Bunyonyi lake
| Bunyonyi lake | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Geographical location | Rubanda District , Uganda | |
| Drain | Direction Eduardsee | |
| Islands | 29 | |
| Location close to the shore | cabal | |
| Data | ||
| Coordinates | 1 ° 17 ′ S , 29 ° 55 ′ E | |
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| Altitude above sea level | 1950 m | |
| surface | 61 km² | |
| length | 25 km | |
| width | 7 km | |
Lake Bunyonyi is located seven kilometers from the city of Kabale , in the Rubanda district in southwest Uganda . It is 25 kilometers long, seven kilometers wide and covers an area of 6100 hectares. The lake is 1950 meters above sea level and is surrounded by hills that range from 2200 to 2478 meters and are heavily cultivated. The lake appeared from 2004 to 2009 on the 5,000 shilling bill of Uganda under the title "Lake Bunyonyi and terraces".
geography
The 29 islands are concentrated in the central part of the lake. These islands have only a few inhabitants and are mainly used for tourist purposes and a primary and secondary school. The data on the maximum depth of the lake vary from 44 to 900 meters in some places. If so, Lake Bunyonyi is the second deepest in Africa. The temperature on the surface rises to up to 25 degrees Celsius.
Fish were released in the lake in the early 20th century, and fishing was commercialized in the 1930s. Unfortunately, almost all of the fish population died. However, subsistence fishing is still going on.
Over 200 species of birds have been registered here. Bunyonyi means "the place of the many, small birds".
The main center of the lake is the village of Bufuka . The residents of the area belong to the Bakiga and Batwa tribes .
Main islands
Akampene - Island of Punishment
The Bakiga left unmarried pregnant girls to starve to death on this tiny island with only one tree (those who attempted to swim to the mainland mostly drowned as few people could swim). They did this to educate and teach the rest of the women not to make the same mistake. A man who did not own cows to pay the bride's price was able to pick up the girl on the island. This custom was not abandoned until the first half of the 20th century.
Bushara Island
On this island is the Lake Bunyonyi Development Company , an organization with strong ties to the Church of Uganda , the main church in the area. They use tourism to raise funds for some development projects in the area around the lake.
A special feature of this island is the forest. A demonstration of the most remarkable property of the eucalyptus tree: its extremely rapid growth. The hills around the lake were originally heavily forested, but the overpopulation has led to the clearing of the forests to provide more land for agricultural use. Eucalyptus was imported to improve the situation. But eucalyptus trees also have a negative effect: they remove all nutrients from the soil, leaving it drained.
Bwama and Njuyeera (Sharps Island)
In 1921 the Scottish missionary Leonard Sharp came to this part of Uganda and a few years later founded a leprosy treatment center on Bwama Island. Residents were sent away and a church and medical facilities were built while Sharp settled on Njuyeera Island. Suspected cases were sent here from all over East Africa, and at its peak, the hospital counted 5,000 patients. The goal was to isolate them and thereby stop the spread of the disease. It was not until a cure for leprosy was found in the 1980s that patients were able to leave the island.
The hospital's buildings now serve as a boarding school for a high school that attracts students from across the region to the island. There is also a primary school, but there is no village on the island.
Bucuranuka - upside-down island
According to legend, this island brought death to many people. Around 20 men once brewed pombe , a millet beer , here . An old woman passed them and asked for some beer. They mistakenly thought the woman was a beggar they knew, so they refused her beer and sent her away. The old woman was amazed and asked to be at least brought to the mainland. The men replied: "With pleasure, because we are fed up with you". They chose a boy to take the old woman across the lake. When the two reached the mainland and the boy was about to drive back, the island turned upside down. All died, only a few chickens flew away and survived.
Individual evidence
- ↑ 5,000 Shillings banknote of Uganda , accessed September 13, 2019
Web links
- Guide to Lake Bunyonyi
- Bunyonyi: The Lake of many Stories. (July 23, 2011 memento on the Internet Archive ) The Eye Magazine