The culture of Uganda is made up of a diverse range of ethnic groups. Lake Kyoga forms the northern boundary for the Bantu-speaking people, who dominate much of East, Central, and Southern Africa. In Uganda, they include the Baganda and several other tribes.
In the north, the Lango and the Acholi peoples predominate, who speak Nilotic languages. To the east are the Iteso and Karamojong, who speak a Nilotic language, whereas the Gishu are part of the Bantu and live mainly on the slopes of Mt. Elgon. They speak Lumasaba, which is closely related to the Luhya of Kenya. A few Pygmies live isolated in the rainforests of western Uganda.
Religion
Christians make up 85.2% of Uganda’s population. There were sizeable numbers of Sikhs and Hindus in the country until Asians were expelled in 1972 by Idi Amin, following an alleged dream, although many are now returning following an invitation from the new president, Yoweri Museveni. There are also Muslims who make up 12% of Uganda’s population.
Catholics in Uganda
Brother Amans and Fr Simeon Lourdel aka Mapeera, were the first prominent white Catholic missionaries to arrive in Uganda at Kigungu landing site on February 17, 1879, they were joined by others like Msgr Leon Livinhac, 75, and Fr Ludovic Girault , 88, who died in Algiers and Fr Leo Barbot, who died in Zanzibar at 33 years. The duo, Fr Lourdel and Brother Amans with their companions, set out for the territories of Victoria Nyanza and Tanganyika in 1877.
The journey
In Algiers, they boarded a ship that took them to Marseilles in the south of Africa from where they boarded a big ocean steamer that was destined for China. This ship took them all the way to Eden.
Fr Von John Van De Venn Sajjalyabene of Nabulagala parish, from the order of the White Fathers says, “The missionaries had to disembark and continue with a smaller ship to the island of Zanzibar where they arrived on the May 30.”
Two White Fathers, Charmetant and Deniaud, had gone before them to Zanzibar to prepare the long journey of the missionaries into the interior of the continent and on their arrival, they were happy to meet those two missionaries at Zanzibar who were working hard to get everything ready for the caravan at Bagamoyo in Tanzania.
They hired porters, bought donkeys and other items because everything had been carried on the heads of people and the back of donkeys to cross Bagamoyo from where they left for the interior on June 17. Fr Venn adds that they used diaries and travelogues written by explorers like Stanley and Speke.
Five of the 10 missionaries were destined for the shores of Lake Tanganyika and the other five for Uganda. It was an arduous trek with all kinds of hardships. He explains that they had to cross rivers and swamps, pass through deserts and forests, often fall sick, suffer severely from diarrhoea and exhaustion. “Some donkeys just didn’t want to cross the rivers and if they were forced, to do so, they would throw off their riders who would drown,” he adds.
The missionaries had to pay hongo, gifts to chiefs of different territories.
One of the fathers, Joachim Pascal, died of fever and exhaustion on August 20, and was buried in a forest.
At Tabora, the caravan split into two smaller groups with four continuing to the shores of Lake Tanganyika and five headed for Lake Victoria (Nalubaale). When the five arrived at the southern shore of the lake, they were absolutely exhausted and needed some rest.
Lourdel and Amans lead
Fr Venn recounts that Lourdel wanted to continue the journey to Uganda and after discussion, Fr Livinhac, who was the superior of the group, agreed that Lourdel and Amans go ahead of the group. They bought a boat and hired eight oarsmen and five guards. On January 20, 1879, they disembarked at Kageye and started to cross the lake keeping close to the shoreline because they had to buy some food and spend nights in tents and mend their boats daily on the mainland.
On Febuary 15, they reached Bugoma on Ssese Islands and on 17, they went ashore at Kyettale in Kigungu where a monument was erected.
The monument reads, “On this spot landed the first catholic missionaries of Uganda on the 17th day of February in the year of our lord 1879.
