JAPADHOLA AND THEIR CULTURE

JAPADHOLA CULTURE AND ITS PEOPLE

The Japadhola people thrive in the east of Uganda

and are noted to have settled there in the mid-16

Century. The Japadhola people are enclosed by the

Bantu group and the Nile-Hamites. Regarding the

origin, the Japadhola have got a range of similar

traditions like the Acholi, Alur and the Kenya’s

Jaluo. It is note that the earliest migrants of the

luo settled in the peninsular of Kaberamaido before

being joined by the Luo from Pawir in Bunyoro.

After that, other migrants from Teso, Busoga and

Bugwere came in in the second half of the 18

Century pushing the Japadhola south wards and

later to the east. They occupied the lands which

was primarily vacant which helped them to

maintain their culture free from foreign intrigue.

And unlike the Bit- Luo who got assimilated in to

Bantu setting, the Japadhola maintained a distinct

Luo grouping the middle of the Nilo Hamitic and

Bantu groups.

Regarding religion, the Japadhola has jok as their

supreme king. The jok concept was later merged

in to the belief of the Bantu named Were who was

perceived as the chief of fertility to mankind. The

traditions of the Japadhola indicate that they

believed in Supreme Being named Were and

physically Were was thought to be a white merciful

and good being who had the power to manifest

himself in a range of forms. The god of the

courtyard named Were madiodiopo and was

thought to be responsible for the defense of the

family and the home. The god of wilderness named

Othin was believed to guard and guide the

Japadhola men while out for hunting, a journey or

fighting. Every Japadhola home a shrine set up for

Were and on the every side of the shrine there

were two white feathers planted in the ground. As

a practice, the family head would get up every

morning and open the gate to the Were shrine to

request him to bless the day and make it as white

as the feathers. The person in the journey would

also reach at Were’s shrine to ask for merciful and

blissful journey. Apart from Were, the Japadhola

believed in a cult named Bura and this thing is

noted to be foreign to the Japadhola and it is

believed to have been brought by Akure from

Bugwere. However other traditions note that it was

not Akullo but his Nephew Majanga who made a

cult a universal institution among the Japadhola

people. It was noted that it was under the

leadership of Majanga that a range of Japadhola

clans were brought together.

japadhola 2

Regarding Marriage, the Japadhola Parents would

identify the girl for their son and then marriage

arrangements would be entered to. The number of

factors was considered in the selection of a wife

including; the conduct, the physical strength,

beauty and the relationship between the two

families. The people to be married must be from

different clans. After the girl identification, the

parents of the boy would approach the girl’s

parents and if they accepted, the girl would be

earmarked as a form of engagement. The

traditional method of effecting this among the

Japadhola would be tying a ring on the finger of

the girl or neck lace around her neck. Other

aspirants would read between the lines that the girl

was already engaged.

Alternatively, the boys would organize and carry

the girl forcefully to the interested boy home for

marriage. The boy would then go ahead and sleep

with her and that would mean that the girl had

become a wife. Arrangements would then be made

to settle the issues with the parents of the girl.

Regardless of the situation that the marriage had

been conducted, bride price would be made. The

parents of the boy would pay 5 cows, 6 goats, a

knife, a cock, salt, meat and bark cloth. Seven

confinement days in the hut would follow after the

girl has been handed over to the boy or marriage.

The girl would be fed on pea stew and after this

time, the elders of the clan would assemble and

the girl would be introduced to them. The

Japadhola were polygamous people and could only

be limited by age and bride wealth.

Regarding birth, the Japadhola woman during

pregnancy would avoid certain wood types to lit

fire or cook. The names of the snakes or the dead

were not supposed to be mentioned at the

presence of a pregnant woman. There was no

other man that was supposed to pass behind the

pregnant woman while seated except her husband.

Because it was believed that it could cause a

miscarriage or any other misfortune. The

Japadhola woman would give birth in a hut in

attendance of traditional mid-wives or her mother

in law. Special banana leaves from specific banana

Species would be used as bedding for the woman.

After giving birth, the woman would be held in

confinement for four (4) days for that sake of a

female child and the 3 days in case of a male

child. In the confinement days, the woman would

bath only cold water mixed with herbs to better

her health and that of the child. She would be fed

on pew stew along with porridge as her initial meal

every morning during the confinement days. If the

born bay was a boy, goat and hen sacrifices would

be offered to God in charge of fertility of women.

