I Emmanuel Katto shares Uganda's Thriving Music and Dance Scene: From Traditional to Contemporary
Uganda, a country in the center of East Africa, is home to many different cultures and traditions. The music and dance scene there is one of the liveliest examples of this diversity. Uganda's music and dance culture is an enthralling voyage through time and tradition, as a Uganda’s native and journalist I, Emmanuel Katto always enjoyed the indigenous rhythms resonating through the hills and the throbbing beats of modern Afro-pop.
Celebrating Tradition: The Musical and Dance Traditions of Uganda
Uganda is home to a wide variety of ethnic groups, all of whom have a strong cultural connection to the country's traditional music and dance. Many groups, such the Baganda, Bakiga, Banyankole, and others, have distinctive musical traditions that are frequently accompanied by dance displays that depict their culture's history, heritage, and daily life.
The rhythmic foundation of these performances is provided by traditional instruments like the adungu, engalabi, and ndingidi. Musicians and dancers dress colorfully to express their pride in their culture. As a result of the colorful energy of these performances, Uganda's cultural festivals attract tourists from all over the world.
The Development of Modern Ugandan Music
Uganda's current music sector is creating waves both locally and globally, in my opinion as a journalist, I Emmanuel Katto aka Emka Uganda would like to say that even if traditional music is still a treasured component of the nation's cultural heritage. Ugandan musicians have perfected the blending of traditional music with contemporary rhythms, resulting in a distinctive and contagious musical style that crosses national boundaries.
Afrobeat, dancehall, and reggae are three genres that are hugely popular in Uganda's modern music industry. Not only in Uganda but also throughout Africa and beyond, musicians like Eddy Kenzo, Sheebah, and Bobi Wine have become household names. In a world that is changing quickly, their music frequently addresses societal concerns through narrating tales of tenacity, love, and hope.
The Dance Revolution
An essential component of Ugandan music culture, the Dance Revolution Dance has seen substantial development in the modern music scene. Ugandan dancers are pushing the limits of creativity and expression with everything from traditional dances like the Bakisimba and Ekitaguriro to contemporary dancehall and hip-hop routines.
Dance competitions and showcases have grown in popularity, giving budding dancers a place to present their talents. Traditional and modern dance styles have been combined to create a distinctive kind of dance that enthralls audiences with its vitality and inventiveness.
Conclusion!
The thriving music and dance industry in Uganda reflects the nation's cultural variety and creative development. Although Ugandan musicians have been propelled into the world stage by the modern music industry, traditional music and dance are still valued traditions. Uganda's music and dance culture is a dynamic force that keeps evolving and captivating audiences throughout the world because to the blend of old and new, tradition and creativity. Therefore, Uganda has something to offer any music and dance fan, whether you're tapping your feet to the beats of traditional drums or dancing to the beats of modern Afro-pop. It's a celebration of the traditional and modern, old and new—a harmonious symphony of civilizations.
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The Best Songs of Daddy Andre: A Must-Hear Collection
Daddy Andre, whose real name is Andrew Ojambo, is a Ugandan singer, songwriter, and music producer who has taken the Ugandan music industry by storm with his unique sound and style. He is known for his Afro-beat and dancehall fusion, which has earned him a massive following in Uganda and beyond. Here are some of the best songs of Daddy Andre that you need to add to your playlist.
"Sikikukweeka" - This is one of Daddy Andre's biggest hits and a fan favorite. The song's infectious beat and catchy lyrics make it an instant party starter. It's a song about having a good time and forgetting your problems, and its upbeat tempo will get you dancing in no time.
"Tugende Mu Church" - This is another hit from Daddy Andre that has become a fan favorite. The song is a collaboration with fellow Ugandan artist, Levixone, and it's a gospel tune that encourages people to seek refuge in God. Its soothing melody and inspiring lyrics make it a must-listen for anyone who loves gospel music.
"You and Me" - This song is a romantic ballad that showcases Daddy Andre's softer side. The song's gentle melody and soulful lyrics make it a perfect slow dance song. It's a love song that expresses the joy of being in a relationship with the person you love.
"Omaze" - This is another hit from Daddy Andre that has become a fan favorite. The song's catchy beat and upbeat tempo make it a perfect dance tune. Its lyrics celebrate life and encourage people to live in the moment and have fun.
