People and Culture, the African culture is diverse in a way that it consists of a mixture of countries with various tribes having unique characteristics and a product of diverse populations that occupy the African continent. Culture is defined as a collection of mass distinctive qualities that belong to a certain group of people. These qualities include morals, behavior, art, beliefs, knowledge, customs as well any other attributes belonging to any member of any given society. Culture also refers to ways of life of a group of people.
Africa has numerous nationalities varying in qualities for example languages, dishes,
Dances, greetings as well as dressing though all African people share dominant cultural traits that distinguish African culture from the rest of the world. As of today, Africa is considered the cradle of human ancestry from which we trace our roots. Most scientists still have it that human kind evolved and that modern human kind emerged from the African continent. Cultural artefacts therefore date back to 70,000 years ago hence suggesting that the earliest forms of visual expressions may be found in Africa.
Africans have therefore contributed to the cultural heritage of the world thus creating works of astonishing creativity and innovations. Africans are well known for love and respect for their culture, together with respect for the important and the aged for example chiefs and kings. Considering culture, Africans define themselves by occupation, kinship, origin, religion and nationality.
Climate
In most African agricultural communities, drought and prolonged dry seasons affect farming though during dry seasons open up opportunities to create artifacts and also for people to organize festivals and large events that help to employ such art forms.
Populations usually migrate during the dry times and most adopt a nomadic lifestyle.
Africa is termed as a diversity of societies, cultures and languages and is estimated with over 1,000 distinct languages in Africa thus making it the most linguistically varied of all the continents. The most important languages spoken over broad geographical areas by people of a varied ethnicity include Swahili in Eastern Africa, Arabic in Northern Africa and Hausa and Mandinka in parts of Western Africa. However, Portuguese, English and French remain in wide usage today as they were introduced during the colonial period.
In Uganda generally, there are many tribes and communities and the most notable one is the Batwa community found in the South Western part of Uganda in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park and can be further described as follows;
The Batwa (Pygmy)
The Batwa also referred to as pygmies are termed as the poorest people with low life and infant mortality rate. Batwa originally lived in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park and are believed to have lived in the forest for more than 60,000 years. Batwa currently live in the communities that are dominated by Bafumbira and Bakiga in South Western Uganda. Batwa used to live in small grass thatched houses, constructed by materials from the forest, survived on hunting, fruits, roots and leaves as well as honey.
Batwa lived in the jungle in harmony with a close relationship to the animals. When Bwindi impenetrable forest became a national park in 1992, their lives changed forever as they were sent out of the park and the area was designated as a world heritage site aimed at protecting the mountain gorillas. Back in time, Batwa were hunters and fruit gatherers, survives on fruits, honey as well as game meat. They also used to make medicine from plants, roots as well as from the bark of the trees. Batwa are also believed to be the first forest keepers before the Bantu that led to deforestation and over grazing on the forest boundaries. Since Batwa displacement from the forest, it is believed that about 3,000 Batwa live at the edge of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park.
Programs
In 2011, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) came to their rescue together with the Unites States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Netherland embassy by starting the Batwa cultural trail in Buhoma. The International Gorilla Conservation Program (IGCP) has also come out to work with the Batwa as a way of helping them to earn money hence educating their children. Batwa are therefore trying all means to keep their tradition alive.
Kellerman Foundation has also come in position to support the Batwa people through the construction of schools and homes as well as providing farming support to encourage spiritual growth and economic development. A full-service hospital has been constructed and this extends public health outreach to remote areas hence improving the health of the people of the area. The Kellerman foundation also has an annual enrollment of about 400 students and this aims at empowering Ugandans to improve on the rural health care.
The Mgahinga Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Trust (MBIFCT) aims at managing the national parks resources.
People and Culture
The Batwa cultural experience aims at educating the Batwa children as well as to share their heritage and unique traditions to the world. This experience is conducted outside the park and begins with a nature walk, hiking through the forest. The experience takes you through different areas as the Batwa explain more about their history, how they managed to stay in the forest for so many years for example history about their ancestors, how they hunted and gathered fruits for food and used bark trees and leaves to act as medicinal herbs. The Batwa also take you through their life living in a grass thatched huts constructed using sticks, trees covered with leaves. They also built shelters on trees and others slept on a tree house. This is all made possible with the help of a guide from the community. The journey also takes you to the medicine men as they take you through the use of forest plants to cure different diseases. You also get to listen to traditional songs by the Batwa people.
People and Culture
Since the time Batwa were evicted from the national parks without any compensation, they are made to work on the local people’s farms for survival and have learnt to survive in the local communities by weaving baskets that are sold to tourists as souvenirs, gathering honey and practicing songs to entertain the foreign tourists. Batwa community had three types of houses namely ichuro, omurimbo and caves. Caves and omurimbo were considered main houses whereas ichuro was purposely for storing harvested crops and for resting. Batwa also used to make fire by rubbing two sticks together. Batwa like any other African tradition offered sacrifices to their gods and this was done in sacred huts by only elders that were anointed by the grandparents. Young children were not permitted to go to sacred places and were not allowed to ask the elders about the process of worshipping as well as their communication with the gods apart from seeing them reciting prayers. Men and women used leaves and skins to dress and the skins were mainly for bushbucks and duikers. Batwa would celebrate victory after a successful hunt by naming their children after that particular animal that was hunted or after the location in the forest where the animal was killed.
Traditionally, a mutwa was not supposed to marry anyone outside the tribe and getting pregnant before marriage the girl could be looked upon as a disgrace to the society.
Burial Ceremony.
When any member of the Batwa community died, they would dig a small hole inside the hut, wrap the dead body in grass as well as cleansing the dead body with herbs and after the elders leading the ceremony, the person would be buried in the hut and later the members of the family would be encouraged to drink some herbal medicine and also relocate to place far away from where the person has been buried. Relocating was done with a belief that this would stop death from claiming any other member of the family. Batwa as of today can be found in the districts of Kisoro, Kanungu, Kabale, Bundibugyo among others while others are scattered mostly among various districts in Uganda.
For tourists doing the famous gorilla trekking and gorilla habituation experience, this can be crowned with a visit to the Batwa community around Bwindi impenetrable forest national park.