Following the day’s of confinement, the child would

be named and the grandfather of the child would

the one to name him. The naming ceremony was a

big feast marked by lots of drinking and eating as

it was a way of accepting a child in the clan. The

children would be given ancestral names and

during the naming the ancestors would be evoked

so as to accept the child in the clan. In case of

twin birth, the father and the mother of the born

twins would not leave the house for seven (7)

consecutive days. The uncle of the twins would

welcome them by offering the mother food, drinks

along with other ritual gifts. No person would talk

to the twin parents without offering gifts to them.

Regarding death, when a Japadhola died, the

corpse would remain in the house for overnight. At

night, a long drum would be played and the corpse

would be bathed and wrapped in a bark cloth. A

cow would be slaughtered near the grave so that it

could go with the dead and feed him with milk in

the world of the dead. The fire would be lit and

people would remain seated outside until Kongo

was brewed and a ceremony held that would mark

the end of mourning.

MADI PEOPLE AND THEIR CULTURE

MADI PEOPLE AND THEIR CULTURE

MADI CULTURE

The Madi people live in the district of Moyo at the

boarder of South Sudan. The Madi are known to

have originated from Sudan and their language is

similar to that of the Bari of South Sudan.

Regarding birth, the Madi carried a lot of

significance to birth and most of their beliefs were

based on reproduction. Rubanga was the Supreme

Being responsible for births. Rubanga was also

known as the creator of everything. Regarding the

birth of twins, the Madi regarded it as an ill-omen

and was attached to Rubanga’s will. The twins

were regarded as mysterious creatures and the

elder twin would be named Ejaiya literally meaning

take him to the bush and the younger one would

be named Rubanga. Following the birth of twins,

the father and the mother’s family would bring a

sheep that would then be eaten by the twin

parents along with the woman who had looked

after the mother of the twins during confinement

period. This ceremony is locally called Lati. The

family of the mother was also required to provide

other sheep that would be tied on a bed lke

structure which was made up of sticks at the slide

of the hut of the mother both morning and in the

evening. The sheep would be allowed to live a

usual life just like the sheep apart from morning

and evening periods when it was put on the bed.

When the sheep gave birth, it would then be killed

as a sacrifice for the twin parent’s wellbeing. The

special bed comprised of sticks where the sheep

would be continually placed was named Rabanga

and the sheep its self was named Rabanga-Bilo.

Regarding religion, the Madi’s entire life would be

centered on the belief that their ancestors had life

after death and thus lived as spirits called Ori. The

Madi believed that the spirits would intervene

directly in the life of the living. The misfortunes

were attributed to the anger of the spirits and the

people would approach Odzogo (the witch doctor)

to ascertain which ancestor was behind the

misfortune following that, respective sacrifices

would then be offered to a certain spirit in order to

neutralize its harshness on the living. According to

Madi, the powerful families were known to have

strong spirits that would help them.

Regarding the Rain making, in the entire Madi

community, there were only forty five (45) centers

for rain making. The rain could be made by the

rainmaker using special stones that are white in

color. The rain stone were believed to have come

with rain from the sky and they were grouped into

male and female. The Male stones were conical in

shape with relatively sharp points whereas the

female ones would be round or conical with no

sharp points. Though some stones would look

alike, the rain maker would easily identify them

without difficulty. The rain stones would be

reported to the chief once discovered and were

kept in pots and would not be looked at without

the permission of the rain maker or the chief as it

was believed that one would get impotent. Once

the rain took long to rain, the people would

approach the rain maker for assistance and the

rain making process was exclusively rain makers

preserve. The stones were smeared oil or fats and

appeals were made to Rubanga and to the former

chiefs. The offertory food was eaten and the stones

would be perched in little water. The rain maker

would take the offertory food locally known as

Mtami, Wimbi and beans along with shear butter

nut oil to the huts whee the stones were kept. A

clay pot would be put on a wooden basin, remove

the rain stone from their pot, cleanse them while

calling upon the ancestral spirits of the Rubanga

and the dead chiefs to provide them rain. The rain

stones would then be out in a bowl where they

were anointed with little oil. The rain maker along

with the chiefs principle wives were the only

people noted to be present at the rainmaking

function. The food prepared on the function would

be eaten by the rain maker and the two principle

omen who had prepared it. The rain stones would

then be placed in the pot that and enough water

which was not too much and not too little and the

rainmaker and two women would not move out of

the hut or consume any other food throughout the

day. The rain was expected to fall on that very

day.

