An Overly Large Critter and Lake Wamala

These past few weeks have been full of more power-outages, no internet connection, and sun sun sun…heat heat heat! Even still, the weeks have gone well. Office work has been directed towards planning and organizing a traditional healer workshop that will be hosted here in Uganda by PROMETRA Uganda in May. It’s going to be a big event…international delegates are to attend as well as various traditional healers from Uganda. There is a lot of planning that goes into it too…and in such little time! As for Buyijja Forest School, the past three Wednesdays have been pretty low-key…with the exception of this past Wednesday. That day I assisted one of my PROMETRA colleagues in facilitating Class II on learning about the symptoms and causes of hernias…I enjoyed it so much! :) Three Wednesdays ago, after classes ended at Buyijja, I hopped on a boda boda with one of my PROMETRA colleagues, and we zoomed down the road in the direction of an infamous Croc Resort in Mpigi District. The place sits on Lake Victoria and is both a small resort and a crocodile farm. The resort part was beautiful…very peaceful and relaxing! Along the beach there were so many fishermen fishing both with lines and with very large nets, that they tossed into the water with such ease and grace…it’s as though a soft melody floated in the air and guided them in their every move. After gazing at the water, the setting sun, and the graceful fishermen, we visited the actual crocodile farm There we found so many crocs ranging from very large to teeny tiny! All the crocodiles resided in various incubators depending on their age and size…in one cage there resided a very very very large male crocodile…and I mean huge! At one point, the gentleman escorting us around the farm climbed into one of the cages and…without any hesitation…swift fully picked-up a little crocodile with his bare hands and held it out for us to pet…ahhhh…the man was brave…and the crocodile was quite soft! :) We were told the croc farm produces for both the sale of crocodile meat and skin…it’s a good business here because of its ability to produce a food delicacy as well as a high-class fashion. It really was an interesting place…both a resort and a croc farm…what a mix! So on another note, I have finally chosen the herb I wish to plant in my garden…Akawulira…its used for hyper-tension, brainpower, and others I can’t recall at the moment. A traditional healer who helped me significantly in preparing my garden told me about the herb and said it would be perfect! :) Again on another note, the previous weekend was quite the ride. Friday came, and one of my PROMETRA colleagues and I left work just a few hours early to get a jump start on what would become a long long journey to a distant village, Kibale, in Western Uganda. By about 7 p.m., we arrived at the departure destination just within Kampala city center, where we met about ten other people who were headed in the same direction…we were to all pack ourselves into a taxi-bus and drive for hours into the night. I think it was between 8 and 9 p.m. when we finally took off! To make a long story short, we arrived at the bride’s home around 2 a.m…everyone then relaxed and reminisced a bit, then ate, then went straight to bed! Three hours later, everyone was awake and slowly preparing for the day’s celebration. Not till about 2 p.m. did the ceremony finally begin…from then it lasted till around 9 p.m. The event was really nice, full of beautiful gowns, up-beat music, and delicious food! After the Introduction ended, the music turned-up and people jumped out of their seats to begin dancing the night away. I lasted only for a short while, for exhaustion simply overtook me. I woke up around 3 a.m. to find the music and dancing still going strong! People here really love music and really really love to dance! :) So the next day, we woke up and began the long journey back Kampala by mid-morning. At one point during the journey, I looked up to see a very large…and I mean LARGE!...spider crawling across the ceiling of the taxi-bus!! I think my heart skipped a beat…I had to find a way to distract myself until the overly large critter was out of site…for all I could think at that point was “out of sight, out of mind”…hehe…I mean what else can you do when you are crammed in a little taxi-bus racing down the road, and all other passengers are quite calm about the awkwardly large spider tagging along for the ride?...hehe! Well it eventually disappeared and was never seen again…thank goodness! :) Let’s see what else has been going on…ahhh yes…the past three Thursdays have been days of research research research. One of my PROMETRA colleagues and I have stayed behind at Buyijja the past three Wednesdays in order to venture around Mpigi District the follows days. My colleague has been so kind as to hall me around on his boda boda from health center to center, sub-county to sub-county. After each days’ research is completed we have ventured all the way back to Kampala…about a two hour drive…on the little boda boda that could! :) It has been quite the journey and quite the experience, for I have been able to see so much of Uganda’s countryside while on a boda boda! Just this past Thursday, the research journey took us to the farthest end of Mpigi District (Maddu). It was a long but fun fun fun journey! After the research was complete, we, along with a traditional healer who accompanied us on the long journey, ventured to Lake Wamala…this lake is considered a spiritual lake and is very important to locals and spiritualists. The story goes…back when Uganda was being colonized by Britain, the lake dried up completely from improper/over use. After many many many years, spiritualists began to have dreams that the lake was going to be replenished. A very heavy heavy rainfall began and the lake filled once again. The belief is that an ancestral spirit was pregnant…when she went into labor, instead of delivering a baby, she simply delivered water which filled Lake Wamala. So that is the main reason for its spiritual connection and importance. When we visited the lake, I floated out onto the water alongside the traditional healer…a.k.a. spiritualist. Let me just say, it was a beautiful and empowering experience…it was evening and the sun was lowering just over the water…the water was clam and shimmered with the reflection of the setting sun…it was simply captivating! :) So that’s about all I have for now…I hope it’s a good enough update for the past few weeks…again sorry for the delay in blogging! For my final words…every day is a new adventure…an adventure in Uganda…hehe! I hope all is going well back in the states!

