TRADITIONAL CULTURAL KNOWLDGE

TRADITIONALCULTURAL KNOWLDGE

Bantu house
The houses are made of a double layer of plaited bamboo filled with clay (framework with clay coating) and roofed with grass or banana thatch, although now more frequently with the ubiquitous African corrugated iron roof. The forms of the huts were like those of beehives, cupolas or squares, with the body construction being made from wood, palm leaf rips or bamboo. The walls were covered with clay, bark, or braided mats. Some tribes even painted ornaments onto the clay covering. Most of the families in Buganda  construct their house in circular form.

 Bark cloth
Before Arab traders brought cotton into the country, there had been used fibers of the banana plant or the bark of the Mutuba fig-tree .Bark cloth usage – it has its origin in Uganda and is a purely vegetable fiber. No cloth is like any other cloth – there definitely is a huge selection of the most diverse soft natural colours from brown to different colourings.

One of the finest materials from which Ugandan artists produce their handicraft is bark cloth, a fibrous but coarse material scraped off a fig tree. Lubugo as it is called in Luganda is made from the bark of a fig tree after being soaked in water for a few days before artisans hammer it out with a toothed mallet into a fabric. The fabric comes out in various browns, some of a very rich dark brown colour. Bark cloths hold a high place in many rituals in the kingdoms of Buganda and Bunyoro where princes and princesses were obliged to wear them. Yards of it, for example, are used to screen or drape the walls of shrines and god's homes. Kings wear them - particularly of a white colour - on the occasion of big commemorative ceremonies; chiefs swear by them while wearing yards of it knotted

at the shoulder, with a spear in hand. And during burials, dead bodies are wrapped up in bark cloth. In the early days   of kingdoms in Uganda, notable chiefs would be buried in wrappings of up to 200 pieces of mbugo. Today, since the revival of the kingdoms, bark cloth has regained its prestige with many Baganda making all different kinds of robes out of it, including very attractive hats that bear the Buganda insignia, coats, and long flowing robes.

Kanzus, which today are white cotton robes, are nowadays still worn by men (these are long white tunics with a collar-less neck and embroidered red thread that streams down the middle). Kanzus were modified after Arab dresses which first came to Uganda when slavers traded in ivory. The women wear wrappings made from patterned textiles (which usually are imported from Kenya or Tanzania), or a gomesi, a dress in Western style with tapered

Blacksmith
The blacksmith, whose handling the fire creates magic ideas, very often also assumes the role of a priest (medicine man) or the creator of ritual figures.

Normally, however, he was a craftsman who worked iron and who was responsible for the creation of daily articles, utensils, tools, and arms: spears, pastoral sticks, catapults (shotguns), arrowheads, knives, hoes, axes, bowls and so on.
Extraordinary masters of their craft had the honour to design and create articles for chiefs, clan chiefs and the king, with this article made from iron being embellished with special ornaments and decorations. Catapults (shotguns) and pastoral sticks were produced by the nomad tribes

 

Pottery - Gourds
There are various types of pottery in Uganda with most of the pots and earthenware saucers being made of kaolin, clay, and dark soil. Skilled potters slurp the clay and roll it in their hands as they carve products out, without using a kick wheel. Many tribes use clay to make smoking pipes, pots for carrying water and cooking purposes.

They have many gourds, and some of these gourds are used as the traditional containers for beer. When halved into two, gourds make good beer drinking bowls. Some long-necked gourds are used for collecting drinking water, while others are used for keeping salt or cow butter. Many artists in Uganda write on the gourds, or embroider them with tiny beads before sale. Huge gourds are used to carry banana wine on the occasion of funerals and weddings. As a matter of protocol, such gourds have to be draped with yellow banana leaves and gently put on top of dry banana leaves.

http://gorillaadventuresafari.com/uganda-safaris/uganda-walking-safaris.html

Low funding killing tourism in Uganda silently

Tourism is Uganda’s top foreign exchange earner bringing in $800m (sh2trillion) annually ahead of coffee at $500m (sh1.3trillion).





A gorilla in Bwindi Forest. Uganda must invest in marketing the tourism industry to grow the sector

The national budget framework 2013/14 notes that tourist spending in the country increased from $564m in 2009 to $662m in 2010, reflecting a 14% increase.

But in the 2012/2013 budget, tourism received only sh10.9b or about 0.1% of the national budget.

Alex Asiimwe, the principal policy analyst in the tourism ministry, says this mainly catered for capacity building through training, administrative pay and policy and regulations formulation.

“With such minimal allocations from the national budget, most work cannot be done,” says Asiimwe.

The Uganda Tourism Board is faced with a sh17b funding shortfall, according to a strategic sector development plan.

