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Uganda Culture

Uganda culture and people

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Uganda culture, there are many different ethnic groups with different cultures. The Bantu speaking people dominate much of East, central & south Africa and in Uganda they are form several tribes e.g Baganda, Bagisu, Basoga, batooro, Banyakole, Bakiga etc. In northern & eastern Uganda, the people who speak Nilotic languages dominate more including the Lango, Acholi, Iteso & Karamajong. A few Pygmies live isolated in the rainforests of western Uganda i.e the Batwa people who live near Bwindi.

English, the national language of Uganda is widely spoken followed by Luganda which is known by many people more than Swahili the trade language of East Africa. There are over 30 different languages spoken in Uganda. Traditional dance is part of culture and most ceremonies or special occasions will have these dancers from different tribes. The ‘Kiganda’ dance from the Baganda tribe is the most widely recognized where it involves the performers to move their lower body to a drum beat while keeping the upper part controlled. The ‘Basoga’ tribe have a special dance called the ‘Tamenhaibunga’ which expresses the importance of love and friendship in society. Other tribes like the ‘Ankole’ tribe have other special kinds of dances and can be seen while at cultural centers like Uganda museum or Ndere center in Kampala.

 

Food in Daily Life.

Food in Daily Life. Most people, except a few who live in urban centers, produce their own food. Most people eat two meals a day: lunch and supper. Breakfast is often a cup of tea or porridge. Meals are prepared by women and girls; men and boys age twelve and above do not sit in the kitchen, which is separate from the main house. Cooking usually is done on an open wood fire. Popular dishes include matoke (a staple made from bananas), millet bread, cassava (tapioca or manioc), sweet potatoes, chicken and beef stews, and freshwater fish. Other foods include white potatoes, yams, corn, cabbage, pumpkin, tomatoes, millet, peas, sorghum, beans, groundnuts (peanuts), goat meat, and milk. Oranges, papayas, lemons, and pineapples also are grown and consumed. The national drink is waragi , a banana gin. Restaurants in large population centers, such as Kampala (the capital), serve local foods. Basic Economy. Most food is produced domestically. Uganda exports various foodstuffs, including fish and fish products, corn, coffee, and tea. The environment provides good grazing land for cattle, sheep, and goats. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80 percent of the workforce. Much production is organized by farmers' cooperatives. Smallholder farmers predominated in the 1960s and 1970s but declined as a result of civil conflict. In the 1980s, the government provided aid to farmers, and by the middle of the decade nearly a hundred ranches had been restocked with cattle. Lakes, rivers and swamps cover about 20 percent of the land surface, and fishing is an important rural industry. The basic currency is the shilling. Leadership and Political Officials. It is alleged that one of the main criteria for advancement in the current government is whether an individual fought in President Museveni's guerrilla army, which was instrumental in bringing the regime to power in 1986. Those people are said to have achieved their positions through a combination of hard work, influence peddling, and corruption. Social Problems and Control. After the victory of the National Resistance Army (NRA) in 1986, the NRA assumed responsibility for internal security. The police force was reorganized and, together with other internal security organs, began to enforce law and order in all districts except those experiencing rebel activity. There are two continuing civil wars against the "Lord's Resistance Army" and against guerrillas based in the Sudan. In 1995, the government established a legal system based on English common law and customary law. There is a court of appeal and a high court, both with judges appointed by the president. The most common crimes are theft and, in some parts of the country, banditry. Division of Labor by Gender. Traditionally, women's roles were subordinate to those of men despite the substantial economic and social responsibilities of women in traditional Ugandan societies. Women were taught to accede to the wishes of their fathers, brothers, husbands, and other men and to demonstrate their subordination to men in public life. Into the 1990s, women in rural areas of Buganda were expected to kneel when speaking to a man. However, women had the primary responsibility for child care and subsistence agriculture while contributing to cash crop agriculture. Many Ugandans recognized women as important religious leaders who sometimes had led revolts that The Relative Status of Women and Men. In the 1970s and 1980s, political violence had a heavy toll on women. Economic hardship was