"Andele" - This song is a collaboration with another Ugandan artist, Nina Roz, and it's a perfect example of Daddy Andre's Afro-beat and dancehall fusion. The song's high-energy beat and catchy lyrics make it a perfect party starter. It's a song about having fun and enjoying life, and its message is sure to get you moving.
Daddy Andre is a talented artist who has contributed immensely to the Ugandan music industry. The above songs are just a few of the many hits he has released over the years. If you're a fan of Afro-beat and dancehall music, then you need to add these songs to your playlist. They are sure to get you dancing and singing along. Daddy Andre is a force to be reckoned with, and his music is proof of his talent and creativity. You can also search for best of Eddy Kenzo if you want to listen his tracks.
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Ratel
Someone sent me this amazingly specific ask about a Afro- Caribbean girl at Hogwarts and I loved the idea so this is the result. I would like to preface this by saying that I am not afro-Caribbean. While I did spend a few hours researching Trinidadian, Kenyan and Nigerian culture, food and customs, I am extremely sorry if anything here looks stereotypical or if i get something wrong. Please correct me if I mess up because I would never want to dishonor a person’s culture or country.
ONTO THE STORY
Y/N’s arrival had been a bit of an event. Transfer students were rare, and when they occurred, they were treated as a big deal, since often they only happened for some political reason of the students parents. This was exactly the case with Y/N
Dumbledore had stepped to the front of the Great Hall at the beginning of the year after the first years had been sorted and called everyone’s attention.
“This year, we have a new 4th year transfer student joining us,” excited chatter erupted around the room, “I trust you will make her feel welcome and show her what Hogwarts School is all about. Please welcome Mrs. Y/N Y/L/N from Uagadou School of Magic in Uganda!” The doors opened and you walked through, head high and looking straight ahead despite the stares that followed you.
Professor McGonagall gave you a smile and instructed you to the stool for your sorting.
The hat barely touched your head before “HUFFLEPUFF” was exclaimed and rapturous applause came from the yellow and black table.
As you sat down for the feast, a tall boy with fluffy brown hair reached out to shake your hand, “I’m Cedric Diggory, sixth year. That was quite an entrance. Welcome to Hufflepuff.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you surprised to be in our house? Honestly with the way you carried yourself I would have guessed Slytherin.”
“Not really. Hufflepuff is the house of the loyal, kind, and hardworking. Just because I’m sharp or harsh looking doesn’t mean I can’t have those traits.”
He looked at you in shock
“You’ve done your research. Yeah, I guess you’re right, a person can be more than one thing. So what’s Uganda like?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure. I went to school at Uagadou but my family is mostly Nigerian, Kenyan, and Trinidadian and most of my life we’ve spent moving around those areas and the Americas. My parents have some sort of business here for the next year or so, and I decided that I might as well try a new school, so they let me come here.”
“Oh that sounds fun!” A younger blonde girl jumped into the conversation, “Sorry to interrupt. Hannah Abbot, third year.” You nodded her way and shook her hand as well as other Hufflepuff’s began to introduce themselves and listen into the conversation.
“So,” Susan Bones asked, “Do you speak any other languages?”
You nodded and listed them off, “Yes. Officially, English is the main language in Nigeria but in Kenya and Uganda, Swahili is also common. I also speak Spanish, Portugese, and I’m familiar with French and the Trinidadian dialects of French as well as French Creole.” A chorus of wows surrounded you.
“What’s Uagadou like?”
“It’s nice, just very different from what I can tell. They are a lot more loose about how they teach things there. It’s strange, everyone here is dependent on wands.”
“You don’t use wands?”
“We do, but before that we’re taught to use magic with our hands and nonverbally. Helps avoid detection and makes it easy to still use magic if we’re disarmed. Dependence on a wand is pretty strictly European. Almost every other country learns without them first.”
“So you can just do magic, like with your hands?”
“Yup.” You flicked your fingers and the fork and knife in front of your plate did a little dance before picking up a piece of chicken and bringing it too your mouth.”
You looked around and your cutlery show had attracted the attention of a few of the surrounding houses students as well as professor Flitwick’s attention.
“That was marvelous, Mrs. Y/L/N! Would you mind demonstrating some of that again in my class tomorrow?”
“Sure, I have charms tomorrow at 2 pm so it should work.” He nodded and walked back to his table with the other professors.
The conversation deviated and eventually with dinner over, you were ushered to the coziness of the Hufflepuff common room and dorms. Plants and comfy blankets were all about the rooms. This was exactly the house you belonged to.