Islam in Uganda
Most records indicate that Islam reached Uganda at the very latest in 1844, when Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim reached the then Kabaka’s palace. It is however also believed that some other Arab/Swahili Muslims reached Buganda in the late 1830s, during King Ssuuna II’ s reign. It is also possible that Islam could have reached Uganda earlier through the northern axis, from Egypt and Sudan. What is not under dispute, however, is the fact that Islam arrived in Uganda at least 33 years earlier than Christianity.
Although Islam was not introduced in Uganda through a well organised missionary system, many people in Buganda including King Mutesa I nevertheless embraced it. Indeed, Islam was taught in the palace of King Ssuuna II. Ssuuna even received a copy of the Quran and by the time he died, King ssuuna had memorized four chapters of the Quran. Mutesa I, did not convert to Islam but also studied Islam, and directed his palace at Banda to become the first Islamic Education Centre.
The arrival of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionaries in Buganda in 1877 and the White Fathers in 1879 heralded a new era. Soon, Mutesa I’s belief in Islam was polluted and religious conflicts arose. Eventually religious wars erupted. The Muslims fought bravely although they were finally defeated. On October 12, 1888, they defeated the Christians and forced them out of the capital of Buganda. They ran to Ankole organised and returned. The combined force of Christians and Mwanga eventually defeated the Muslims at the battles of Bankaabira, Kitebi and Balwaanyi. The Christians took over Buganda and European influence gained firm ground in the religion-politics of Buganda and eventually Uganda, to date. Many Muslims made Hijra (migration), to many parts of Uganda hence spreading Islam outside Buganda. The Hijra as the Muslim’s reaction to defeat was later to turn out to be the major achievements of the religious wars. The Muslims turned a defeat into opportunity to sow the seeds of Islam whose frontiers extended well beyond the Buganda Kingdom.
Today Muslims can be found in every part of Uganda. The colonial period was a very challenging one for the Muslim community. Denied education, access to land and opportunities of leadership, the Muslims were sidelined to the peripherals of Uganda society. Independence that came in 1962 did not change things much for the Ugandan Muslim. With only one graduate at independence, Muslims in Uganda had to contend with menial jobs, driving, tilling the land and trade. Because Uganda is an agricultural country, a sizable number of Muslims did gather riches and it was not uncommon for the richest man in a village to be a Muslim. Trading in agricultural commodities and animals especially in cattle and goats, Muslims created a niche for themselves in the meat industry, and indeed monopolised the butcher business as the colonial laws had granted them the assumed right to slaughter animals for sale in public markets. With some economic power, the missing link was education.
The Uganda National Mosque is a mosque located at Kampala Hill in the Old Kampala area of Kampala, Uganda. Completed in 2006, it seats up to 15,000 worshipers and can hold another 1,100 in the gallery, while the terrace will cater for another 3,500.
To address this deficit, Prince Kakungulu founded the Uganda Muslim Education Association, UMEA. Today, Muslim schools number hundreds. Muslims opened the first private university in Uganda, the Islamic University in Uganda in 1988. Muslims are still a marginalised community in Uganda but have become more assertive over the years. They are financially weak, politically insignificant and critically deficient in civil society organisation. Wrangles in the apex body, Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC), have persisted, with no end in sight. But they thank Allah, their God, for one man – Idi Amin Dada. It was during the eight years of Amin’s rule 1971-79 that the Muslims as a community made their lasting achievements.
For the first time Muslims had come nearer to the corridors of power, finance and education. Although Muslims did not, in any way, participate in bringing Idi Amin into power (as he had done so through a classic military coup), Muslims not only in Uganda but elsewhere provided critical support to Amin. For doing so, they were later to pay a price when Idi Amin was overthrown on April 11, 1979. In reprisal killings, hundreds of Muslims were massacred especially in Kampala, Bombo, West Nile and Westen Uganda. The lucky ones escaped into exile, mainly in Congo (then called Zaire), the Sudan and Kenya. The Kakwa (Amin’s tribe) and Nubians, a purely Muslim cultural group, were without doubt, the most affected.
