IV.

Arts

Ugandan artistic expression draws on various traditional oral cultures interwoven with Western cultural influences. Modern Ugandan artists in all fields have tried to bring these strands together to build a Ugandan identity or to use Western art as a lens to understand traditional life more clearly.

A.

Literature

Ugandan author Okot p’Bitek, whose long poetic lament, Song of Lawino (1966), is Uganda’s best known literary work, criticizes the supposed benefits of Western education and values for Acholi traditional life. Sir Apolo Kagwa, the first prime minister of Buganda under British rule, wrote The Kings of Buganda (translated 1971), the first locally written Ugandan history.

B.

Art and Architecture

Much traditional art, including drums, amulets, and shields, is related to the different royal courts and ceremonies of precolonial monarchs. The Kasubi Tombs, the burial place for the last three Buganda kabakas (kings), are located in Kampala in a magnificent traditional structure made of woven reeds. Modern Ugandan painters and sculptors, using Western techniques, have used their art to mark significant historical events and celebrate local culture. Most of Uganda’s artists who use Western techniques studied in the Margaret Trowell School of Fine Art in Makerere University, although several, such as Francis Nnaggenda, were trained in Europe or the United States. Nnaggenda’s massive sculptures celebrate the triumph of the human spirit and the redeeming power of love. His sculpture War Victim (1986), exhibited at Makerere University, commemorates the suffering borne by Ugandans in the 1970s and 1980s. Ignatius Sserulyo is a painter who interprets traditional myths and indigenous activities, such as farming, on large murals.

C.

Theater and Film

Uganda has a lively dramatic tradition with performances in English and native languages. Since its founding in 1959, the National Theatre in Kampala has stimulated the writing and production of plays and dances, and there are now several private theaters as well. Byron Kawadwa, probably Uganda’s leading playwright since independence, was murdered during the Idi Amin regime for using his plays as a vehicle for political criticism.

D.

Music and Dance

Several Ugandan popular musicians rose to prominence in the late 20th century. Philly Bongoley Lutaaya, who died of AIDS in 1989, urged AIDS awareness in his last performances. Geoffrey Oryema, many of whose songs grieve for the troubles of his people, the Acholi, became internationally popular in the mid-1990s. The “Kampala sound” of electric guitar-based dance music was regionally popular in the 1960s. Traditional dances, a staple of every ethnic group, are still widely performed. Many of them were also incorporated into performances of the National Dance Troupe in Kampala and abroad.

E.

Museums and Libraries

The Uganda Museum (founded in 1908) in Kampala has exhibits of traditional culture, archaeology, history, science, and natural history. It regularly presents performances of traditional music.

Makerere University’s main library in Kampala has a general collection, which is the largest in Uganda. The most important specialized collections, all in Kampala, are found in the Albert Cook Library at Makerere Medical School (at Makerere University), Kyambogo University, the Makerere Institute of Social Research, and the Cabinet Office.