kingdom · Horn and East Africa

Kingdom of Ndorwa

1600 CE – 1800 CE (approx.)

A kingdom of the highlands between Rwanda and Uganda, remembered for its queen Kitami and as the cradle of the Nyabingi spirit cult.

Origins

Ndorwa lay in the hills of today's south-western Uganda and northern Rwanda. Traditions from the region describe it as a kingdom of the 17th century, linked by marriage and war with the Kingdom of Rwanda, the Kingdom of Mpororo and the states of Ankole. Its history is known only from oral accounts.

Rule and society

Little is known of its government. Traditions remember a queen, Kitami, whose spirit became Nyabingi, the focus of a powerful healing and resistance cult that spread across the region and later inspired revolts against colonial rule in the early 20th century.

Decline and legacy

Ndorwa broke up in the 18th century and was conquered by Rwanda around 1800. Its lands were later divided by the colonial border between Rwanda and Uganda's Kigezi district.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

More states of Horn and East Africa →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Ndorwa. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-ndorwa
MLA
“Kingdom of Ndorwa.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-ndorwa. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Ndorwa.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-ndorwa.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Ndorwa’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-ndorwa (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