Clan meeting

The landscape changed gradually from bustling town to sugar cane plantations to dusty villages with grass-topped mud huts. My destination was Kibuku in Uganda’s Eastern Province.

We were visiting Samuel’s clan for their annual gathering. Well, his mother’s clan actually. Samuel takes the clan of his father. It is the first time in 20 years that Samuel has been back to his mother’s village so I’m not sure either of us knew what to expect. And Samuel was there to introduce his wife and children to the clan. It was a big day for us all.

On arrival we were greeted by the extended family. My attempts at saying hello were greeted with hilarity. They don’t speak Luganda here although they appreciated the effort. Then we toured the village sitting for a while with each group to greet them (and being fed several times over!) Grandmothers (plural – every sister of a grandmother is also a grandmother), aunties (or ‘little mothers’), uncles (helpfully just call uncles), cousins, nieces and nephews. Although a smaller gathering than previous years, there must have been 50 relatives gathered for the meeting.

The meeting itself turned out to be a remembrance service for those members of the family that had passed away. Only a few meters from the graves, the family gathered for prayers and a service. This village is Protestant although many members have also adopted what is known here as Born Again. This led to a slightly odd mix of serious prayers with clapping to the hymns. The vicar and Samuel’s uncle led the service and gave me a special welcome to the meeting. Then Samuel and I were both asked to plant a tree to mark the fact that we were both visiting the village from afar.
I suspect there’s not many mzungu that are able to join a clan meeting. It was a real privilege to be invited to such a family occasion. And I’ve promised that one day I will return to check on my tree…