felt in the home, where women and children lacked the economic opportunities available to most men. Women's work became more time-consuming, and the erosion of public services and infrastructure reduced access to schools, hospitals, and markets. However, some Ugandan women believed that the war years strengthened their position in society, and the Museveni government has pledged to eliminate discrimination against women. During the civil war, women were active in the NRA. The government decreed that one women would represent each district on the National Resistance Council, and the government owned Uganda Commercial Bank established a rural credit plan to make farm loans available to women. Marriage, Family, and Kinship Marriage. Family prosperity in rural areas involves the acquisition of wives, which is accomplished through the exchange of bridewealth. Since the 1950s a ceiling on bridewealth has been set at five cows and a similar number of goats. The payment of bridewealth is connected to the fact that men "rule" women. Polygynous marriages have reinforced some aspects of male dominance but also have given women an arena for cooperating to oppose male dominance. A man may grant his senior wife "male" status, allowing her to behave as an equal toward men and as a superior toward his other wives. However, polygynous marriages have left some wives without legal rights to inheritance after divorce or widowhood. Domestic Unit. The extended family is augmented by a kin group. Men have authority in the family; household tasks are divided among women and older girls. Women are economically dependent on the male next of kin (husband, father, or brother). Dependence on men deprives women of influence in family and community matters, and ties them to male relationships for sustenance and the survival of their children. Inheritance. Land reform is a continuing aspect of constitutional debate. Suggestions for a new land policy were part of the draft constitution submitted to the president of the Constitutional Commission in late 1992, though little consideration had been given to the issue of women's right to own and inherit land. Although women make a significant contribution in agriculture, their tenure rights are fragile. The determination and protection of property rights have become important issues as a result of civil war and the impact of AIDS. However, the state's legal stand on inheritance recognizes the devolution of property through statutory as well as customary law. According to the law, a wife equally with a husband is entitled to 15 percent of the spouse's estate after death. The practice, though, is that in the majority of cases a man inherits all of his wife's property, while culture dictates that a woman does not inherit from her husband at all. In other words, regarding inheritance, where there is conflict between cultural unwritten law and the written modern law, the cultural laws tend to take precedence. Religion Religious Beliefs. One-third of the population is Roman Catholic, one-third is Protestant, and 16 percent is Muslim; 18 percent believe in local religions, including various millenarian religions. World religions and local religions have coexisted for more than a century, and many people have established a set of beliefs about the nature of the universe by combining elements of both types. There is a proliferation of religious discourses centering on spirits, spirit possession, and witchcraft. Religious Practitioners. Religious identity has economic and political implications: church membership has influenced opportunities for education, employment, and social advancement. Religious practitioners thus are expected to provide a range of benefits for their followers. Leaders of indigenous religions reinforce group solidarity by providing elements necessary for societal survival: remembrance of ancestors, means of settling disputes, and recognition of individual achievement. Another social function of religious practitioners is helping people cope with pain, suffering, and defeat by providing an explanation of their causes. Religious beliefs and practices serve political aims by bolstering the authority of temporal rulers and allowing new leaders to mobilize political power and implement political change. Rituals and Holy Places. In Bantu-speaking societies, many local religions include a belief in a creator God. Most local religions involve beliefs in ancestral and other spirits, and people offer prayers and sacrifices to symbolize respect for the dead and maintain proper relationships among the living. Mbandwa mediators act on behalf of other believers, using trance or hypnosis and offering sacrifice and prayer to beseech the spirit world on behalf of the living. Uganda has followers of Christianity, Islam, and African traditional religions. Ugandan Muslims make pilgrimages to Mecca when they can. Followers of African religions tend to establish shrines to various local gods and spirits in a variety of locations.