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Breakfast the next day saw a new set of questions and some repeats from other houses students who hadn’t gotten the chance to ask. Word had made it’s rounds by then, and people realized you were exceptionally gifted.
During your free period after lunch, you were practically assaulted by a set of identical red headed string beans.
“You’re the transfer student right?”
“Yes, I-”
“We heard you’re gifted.”
“I mean I suppose-”
“What else can you do?”
“Can you show us?”
“Someone said you’re already an animagus?”
“OK SHUSH! One. I am not a goddamn zoo animal for you to just ask to do tricks at your whim. Two. One question at a time, for fuck’s sake.”
Shocked identical looks were followed by sheepish remorse.
“And three. Yes I am and animagus.”
One of them stepped forward.
“Sorry, that was kind of rude of us. We didn’t mean to come off so pushy. I’m George. He’s Fred.”
Fred also apologized and once you accepted, they asked again, albeit a little more gently.
“So, what animal can you turn into?” Fred asked slowly, like he thought he might annoy you again if he asked.
“You don’t have to talk that slowly, I won’t bite.” Fred laughed some and motioned for you to continue.
“I’m a Ratel.”
“A wot?”
“Also known as a honey badger.”
“Ohhhh.” Fred gasped
“I actually like that better than honeybadger. Sounds nicer.”
“Can we call you that? Ratel?” You shrugged and from there on out Ratel was more your name than your actual one. The teachers, staff, students. Even Dumbledore called you that.
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The one group of people you refused to tolerate was Malfoy and his goon-squad.
It’s the superiority complex for me.
And everyone.
“How dare you look at me, filthy little-”
“Malfoy I know you weren’t just trying to beat up another first year.” You marched over to him with Neville, Luna, and the twins behind you. Crabbe and Goyle immediately dropped the Ravenclaw they had hoisted over their shoulders, and the small boy raced behind you and clutched onto your side. Crabbe and Goyle knew not to mess with you. Not after the thrashing you had given them before winter break.
Apparently Draco hadn’t learned the same lesson.
“Technically, I wasn’t.”
“Not you trying to use that smart shit with me. Why don’t you pick on someone your own size.”
“And if I don’t? What are you gonna do Princess?”
Princess. Absolutely not.
You stormed over to him, grabbed his pressed collar (fucking prick) and slammed him against a tree.
“If you even look in the direction of any of the younger kids. If you even look my way, or my friends way, or anyone’s way really. I will shove your own wand so far up your ass your can taste it, throw you to the forbidden forest, chuck whatever is left of you at the Whomping Willow, and then throw the remains in a disintegrating solution. Don’t try me. You know I’ll do it.”
You leaned back, and then punched him in the sternum. He crumpled to the ground before stumbling back up and running off.
You checked over the first year and then sent him on his way. As you walked off with the others, Neville spoke up.
“I’ve never heard of a disintegrating solution. Did you just make that up?”
“No, my mother and her twin have this old family book of spells and potions. It’s been passed down through the past few generations and people add to it often.”
“Wicked! Is that how you managed to remove Parkinson’s nose the other day?” Fred asked.
“Yup. She still in the infirmary?”
George laughed before responding, “Yeah, Pomphrey still can’t figure out how to reattach it and Parkinson refuses to say who did it.”
Everyone laughed as you headed to the library.
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“What are you doing in here?” Dean and Seamus stepped behind the portrait in the kitchens.
“Jesus CHRIST! You scared me.”
Seamus smiled and kissed your cheek, “Sorry, love. So, whatcha making?” He leaned over the pot you were stirring.
“Trinidadian curry. I missed home, and no offense, but British food has little to no flavor.”
“None taken- Mm! Thasth really goof!” His mouth was full but you picked up the gist. Dean laughed as he also stole a bite.
“Quit it you two. It’s not quite done yet.”
“Fine.”
“Sorry, Ratel.”
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“Harry James Potter!” Harry jumped as you stormed into the Gryffindor common room.
“How did you even get in here, you’re a hufflepuff?”
“Don’t change the subject. Why didn’t you tell me you were getting headaches? I just had to find out from Hermione!”
“Ratel, it’s not a big deal calm dow-”
“Kid. If you’re getting headaches everyday you need to get some help for it.”
“I’m not a kid, and it’s none of your concern!”
