Culture unearthed at Igongo Culture Centre

 I consider myself a great traveller. In fact, I always love to travel. I always carry a book to read on the journey. However, when I am the one driving, it’s a little different. I prefer to drive with people and since I cannot read while driving, then having a great conversation along the way is good enough. As always, the radio or music will fill up those moments when there is nothing to be said.
But there are those journeys, especially the return journeys where I find myself driving alone. Such journeys are so boring and to avoid the boredom, I always stop along the way to have a break, take a bite and at times even check my email.

This recent return journey from Christmas 2011, I was lucky to pick up a friend along the way – I was delighted for at least, I would not be all alone. You know even if the person is sleeping as you are driving, you feel comfortable that the person is there.

Igongo Culture Centre Sign Post near the parking lot

We decided to stop over at the Igongo Culture Centre to have lunch. It’s located in Mbarara – Western Uganda.   I never expected what I found. The place is well equipped with most of the traditional items that our grandparents used. But that is not all. The staff has been trained to explain what each item is, when it was used, what it was used for, how it was used and why particular people used it and others did not.

Each item is labeled with its name and each item is classified in its own category. Fishing items are grouped together; cooking items are grouped together, farming items are grouped together and so are all other items.

A clay model to depict a traditional agriculturalist homestead (notice the hills in the background?)

A clay model depicting the home of a traditional herdsman - notice the milk gourds? just incredible!

But that is not all; there is a write-up on all items describing what they are, who used them, when they were used, why they were used and how they were used. The most amazing thing is that the write-up is both in English and vernacular and at times, they use images to show how a particular product was created or used. They elaborate with images and clay models to complement the write-up. It’s just incredible how some of the clay models give you a real visual imagination of how our people lived. (Look at the clay models above)

And it’s not about only cultural items; they have all the bank notes that Uganda has ever used. From the cowrie shells through the Indian Rupees, the copper coins to the present day currency that we use.
They show fashion of our people. And as mentioned before, they complement it with clay models to show how a young lady dressed those days to the present day. They reproduce the way houses have evolved from mere grass patched up on a tree to the present day houses.

Admiring one of the items - milk gourd  inside the cultural village

The inside of a herdsman's hut - this is a real hut within the cultural village at the center

Then there is the cultural village. Here they reproduce in reality the setting of the traditional herdsman home complete with real milk gourds, calabashes, hides and skins, fire places and all. (refer to images above)

Inside the hut of a traditional agriculturalist - the grinding stone is used to make millet flour - notice the millet?

They also have a section for the traditional agriculturalist, complete with grinding stones, millet, flour and farming tools.

Cooking Utensils in the home of a traditional agriculturalist 

Having a feel of the traditional herdsman's hut.

They have clay models of the main historical figures such as the great warriors and the cow (Mayenje Gaishinju - shown below) that allegedly caused war between kingdoms.

There is a section about the tribes and clans of Uganda. I feel this  needs to be developed further and the information updated but it’s a great start. They explain where the different tribes came from, where they are and who their founders are. Unfortunately some of the information in this section is not correct but I am sure it’s a great start and with time it will be edited.

A clay model of the the Great Cow (Mayenje Gaishinju) that allegedly caused war among kingdoms 

The center has beautiful gardens, a very modern restaurant that serves tasty African foods coupled with European and Asian cuisines.

The entrance fee to the museum is 5,000 UGX per head (about 2 USD) and the food at the restaurant is 25,000 UGX (about 10 USD). The restaurant is honestly expensive for an average Ugandan but it’s not compulsory. One can always visit the center and skip the restaurant. They have a crafts shop that I found extremely expensive. Unless you are willing to donate, I advise you to skip it.

And like all good things, after one and half hours, we had to say bye bye  and continue on our journey

All in all, I recommend people to visit the center and have a feel of how the culture has been unearthed. For my friends abroad (Like Luc and Sam - I know Luc reads this blog) when you do return, please do check it out.

DISCLAIMER:  I never do adverts on this blog nor do I do reviews for a fee. This particular article is my own initiative and my own thoughts about this centre. The owners never paid me to write about the centre. These are my thoughts about the centre. Feel free to agree or disagree.