Star Spotting

Well the month of May is over and June has begun. Time sure flies by! Last week I finally visited my garden at Buyijja…oh boy was it overgrown…hehe! One of the healers even approached me to inform me of the overgrowth! I think almost the entire month of May I had not visited my garden to do serious work…and serious work it needed. So I began clearing it of weeds with the help of one of my PROMETRA colleagues…we pulled pulled and pulled some more. It finally got clear…I then took a hoe and mixed up the soil some, then left it to become bountiful once again. No matter how bad the overgrowth of weeds was…I was happy to find my herbs to be doing really well…they looked extremely healthy and lively! One of the plants is even a brilliant red from the roots to the stem to the leaves…really quite beautiful!…you can automatically assume that it treats anemia…lack of blood. It is interesting to note that many medicinal plants have physical characteristics that match their particular treatment, as well as local names that basically describe what they do. Also on Wednesday, I decided to attend the spiritualist class. I had been absent for quite some time the previous two months. On this Wednesday the spiritualist class studied about Emindi…in Luganda meaning pipe. In spirituality there is the frequent use of a traditional pipe. In class the healers discussed the different types of emindi, the uses of emindi, and the significance of emindi. The main purposes of emindi are that it is a medium for communication between humans and spirits, it is a source of nutrition, and it is a symbolic fireplace for spirits. I was told by one spiritualist during the May workshop that fire has great significance in spirituality. He asked me why that would be…I responded that fire represents a central location…when a fire is present, people gather near or around that fire for many different purposes. He told me that was correct…a fire represents light and life and a central area for communal gathering…never knew fire had such meaning! Anywho, the class ended shortly with the bell call for lunch. It was agreed upon that the following Wednesday the class would finish discussing about emindi and then move onto discussing palm reading…should be very interesting! After lunch all healer trainees gathered for an afternoon meeting. The day in the forest ended after the meeting…all healers and PROMETRA Uganda staff journeyed out of the forest to then see healers head their respective directions home on two buses/trucks packed with people passionate about traditional medicine. So Wednesday ended…two of my PROMETRA colleagues and I stayed behind at Buyijja in order for me to ‘re-begin’ my research that had been put on hold because of all the excitement encompassed in the month of May. That following day on Thursday, we ventured around Mpigi District to four different sub-counties in search of contact information for sub-country officials…lastly visiting Kalamba Health Center to conduct my second to last research interview. Upon finishing…I and two of my PROMETRA Uganda colleagues journeyed all the way back to Kampala on the bodaboda. I sat at the back…and let me tell you…I was so sore by the time I arrived home…I hadn’t ridden on the bodaboda for such a long distance in over a month, so my body was unprepared for the stamina it takes to sit on the bike for so long. Once we arrived home, I washed the dirt/dust off my body and clothes and went to bed! The following day was to be a day of celebration! Earlier that week I had finally decided to schedule a little graduation party/event for the coming Friday…well Friday came and we celebrated. Five of my PROMETRA colleagues/friends, one of my friends from Bulondos, and I gathered late in the evening to journey into town and dance the night away at Ange. By the time we arrived not many people were there…slowly but surely they trickled in and people began to dance. Let me just remind you…the music in Uganda is sooooooo GOOD! The local modern music has a distinct beat you can always dance to…then many songs from American artists are locally remixed with an added twist…eh it is good good good music. When the music surrounds you, you can’t help but simply dance. Oh and people can dance in Uganda…men, women, children, elders…they all can dance and love doing it! Oh and one other exciting thing took place that night…Chameleon, a local artist (one of the first to introduce the Ugandan modern hip-hop/raggaeton music) appeared at Ange. It was interesting because people kept about their business…simply pointing him out as he passed by…there were no fan swarms that you would expect when someone famous enters a room full of people. But I guess he frequents Ange so maybe people were used to it…either way it was neat to witness a Ugandan star in person and in natural circumstances. So basically we danced the night away…lasting into the early morning. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed having at least a little graduation celebration :) The rest of the weekend I simply rested to both catch up on sleep and relax my body from the stress of the bodaboda ride and the late night dancing. Monday soon came and we all returned back to work. Now it is Tuesday and about time to venture to Buyijja to prepare for the Forest School. I’m not sure which class I will join…we shall see how the flow of the day goes. Well that’s all I have for now! Greetings to everyone…wherever you may be!

Keep the spirit alive – Ann Kyamulabi