Sport.
Football is the national sport in Uganda. The Uganda national football team, nicknamed The Uganda Cranes, is the national team of Uganda and is controlled by the Federation of Uganda Football Associations. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals; their best finish in the African Cup of Nations was second in 1978. Cricket is one of the major sports in Uganda, where the country qualified for the Cricket World Cup in 1975 as part of the East African cricket team.
Line up of Uganda’s National Team, the Cranes, which played Ghana Black Stars in the Africa Cup Finals, 1978
In Uganda, there is also a national basketball league played by college students and a few high school students. Uganda hosted a regional tournament in 2006, which its national team, nicknamed The Silverbacks, won.
In 2015, Rugby union is also a growing sport in Uganda, and the Uganda national rugby union team has been growing stronger as evidenced by more frequent victories and close games against African powerhouses like Namibia and Morocco.
Uganda’s Alfred Bijik at the rugby sevens at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
At multi-sport events, Uganda has enjoyed most of its success in athletics and boxing. Uganda has won seven medals at the Olympics and 39 at the Commonwealth Games, all in these two sports. Some of Uganda’s most notable athletes include John Akii-Bua, who won Uganda’s first Olympic gold in the 400 metres hurdles at the 1972 Munich Olympics, and Davis Kamoga, a bronze medalist in the 400 metres and the first Ugandan to win a medal at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics (winning a silver at the 1997 World Championships in Athens).
John Akii-Bua 400mH Start It was at the end of August of 1972 that the Olympics 1972 400mh round one heats (five sets) were held.
Moses Ndiema Kipsiro was the bronze medalist in the 5,000 metres at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, and Stephen Kiprotich was the winner of the marathon at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2013 World Championships. Notable among female athletes include Dorcus Inzikuru, who was the first Ugandan to win a gold at the World Athletics Championships when she won the 3,000 metres steeplechase at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, before adding a gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
Ayub Kalule was one of Uganda’s most successful boxers, winning golds in the light welterweight category at the 1974 World Amateur Boxing Championships and the lightweight division at the 1974 Commonwealth Games before turning professional and becoming World Boxing Association light-middleweight world champion in 1979.
Ayub Kalule is a retired boxer from Uganda, who first came to prominence when he won the Amateur World Welterweight Title at the inaugural 1974 World Championships in Havana, Cuba.
Clothing.
In Uganda, the kanzu is the national dress of men in the country. Women from central and eastern Uganda wear a dress with a sash tied around the waist and large exaggerated shoulders called a gomesi. Women from the west and northwest drape a long cloth around their waists and shoulders called suuka. Women from the southwest wear a long baggy skirt and tie a short matching cloth across their shoulders. Women also wear a floor long dress called a busuti, which was introduced by the 19th century missionaries.
LEFT: Hon Harun Kyeyune, Kyotera County MP looking elegant in a kanzu. MIDDLE: One can opt to button-up their jacket. RIGHT: Hon Nadala Mafabi, Leader of the Opposition in parliament spotting a cream kanzu at a function.
A Gomesi, also called a Busuuti is a colorful floor-length dress. It is the most commonly used costume for women in Buganda.
Situated at the geographical heart of the African continent, Uganda has long been a cultural melting pot, as evidenced by the existence of 30-plus different indigenous languages belonging to five distinct linguistic groups, and an equally diverse cultural mosaic of music, art and handicrafts. The country’s most ancient inhabitants, confined to the hilly southwest, are the Batwa and Bambuti Pygmies, relics of the hunter-gatherer cultures that once occupied much of East Africa to leave behind a rich legacy of rock paintings, such as at the Nyero Rock Shelter near Kumi.
Nyero Rock. The three-tiered rock shelter, famous for its ancient paintings on its inner surfaces, is believed to date as far back as the Iron Age.