 Most people, except a few who live in urban centers, produce their own food. Most people eat two meals a day: lunch and supper. Breakfast is often a cup of tea or porridge. Meals are prepared by women and girls; men and boys age twelve and above do not sit in the kitchen, which is separate from the main house. Cooking usually is done on an open wood fire. Popular dishes include matoke (a staple made from bananas), millet bread, cassava (tapioca or manioc), sweet potatoes, chicken and beef stews, and freshwater fish. Other foods include white potatoes, yams, corn, cabbage, pumpkin, tomatoes, millet, peas, sorghum, beans, groundnuts (peanuts), goat meat, and milk. Oranges, papayas, lemons, and pineapples also are grown and consumed. The national drink is waragi , a banana gin. Restaurants in large population centers, such as Kampala (the capital), serve local foods.

Leadership and Political Officials. Uganda culture, it is alleged that one of the main criteria for advancement in the current government is whether an individual fought in President Museveni’s guerrilla army, which was instrumental in bringing the regime to power in 1986. Those people are said to have achieved their positions through a combination of hard work, influence peddling, and corruption.

Social Problems and Control. After the victory of the National Resistance Army (NRA) in 1986, the NRA assumed responsibility for internal security. The police force was reorganized and, together with other internal security organs, began to enforce law and order in all districts except those experiencing rebel activity. There are two continuing civil wars against the “Lord’s Resistance Army” and against guerrillas based in the Sudan. In 1995, the government established a legal system based on English common law and customary law. There is a court of appeal and a high court, both with judges appointed by the president. The most common crimes are theft and, in some parts of the country, banditry.

