Ribbe Ber (Dancers) Group
…Music of the Acholi Acet, Northern Uganda …
Nile Beat Artists Group
…umaya and Kalungi Justine. They are based in Jinja and perform traditional Ugandan dances. The group takes their name from the River Nile, which starts at Jinja on the edge of Lake Victoria. A previous member of the band was Seby Ntege, who left Uganda in the early 2000s and moved to the UK, keen to evolve his sound. He plays the Kora, and much of his writing combines West African instruments with an East African writing style. Song Meanings “Ikob…
Hannah Calascione Staff Profile
…the all important context for the songs and dances we will be recording in the field. …
Ribbe Ber (Drummers) Group
…Music of the Acholi Acet, Northern Uganda…
The Batwa of Kisoro Album
The Singing Wells project travelled to Kisoro in southern Uganda in late November 2011. There we met and recorded the music of the Batwa communities. We were so taken by the music we heard, we then invited some of the musicians back to Nairobi to record more of their music at the Ketebul Studios. The album begins in the village of the Birara Community – with the village leader Francis taking the main role on the performance. The Mperwa dancers ar…
Victoria Denison Staff Profile
…reconciliation, publicity and social media and website development. She has a passion for photography and has joined all three Singing Wells trips to Uganda (in 2011, 2012 and 2013) as a volunteer photographer & videographer….
3. Background of the Naizungwe drums Story
…m which they come: Where do they originally come from and who played them? Uganda has about 65 ethnic societies according to the 1995 constitution. Each ethnic society had a way it was organized socially before the advent of colonialism. Most of the societies were and still are organized on clan system. One ethnic society has a number of clans where each clan has a leader – clan leader. Each of those clans had identifying regalia and one of them a…
Discovering the lost music of the Ugandan Kingdoms Gallery
We’ve just visited Uganda to discover the lost royal music of the Ugandan Kingdoms. Our journey took us between Kampala (the capital) and Jinja in search of the lost music and musicians. We’ve been posting regular updates about our journey which you can read on our Field Reports section. Including: Some background and the beginning of our journey to discover the lost royal drums of the Buganda Kingdom Context on the Entenga royal drums we’ve been…
Group 2: Sophie Nzayisenga Story
…s were killed during the Rwandan genocide, and they brought over more from Uganda to the king’s palace in 2018, inspiring Sophie to write this ode to the inyambo. Imijyembe (a part of the spear) – this is an original song telling farmers to fight the hunger, with the spear. It’s a conversation format, telling the story, featuring laughing and talking as well as singing, and at the end everyone starts fighting the hunger by farming together. Kamana…
Arrival to Rwanda, Background and Objectives Story
…started in March 2011 in the Coastal Regions of Kenya, traveled to Kisoro Uganda, and to Homa Bay Kenya, then went to the Rift Valley in 2012, on through Uganda, Tanzania, and Zanzibar. The front of our t shirts are specific to each field visits and in 2023 we are in Rwanda to understand the beautiful of their traditional music (‘cow poems, et al’) and their beautiful dances, finding the best Inanga players. But we are also here to capture what w…
Kidinda Cultural Group Group
…Music in the Kidinda style using the Amadinda, a 22 slab xylophone which was historically an instrument which could only be played in front of the King. Original group founders are: Sulayiman Sserubiri and Kiwuwa Buruhan The group are from Kidinda, Uganda…
Likembe Instrument
…o name a few. We first came across this instrument on our trip to Northern Uganda, in a small Acholi village called Paibona Tuga, near Gulu. It is a wooden block with metal prongs attached, staggered and of different lengths, to create different notes. Sometimes they are placed on resonators, such as an over turned metal bowl, to create lower notes. The sound is very similar to that of a calypso steel drum band. The Rubanga Kingom Awach Boys are a…
The Birara Dancers Group
…Music of the Batwa Kisoro, Uganda Group Leader – Francis Sembagare; vocalists: Paskazia Nyirakarombo, Vastina Ayinkamiye, Jolly Naiti…
Day One: The Iteso People and their Music Story
…chaeket. The shakers are called the Itwol. The ring is called the Edongot. Between their core songs, influences and a magic moment, we had a long session with the group. Songs included: Ataikatiaka Kitiso: This song is about the unity of the Teso people. While forces are trying to divide the people, the song encourages everyone to stay united. Akidai Imojong: This song asked everyone to take care of old people and respect them. Asorit: This is a s…
Bigwala Instrument
We encountered the Bigwala during our field visit to Central and Eastern Uganda in December 2013. While staying in Jinja we invited a local Bigwala group, the Bigwala Cultural Group, to perform for Singing Wells. Click here to read our report from the field. Here is an extract from the UNESCO website, explaining about the Bigwala which was inscribed in 2012 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding: Bigwala music…
Watmon Cultural Group Group
…musicians led by Amone Watmon Matthew, which promotes the preservation of Ugandan cultural heritage through dance. The group is made up of up to 50 members, the youngest members being only seven years old. Matthew was born on the 25th November 1951 in Kipgum district, Awedi village in the north of Uganda. He was fond of playing music as he grew up, playing the nanga (a harp) in the field as he tended the family cattle or worked on the farm. He li…