The central region is dominated by the Bantu group specifically the Baganda. The Buganda monarchy presents one of the best documentations of kingship in Uganda. The head of state is the King locally known as Kabaka. The current king of Buganda, His Highness Ronald Mutebi II was crowned the 36th Kabaka of Buganda in 1993 after his father Sir Edward Mutesa II died in exile.
Ronald Edward Frederick Kimera Muwenda Mutebi II is the reigning Kabaka of the Kingdom of Buganda, a constitutional kingdom in modern-day Uganda.
The kingdom also constitutes a Parliament (Lukiiko), comprising mainly of elderly heads of its 52 clans. Other people, who occupy important positions in the kingdom, include the Queen (Nabagereka), the Prime Minister (Katikiiro), the royal sister (Naalinya) and the Queen Mother (Namasole).
Livelihood.
Traditionally, a man could marry five wives or more provided he could cater for them. It was easier to become polygamous in Buganda than in other parts of Uganda because the bride wealth obligations we’re not prohibitive unlike formerly when marriage used to be conducted by parents, for instance where the father of the girl could choose for her a husband without availing her any alternatives.
Traditional Dances.
Buganda is renowned for her distinct ceremonial occasions organized for observance, commemoration, inauguration, remembrance or fulfillment of cultural rituals and norms.Some of the common (highly recognized) ceremonies in Buganda include;the initiation of twins (okwalula abalongo), the introduction (okwanjula) and last funeral rite (okwabya olumbe).
Dining
Matooke (bananas of the plantain type) is a popular local dish among the Baganda. It’s peeled, tied in banana leaves and put in a cooking pan with enough water to steam the leaves. Later on, the bundle is removed and squeezed to get a smooth soft and golden yellow mash. The Banana leaves are used to keep it hot and steamy.
The eastern region is another diverse area comprised of a number of different tribal groups including; Bagisu, Basamia/Bagwe, Basoga, Bagwere, Iteso, Japadhola, and the Sebei among others.
Apart from other groups, the Basoga present a distinctive kingship in eastern Uganda with their King locally known as Kyabazinga.
Kyabazinga of Busoga, William Wilberforce Nadiope Gabula IV
Marriage and Family Life
In this region as well as the rest of the country, dowries are highly valued and are usually in form of cattle, sheep and goats. The amount paid is negotiated among the parents of the new couple to be. The higher the dowry, the more valued is the bride, although this does not necessary guarantee the success of the marriage.
Ceremonies
Tamenhaibunga; this kind of dance is practiced by the Basoga tribe. Tamenhaibunga literally means “good friends drink together but they do not fight each other lest they break the guard (eibuga) that contains the drink. The guard is symbolically used to express the value and fragility of love and friendship. Other dances in Busoga include Nalufuka, a much faster and youthful version of of Tamenhaibuga; Eirongo, a slower dance performance to celebrate the birth of twins; Amayebe, which builds physical stamina, especially for men; Enswezi, used to communicate to super naturals and Ekigwo for wrestlers.
The Imbalu circumcision – Uganda Ritual of Manhood Among the Bagisu.
The imbalu is an annually practiced circumcision ceremony among the Bagishu in eastern Uganda. The Bagishu have their ancestral origins from Masaba who is believed to have emerged from the caves of Mount Elgon over 500 years ago. The imbalu is an old practiced ceremony that involves removing the foreskin of the male genital organ. The Bagishu themselves have no idea of when the initiation ceremony became part of their culture because some of them believe that it was adopted from the kalenjin at the western Kenya- Uganda border while other people believe that it was first done to punish an adulterous man.
The Imbalu circumcision ceremony. A participant being smeared with flour.
Over the past decades, the circumcision ceremony has become a rite of passage for all Bagishu boys to manhood who believe that the desire to be circumcised is spiritually motivated. Before circumcision, boys first undergo preparation; they do the Isonja dance while strongly hitting hard their feet on the ground. This is usually done around March and June of the circumcision year and during this process, candidates to be circumcised are selected.