If the rain did not appear, the odzo would then be

consulted or the rain maker would extend the rain

making function to incorporate the killing and

eating of a sheep. And may be if there was

unnatural phenomenon, the rain would be expected

to fall. If the rain was too much, the rain maker

would then get a branch of a bush named erewa

and would smear it with red ochre and put it on

the huts roof where the rain stones were kept. It is

note that there were two (2) clans that would make

rain using rain stones and their elders would meet

at a worship place and pray to Rubanga to grant

them rain.

Regarding political set up, the Madi were arranged

in chiefdoms and every chiefdom was led by Opi a

hereditary chief who had both religious and

political powers. This person was accorded

maximum respect and regarded as the political

center and a collective point for the former chief’s

influence. The rainmakers and the Vudipi who was

responsible for the issue of the land were other

two notable personalities of religious significance

in the Madi Community. These two were also

believed to be descending from the ancestral lines

that carried out such acts and were thought that

they would retain their powers even after their

death.

Regarding the Judicial system, in case one Madi

pleaded innocent over staling or adultery

accusations, the witch doctor would be approached

to ascertain the truth. The doctor would take a

handful of spear grass and order the accuser and

the accused to hold each end of the grass then the

grass would be cut by an arrow. The guilty would

fall sick and the truth would come out through

consequences. The guilty would be cleansed by

paying a sheep which would then be slaughtered.

The dung and blood on the sheep’s intestines

would be smeared on the back of the hands of the

accused and accuser and others on the chests.

Their legs were tied with the sheep’s skin and the

elders of the two families of the two parties would

convene to eat the mutton as a reconciliatory act.

The cases that involved poisoning, the witch doctor

heat a spear and touch the accused thigh with the

spear’s hot end. If the weal appeared the accused

would have proved guilty and would be speared to

death. Though it appears automatic that by

touching the thigh with a hot spear would attract

selling, the traditions indicate that at time it would

not.

Regarding the Superstitions, the Madi believed that

if a man met a rabbit, a wild pig or a bush buck

while on a journey, he would go back to consult a

witch doctor to ascertain what to do before

embarking on the journey. Also if a man owl

hooted while perched on top of some ones house,

or if a man met a leopard or a snake, then family

might lose a member. Is a jackal barked in a

compound of someone, the family would relocate

as the old home would be considered cursed.

Regarding the economy, the Madi were

agriculturalists and their main crops were Mtami,

Wmbi and a range of beans not forgetting shear

butter. They would practice barter trade and

carried out impressive trade with their neighbors.

On top of crop growing, they would rear chicken,

sheep, goats and cattle.

BAGISHU PEOPLE AND THEIR CULTURE

The Bagisu people or locally known as the Bamasaba live in the western and southern slopes of Mount Elgon also known as Mount Masaba. The mountain slopes in hand fingers like structure to the west marked by narrow and steep valleys. The land is further broken consisting of jumble of hills piled against a raised escarpment sort of a crumbled cloth. The escarpment gradually fades away as it slows to the Teso land. 

The Bagisu speak the Lugisu a dialect of the Lumasaba which is mutually intelligible to other dialects including the Bukusu. The Bagisu are popularly known for their Imbalu circumcision which is held after every two years in August .

The Bagisu have not tradition of migrating from somewhere else. They claim that their ancestors Mundu and Sera came out of a hole in mount Elgon  locally known as Masaba. The early life of the Bagisu seems to have been not all that social with the principle of survival for the fittest. The Bagisu's history is less known although they are sought to have disintegrated from the Bakusu  a sub group of Luhya in western Kenya around the 19th century. The Bagisu claim of living where they are since time memorial may not be accurate.

The earliest immigrants into the land of Bagisu are believed to have arrived in mount Elgon area from the eastern plans in the 16th century. The first settlement for these people is noted to be usaian Gishu plateau of Kenya Thus, the Bagisu seem to have been the inter mixture of various cultures and origins but since their language is that of Bantu, it can be noted that their predecessors must have been Bantu too.

The political structure of the Bagisu was very loose based on clan. Each clan had an elder called Umwami We Sikoka (chief of the clan). These chiefs were chosen on the basis of wealth and age. The leaders would maintain law and order and ensure continuity and the unity of the clan not forgetting offering the sacrifices to the ancestral spirits. The stronger Chiefs would succeed in subduing other clans but none of the Chiefs would succeed in subduing other clans into single entity. The other notable individuals among the Bagisu included sorceress and rainmakers.

