The Power of Culture and Identity

John Placid Wotsuna Khamalwa

Description

The Power of Culture and Identity: Imbalu Initiation Ritual among the Bamasaaba of Uganda is a revised edition of Identity, Power, and Culture: Imbalu among the Bamasaaba which was first published in 2004 as part of the Bayreuth African Studies Series. While the first edition focused on Identity, Power and Culture, this new edition focuses on the Power of Culture and Identity. Since the publication of the first edition, more research has been done on different strands and dimensions of this rich cultural practice. Beginning with the general concept of ritual, the book explores the depths of the Masaba imbalu initiation ritual in particular. It vividly describes the seven phases of imbalu. The place and role of women in imbalu has been brought into sharp focus in this edition. The author exposes the intricate and subtle symbolism behind the personages, items, actions and gestures to reveal the underlying themes of identity and power, both personal and communal, interwoven in this riveting ritual culture of the Bamasaaba of Eastern Uganda.

Sujets

• African Studies
• Ethnic Studies
• Social Science
• Sociologie, société et politique

Informations

• Publié par: Makerere University Press
• Date de parution: 10 avril 2024
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789913603058
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 13 Mo

Extrait

The Power of Culture and Identity

The Power of Culture and Identity

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The Power of Culture and Identity Imbalu Initiation Ritual among the Bamasaaba of Uganda John Placid Wotsuna Khamalwa Makerere University Press www.press.mak.ac.ug

Makerere University Press P.O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda

Email: [e-mail] [e-mail]

© J. P. W. Khamalwa, 2018

First published under the titleIdentity, Power and Culture: Imbalu Initiation Ritual among the Bamasaba of Uganda, Bayreuth African Studies 68, by Bayreuth University, 2004. ISBN: 3-927510-81-5 ISSN: 0178-0034

Second Edition published under the titleThe Power of Culture and Identity:Imbalu Initiation Ritual among the Bamasaaba of Uganda, 2018.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publishers.

e-ISBN: 978-9913-603-05-8

Photographs courtesy of Dominic Dipio.

Cover Design by Makerere University Printery

Dedication This book is dedicated to the memories of my grandmothers, Anna Nabafu and Miliya Nabilabi, my first teachers, who taught me about the power of culture and identity. To my parents Athanasius Waburoko and Yoanina Namakoye Malong’o, who taught me the meaning of life; to my wife Catherine Nanjala Wotsuna; and to my children Mabuka Carl, Muyama Annette and Furaha Malemo.

Acknowledgements This work is a result of the interfacing co-operation of the seen and the unseen. I am indebted to the Katholisher Akademischer Ausländer Dienst for the scholarship that enabled me to undertake this study. Special tribute to Dr. Thomas Scheidtweiler and Frau Simone Saure of KAAD, Bonn, for their faith, understanding and encouragement. I am immensely grateful to my gurus, Profs. Ulrich Berner, Thomas Bargatzky, Christoph Bochinger, J. C. Winter, and Till Foerster of Bayreuth University, for their friendship and patient guidance that finally led to the completion of this work. Prof. Ogbu Kalu of McCormick University, USA, deserves special thanks for inspiration, friendship, and foresight. Profs. Manfred Büttner of Bochum University, and Reinhard Henkel of Heidelberg, thanks for your support. To Profs. Suzette Heald and Jean La Fontaine, thanks for pioneering research on the Bamasaaba. To my teachers of the heretofore, Profs. Victor Zinkuratire, Laurenti Magesa, Jude Ongong'a, Dismas Masolo, and David Kyeyune, thank you all for being my mentors and friends. To my friends and colleagues in Bayreuth: Frau Brigitte Menchen and Dr. Catherine Agoya, thanks for friendship and selfless assistance; Prof. Babila Mutia, Dr. Oliver Freiberger, Dr. Afe Adogame, Dr. Tirop Simatei, Dr. Ukah Asonzeh, Prof. C. J. Odhiambo, and Mr. Tiku Takem, thank you for your friendship.

J. P. W. Khamalwa

To Wakoli, Malemo, Walukhaso, Namunyala, Tumwa, Lubango, Mangata, Nelima, Nakhabala, Kharono, Masinde, and Kilande, thank you for your support. Mzee Haajje Gaashegu, Mzee Lawrence Tsemale, Mzee Leo Wawomola, Ludwig Wamono, yaya Augustine Wandende, and yaya Praxeda Namonywe, thank you for your selfless support and love. My dear children Karl Mabuka, Annette Muyama, and Furaha Malemo, you deserve special gratitude for your love, sacrifice and understanding when I could not be with you for long periods. Yes, for seeing you only in a new year, a new century, a new millennium. My special thanks to the best of friends, Dr. Catherine Nanjala Agoya, for proof-reading the manuscript several times, and for invaluable support all the way.

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Preface The first edition of this book was published in Germany in 2004 under the Bayreuth African Studies Series, courtesy of the late Dr. Eckhard Breitinger who supported many African students in Germany to publish their doctoral dissertations into books. There has been a lot of interest in this book over the years, especially as the practice of circumcision has come under the spotlight as a means of curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS while attracting tourists. Unfortunately, the demand has not been met mainly because after the demise of Dr. Eckhard Breitinger, the book is no longer being published! It is, therefore, with deep gratitude that I acknowledge the generous offer of the Directorate of Research and Graduate Training of Makerere University for graciously accepting to fund this new edition. While the first edition focused on Identity, Power and Culture, this new edition focuses on the Power of Culture and Identity, as enshrined and propagated through the ritual ofimbaluamong the Bamasaaba. Since the publication of the first edition, more research has been done on different strands and dimensions of this rich cultural practice, including a documentary film jointly researched by the author together with Rev. Sr. Prof. Dominic Dipio of the Department of Literature at Makerere University, funded by NUFU. This film entitledCrafting the Bamasaba: Beyond the physical cutis closely molded on the seven phases ofimbalu found in this book. The different voices in this film clearly

J. P. W. Khamalwa

show the different opinions people hold, and the different stands they take, concerning this multifaceted practice. But the essence of initiation is clearly beyond the physical cut which takes about a minute, whereasimbalulasts the entire twelve months of every even year, and more asineemba, the last communal and commissioning dance takes place in January of the next year. The place and role of women inimbaluhas been brought into sharp focus in this edition as a result of persistent questions and sometimes complaints that the voices of women inimbaluhave been muted. Incidentally, this apparently male-dominated cultural practice was brought to the Bamasaaba community courtesy of a woman from a foreign neighbouring community, possibly of the Kalenjin extract who live just across the ranges of the imposing Mount Masaba (Elgon) in Kenya. Legend names her as Nabarwa or Namurwa in reference to the appellation the Bamasaaba gave to her community, Baarwa. These were possibly a community of forest dwellers like the Batwa of Western Uganda and Eastern Congo. This cultural exchange and adoption of a cultural trait was only made possible because the ancestor of the Bamasaaba genuinely fell in love with Nabarwa, and was man enough to accept to go the full length of the way, to get the hand of his bride in marriage. It is only through ignorant male chauvinism that anybody would want to exclude women from taking their rightful place in a ritual one of them helped introduce among the Bamasaaba. Unfortunately, subsequent generations have lost the determination and openness exhibited by Masaba who ix