The circumcision ceremony is seasonal but when the season comes, the boys to be circumcised are first checked to see whether they are real Bagishu and are identified basing on their clans. During the circumcision process, the candidates are expected to stand firm as a sign of courage and boldness. They use a local herb called Itinyi to induce courage in those to be circumcised. They go to their relatives declaring their intentions of being circumcised and are later gathered at Mutoto- a cultural site where the first Mugishu was circumcised. Here elders lead those to be circumcised in traditional dances and songs.
They are then smeared with flour and put in the middle of a crowd dancing and singing Kadodi – a circumcision song played when circumcision is taking place.
The boys are then provided with sticks which they hold tight and look up to the sky and those in charge of circumcision then come to do their work. There are special trained Bagishu men who do the circumcision and always expect courageous boys not to scream and show any signs of fear. If that stick falls from the boys hands, he is considered a coward and often gets little ladies attention.
The Bagishu use a special knife in their circumcision process called Inyembe and the whole process takes about 10-30 seconds.
The whole circumcision process is concluded with the Inemba ceremony where the newly circumcised boys are allowed to put traditional men garments for the first time. The garments expose their muscular bodies especially during the inemba dance whose dance patterns express sexual messages. Boys at this stage are allowed to marry because it’s when they are considered men.
Some fear full Bagishu always flee the area however when they are traced and got, they are forcefully circumcised. If a man is not circumcised he is believed to be a coward and unclean and in typical Bagishu setting he is not allowed to marry a girl from the Gishu tribe. The Bagishu women have a habit of reporting their uncircumcised men who are later forcefully circumcised. The imbalu ceremony is very important among the Gishu culture and it’s now used as a means of unity since its one occasion that brings a large number of Bagishu together. The ceremony is also used as a means of identity and has played an important role in the preservation of the Gishu culture.
Dining
Kamaleewa: These are tender bamboo shoots which are a delicacy among the Bagisu. Usually, after harvest, these shoots are first boiled and later on sun dried before cooking. Others include; Atapa, Akaro and Sun Dried fish.
The northern region is also a melting pot of quite a number of tribes including;Acholi, Langi, Alur, Kakwa, and Lugbara among others.
Paymol rocks-Paymol-Pader,Northern Uganda
This region comprises of the Acholi and Langi in the north, Alur, Lugbara and Madi in west Nile region. Like most of the regions, Langi and Acholi regions predominantly depend on agriculture as their economic activity, with millet and sorghum serving as staple foods.
Marriage and Family life
Traditionally, a young man depends upon his lineage head and elders both for permission to marry and for the material goods required for bride wealth; elders of the bride’s lineage were also much involved in the discussions and negotiations surrounding the marriage.
Unitary, determined, ambitious or candid; any of these terms might be a fitting description for the Acholi. For a long time, this Ugandan tribe has been so culturally diverse that it is hard to describe Uganda without mentioning it. Occupying the northernUganda districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, the Acholi (who are arguably Uganda’s third largest tribe) have for long maintained unique cultural traditions that date from as far back as the times of their great ancestors; Gipiir and Labong. These traditions are highlighted by the many ceremonies the Acholi hold, one of them being marriage.
Nyom (marriage) in Acholi is a lengthy process which begins with a boy seeing a girl and starting to court her. She is typically expected to be coy and hard to get in order to protect her morally upright reputation. The boy eventually wins her over as several encounters lead to her finally giving in and accepting the boy’s bead or a bracelet, a sign that she has agreed to be married to him. This pursuit is known as luk (getting to know each other).
Expression of love among the Acholi youth is mainly through ‘blood packing’ (making cuts on their bodies and tasting each other’s blood). This is the Acholi version of cementing a relationship. In the event of a death, the surviving partner demands that a sacrifice in form of a goat be offered to the gods and the corpse is taken through the back door of the house. This partner never sees the corpse again.