Asiimwe notes that lack of funds affects marketing and human skills in the sector.

Uganda spends just $25,580 on marketing its tourism potential compared to $23m by Kenya, $10m by Tanzania and $5m by Rwanda annually.

Asiimwe says there is need to improve hotels, change mindsets of the local population and build capacity.

Lillian Nsubuga, the Uganda Wildlife Authority spokesperson, says extra effort is needed to improve the sector.

“The potential in the tourism industry is high and can provide employment opportunities to the youth if developed,” she notes.

“Other industries such as fisheries and agriculture are declining, yet tourism is growing. Soon it will be the main income earner for Uganda.”

She adds that to achieve this, the Government needs to take the lead to market tourism.

Tourist arrivals increased 17% to 945,899 in 2010, from 806,658 in 2009. There was a 25% increase in the number of visitors to national parks from 151,818 in 2009 to 190,112 in 2010.

Close to 209,000 visitors visited the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre of which 95% were Ugandans.

“We need to organise trips for international tour operators and showcase what Uganda has to offer so that when tourists go to them, they are in position to recommend our country as a destination,” Nsubuga says.

Edward Semanda, a travel consultant, says the budget does not favour tourism even though it is one of the major sources of foreign exchange.

A minimal amount is allocated to the sector, which cannot ably finance the numerous tourism developmental activities.

“Most ministries rotate around tourism, but there is a lot of reluctance. For example, the tourism ministry had no idea about the Misabwa Island,” he notes.

Semanda cites lack of a national airline as another challenge facing the sector. He also notes that some of the hotels have been abandoned and used for other purposes.

Semanda adds that the poor roads delay movement, hence leaving many tourist attractions unexplored.

However, the Government is working to improve tourism infrastructure.

The national budget framework 2013/14 reveals that 40km of tourism roads will be rehabilitated and sh10b will be set aside to rehabilitate the Kasese Aerodrome to international airport standards.

Excitement as rhino is born in Nakasongola

Uhuru, the newly-born baby rhino and its mother at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. Restock. The baby rhino is part of efforts aimed at restocking the animals in national parks and boosting tourism.

Conservationists, environment and wildlife enthusiasts received the news of the birth of a new female rhino at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary with excitement at the weekend, saying it will offer an opportunity for tourists to see the ‘Big Five’ animals.

These include elephants, lions, buffaloes, rhinos and leopards. The birth of the rhino is a boost to the restocking of the animals that were declared extinct in 1983 in the country.

The management of Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where the animals stay, broke the news of the birth of the baby rhino named Uhuru, a Swahili word meaning independence.

Seven healthy babies have been born since June 2009, according to the management, bringing the current number in the sanctuary to 13. “This will not only offer an opportunity for tourists on safari to experience the Big Five in Uganda but also trek these magnificent mega herbivores,” Ms Angie Genade, the executive director of the Rhino Fund Uganda, an NGO that oversees the multiplication of the animals, said.

Ms Genade said the new baby was born to Nandi, a female rhino donated by Disney Animal Kingdom and Taleo a male rhino imported from Solio Ranch in Kenya. The baby rhino is in good health. Ms Genade said the Rhino Introduction Programme plans to release the newly-born animals back into the country’s national parks.

Poaching
“Looking at the current African Rhino Poaching statistics with average of three rhinos being poached daily, it is clear that there should always be a sustainable breeding stock in a safe environment,” she added.

Ms Genade said if the breeding stock reaches a suitable size, excess rhinos will be released into national parks but sustainable breeding stocks will remain on the sanctuary for security and genetic reasons. She said national parks must be safe from poaching and prepared to receive these rhinos. She said the organisation is expecting the two adult females to give birth in December 2013 and March 2014 respectively.

Climbing Kagulu hill of mystery

Visitors to the site pray at the “Well of life” on the hill.

ADVENTURE. Kagulu Hill in Buyende District where the founding father of Busoga’s royal house, rested after crossing to Busoga from Bunyoro on Lake Kyoga is fast becoming a must visit tourist site in Busoga.

On Saturday, May 11, I was one of the thousands who traveled to Kagulu for a hill climbing challenge organised by the Busoga Cultural Tourism Initiative. The hill is subject of many mysterious tales, a number of which I had heard before the challenge. It is said that the last ritual during the installment of Busoga’s Kyabazinga is done here- he has to climb the hill and if he fails, he is not the right Kyabazinga. A multicoloured snake with two heads is said to inhabit the hill and guard it together with a leopard.

Shiny rocks and caves
With anxiety we started our climb uphill. As we moved closer, the hill seemed to be moving farther away. It has a staircase on the southern side, built on the orders of President Idi Amin who was enchanted by the clear view it gave of neighbouring districts in Busoga, Teso and Lango regions. The staircase was one of two options of reaching the top of the hill, the other, climbing it from the northern side.

The journey to the top takes you past six small rocks which tradition says are Mukama’s wives; Kagweere, Bukolimo, Butadewo, Mpanga, Kagweese and Muwaale. The summit of the hill, 10,000 feet above sea level, is home to a number of shiny black and grey rocks and caves which are now habitats to primates. However according to folklore, these caves once offered sanctuary to early settlers in Busoga.

An aged woman Mandwa Kagulu Nabiryo, who is said to be an oracle haunted by the 45 spirits that own and patrol the hill, has a shrine at its top. There are also two wells, and a dugout canoe and an oar said to belong to Nabiryo. Etched into the rock are a man’s foot, a spear and dog which were allegedly drawn by the spirits.

A small lake at the summit attracts people from all over Busoga who believes it gives good fortune. Kagulu residents claim that the lake does not dry up no matter the intensity of the drought. A bodaboda cyclist from Kamuli who only identified himself as Mawanda, said the water is a source of blessings, but the blessings depend on “what you want and how you ask the gods to meet your needs.”
Dropping a coin into the water, he said, earns you a reward from the ancestors.

That day, there were also a number of women imploring the gods to bless and strengthen their marriages. One had brought a child for blessing, saying she “got it” from the gods last year when she came to Kagulu after a decade in a childless marriage.

While the water from the wells and lake does not look clean, this was no problem to some of the climbers who drunk it as they meditated on their wishes to the gods.

A call to preserve heritage
Prince William Nadiope IV of Bugabula, where the hill lies, who had visited the hill a week earlier to “clear” way for the climbers by telling the spirits on the hill that friendly visitors were coming, asked his subjects to showcase their clans and totems. “Many people don’t know their totems and clans,” he said, and yet they “explain the depth of their culture.” The prince, who had travelled to Malaysia when the challenge was held, asked cultural leaders to create awareness of the totems so young people can easily trace their ancestral roots.

At the foot of the hill are signs of quarrying activity which run counter to the Kingdom’s strategy to promote the hill as a tourist attraction. Sulaiman Balyejjusa, the area Member of Parliament, asked Kagulu residents to protect the site.
“This is a good chance we should not let go. Our fish has reduced; we no longer keep as many cows like our ancestors used to. Please take advantage of this initiative to address poverty,” he said.

Around Uganda in eight days

Magnificent scene at Sipi Falls, many of us dream of exploring Uganda’s beauty, but never has enough time and money. However, Sam Bwaya, a father of three, dared to go out for an eight-day trip to eastern and western Uganda. He told his story to Carol Natukunda.

 I have two boys and a girl. My eldest child studies in Canada, my second-born is in S4 at Seeta High School, while my last born and only daughter is in P6 at Taibah Junior. We had been talking about a trip for two years.

 My idea was to help the children discover the things they study in class, but also get a feel of the life outside Kampala.  I would go with my two younger children aged 16 and 11. Their mum stayed behind because she has a back problem.

 Day 1

On March 26, 2013, we set off from home in Lwezza-Kajjansi at about 11:00am. We agreed that we would sleep wherever we would find ourselves and whenever we got tired. I was the driver. I told my children to stop me if they saw anything interesting. Our first stop was Ssezibwa falls, about 40km from Kampala.

 There is a picnic place. We enjoyed every bit of it, before moving to Jinja. We should have stopped at the Source of the Nile, but we had been there a few days before. So we drove to Kakira Sugar Works.

 We toured the plantation and proceeded further east. We reached Tororo at 5:45pm and went straight to the Malaba border with Kenya. My children were excited to be in two countries at the same time. We drove back to Tororo town to find a hotel to sleep.

Day 2

There is an old Rotarian friend, Bernadette Olowo who, after knowing about our trip, was more than glad to host us. We stopped by her home in Amurwo village in Tororo.

 My children were delighted to see different food crops grown in abundance in the gardens. Having grown up in the city, they had never seen things harvested straight from the garden. After breakfast, we headed to Butaleja district. Most farmers had expansive rice fields.

 The big surprise for the children was how River Manafwa fed the rice fields. We eventually got to Mbale town at around 1:00pm. We bought refreshments from a supermarket and headed for the Rocky Mount Wanale (also called Nkokonjeru) near Mbale town.

 Time was running out so we came down quickly, bought some ‘take-away’ and headed to Kapchorwa. On our way, we visited Semei Kakungulu’s resting home (Gangama hill), near Mbale College. 

