| abstract
| - Omweso, sometimes shortened to Mweso or spelled Mweisho, is the national mancala game of Uganda. The name "Omweso" is derived from the Swahili word michezo, which means "game". The game was supposedly introduced by the Bachwezi people of the ancient Bunyoro-kitara empire of Uganda in the 16th century. The okwesa ritual, which included a game of Omweso, was part of the crowning ceremony on the sacred Buddo hill. This ritual was probably as old as the kingdom itself founded by Kintu Kato more than 600 years ago. Omweso was the favorite pastime of King Mutesa I (reign 1856-1884), the 30st king of the Buganda, who played it with his wives, sisters and important ministers in the royal palace called twekobe. As the game was much played by members of the state administration too, it could promote a professional career. Mutesa I. ruled the country when in 1862 the English researcher John Hanning Speke became the first European to reach this remote part of Africa. His Omweso board was displayed in the UNESCO World Heritage site Kasubi Tombs until it was destroyed by fire in 2010. The best player of the 19th century was Mukasa who was Katikkiro (prime minister) during the reign of Mutesa I and Mwanga II. The Omweso rules were first described in Europe by R. S. Shackell in 1934. People of the lower classes rarely played Omweso and women were discouraged by being told that they would be not developping breasts if they would play the game. It was also forbidden to play the game in the night. After Uganda was occupied by the British aggressors in 1894, Omweso lost much of its former importance. Many men were brought to cotton plantations which resembled forced labor camps. Omweso was revived by the Bataka Movement which was started in 1947 by James Miti and Sezario Mulumba, then by the return of Sir Edward Mutesa II from his British exile in 1955. The renewed appreciation of African values and indigenous cultural achievements made the game once again very popular in Uganda. In the early 2000s, the most important official tournaments were the Baganda Clan Tournament (with more than 250 players), the Kampala District Championship, the Inter-District Tournament and the All Uganda Championship. There were also tournaments at the Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO) in London (2000) and Cambridge (2001-2003), England. At this time the strongest players were Hudson Kyagaba, Abdu and Umaru Semakula, Sofasi Ddamba, B. Kityo Mukasa, Dirisa Ssemogerere and Dirisa Nsubuga. The game was so popular that the Ugandan State TV showed almost every day commented games from important matches. Many Omweso players were organized in the International Omweso Society (IOS), which had members in Uganda, the UK, the Channel Islands and the Czech Republic. The society, which was formed by Brian Wernham in 1999, appears to be defunct. Its homepage (www.omweso.org) was last updated on October 22, 2004 and removed in early 2010. The e-mail address of Brian Wernham, its president, is bouncing since August 17, 2004. The last Omweso tournament in Europe was held in 2003 at the MSO Cambridge. The Omweso Society reported in 2004 that there were nine Omweso clubs in Kampala (Uganda), however, the game is on the decline in Africa too. In 2007, five sportsmen were nominated for the 2006 Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) Sports Personality of the Year award. According to the Monitor (Kampala) "[Omweso] was quashed off the list due to the inactiveness all year round". In 2003, Jochen Wertenauer who lives in Erdmannshausen near Stuttgart wrote a computer program for Omweso. However, the rules he implemented are not correct.
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