Food in Daily Life. Most people, except a few who live in urban centers, produce their own food. Most people eat two meals a day: lunch and supper. Breakfast is often a cup of tea or porridge. Meals are prepared by women and girls; men and boys age twelve and above do not sit in the kitchen, which is separate from the main house. Cooking usually is done on an open wood fire. Popular dishes include matoke (a staple made from bananas), millet bread, cassava (tapioca or manioc), sweet potatoes, chicken and beef stews, and freshwater fish. Other foods include white potatoes, yams, corn, cabbage, pumpkin, tomatoes, millet, peas, sorghum, beans, groundnuts (peanuts), goat meat, and milk. Oranges, papayas, lemons, and pineapples also are grown and consumed. The national drink is waragi , a banana gin. Restaurants in large population centers, such as Kampala (the capital), serve local foods. Basic Economy. Most food is produced domestically. Uganda exports various foodstuffs, including fish and fish products, corn, coffee, and tea. The environment provides good grazing land for cattle, sheep, and goats. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80 percent of the workforce. Much production is organized by farmers' cooperatives. Smallholder farmers predominated in the 1960s and 1970s but declined as a result of civil conflict. In the 1980s, the government provided aid to farmers, and by the middle of the decade nearly a hundred ranches had been restocked with cattle. Lakes, rivers and swamps cover about 20 percent of the land surface, and fishing is an important rural industry. The basic currency is the shilling. Leadership and Political Officials. It is alleged that one of the main criteria for advancement in the current government is whether an individual fought in President Museveni's guerrilla army, which was instrumental in bringing the regime to power in 1986. Those people are said to have achieved their positions through a combination of hard work, influence peddling, and corruption. Social Problems and Control. After the victory of the National Resistance Army (NRA) in 1986, the NRA assumed responsibility for internal security. The police force was reorganized and, together with other internal security organs, began to enforce law and order in all districts except those experiencing rebel activity. There are two continuing civil wars against the "Lord's Resistance Army" and against guerrillas based in the Sudan. In 1995, the government established a legal system based on English common law and customary law. There is a court of appeal and a high court, both with judges appointed by the president. The most common crimes are theft and, in some parts of the country, banditry. Division of Labor by Gender. Traditionally, women's roles were subordinate to those of men despite the substantial economic and social responsibilities of women in traditional Ugandan societies. Women were taught to accede to the wishes of their fathers, brothers, husbands, and other men and to demonstrate their subordination to men in public life. Into the 1990s, women in rural areas of Buganda were expected to kneel when speaking to a man. However, women had the primary responsibility for child care and subsistence agriculture while contributing to cash crop agriculture. Many Ugandans recognized women as important religious leaders who sometimes had led revolts that The Relative Status of Women and Men. In the 1970s and 1980s, political violence had a heavy toll on women. Economic hardship was felt in the home, where women and children lacked the economic opportunities available to most men. Women's work became more time-consuming, and the erosion of public services and infrastructure reduced access to schools, hospitals, and markets. However, some Ugandan women believed that the war years strengthened their position in society, and the Museveni government has pledged to eliminate discrimination against women. During the civil war, women were active in the NRA. The government decreed that one women would represent each district on the National Resistance Council, and the government owned Uganda Commercial Bank established a rural credit plan to make farm loans available to women. Marriage, Family, and Kinship Marriage. Family prosperity in rural areas involves the acquisition of wives, which is accomplished through the exchange of bridewealth. Since the 1950s a ceiling on bridewealth has been set at five cows and a similar number of goats. The payment of bridewealth is connected to the fact that men "rule" women. Polygynous marriages have reinforced some aspects of male dominance but also have given women an arena for cooperating to oppose male dominance. A man may grant his senior wife "male" status, allowing her to behave as an equal toward men and as a superior toward his other wives. However, polygynous marriages have left some wives without legal rights to inheritance after divorce or widowhood. Domestic Unit. The extended family is augmented by a kin group. Men have authority in the family; household tasks are divided among women and older girls. Women are economically dependent on the male next of kin (husband, father, or brother). Dependence on men deprives women of influence in family and community matters, and ties them to male relationships for sustenance and the survival of their children. Inheritance. Land reform is a continuing aspect of constitutional debate. Suggestions for a new land policy were part of the draft constitution submitted to the president of the Constitutional Commission in late 1992, though little consideration had been given to the issue of women's right to own and inherit land. Although women make a significant contribution in agriculture, their tenure rights are fragile. The determination and protection of property rights have become important issues as a result of civil war and the impact of AIDS. However, the state's legal stand on inheritance recognizes the devolution of property through statutory as well as customary law. According to the law, a wife equally with a husband is entitled to 15 percent of the spouse's estate after death. The practice, though, is that in the majority of cases a man inherits all of his wife's property, while culture dictates that a woman does not inherit from her husband at all. In other words, regarding inheritance, where there is conflict between cultural unwritten law and the written modern law, the cultural laws tend to take precedence. Religion Religious Beliefs. One-third of the population is Roman Catholic, one-third is Protestant, and 16 percent is Muslim; 18 percent believe in local religions, including various millenarian religions. World religions and local religions have coexisted for more than a century, and many people have established a set of beliefs about the nature of the universe by combining elements of both types. There is a proliferation of religious discourses centering on spirits, spirit possession, and witchcraft. Religious Practitioners. Religious identity has economic and political implications: church membership has influenced opportunities for education, employment, and social advancement. Religious practitioners thus are expected to provide a range of benefits for their followers. Leaders of indigenous religions reinforce group solidarity by providing elements necessary for societal survival: remembrance of ancestors, means of settling disputes, and recognition of individual achievement. Another social function of religious practitioners is helping people cope with pain, suffering, and defeat by providing an explanation of their causes. Religious beliefs and practices serve political aims by bolstering the authority of temporal rulers and allowing new leaders to mobilize political power and implement political change. Rituals and Holy Places. In Bantu-speaking societies, many local religions include a belief in a creator God. Most local religions involve beliefs in ancestral and other spirits, and people offer prayers and sacrifices to symbolize respect for the dead and maintain proper relationships among the living. Mbandwa mediators act on behalf of other believers, using trance or hypnosis and offering sacrifice and prayer to beseech the spirit world on behalf of the living. Uganda has followers of Christianity, Islam, and African traditional religions. Ugandan Muslims make pilgrimages to Mecca when they can. Followers of African religions tend to establish shrines to various local gods and spirits in a variety of locations.

