The Ministry of Gender has started efforts to rejuvenate ekyoto( fireplace) as a way to ensure Uganda’s cultural heritage and history and brought back to life for the benefit of the young generation.
The fireplace was in the past used by families to have a deeper conversation between the heads and children about their history and culture.
Speaking during the 11th annual youth cultural heritage awarding ceremony organized by the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU) at the Uganda Museum, the commissioner for youth and children affairs in the Ministry of Gender, Mondo Kyateeka said government has started interesting different stakeholders on the importance of the fire place.
“Ekyoto( fireplace) was set up either inside the house or compound and stories are told by the old people to the young one about norms, values, things that define us, culture, our history and everything about us. This would help contribute towards keeping and knowing our heritage. It doesn’t help you for example if you are a Muganda and someone asks you about your clan and you know nothing about it. Ekyoto would help the elders pass on such important information to the young ones,” Kyateeka said.
“The elders and young ones sit around the fireplace and interesting stories are told. This way, the young generation will get to know about their cultures.”
Underscoring the role of cultural heritage, the commissioner for youth and children affairs in the Ministry of Gender said it is a very important aspect of life.
“The concept of ekyoto under the main concept of parenting is something the Ministry of Gender wants to rejuvenate so that we stop being only fixed on television sets to listen to cultures of other people and ignoring our own cultures. We think this idea will bring back the respect for our values and norms.”
“Heritage is part of our being and it is us. Heritage defines us. If we celebrate it, we are celebrating life, persons living, way of life , what defines them, how they live and what they eat, dress and how they walk. Everything we do has a bearing on our heritage. That’s why it is important to protect our heritage.”
According to Fredrick Nsibambi, the deputy Executive Director of the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda, the fireplace is an important space in the transmission of culture but noted its use is diminishing at a terrible speed.
“What we have been encouraging spaces to do is use available spaces. If somebody has a modern compound, they would want to have a fireplace in it but also the cost of firewood is high. What we need to do is to use our dining tables, sitting rooms and spaces like Ekisaakaate in Buganda, Ekigango in Busoga and Akasaka in Tooro so that we engage young people in the promotion and safeguarding of our heritage,”Nsibambi said.
He said the biggest problem to promotion of Ugandan cultures is limited documentation that he said CCFU is trying to solve by walking the talk.
“In Africa, we have been known to transmit our cultures orally but times have changed because elders with information are dying off and if we don’t document, we will lose a whole generation of heritage. As an organization, whatever intervention or project we are to implement starts from the documentation angle. It is why we have produced a lot of publications on historical buildings, oral history, illustrations by young people and cultural resources.”
Awards
The CCFU deputy Executive Director said the annual youth cultural heritage awards aim at ensuring preservation and documentation of culture.
“The awards are meant to celebrate and recognize young Ugandans who participate in the national heritage competition. It is important that we engage young people in promotion and safeguarding of our cultural heritage because they are the leaders of tomorrow and form majority of Ugandans. In future we want to have MPs, ministers and other members of the public who understand their culture. This is what the awards want to achieve.”
Nsibambi explained that during this year’s competition youths across the country to think positively about different aspects of their culture by drawing or painting cultural objects or symbols, rituals or ceremonies that showcase leadership and explain the significance of the drawing or painting to their communities.
“You can walk, eat and do everything but if you don’t do so as culture guides you will literally be dead. The competition helps in safeguarding of our heritage by asking the participants to read and document the different aspects of our heritage through paintings or drawings and narratives,” the deputy CCFU Executive Director noted.
At the function, Abraham Mawanda, a senior five student at St. Jude Secondary School in Masaka was the overall winner of the competition for his painting depicting installing an heir during the last funeral rites in Buganda culture.
12 other youths were also awarded.