Keep the spirit alive – Ann Kyamulabi Louise Tezak

Spirituality, Hiking, Power-Outages, and my Ugandan Name

This past week was quite interesting…lots of rain and frequent power outages. I still can’t believe I forgot to bring my umbrella! Who’d of thought a tropical area had so much rain…hehe! :) So as for the week…all went well. Monday was quite busy attempting to finish video scripts…PROMETRA Uganda wants to put together little videos that explain PROMETRA Uganda itself and all the realms of traditional healer medicine and practice which are studied at Buyijja Forest School. On Tuesday all us PROMETRAns ventured back out to Buyijja Forest School, arriving the earliest I have experienced yet. This allowed me to head straight to bed and get a few hours of shut-eye, before I was summoned to join the evening spiritualist class…which is an ALL-NIGHT class. The first Tuesday night of every month, the spiritualist class meets for an all-night session…it is believed that the night provides the best atmosphere for connecting with ancestors/spirits. So I rested, woke up by 9 p.m...quite groggy…then ventured up to the shrine and joined many spiritualists in a feast of rice and chai (local tea). After eating and visiting, we all (20 or so) shifted into the little round building known as a shrine. There we simply sat for a while… relaxing and visiting …while one of my PROMETRA colleagues explained things to me, like what the night will entail and what some people were saying or doing. It turns out, we were preparing for a cleansing. The time came, and we all ventured outside, faced North, then were sprinkled with water and herbs one-by-one…then we turned around to head into the shrine…never looking back. Once inside the shrine, singing, drumming, and dancing began. The first song recited was called a ‘twin song.’ The idea of ‘twin’ is very important to spiritualists…the belief is that every person has their human body form and their spiritual form…therefore everyone has a twin. Oh, and all spiritual songs always last for even numbered minutes…spirituality is very complex and deep! The entire night was full of dancing, singing, and drumming with many intervals where spiritual/ancestral connections were made, via spiritual possession. Just a reminder, the spiritualist class at Buyijja Forest School learns about spirituality as a practice of healing…a few patients attended the evening class to seek consultation. It’s difficult for me to describe spirituality through typing…even still I don’t understand it completely…but it really is a fascinating traditional healer practice. I will attempt to explain things much better in person once I return to the states. :) So the night continued into the morning. By about 7 a.m., all came to an end…we drank chai and simply enjoyed the brisk morning air. After some time, my busy day was to begin…or better yet continue! We had guests visiting Buyijja Forest School, so I was to travel with them as they visited each class and were given an introduction to Buyijja’s traditional healer school. The day finally came to a close in the afternoon/eveing, and everyone ventured out of the thick of the forest. Immediately, I was greeted by Doctor and asked to accompany him and a few guests on a little adventure around Mpigi District…I agreed, and we took off. Come to find out, we were visiting all the acres of land Doctor owns. We traveled to different places diving deep into forests…the drive was full of beautiful countrysides and landscapes. Our final destination was to the top a mountainish-hill called Msindye. Once there, we all exited the vehicle and began hiking! Now remember, I hadn’t slept the entire previous night…eshk! But all went well…we moved slowly and rested multiple times to simply gaze out over mile stretches of Mpigi District…we could even see Lake Victoria…it was breathtaking! The hike finally ended…to discover we lost track of where we had left the land cruiser…hehe…no worries, we found it…hehe. :) We drove back to Buyijja, packed up, then headed back Kampala. I went straight to bed!!!...and woke up the next day quite refreshed! The week then finished well. We finished an assignment that was to be sent off to Nairobi, Kenya no later than Saturday. It was actually quite hectic simply because we had worked on the project all day Friday to then have the power go out around 5 p.m….we lost the entire project! Shorty after, the power came back on…we sat back down and quickly threw things together once again, saving the document every minute…just in case…we had learned our lesson! We decided to gather again on Saturday to finish. I woke up Saturday morning to pouring rain but pushed on to work…we finally and successfully finished the project, sent it off, then the weekend began! I basically hung around my apartment preparing for field research…venturing into Kampala City Center a couple times. Not too much else to report. :) Oh and one last thing…I have been given an Ugandan clan as well as an Ugandan name…I have been here long enough and have learned a little of the language, so I deserve it now! I have been welcomed into the Mbogo clan, which translates in to buffalo or bull, and my given name is Kyamulabi. Here in Uganda, more specifically in the Buganda kingdom, everyone is from a clan (typically named after an animal) and there are certain names that go with that clan. I had been searching for the right clan and name that fits me…I’ve finally found it! So now I have a fourth name…Kyamulabi…no quite sure where it fits into Ann Louise Tezak…maybe Ann Kyamulabi Louise Tezak…hehe! Well that’s all for now! Hope all is well back in the states!

