The Gwere people, also called Bagwere, are a Bantu ethnic group in Uganda. They are among the 65 ethnic societies of Uganda. Gwere is the root word, and the people are referred to as Bagwere (endonym) or Mugwere (singular). According to the 2002 Census of Uganda, 23.6% of Bagwere are Roman Catholic, 46.8% are Anglican (Church of Uganda), 23.9% are Muslim and 3.1% are Pentecostal.
Location
The Bagwere occupy an area of 2,388.3 km in eastern Uganda, mostly in Budaka District, Pallisa District and Kibuku District, Butebo District, where they make up over 80% of the population. They have the Bagisu, the Basoga, the Balamogi and the Iteso, the Banyole and the Jopadhola (Badama) as their neighbors. The city of Mbale is home to some Bagwere. Bagwere are also found in the following towns in Eastern Uganda: Pallisa, Budaka, Kibuku, Kagumu, Kamonkoli, Kadama, Kabweri, Iki-Iki, Bulangira, Kaderuna, Tirinyi, Butebo and Kakoro.
The Bagwere are said to have emigrated to their present area from Bunyoro and Toro, and travelled along Lake Kyoga, crossing River Mpologoma. For this reason all the tribes that settled along the shores Kyoga like; Baluli, Bakenye, Balamogi have a similar language to Lugwere. Their initial area of settlement has shrunk considerably as the Iteso and the Bagisu have pushed the Bagwere's frontiers inwards.
The language of the Bagwere is Lugwere
Cultural structure
The Bagwere are one of the 65 indigenous communities in Uganda according to the Third Schedule of Uganda's Constitution (Uganda's indigenous communities as at 1 February 1926).
The Bagwere have many clans originating from different tribes including the following: