24 April, 2009
I don’t have an abundance of stories from this particular trip, and the last post was long, so I’ve opted for more of a photo-essay on this one. Enjoy!
Another tourist site without any tourists. People do come here for rafting, and for good reason as you’ll see, but with nowhere to stay, it’s [...]
15-16 April, 2009
If Mubende was an exercise in long-distance futility and frustration of purpose, what I am about to share will reveal the consolation I feel from two much more useful days following that trip. We set off to the east on a trip much like the other trips I’ve taken with Nakayima. The taxi [...]
9 April, 2009: At Death’s Door in Ttanda, Uganda
In the beginning, according to the Baganda, there was a single man named Kintu. He roamed the earth with his cow, but he was lonely. When he looked to Ggulu (lit. “the heavens” or Tonda, lit. “Creator”) for help, he noticed that Ggulu had a daughter named [...]
6 April 2009: Buyego and Kungu, Uganda
Today we’re on our way to Buyego, a town in Luweero district north of Kampala. There’s a shrine for Mulangira (prince) Kawumpuli there, a Ganda prince who was born with no arms or legs. As with many of the other shrines we’ve visited in Buganda, the boda-boda drivers in [...]
28 March 2009 (later that day): Ndejje, Uganda
Nakayima and I linked up this morning with Nakigozi Nabawanuka at a place called Ndejje. I must admit that until I knew we were on our way to Bakka, I didn’t want to leave this place. The main ssabo or shrine had captured my curiosity with its abundance [...]
28 March, 2009: Bakka, Uganda
This rock might not look like much, but for members of the Ffumbe clan it’s a historically and ritually significant place. Hallowed places here are often covered by bark cloth or some other type of cloth. This one is covered with olugoye, a generic cloth that women use for a variety [...]
I haven’t posted much lately, and that’s because I have been too busy traveling. In late February, I attended an annual meeting of Uganda n’eddagala lyayo (Uganda and its medicines), Uganda’s oldest association of traditional healers. The group entertaining the crowd that day was led by one Nakayima, a singer who has since become my [...]