 

Division of Labor by Gender. Traditionally, women’s roles were subordinate to those of men despite the substantial economic and social responsibilities of women in traditional Ugandan societies. Women were taught to accede to the wishes of their fathers, brothers, husbands, and other men and to demonstrate their subordination to men in public life. Into the 1990s, women in rural areas of Buganda were expected to kneel when speaking to a man. However, women had the primary responsibility for child care and subsistence agriculture while contributing to cash crop agriculture. Many Ugandans recognized women as important religious leaders who sometimes had led revolts that

 

The Relative Status of Women and Men. n Uganda culture, in the 1970s and 1980s, political violence had a heavy toll on women. Economic hardship was felt in the home, where women and children lacked the economic opportunities available to most men. Women’s work became more time-consuming, and the erosion of public services and infrastructure reduced access to schools, hospitals, and markets. However, some Ugandan women believed that the war years strengthened their position in society, and the Museveni government has pledged to eliminate discrimination against women. During the civil war, women were active in the NRA. The government decreed that one women would represent each district on the National Resistance Council, and the government owned Uganda Commercial Bank established a rural credit plan to make farm loans available to women.

Marriage, Family, and Kinship

Food in Daily Life. Most people, except a few who live in urban centers, produce their own food. Most people eat two meals a day: lunch and supper. Breakfast is often a cup of tea or porridge. Meals are prepared by women and girls; men and boys age twelve and above do not sit in the kitchen, which is separate from the main house. Cooking usually is done on an open wood fire. Popular dishes include matoke (a staple made from bananas), millet bread, cassava (tapioca or manioc), sweet potatoes, chicken and beef stews, and freshwater fish. Other foods include white potatoes, yams, corn, cabbage, pumpkin, tomatoes, millet, peas, sorghum, beans, groundnuts (peanuts), goat meat, and milk. Oranges, papayas, lemons, and pineapples also are grown and consumed. The national drink is waragi , a banana gin. Restaurants in large population centers, such as Kampala (the capital), serve local foods. Basic Economy. Most food is produced domestically. Uganda exports various foodstuffs, including fish and fish products, corn, coffee, and tea. The environment provides good grazing land for cattle, sheep, and goats. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80 percent of the workforce. Much production is organized by farmers' cooperatives. Smallholder farmers predominated in the 1960s and 1970s but declined as a result of civil conflict. In the 1980s, the government provided aid to farmers, and by the middle of the decade nearly a hundred ranches had been restocked with cattle. Lakes, rivers and swamps cover about 20 percent of the land surface, and fishing is an important rural industry. The basic currency is the shilling. Leadership and Political Officials. It is alleged that one of the main criteria for advancement in the current government is whether an individual fought in President Museveni's guerrilla army, which was instrumental in bringing the regime to power in 1986. Those people are said to have achieved their positions through a combination of hard work, influence peddling, and corruption. Social Problems and Control. After the victory of the National Resistance Army (NRA) in 1986, the NRA assumed responsibility for internal security. The police force was reorganized and, together with other internal security organs, began to enforce law and order in all districts except those experiencing rebel activity. There are two continuing civil wars against the "Lord's Resistance Army" and against guerrillas based in the Sudan. In 1995, the government established a legal system based on English common law and customary law. There is a court of appeal and a high court, both with judges appointed by the president. The most common crimes are theft and, in some parts of the country, banditry. Division of Labor by Gender. Traditionally, women's roles were subordinate to those of men despite the substantial economic and social responsibilities of women in traditional Ugandan societies. Women were taught to accede to the wishes of their fathers, brothers, husbands, and other men and to demonstrate their subordination to men in public life. Into the 1990s, women in rural areas of Buganda were expected to kneel when speaking to a man. However, women had the primary responsibility for child care and subsistence agriculture while contributing to cash crop agriculture. Many Ugandans recognized women as important religious leaders who sometimes had led revolts that The Relative Status of Women and Men. In the 1970s and 1980s, political violence had a heavy toll on women. Economic hardship was felt in the home, where women and children lacked the economic opportunities available to most men. Women's work became more time-consuming, and the erosion of public services and infrastructure reduced access to schools, hospitals, and markets. However, some Ugandan women believed that the war years strengthened their position in society, and the Museveni government has pledged to eliminate discrimination against women. During the civil war, women were active in the NRA. The government decreed that one women would