Editing Buganda (section)

===Crafts===
The royal craftsmen were a protected minority that were gifted land and were exempt from paying taxes or labour duties. The  blacksmiths especially were extremely skilled and their work was highly specialized and sought after. [[Margaret Trowell]] describes further:<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ih6vCwAAQBAJ|title=An Economic History of Kenya and Uganda, 1800–1970|date=1975 |pages=114–115|publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-02442-1 }}</ref>

{{blockquote|The leader of the royal craftsmen and often his second in command holds a hereditary position and comes from one particular clan, although the workmen under him may be of any clan. But among the smiths many of the clans seem to have their own closed groups where all the workmen will be of one clan and where only a certain type of work is done. Thus the Nvubu clan have always been makers of the royal shields and the bracelets, anklets and other ornaments for the Kings' wives; while the Ente clan make the weapons and agricultural implements.|}}

Leather working and tanning was an important industry and employed significant numbers of subjects. An account from 1874 describes the tanning of leather by the&nbsp;bakopi (commoners)&nbsp;who made large sheets of leather that were&nbsp;"beautifully tanned and sewed together". A resident missionary in 1879 reported purchasing dyed leather skins cut in the shape of a hat. Cowhides were fashioned into sandals worn by the elite and priests since before the 18th century, with buffalo hides specifically worn by chiefs and the elite.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s0irmwEACAAJ|title=Political power in pre-colonial Buganda : economy, society & warfare in the nineteenth century|date=2002 |pages=59–60|publisher=James Currey |isbn=978-0-8214-1477-4 }}</ref>

As early as the 1860s, professional smiths attached to the court were making ammunition for imported firearms, and by 1892,  [[Frederick Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard|Federick Lugard]] observed that the Ganda smiths: "will construct you a new stock to a rifle which you will hardly detect from that made by a London gun-maker. The Fundi Kisule, who learnt his art from Mackay, is an accomplished blacksmith and gunsmith, and will make a new spring or repair any damaged rifle with admirable workmanship. Their folding stools of rod iron, and their beautifully-tumed-out spears, attest their ability as blacksmiths."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s0irmwEACAAJ|title=Political power in pre-colonial Buganda : economy, society & warfare in the nineteenth century|date=2002 |page=85|publisher=James Currey |isbn=978-0-8214-1477-4 }}</ref>