Courtship
A boy, on meeting a girl that takes his fancy, seeks the company of a friend and pays the girl’s home a visit. The two boys are taken to the girl’s mother’s house. The girl’s mother vacates the house, leaving the groom-to-be alone with the daughter to chat, after which the girl gives the visitors a push on their way out. Later, the mother asks her daughter to identify the visitors, at which point the daughter announces the boy’s interest in her, and her opinion of him.
If it is positive, the mother goes ahead to inquire about the boy’s clan in order to verify that the two love birds are not related by blood. The girl always looks out for the boy who owns plenty of cattle. However, a young man chiefly depends upon his lineage to get both the permission to marry a girl and the ability to provide the material goods required to pay her bride price (which is a must in the Acholi tradition). After the visit, the boy satisfied with what he saw, tells his family, who subsequently find out about the young lady’s clan and family’s status socially.
Marriage
When the boy’s family agrees, he is given a green light to marry the girl. He informs her and she in turn, announces to her parents that special visitors will be arriving on a given day to conduct the marriage ceremony. The girl’s mother then informs the girl’s entire family. In preparation for the visitors, the structures in the girl’s homestead receive a new layer of mud mixed with cow dung. Seats (mainly animal hides) are set.
On the agreed day, the boy, his father, brothers and other family members (as invited) go to the girl’s home and are welcomed into the house of her mother. The visitors are not allowed to stand, but kneel throughout the introductions, with the girl’s father asking the questions. He asks the visitors who they are and the boy’s father respondsappropriately. The girl is asked to ascertain she knows them.
The items to be delivered as bride price (which is a practical way of saying thank you to the girl’s mother) are discussed and a specific date set for the delivery. This though, does not necessarily mean that the items must all be brought once. Installments may be accepted. After this ceremony, the girl becomes part of the boy’s clan. It might take a while to complete dowry payments but the girl’s status changes from nyako (girl) todako ot (wife) immediately. Nyom (dowry) can take the form of cattle, goats, sheep,household items or money. Often, the girl’s dowry is not consumed/spent but saved to offset her brothers’ dowries when it is their turn to marry and pay. Dowry refunds are made in the event of a divorce, although the value refunded depends on the terms agreed upon when the dowry is paid.
Although marriages were sometimes organized without the consent of the boy and the girl in the past, such scenarios are rare today, with most people embracing the modern ideal of freedom of choice. In the past, if a father preferred a friend’s daughter over other girls for his son, it was possible for the two fathers to strike a deal and compel their children to get married to each other. Because it was often the father’s wealth that afforded the boy the bride price, there was little he could change.
The Acholi attach so much significance to the marriage ritual that failure to marry is considered a curse (or an abnormality) and the elders are called in to monitor events. Childlessness is counted as one of the most serious misfortunes to befall a couple, with women typically taking all the blame. In such cases, the marriage could be dissolved or the husband allowed to take another wife. For the Acholi, children are the ultimate goal of any marriage.
Indeed, historians say that an Acholi couple of the past could not set up a home until their first child was born. Until then, the newly married couple lived in the groom’s mother’s house. In cases where a girl conceived before the official marriage, the nyomwould not take place until she had given birth, to confirm that the child belonged to the groom.
Importance attached to marriage by the Acholi
Rejoicing and celebrating a new marriage is one thing the Acholi can’t fail. Chanting and singing to the sound of sauce pans hitting the ground, congratulations are offered to the new couple as they are bid farewell to their lives as singles. This rejoicing is called nakub kub.
Polygamy is a highly regarded arrangement and a man can marry as many wives as he afford. The man is always the head of his family and his authority is virtually unquestionable. Men carry out such duties as farming, hunting and ensuring the general well-being of the family, while the females do domestic chores like cooking.
The Acholi are one of the few tribes in Uganda where family lineage is highly valued, the reason most men live closer to their parent’s homes and clans. This makes closer, more cooperative communities which share almost every activity. It is typical to have a big homestead with a father’s house surrounded by his sons’ houses.
