Name
Does transmission of amakondere culture of the Banyoro people of Uganda embed spirituality?
Date & Time
Tuesday, July 28, 2026, 2:20 PM - 2:50 PM
Description
This study investigated whether contemporary relearning of amakondere royal trumpet music of the Banyoro embeds spirituality. There are various royal trumpet cultures in Uganda that include: amakondere of Bunyoro and Tooro, bigwala of Busoga and amakoondere of Buganda. This study focused on the amakondere, which is part of the regalia for the omukama (king of Bunyoro kingdom). This music and dance culture started as a musical accompaniment for a sacrificial ritual to embandwa (spirits of dead kings) during the reign of Nyabongo II Mugenyi (1835 - 1848). In 1967 the post independence government of Uganda abolished all cultural institutions, as a result, learning of royal cultural expressions stopped. When kingdoms were restored in 1997 there were hardly any skilled performers of royal musical expressions since players had passed away without teaching new ones, and royal cultures had been abolished. Omukama invited the current surviving culture bearer, who was a young man when kingdoms were abolished and blessed him to create new groups of young amakondere musicians, which he has done successfully despite contemporary youths’ apathy towards indigenous cultural idioms. These musicians play during empango coronation celebrations. The essence of empango coronation ritual is okwenda abantu (to love people), a spirit of love for and among the Banyoro people. This spirit is symbolized by activities that embed doing things emirundi mwenda (nine times), because the word mwenda embeds wenda just like okwenda (to love). Empango ceremony starts with playing eight songs at akaswa (a small anti hill) in front of the palace gate, where it is believed the spirit originate. Musicians play a nineth and most important amakondere song to lead the people ceremonially into the palace to meet omukama, seated on the kitebe (throne). The crowd creates way for the spirit from akaswa to move directly to omukama. Nine amakondere are played to mediate empango. The omukama opens the ritual at the ninth hour, which is 3:00p.m. by beating empango (big drum) nine times. Omukama’s playing signifies the official opening of empango, and people sing praises as they dance together with him. There are various dimensions of spirituality that learning and practice of this culture embeds. In this paper, which part of my ongoing ethnographic study on indigenous transmission of royal trumpet traditions of Uganda, I discuss how renewed interest in and learning of amakondere among Banyoro youths embeds spirituality, and how experiences in this culture might inform music education.
Location Name
513B
Full Address
Palais des Congres - Montréal Convention Centre
1001, Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Montreal QC H2Z 1H2
Canada
Session Type
Paper Presentation
Presenting Author(s)
James Isabirye