Ugandan folklore includes traditional folktales and other

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

from the African country of

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. They convey meaning and experiences from generation to generation. Traditionally, folktales instilled discipline and good behaviour that shaped societal beliefs and norms within Ugandan society.

Northern Uganda

Folktales from

Northern Uganda The Northern Region is one of four regions in Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was . Districts As of 2010, the Northern Region had 30 districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some co ...

include the story of Mighty Angwech, the Hare's Marriage, and The Shoe-Maker and the Monkey. They were studied by

Kyambogo University Kyambogo University (KYU) is a public university in Uganda. It is one of the largest and prestigious University in Uganda and is among the eight public universities and degree-awarding institutions in the country with the motto, "Knowledge and Sk ...

and

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

. The

Acholi Acholi may refer to: * Acholi people, a Luo nation of Uganda, in the Northern part of the country. * Acholi language, a Nilotic language * Acholi Inn, a building in Gulu, Uganda * Acholi nationalism, a political ideology of Acholi people {{dab ...

tribe refer to their folktales as ododo pa Acholi meaning "Folktales of the Acholi" and some of them include many stories about rabbits and hares in the wild.

Eastern Uganda

The

Teso Teso or TESO may refer to: Places * Têso, a Portuguese hamlet * Teso District, Kenya, a defunct administrative district in the former Western Province of Kenya * Teso District, Uganda, a district in Uganda now known as Teso sub-region Language ...

community of

Eastern Uganda The Eastern region is one of four regions in Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was . Districts , the Eastern Region contained 32 districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries ...

, offers the great folktale of Oduk the conqueror. He led the Teso people from South Sudan to Eastern Uganda and ultimately to western Kenya. In the Gisu tribe, male circumcision, known as ''Imbalu'', is a famous annual ceremony that retells the

Bugisu Bugisu sub-region is a region in Eastern Uganda that consists of the following districts: * Bududa District * Bulambuli District * Manafwa District * Mbale District * Namisindwa District * Sironko District The sub-region is home mainly to the G ...

story of boys transiting into men.

Western Uganda

In Western Uganda, folktales can be found among the

Bunyoro Bunyoro, also called Bunyoro-Kitara, is a traditional Bantu kingdom in Western Uganda. It was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Central and East Africa from the 16th century to the 19th century. It is ruled by the King ('' Omukama'') of ...

Banyankole The Nkole people, also known as the Banyankole, are a Bantu ethnic group native to the Ankole region of Uganda. They are primarily found in the southwestern part of the country, in what was historically known as the Ankole Kingdom. The Banyankol ...

, Bachiga, and other groups. In Bunyoro an epic story is told of the Batembuzi who founded Bunyoro Kingdom. Their stories tell of mythical gods and the heavens and the underworld. Heaven was led by

Ruhanga Ruhanga () features in Bantu spirituality as the remote creator and sky-God, recognized among the Rutara people ( Banyoro, Banyankore, Batooro, Bahaya, Bakiga, Bahema and all other groups referred to in general as Banyakitara). The Bahima fu ...

and the underworld or earth ruled by an outcast thrown from heaven.

Central Uganda

Buganda Buganda is a Bantu peoples, Bantu kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Baganda, Baganda people, Buganda is the largest of the List of current non-sovereign African monarchs, traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of Ug ...

, Nambi and

Kintu Kintu is a mythological figure who appears in a creation myth of the people of Buganda, Uganda. According to this legend, Kintu was the List of first men or women in mythology and religion, first person on earth, and the first Muganda. ''Kintu'' ...

folktales tell a story that long ago, Kintu was the only man in

. He had one cow. Up in the sky existed a kingdom whose king was named

Ggulu Ggulu is a translation for heaven in the Bantu language Luganda. The legend In the legend, two of Ggulu's daughters discover Kintu, the first human being according to Gandan myth. When Kintu declines to follow the daughters to heaven, they tell ...

. He had handsome sons and beautiful daughters who loved watching the rainbow. One day, Ggulu's sons called their sister Nambi to join them to play at the foot of a rainbow. They did not know that the land the rainbow touched was

. They became frightened, as Nambi and her brothers had never seen a man. Nambi with her kind heart promised to come back and marry Kintu so he would never be lonely again. Other

folktales include the story of Walukaga the

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, Mpobe the hunter, and Kasanke the little red bird. Folktales in Buganda are also about hares, leopards, rabbits and other animals that live in the wild and one of the famous folk stories is about wango and wakayima. Wango is a leopard while wakayima is a rabbit.

References

{{Uganda topics Dance in Uganda Folklore by country Culture of Uganda

Northern Uganda

Eastern Uganda

Western Uganda

Central Uganda

See also

References