The unique custom among the Bagisu is male circumcision . The origin of this practice is mysterious even to the Bagisu themselves. It is asserted it arouse from Kalenjin's demand where Masaba the Bagisu heroic ancestor expressed to marry a Kalenjin girl. The other form of tradition asserts that that initial person to be circumcised had got a complication with his sexual organ and the circumcision was considered as surgical operation to save man's life. The third tradition states that the initial person to be circumcised got it as a punishment for seducing other men's wives but in turn increased his sexual power attracting several ladies to him and this promoted other men to under the same practice in order to remain in competition.

It should be noted that the Bagisu are superstitious people. Before the circumcision practice, a certain herb called ityanyi is administered to the candidate to arouse interest. The ityanyi is tied around the initiate's big toe or it is put at that place where he would jump over it not knowing. It is stated that if any one who had taken the herb delayed or hinders to be circumcised , he might circumcise himself as his mind is set to circumcision that nothing else can distract him. The Imbalu practice is conducted biannually during the leap years and every Mugisu male has to perform the ritual upon approaching puberty. No male who abscond are hunted and brought to the practice force fully. Before the event, the candidates are set and walk and dance throughout the village for three days. The heads of the candidate are sprinted with cassava flour and the paint of Malwa- yeast paste. There is much singing and dancing and drumming as relatives dance with them. After circumcision , the boy becomes an adult and thus a true Mugisu and the person who is not yet circumcised is called a Musinde. The circumcision itself is very fast with the circumciser and his assistant moving around performing the appropriate ritual and then the assistant circumciser gets hold of the penis foreskin pulling it and then the circumciser cuts its off. The circumciser then goes a head to cut off the layer on top of the penis that is believed to grow again into sheath if left uncut. He then goes ahead and cuts off another muscle on the lower part of the penis and these three cuttings mark the end of the ritual.

After circumcision, the initiate is wrapped in a piece of cloth and taken to the father's house moved around the house before he enters. The initiate is not allowed to eat with his hands for three days. He is always fed and even in this period, they say that he is not yet fully into manhood. Following the 3 days, the circumciser is called upon to perform the washing hands ritual and after this ritual, the initiate can start eating with his own hands and on the same day, the initiate is declared a man. Following this custom, the initiate is allowed to marry and in this custom he is instructed on on the demands and duties of manhood. He is taught the significance of agriculture and advised on how to behave like a man. It is noted that the healing of wounds is determined by the number of goats slaughtered during the event.

Finally a ritual called Iremba is performed an all the new initiatives in the locality have to attend.

This is an important function and the authorities and other village people attend. At this function the initiate was supposed to pick any girl and have sex with her and the girl was not supposed to refuse. It was believed  that if the girl refuses, she would never have children once she gets married . This is challenging for the case of Christian females. Initially, the congregation would remain outside the enclosure and wait to hear from outside as the initiate's and circumciser were in the enclosure but of now all the things are made public with everyone seeing the whole process.

The firmness and endurance of the initiate is considered as a sign of bravery.   

THE BANYOLE PEOPLE AND CULTURE

Good morning from Kampala the capital of Uganda.
have you heard about the banyole people?
read about the banyole people in eastern Uganda.

BANYOLE CULTURE
The Banyole people live in Bunyole County in the
district of Tororo. Though they seem to be a
Basoga sub group, they share much with the
Basamia-Bagwe in terms of customs, origin and
language. They claim to have emanated from the
Banyala of Kenya and their births, marriage and
burial ceremonies are close to the Basamia Bagwe
with minor variation.
Regarding births, when a child was born among
the Banyole, the placenta would be taken to be
buried at a place where no one could see as it was
feared that once it is known by an evil person, he/
she could use it to inflict harm on the baby or
prevent the mother from getting pregnant again.
The mother would remain in the house until the
umbilical cord remains have broken off from the
naval and the remains were then kept in a special
gourd and the mother could keep as many cords
as her born children. These cords were noted to
be great significance in case of any evil happening.
The food that was cooked for the mother after
giving birth was not given to any other person
except the mother and the husband. In case the
twins were born, they would be left where they
were and a special porridge was administered to
the mother.
Regarding death, the man was accorded three days
of mourning during which there will no bathing
while for a woman, they days were four. The
Kasanja ritual would be performed at the road
junction to bring mourning to an end and then
people would bathe and embark in their normal
routine. They face the dead to east direction
symbolizing the possible origin direction.
Regarding marriage, the girl would be required to
present a man of her choice to the parents and
then bride price arrangements would be made after
which the girl would get married. In case of
husband’s death, the clan would choose any of the
husband’s brothers to marry her. If the woman
was old, she would remain with her children.

ABOUT ME

I am a travel advisor and Ugandan tour guide who

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