THE BANYOLE AND THEIR UNIQUE CULTURE

While Uganda has become a prime safari destination, its unique culture still remains unexplored as majority of tourists frequent mainly for wildlife viewing making it one of a few countries in the world that guarantee you with authentic cultural experiences. And while on safari in country, you will enjoy the hospitality of its people and Banyole are such humble and most welcoming people that you should consider interacting with. This group lives in Bunyole county-Tororo district and while they are a sub group of Basoga, they have a lot in common with the Basamia-Bagwe especially their customs, language and origin. The Banyole are said to have originated from the Banyala of Kenya and their marriage, births and burial celebrations are related to that of the Basamia Bagwe.

In Banyole culture, the newly born baby's placenta could be buried at an area where no one can see due to fear that when an evil person gets to know about, she or he can use it to harm the child or bar the mother from becoming pregnant anymore. The mother remains in the house till the umbilical cord gets dries and the remains are then kept in a special gourd and the mother is tasked to keep as many as possible depending on how many children she has to produce. And food that is prepared for a mother isn’t given to anyone else. If a mother happens to give birth to twins, a special porridge is given to her.

When it comes to marriages, a girl was tasked to present her man before parents and bride price plans are put forward and later, she gets married officially. If the husband passes away, the clan members had to select a potential husband to marry her among the man’s brothers.  And if a person (man) dies, 3 days were a must and no one was supposed to bath whereas for a lady, people could spend 4 days. The Kasanja ritual could then be conducted along the road junction to summarize the mourning.

However, in a move to boost tourism in this region and Uganda at large, the Tororo cultural center has been commissioned in Nyasigala, Mulanda Tororo district. This was part of the ‘Tulambule’ initiative that is aimed at creating awareness among locals so as to boost domestic tourism in the country.

In conclusion, if you are planning to pay a visit to Eastern Uganda, exploring the Banyole culture should be a must for you and you will be rewarded with unique cultural experiences.