Ceremonies
Naleyodance is performed by the Karamajongs where women line up and men strike their breasts using fingers as they dance. The Karimajongs are a pastor community in the north eastern part of Uganda.
Dining
Akaro:This is made from a combination of sorghum, millet and cassava flour mingled in a proportionate quantity of water.
Malakwang:A sour vegetable usually prepared with groundnut paste to form a typical northern food. Malakwang is best served with sweet potatoes. Others include; Smoked fish and Ugali.
Malakwang plant.
A meal of malakwang with sweet potatoes ready to be served.
Of the few plants imbedded in the tradition of the people of northern Uganda, malakwang is an exceptional one specially known for its tangy taste. But this delicacy, like many other greens, came to tables as the last resort during drought periods. “I think the best vegetables of today were discovered in the roughest of times,” say Livingstone Ochaya, an elder in Palabek Lamwo District.
The Acholi people started growing the malakwang plant and keeping them around their compounds like the other crops in the homes. Later this sauce become known to other regions of the country as the course of migrations was still going on. The continuous intermarriage has made it more popular especially in the east.
“During the time of preparing girls for marriage, their aunts would specially teach them how to prepare this dish and tell them to prepare it especially when they have domestic challenges, so as to remind them of the good moments they had before the conflict,” Samali Achen, an elder reveals, adding “hat is why it has a sweet and sour taste.” Hellen Olok, another elderly Acholi, says malakwang was an important dish for breastfeeding mothers since it is believed to increase the amount of milk for the mothers.
Malakwang is widely eaten and cooked in restaurants and eating joints that serve northern cuisine as well as in homes because it is delicious. At significant occasions such as graduations and some birthdays of people from the north, this dish is a must have. “People come as early as noon for lunch because this sauce gets finished earlier than others,” Santa Abalo, a waitress at House of Okel reveals.
However, in the past, Malakwang was never served during traditional marriage. “It is believed that if malakwang was served, the marriage would not last,” Olok says. “The sour taste symbolised this,” she elaborated.It is also believed to be a dish specially served to in-laws when they visit and also when parents of women visit their daughter’s marital home.
Malakwang as a sauce can be eaten with millet bread and posh, however, many people love eating it with sweet potatoes. Malakwang is also enjoyed by neighbours in Lango and West Nile regions. “The soup squeezed from the leaves of malakwang can be used to apply on wound for temporary first aid,”
•According to Mrs Caroine Ojwach, pluck leaves from its stalk and put in warm water for at least 20 minutes.
•Put the leaves in the sun to dry for 10 minutes after this they are boiled in clean water till tender and the water is yellow green in colour and drain the water.
•After the water is drained, you add the boiled leaves to freshly boiled water and add a little salt preferable local salt commonly known as magadi as you warm, this reduces the sour taste.
•When all the salt has dissolved, there is a mingling stick locally called Ogwec for stirring as ground nut paste (odi) is added. When it becomes ready, it assumes a cream-like thick porridge look with green strikes of the greens.
•The dish is also mixed with boneless dry fish depending ones preference to improve taste and aroma.
•She adds that malakwang can also be eaten on its own as food because of its tenderness and roughage, especially for children who do not have an appetite for food. The dish is also a favorite among elderly and married adults because it’s nutritional value.
The western region is also rich in tribal culture, it consists of; Bakonjo/Bamba, Batooro, Banyoro, Banyankore, Bakiga, Bafumbira and Bachwezi among others.
Kingship
The Batooro and Banyoro have a centralized system of government headed by the Omukama. Initially, Toro was part of Bunyoro, but later broke away. The first King was Kaboyo Kasusunkwazi the actual founder of the kingdom and currently the kingdom is headed by King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
Livelihood
Marriage and Family Life
Ankole in the west is the most popular tribe in terms of prestige and population. The King owned all the cattle and theoretically owned all women. Hima fathers were anxious to call attention to their daughters because the King gave generous wedding gifts. Slim girls were unfit for royalty so those girls whom the king found to be of interest to marry one of his sons were force-fed on milk.