 We got to Kapchorwa at about 3:00pm and went to Sipi Falls. It had rained that day. We fell down several times as we walked towards the falls. 

 But it was exciting. Initially, our guide said my daughter would not manage, since the path was bad. But she even got there before us. We were sweating although it was chilly. 

 It was 6:00pm when we eventually got back to the car. We were so tired by this time. But I insisted we needed to sleep in Kumi to be able to see as much as possible. We got to Kumi at 11:00pm.

Day 3

By 8:00am, we were on our way to see the ancient Nyero Rock paintings. The surprising bit here was that the locals do not see this as a tourist attraction.

 In fact, some of them use it as a place to dry their sorghum harvested from the gardens.  The Nyero paintings depict the story of the struggles of Iteso people and their challenges.

 From Nyero, we drove via Ngora to get to Soroti.  We were in Soroti town at 4:00pm and continued to Lira.

 Day 4

We got to Lira at 8:00pm and went to former President Milton Obote’s home, and the famous Aboke Girls School where over 100 girls were abducted by rebel leader Joseph Kony.

 What I wanted was for my children to know their history from a practical point of view. We headed to Nebbi, then Arua to sleep. We were excited to see the famous shea butter tree on the Nebbi-Arua road. It is sad it is threatened by extinction because of charcoal burning.

Day 5

On December 30, we were up by 6:00am. We drove to Murchison National Park where we saw so giraffes, Kobs, antelopes, buffaloes and baboons, among others.

 It took us three hours. We crossed to see the water falls, before proceeding to Masindi, where we arrived at around 4:00pm, took refreshments and got to Hoima at 6:00pm. We wanted to go and see chimpanzees in Kibale National Park in Fort Portal.

 We faced problems with the locals who interpreted distances differently. Where it was actually 100 miles, we were told 100km. Anyway, we reached Fort Portal at 1:00am. It was exhausting!

 Day 6

We awoke at 9:00am. The hotel we stayed in is owned by an old friend I had not seen in years. He got us a tour to Amabere ga Nyina Mwiru, Semliki National Park and later the Batwa Community and then chimpanzee tracking the following day.

 I had prepared my children in advance so that they are non-judgmental of the Batwa. They interacted with them like ordinary people and even see the hot springs

 

 Day 7

At Kibale National Park, we saw all kinds of plants, butterflies, worms and caterpillars. We walked for one hour before we heard the sound of chimpanzees.

 Some of the trees in the forest must be 100 years old. Our guide told us there are over 1,000 chimpanzees in this park. Later, as we drove out of Fort Portal to Kisoro district, we saw the palace of Omukama Oyo Nyimba, the Hima Cement factory, the Equator and Queen Elizabeth National Park.

 We got to Kabale at about 9:30pm. My children were fast asleep. They insisted we sleep in Kabale, but I knew we would be tempted to drive back to Kampala in the morning. You have to push a little harder to achieve something. I wanted them to be able to see the steep slopes of Kigezi. It was not until 11:30pm that we got to chilly Kisoro.

 Day 8

The next morning, we could see clearly Mount Muhabura from a distance. It looked so beautiful. The cold in Kisoro made our teeth chatter.

The hills were beautiful, but we realized many of them are bare from over cultivation. We saw many sacks of potatoes as we drove back to Kampala. This was great experience and as i save more money next time i will take them to enjoy the unforgettable mountain gorilla trekking experience!

LAKE VICTORIA

LAKE VICTORIA

Lake Victoria is one of the fresh water lake which is found in east Africa specifically Uganda. It was named after her majesty the queen of Britain (UK) by John Hanning Speke. Before it was known as “NALUMBALE” and covers a surface area of 68,800 square kilometers which makes it the largest lake in the African region and the second largest Lake in the whole world. Lake Victoria lies in the tropics and receives its water from thousands of small streams and Kagera River is the biggest river which pours its water in Lake Victoria.

In the history of Buganda, Lake Victoria was the first bank of Buganda where people like peasants after working for the royal families were granted authority from the king to go and pick money from the lake cowry-shells (ensimbi eganda) .This Lake is gifted with many beautiful physical features which have attracted many tourists from across the entire world. Some of the physical features include islands like: dolwe, buggala ,koome, buvuma and many others. Other beautiful features include beaches, geo, cliffs, bay, head lands, ever green forests and many more. The abundant bird species plus the modifying climent of Uganda that is rainfall and sunshine which has made Uganda a pearl of Africa.

Lake Victoria occupies  a shallow depression in Africa and maximum depth of 84 meters which enables the boats and the ferries to cruise  most of the activities done on this lake is swimming, boat cruising  spot fishing , beach activities and many more, which needs you to experience its wonder fullness