Ugandan folklore

Ugandan folklore includes traditional folktales and other folklore from the African country of Uganda. They convey meaning and experiences from generation to generation.{{Cite web |title=Uganda: Lango Culture – Old is Gold (Fr. Lawrence ogwang) – Comboni Missionaries |url=https://www.combonimissionaries.co.uk/index.php/2018/06/26/uganda-lango-culture-old-is-gold-fr-lawrence-ogwang/ |access-date=2024-01-08 |language=en-GB}} Traditionally, folktales instilled discipline and good behaviour that shaped societal beliefs and norms within Ugandan society.{{Cite web |date=2021-01-05 |title=Recording Uganda’s cultural folktales |url=https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/lifestyle/reviews-profiles/recording-uganda-s-cultural-folktales-1577756 |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=Monitor |language=en}}

Northern Uganda

Folktales from Northern Uganda include the story of Mighty Angwech,{{Cite web |date=2023-06-03 |title=Tales of legends from Ugandan folklore compiled for young readers |url=https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/magazine/ugandan-folklore-compiled-for-readers-4256810 |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=The East African |language=en}} the Hare's Marriage, and The Shoe-Maker and the Monkey.{{Cite web |title=Fifteen Lango Folk Tales |url=https://araoameny.com/fifteen-lango-folk-tales/ |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=araoameny.com}} They were studied by Kyambogo University and Makerere University.{{Cite thesis |title=The elements of the natural landscape portrayed in langi folktales from the lango people of Notthern Uganda |url=http://dissertations.mak.ac.ug/handle/20.500.12281/10323 |publisher=Makerere University |date=December 2020 |degree=Thesis |language=en |first=Lydia |last=Auma}} The Acholi 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.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Eastern Uganda

The Teso community of Eastern Uganda, offers the great folktale of Oduk the conqueror. He led the Teso people from South Sudan to Eastern Uganda and ultimately to western Kenya.{{Cite web |title=Oduk: The Conqueror (Teso community) - Shujaa Stories |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/oduk-the-conqueror-teso-community-shujaa-stories/1AGdzgNoL114EA |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=Google Arts & Culture |language=en}}

In the Gisu tribe, male circumcision, known as Imbalu, is a famous annual ceremony that retells the Bugisu story of boys transiting into men.{{Cite web |last= |title=legend of bagisu {{!}} Africa Safari Guide |url=https://www.bwindiugandagorillatrekking.com/tag/legend-of-bagisu/ |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=Bwindi Forest National Park |language=en-US}}

Western Uganda

In Western Uganda, folktales can be found among the Bunyoro, Banyankole, Bachiga,{{Cite thesis |title=The theme of laziness in selected folk tales of Bakiga of South Western Uganda. |url=http://dissertations.mak.ac.ug/handle/20.500.12281/10788 |publisher=Makerere University. |date=2021-05-25 |degree=Thesis |language=en |first=Milliam |last=Komushana}} 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 and the underworld or earth ruled by an outcast thrown from heaven.{{Cite web |date=2013-07-04 |title=Ugandan Folk tales |url=https://ugandapeopleandculture.wordpress.com/tag/ugandan-folk-tales/ |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=Uganda Heritage Tales and Trails |language=en}}

Central Uganda

In Buganda, Nambi and Kintu folktales tell a story that long ago, Kintu was the only man in Uganda. He had one cow.{{Cite web |title=The King of the Snakes. |url=https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/baskerville/king/king.html |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=digital.library.upenn.edu}} Up in the sky existed a kingdom whose king was named Ggulu. 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 Uganda. 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 Buganda folktales include the story of Walukaga the blacksmith, Mpobe the hunter, and Kasanke the little red bird.{{Cite web |title=Tales From Uganda |url=https://talesfromuganda.com/ |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=Tales From Uganda |language=en-GB}} 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

Category:Dance in Uganda

Category:Folklore by country

Category:Culture of Uganda