor, which was then classified as an "Order of Distinction".

After Uganda gained its independence from Britain in 1962, Omukama Sir Winyi IV continued to award the honor until 1967, when the Kingdoms were abolished by dictator

Dictator

A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...

 Milton Obote

Milton Obote

Apolo Milton Obote , Prime Minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and President of Uganda from 1966 to 1971, then again from 1980 to 1985. He was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda towards independence from the British colonial administration in 1962.He was overthrown by Idi Amin in 1971, but...

. The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara was restored on June 11, 1993 with the enthronement of H.M. Solomon Iguru I

Solomon Iguru I

Omukama Rukirabasaija Agutamba Solomon Gafabusa Iguru I is the 27th Omukama of Bunyoro from 1994 to present.The King's Empaako is Amooti....

, son of H.M. Omukama Sir Winyi IV of Bunyoro. After the enthronement, similar to the other traditional honors of Bunyoro-Kitara, the Omujwaara Kondo is once again being awarded.

Current Order

Originally, when being awarded the Order, recipients would swear an oath of loyalty to the King, and drink a bowl of milk with the King, but now the drinking of milk is optional. How the tradition of drinking milk started is not known, but it is believed to have ties with the former large herds of Ankole cattle, which were an important part of Bunyoro economy, history and culture.

The Order was revised on March 22, 2010 by Solomon Iguru I

Solomon Iguru I

Omukama Rukirabasaija Agutamba Solomon Gafabusa Iguru I is the 27th Omukama of Bunyoro from 1994 to present.The King's Empaako is Amooti....

, in an attempt to modernize it. Since then the honor has been updated to be a breast star that is 90 millimeters in diameter. This star is worn at Empango ceremonies or other appropriate formal occasions, and member of the order sits in a special place of honor during the Empango events. Traditionally the Order was only given to men, but since its restoration in 2010, women are also allowed admittance into the order. The traditional ban on eating beans, potatoes and other vegetables has also been removed. Also recipients must be minimum 25 years of age. The honor is normally granted two times a year, once during the Empango ceremony (which most often is on June 11 each year) and the other on H.M. Solomon Iguru I's birthday on June 18.

The order is a very high honor, and may be compared to for example the highest grades of the Order of Dannebrog or the Order of the Thistle

Order of the Thistle

The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...

Privileges and responsibilities for recipients

There are several unique aspects of the award that recipients of the Order receive in contrast to other world orders. First, per Section 5(b) of the Order's current statutes, all recipients are entitled to the style "The Most Honourable". However, persons entitled to an existing style that supersedes "The Most Honourable" will retain it within the Order's records. Second, per the aforementioned Section, a recipient is entitled to use the title of Omujwaara Kondo. Official authorization is granted for a male recipient to translate Omujwaara Kondo into "Crown Knight" in English and a female recipient may translate this into "Crown Dame". Third, the post-nominal of "OOKB" may be used after an honoree's name, which stands for (O)rder of the (O)mujwaara (K)ondo of (B) unyoro-Kitara Kingdom.

Heraldic privileges

Additionally, per Section 20 of the Order's statutes , persons who receive the honor are also entitled to the right to display certain heraldic privileges. This section reads:

"20. Heraldry of Members. Heraldry has historically been limited in Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom, with the exception of the Kingdom having an armorial achievement in the ensign of its historical flag and His Majesty the Omukama having similar heraldry. However, to honor some Members whose ancestors maintained heraldic customs, by authorization of His Majesty the Omukama, all Members of the Order who desire to have heraldry are entitled to display supporters and top their helm with a basic coronet if they desire to signify their status as Members."

Intergenerational transfer rules

In accordance with both the historical traditions of The Order of the Omujwaara Kondo and its modern statutes, the honor is inherited by the original grantee's eldest child of the same sex at the moment of the original grantee's death or renunciation of the honor. Intergenerational transfer rules for the honor are described in Statute 8. For male grantees, the honor passes by patrilineal primogeniture (from male to male) and for female grantees, the honor passes by matrilineal primogeniture (from female to female).