We hopped in the van and rushed off toward the place where the cane rat (musu) clan was getting down. Here, Omutaka Nakirembeka had said that there were a group of youth who were visiting the obutaka – precisely the folks I wanted to chat with.
We bounced through a region that seemed to have an inordinate number of drum-makers, from whose stalls the signature round, furry Ugandan drums hung in every shade of mottled white, brown, black and auburn.
A long dusty ride through the country brought us to a large clearing, where the sound of drums rang through the air – the gathering of the musu. Right after getting out of the van, we were led to a special tent where Lady Sylvia Nagginda Luswata herself, the Queen of Buganda, was seated with her coterie. Sweaty and dusty, I was led to greet her highness – one of the security guards extended his arm to keep me from getting too close, as the Omutaka told me to greet her but not touch her or extend my hand. I slightly bowed, honored to be there.
Then, it was time for more food - including another delicious luwombo. After food, Arne and I moved closer to the music and I got dragged into a dance (the video attached here). After that, the head of the Musu clan told us the wonderful origin story, that involved a ghost imitated by (of course) a cute little muskrat-like musu.
We went to the graves of the old chiefs, and briefly saw the origin place, where young people in light blue smocks were receiving traditional blessings.
After that, we went to a set of buildings that looked exactly like the descriptions I read of traditional shrines (essabo). There, all of us (including the omutaka) fed the fireplaces and asked for blessings. Here are some pictures of the different homes of the spirits - of reeds, brick, banana leaves.
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