Keep the spirit alive - Ann

A Ugandan Gomez

It’s been about two weeks now, but the memory of Sunday’s Introduction ceremony stays with me! It was a day of celebration! Two young people in love were joining together in marriage…which also means that two very large families/clans were forming a bond. As I mentioned, the celebration is called an Introduction, where the groom’s family visits the bride’s home and is introduced to her family and friends typically for the first time. The Introduction I attended was a traditional Bugandan Introduction…depending on the kingdom you are from in Uganda, Introductions can be done in different ways. So, now to examine Sunday’s event. I woke up bright and early, still exhausted from the previous day’s adventure of driving to 16 different sub-counties in Mpigi District in order to make contact with health centers and the In Charge…all for research I am conducting while here. Anyway, Zurah picked me up mid-morning, and we ventured to her house, just a ten minute walk away. First thing first, I greeted more than 20 different people…with many more to go. Everyone was very excited and curious to see a Mzungu (white person) attending the Introduction :) …all in good spirit! Then I sat down with the bride, Zurah’s sister, and ate a gigantic meal of matooke, rice, meat, and potatoes! Within a few minutes, I was summoned to get dressed…so I quickly devoured my food and found my way to a back room, where many women were also preparing for the celebration. Zurah introduced me to one of her aunts who was to help wrap me up in a traditional Gomez…for the first time! :) After greeting her aunt and many others, it was time to get dressed. Zurah pulled the Gomez out of a tightly packed chest and dangled it in front of my eyes…I reached out and felt the silky smooth texture of the fabric…I was told the material was baby silk. I grasped the Gomez and held it up high to admire the amount of fabric and colors that made-up the traditional unique gown…it was a soft blue with red, orange, and yellow flowers…with a gold belt-type wrap-around (I’ve forgotten the name at the moment). After admiring the gown, it was time to get dressed. Zurah’s aunt with the help of others draped me in layers of fabric…first the under layers…then came the top layer (the Gomez itself). The final touch was to decorate my wrist in about 10 gold bracelets. I was finally ready to face ALL the guests as a Ugandan myself! As gracefully as possible, I found my way to my seat…it can be difficult walking in a Gomez…so much fabric to control and direct! So the ceremony then began with the arrival of the groom’s family. All the seats were separated into two sections facing each other…on one side sat the bride’s friends and family, while on the other side sat the groom’s friends and family. The Introduction primarily entailed the bride and her family/friends greeting the groom’s side and accepting offerings such as meats, fruits, house supplies, etc. This part of the Introduction went on for quite some time…at one point I was summoned to introduce myself and then to help serve cake to ALL the guests! Let me just say…serving cake while roaming around in a Gomez can be a slight challenge and entertaining for all the locals I’m sure! :) Shortly after came the big meal! Groups of people shuffled around gathering and eating large amounts of food! After ALL the guests ate their meals, the celebration came back to order. Now, I should explain that depending on scheduling, sometimes Introductions are done the same day as the actual wedding and other times they are done months in advance…in this case, the wedding was the same day and in another sub-county…the groom’s birthplace. So the celebration began again…this time the bride appeared in her wedding dress. She was presented to her fiancé, and shortly after they made their way to a long line of vehicles that would escort them to Masaka…the groom’s birthplace and location of their wedding. The majority of people followed the bride and groom…vehicle after vehicle of family and friends…for about a 2 or so hour drive to Masaka. I was not included in that group, for the journey would have required an over-night stay, and on Monday I had to return to work. I was informed the following day that the wedding ceremony did not even take place till around midnight…eshk! After the bride and groom began their journey to Masaka, music began for guests who stayed behind. I not only enjoyed the music but also enjoyed my remaining few minutes wearing a traditional Gomez. It was already past 4 p.m….kids danced, while adults simply sat, relaxed, and reminisced about the new young couple. After a short time, I changed out of my traditional Gomez…coming back to reality :) I enjoyed some music and a relaxing chair for some time before venturing back to my apartment. All-in-all it was a wonderful day and experience…I loved wearing the Gomez and being part of a very significant Bugandan tradition…plus Zurah informed me that everyone was very excited to see a Mzungu wearing a Gomez…and I think I wore it well! :) So that was my experience wearing a traditional Bugandan Gomez! I would recommend it to anyone! Oh and my profile picture is me wearing the infamous gown! :)

Sorry this blog has taken me so long to post…the internet is tricky…hasn’t worked this entire week…plus recently power outages have been frequent due to the rainy season! But hope you still enjoyed the story! :)

Keep the spirit alive - Ann