represent each district on the National Resistance Council, and the government owned Uganda Commercial Bank established a rural credit plan to make farm loans available to women. Marriage, Family, and Kinship Marriage. Family prosperity in rural areas involves the acquisition of wives, which is accomplished through the exchange of bridewealth. Since the 1950s a ceiling on bridewealth has been set at five cows and a similar number of goats. The payment of bridewealth is connected to the fact that men "rule" women. Polygynous marriages have reinforced some aspects of male dominance but also have given women an arena for cooperating to oppose male dominance. A man may grant his senior wife "male" status, allowing her to behave as an equal toward men and as a superior toward his other wives. However, polygynous marriages have left some wives without legal rights to inheritance after divorce or widowhood. Domestic Unit. The extended family is augmented by a kin group. Men have authority in the family; household tasks are divided among women and older girls. Women are economically dependent on the male next of kin (husband, father, or brother). Dependence on men deprives women of influence in family and community matters, and ties them to male relationships for sustenance and the survival of their children. Inheritance. Land reform is a continuing aspect of constitutional debate. Suggestions for a new land policy were part of the draft constitution submitted to the president of the Constitutional Commission in late 1992, though little consideration had been given to the issue of women's right to own and inherit land. Although women make a significant contribution in agriculture, their tenure rights are fragile. The determination and protection of property rights have become important issues as a result of civil war and the impact of AIDS. However, the state's legal stand on inheritance recognizes the devolution of property through statutory as well as customary law. According to the law, a wife equally with a husband is entitled to 15 percent of the spouse's estate after death. The practice, though, is that in the majority of cases a man inherits all of his wife's property, while culture dictates that a woman does not inherit from her husband at all. In other words, regarding inheritance, where there is conflict between cultural unwritten law and the written modern law, the cultural laws tend to take precedence. Religion Religious Beliefs. One-third of the population is Roman Catholic, one-third is Protestant, and 16 percent is Muslim; 18 percent believe in local religions, including various millenarian religions. World religions and local religions have coexisted for more than a century, and many people have established a set of beliefs about the nature of the universe by combining elements of both types. There is a proliferation of religious discourses centering on spirits, spirit possession, and witchcraft. Religious Practitioners. Religious identity has economic and political implications: church membership has influenced opportunities for education, employment, and social advancement. Religious practitioners thus are expected to provide a range of benefits for their followers. Leaders of indigenous religions reinforce group solidarity by providing elements necessary for societal survival: remembrance of ancestors, means of settling disputes, and recognition of individual achievement. Another social function of religious practitioners is helping people cope with pain, suffering, and defeat by providing an explanation of their causes. Religious beliefs and practices serve political aims by bolstering the authority of temporal rulers and allowing new leaders to mobilize political power and implement political change. Rituals and Holy Places. In Bantu-speaking societies, many local religions include a belief in a creator God. Most local religions involve beliefs in ancestral and other spirits, and people offer prayers and sacrifices to symbolize respect for the dead and maintain proper relationships among the living. Mbandwa mediators act on behalf of other believers, using trance or hypnosis and offering sacrifice and prayer to beseech the spirit world on behalf of the living. Uganda has followers of Christianity, Islam, and African traditional religions. Ugandan Muslims make pilgrimages to Mecca when they can. Followers of African religions tend to establish shrines to various local gods and spirits in a variety of locations.

Marriage. Family prosperity in rural areas involves the acquisition of wives, which is accomplished through the exchange of bridewealth. Since the 1950s a ceiling on bridewealth has been set at five cows and a similar number of goats. The payment of bridewealth is connected to the fact that men “rule” women. Polygynous marriages have reinforced some aspects of male dominance but also have given women an arena for cooperating to oppose male dominance. A man may grant his senior wife “male” status, allowing her to behave as an equal toward men and as a superior toward his other wives. However, polygynous marriages have left some wives without legal rights to inheritance after divorce or widowhood.

Domestic Unit. The extended family is augmented by a kin group. Men have authority in the family; household tasks are divided among women and older girls. Women are economically dependent on the male next of kin (husband, father, or brother). Dependence on men deprives women of influence in family and community matters, and ties them to male relationships for sustenance and the survival of their children.