“You’re my friend. Of course it’s my concern. And don’t pull all that ‘Oh I’m the Chosen One, I need to do shit by myself’ because it’s dumb, ok Harry.”
He paused, “Fine… I’m sorry.”
“Damn right you are, now sit your ass down and I’ll grab you a headache potion.”
“Ok… Hey, Ratel?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
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“The mandrake leaf has been in your mouth all month, you’ll all be fine.” Fred, George, Seamus, Dean, Luna, Neville, Cedric, Ron, Harry and Hermione all stood surrounding you in a circle as you held a glass phial. A flask of a potion was passed around and then each of them chanted the needed incantation.
All around you, each of them shrunk or grew as their form took place.
Fred and George transformed into identical hyenas who turned towards each other and erupted into a high pitched cacophony of screeching and laughing. Seamus turned into a phoenix with bright orange and yellow plumage, while Dean turned into a rather large fluffy golden retriever. Luna turned into a white hare and proceeded to dart around the hill you were on. Neville was now a meerkat. Cedric was a Lynx. Ron was now a roaring lion, Hermione now a river otter, and Harry a similar Stag to his father’s.
You shrunk down to your badger form and the lot of you rushed around for the next few hours until the sun came up. Racing, messing with each other,
Hogwarts had turned into home.
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If you saw something incorrect or inconsistent with any culture PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN FIX IT. There is such a lack of POC representation in the fandom and as someone who is latina, I love when I see even a scrap of representation so after this I will probably start doing more like this (likely more mexican/ salvadoran cause thats where a lot of my family is from).
Also I’m sorry if this is too long or I wasn't able to get every detail in I hope this was what anon wanted!
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May 25th: Liberation, coffee and cigarettes
Twenty nineteen, the old Gregorian calendar, in the age of the undergrounded angry african gods. Sitting in a room reeking of coffee and cigarettes in the very heaving heart of the African continent with a documentary on James Baldwin playing in the background. It’s 25th of May. African Liberation Day (not Africa Day) and also the birthday (contested birthday) of one of those who defeated the very notion of liberation, Jammeh formerly of Gambia and now of another defeat, Equatorial Guinea. The symbolism is deep and gut wrenching.. it tastes like a certain cigarette I once smoked in Uganda, tasted like cement mixed with salad dressing (never had the honor of smoking that mix but am certain it would have tasted just like that).
The liberation of the African continent from colonial domination and the feels that animated that era was glorious, it spoke of other joys and bygone adrenaline rushes. Twenty Nineteen, we are the children who play with the ashes of that fire that once was. That fire that burnt the very heart of god. A time when young Africans took the world by storm and spoke of liberation and death to the colonizer. Today we struggle to even honor their memory. Dictatorships and coups have tainted the African memory and given birth to a wondrous creature who lurks and haunts the urban scape and rural environs of the long suffering continent —the neocolonial child.
Africa wasn’t born in you or i —that was just bad poetry. Africa is matter eternally subsisting and in motion. Changing backwards as capital and empire continues to ravage her and we continue to sing amen! Dialectics take a whole new meaning and Afro beat meanwhiles spirals on. Philosophy and music in dialogue without agreement. Pessimism abounds in copious amounts as reactionary governments meet China and sell what little is left of our souls. Imperialism finds home yet again, forgetting “We look neither East nor West but forward!” (That was a great moment or movement –choose one if you’re so dialectically incline–do you remember Bandung and the Tricontinental?)
Perhaps there is such a thing as suffering from liberation blues. The constant moaning, groaning, crooning of “what if’s” blurting out of young mouths. What if Nkrumah was never couped? What if Lumumba lived? What if.. the devil’s key to the Pandora’s box. We are those young mouths, so stiff, sometimes so stuffed with a thousand many things. The children that played with the ashes that are the remnants of yesterday’s embers. So long a walk, walks filled with defilements and betrayals. With echoes and gun shots. Of “african socialisms” and “scientific socialisms” debates, the ancient debates between Idealism and materialism. It was a long walk, not to freedom —Mandela sold out. But a long ass walk to the gates of hell, to the less than a dollar a day, to failed uprisings and wars. It was an era that seems never to arrive as it gently nudges with firm footsteps into our young stiff and stuffed bodies.
May 25th. May we win. May we honor yesterday’s resolve with today’s yearning.
Diagnosis finished or shall we say in the voice of a Gambian petite bourgeoisie “end the blame game.”
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