Traditional dances
Entogoro: Entogoro is danced by Banyoro and Batooro of western Uganda. The dance takes its name from the pod rattles (locally known as ebinyege) that the boys tie on their legs to make different rhythms as they dance.
The Entogoro dance of the Banyoro and Batooro of western Uganda.
Ekitagururo:This is characterized by energetic stamping and tangling rhythms using the feet and aerial arm movements; it is performed by both Banyankole and Bakiga in the south western region.
Empaako tradition of the Batooro, Banyoro, Batuku, Batagwenda and Banyabindi of western Uganda.
Empaako is a naming system practised by the Batooro, Banyoro, Batuku, Batagwenda and Banyabindi, whereby children are given one of twelve names shared across the communities in addition to their given and family names. Addressing a person by her or his Empaako name is a positive affirmation of social ties. It can be used as a greeting or a declaration of affection, respect, honour or love. Use of Empaako can defuse tension or anger and sends a strong message about social identity and unity, peace and reconciliation. Empaako is given at a naming ceremony performed in the home and presided over by the clan head. The paternal aunts receive the baby and examine its features. Any resemblance to existing relatives forms the basis of the choice of name. The clan head then declares the name to the child. A shared meal of millet and smoked beef follows, gifts are presented to the baby and a tree is planted in its honour. The transmission of Empaako through naming rituals has dropped dramatically due to a general decline in appreciation of traditional culture and the diminishing use of the language associated with the element.
- Dining
Eshabwe: A traditional Banyankole dish comprising of ghee, skimmed from milk. This is usually eaten with Akaro. It’s a meal one would certainly get acquainted with on a visit to the western parts of Uganda. Others include; Akaro and Firinda.
An ancient ghee sauce recipe; Eshabwe
In western Uganda, any self respecting feast needs a little ghee sauce, or eshabwe to help the food down the diner’s gullet.
While eshabwe is a staple of the cattle-keeping people of western Uganda, eastern Congo, Rwanda and Burundi dating back to antiquity, the tangy, creamy white sauce is now a favourite of many Ugandans and the region at large.
Eshabwe is a must-have at most gatherings and has earned a brisk trade for proprietors of selected restaurants and hotels that prepare it well.
It is best served cold with millet, sweet potatoes, matooke or any other food as an accompaniment (mixed for example, with beans) or as the main sauce.
To preserve its flavour and freshness, eshabwe must be stored under cool conditions, a challenge that those who choose to travel with it as a gift to their loved ones in distant towns or abroad have nonetheless met cheerfully.
Despite having few and on the face of it, simple ingredients (rock salt, ghee and cold water) eshabwe is notoriously difficult to prepare.
A mere recipe downloaded off the Internet or texted over the phone doesn’t cut it. Only with time and practice do you develop a feel for it.
When I approached Edna, a known eshabwe maker in Nyabushozi near the border with Rwanda and asked her to explain to me the traditional ways of preparing this delicacy, she was taken by surprise.
“It cannot be explained just like that. I would have to do it practically,” she said, then asked as an afterthought: “But why do you want to learn how to make eshabwe? Don’t you hope to ever get married?”
It is a myth, I hope, among the Banyankolre that a man who prepares eshabwe condemns himself to a life of celibacy.
But I insisted. Luckily, a wedding was scheduled to place in the area in three days time and Edna would be preparing the traditional delicacy. She promised to teach me the ancient culinary skill. Armed with my trusted ballpoint pen and note pad, I arrived on time for my lesson.
Uganda’s organic fruits.
Chicken luwombo; Ugandan traditional meal with Matooke steamed and served in green banana leaves wrapped around a bowl.
Rolex: This Ugandan street food is as interesting as its name, which refers to the process of making this snack. To make a rolex, roll a chapati over an omelet.
Ajono/malwa,a margical-uniting drink in Uganda
know Uganda Guide blog 