I came to Uganda for the first time almost 4 years ago, to teach a workshop with the Wildlife Conservation Society at a small nature center near Entebbe called 'UWEC' (the Uganda Wildlife Education Center). There, I met some of the most dedicated African conservation educators I have yet encountered.
Among them was Nakitto Peace, a child of the Colobus monkey (ngeye) clan. It was she who introduced me to the concept of traditional clans among her people, the Baganda.
It started when I asked (I thought rhetorically) "So, Nakitto is your father's name?", and she, surprisingly responded "Of course NOT - why would I have my father's name? I'm not my father."
You see, traditionally, people are named not according to their parents, but given an individual name from a long set of possible choices associated with their clan. So, just as you might associate Alan Leibowitz and Barry Goldstein with the "Jewish" clan, from their names - you can recognize people named Kasule, Kabude, Nanungi, Nambi, etc. as all part of the Ngeye clan.
In traditional Baganda society each clan had specific duties (among other things, the Ngeye thatched the royal palace). And, as a member of the colobus monkey clan, you and your kin have a special relationship with your totem animal. Usually this meant you were prohibited to eat, touch or harm the animal. Even the names that you are given come from the stories that tie you together. "Nakitto", for example, means "the chill of the early morning" - describing when the main character of the Ngeye origin story goes out looking for a baby colobus monkey.
Though sources differ as to how many clans there are, the 'official' count according to the Kingdom of Buganda is 56, which include everything from Lungfish (Mmamba) to climbing beans (Mpindi).
I believe that this close relationship between people and animals is one of many factors that helped to maintain the incredible biodiversity of the African continent through all of human history. As we all plunge forward into the future with cell phones in our hands and satellite radio in our ears, I am making this small attempt to record but a small portion of this history while there are still people out there who remember it.
I'm not sure where this will go... but look forward to taking the journey. Thanks for coming along!
