Ugandan folklore includes traditional folktales and other folklore from the African country of Uganda. The convey meaning and experiences from generation to generation. [1] Traditionally, folktales instilled discipline and good behaviour that shaped societal beliefs and norms within Ugandan society. [2]
Folktales from Northern Uganda include the story of Mighty Angwech, [3] the Hare's Marriage, and The Shoe-Maker and the Monkey. [4] They were studied by Kyambogo University and Makerere University. [5]
The Teso community of Eastern Uganda, offers the great folktale of Oduk the conqueror. He led the Teso people from South Sudan to Eastern Uganda and ultimately to western Kenya. [6]
In the Gisu tribe, male circumcision, known as Imbalu, is a famous annual ceremony that retells the Bugisu story of boys transiting into men. [7]
In Western Uganda, folktales can be found among the Bunyoro, Banyankole, Bachiga, [8] and other groups. In Bunyoro an epic story is told of the Batembuzi who founded Bunyoro Kingdom. Their stories tell of mythical gods and the heavens and the underworld. Heaven was led by Ruhanga and the underworld or earth ruled by an outcast thrown from heaven. [9]
In Buganda, Nambi and Kintu folktales tell a story that long ago, Kintu was the only man in Uganda. He had one cow. [10] Up in the sky existed a kingdom whose king was named Ggulu. He had handsome sons and beautiful daughters who loved watching the rainbow. One day, Ggulu's sons called their sister Nambi to join them to play at the foot of a rainbow. They did not know that the land the rainbow touched was Uganda. They became frightened, as Nambi and her brothers had never seen a man. Nambi with her kind heart promised to come back and marry Kintu so he would never be lonely again. [10] Other Buganda folktales include the story of Walukaga the blacksmith, Mpobe the hunter, and Kasanke the little red bird. [10] [11]
The Adhola people, also known as Jopadhola, are a Nilotic ethnic group of Luo peoples that live in Tororo District of Eastern Uganda and comprise about eight percent of the country's total population. They speak Dhopadhola,, which belongs to the Western Nilotic branch of the Nilotic language family. They are primarily pastoralists. The Jopadhola call their land Padhola which, according to historian Bethwell Ogot, is an elliptic form of "Pa Adhola" meaning the "place of Adhola", the founding father of the Jopadhola people. Officially, land of the Adhola is called Padhola, but the Baganda who misinterpret 'Widoma' – a Dhopadhola word for 'war cry' meaning 'You are in trouble' refer to the Jopadhola as "Badama". The social structure of the Jopadhola can be described as semi centralised because there is no traditional centralized government and its organization is limited to a clan called Nono. There are over 52 clans, each with cultural practices, common ancestry and a distinct lineage.
Buganda is a Bantu kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Baganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of Uganda's Central Region, including the Ugandan capital Kampala. The 14 million Baganda make up the largest Ugandan region, representing approximately 16% of Uganda's population.
The Lango are a Nilotic ethnic group. They live in north-central Uganda, in a region that covers the area formerly known as the Lango District until 1974, when it was split into the districts of Apac and Lira, and subsequently into several additional districts. The current Lango Region now includes the districts of Amolatar, Alebtong, Apac, Dokolo, Kole, Lira, Oyam, Otuke, and Kwania. The total population of Lango District is currently about 2,884,000.
The Protectorate of Uganda was a protectorate of the British Empire from 1894 to 1962. In 1893 the Imperial British East Africa Company transferred its administration rights of territory consisting mainly of the Kingdom of Buganda to the British government.
Bunyoro, also called Bunyoro-Kitara, is a Bantu kingdom in Western Uganda. It was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Central and East Africa from the 13th century to the 19th century. It is ruled by the King (Omukama) of Bunyoro-Kitara. The current ruler is Solomon Iguru I, the 27th Omukama.
The Kumam people are a Nilotic ethnic group of about 349,000 living mainly in the western areas of Teso sub-region and the south-east of Lango sub-region. The Kumam are an ethnic group of people found in Kaberamaido district, district in Eastern Uganda. They share Soroti district with the Iteso and some parts of formerly Lira district with the Langi. In the Lango region, they are now found in Dokolo district which was detached from Lira District. They are found at the shores of Lake Kyoga (Namasale). In Soroti district, they are found in Serere, Asuret, Kamuda, katine, Soroti city, Arapai as well as the outskirts of Soroti district neighboring Kaberamaido.
Kato Kintu Kakulukuku known in Bunyoro as Kato Kimera was the first kabaka (king) of the Kingdom of Buganda. "Kintu" is an adopted by-name, chosen for Kintu, the name of the first person on earth in Buganda mythology. Kato Kintu gave himself the name "Kintu" to associate himself with the "father of all people", and he may have renamed his wife, from Nantuttululu to Nambi, because that was Kintu's wife's name.
Bees have been featured in myth and folklore around the world. Honey and beeswax have been important resources for humans since at least the Mesolithic period, and as a result humans' relationship with bees—particularly honey bees—has ranged from encounters with wild bees to keeping them agriculturally. Bees themselves are often characterized as magically-imbued creatures and their honey as a divine gift.
Kintu is a mythological figure who appears in a creation myth of the people of Buganda, Uganda. According to this legend, Kintu was the first person on earth.
Warumbe or Walumbe is a character in the Ganda creation myth, the legend of Kintu. He is the son of Ggulu and the brother of Nambi. His name in the Luganda language means 'disease' or 'death' and he is responsible for death on Earth according to Gandan mythology.
Uganda is divided into :
The Baganda also called Waganda, are a Bantu ethnic group native to Buganda, a subnational kingdom within Uganda. Traditionally composed of 52 clans, the Baganda are the largest people of the Bantu ethnic group in Uganda, comprising 16.5 percent of the population at the time of the 2014 census.
Kintu is a novel by Ugandan author Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi. It was her doctoral novel, initially titled The Kintu Saga. It was shortlisted and won the Kwani? Manuscript Project in 2013. It was published by Kwani Trust in 2014 under the title Kintu.
Nambi is the daughter of Mugulu, also known as Ggulu in some versions of Baganda mythology. In the Ugandan creation myth, it is Nambi and her younger sister who discover Kintu, the first man. Nambi helps Kintu throughout his journey and trials, and eventually becomes his wife and mother of his children.
Uganda National Congress (UNC) was the first political party in Uganda. It was a socialist party.
The Biharwe Eclipse Monument aka 1520AD Biharwe Eclipse Monument is a monument that was built in commemoration of the total eclipse of the sun which took place on April 17, 1520. It is located in Biharwe town in Mbarara District, Uganda.
Nambi is a 2023 adaptation of a Ugandan folk tale called Kintu written and directed by Peter Mikiibi.
Okeme is a traditional Lango folk dance. It is often performed at weddings, cultural introduction ceremonies, and graduation ceremonies.
Bakenyi tribe are a Bantu speaking ethnic group of people Uganda. they are believed to have migrated from Buganda central region eastwards to settle in the eastern parts of Uganda around Lake Kyoga basin in the Buyende district. The Bakenyi tribe speak the language called "Lukenyi".
