Week 9 - Cultural Blog - 08/04/13

Religion is a key part of the Ugandan culture. The two most common religions are Islam and Christianity as 19% of Ugandans are Muslims and 62% Christians (Otiso, 2006).

Over the last nine weeks Joanna and I have been attending one of the biggest Christian churches in Kampala called ‘Watoto Central’. 

Service at Watoto.

It has four services a day where thousands of people attend. The weekly services follow the same routine as my church at home (Bannside Presbyterian) apart from a few denominational differences such as monthly communion and adult baptism. As you can imagine with a church filled with singing and dancing Africans, the worship is amazing. The sermons are very focused on being Ugandan and living in Uganda. This has given Joanna and I better insight into the life of a Ugandan, the issues they face as“one of the most effective ways to learn about others is by taking seriously their cultures. It forces you to pay attention to those details of life which differentiate them from you” (Hall, 1973, p. 42).

As Islam is one of the fastest growing faiths in Uganda, we decided to go and visit the National Gaddafi Mosque in Kampala. This is the biggest Mosque in Uganda and the second biggest in Africa. We can see this Mosque from our balcony and often get woken up at 5.30am by the morning call to prayer. In order for us to participate in the tour, we both had to be dressed like a Muslim lady ensuring that our heads, shoulders and legs were completely covered. 

Me outside the Mosque.

During the tour we were shown how to pray, how to read the Koran and then finally we went up the Gaddafi Tower. 

The Gaddafi Tower.

The view from the top was amazing. We could see all over Kampala, including our balcony at Nana Hostels. Looking over Kampala from this height really gave us a perspective of the busyness of the city. There were just hundreds of people everywhere and traffic jams all over the city. We have become so accustomed to this now that weaving in and out of the traffic on a ‘boda boda’ seems to be normal.

The view from the top.

Joanna and I did not have to visit these places of worship in order to get an insight into the different religions in Uganda. The people here are more open about their religion than in Northern Ireland as they freely talk about it and even name their businesses in accordance to their religion. Over the last nine weeks I have regularly seen many hair salons, restaurants and supermarkets having religious names. Even the public taxis, bodas and buses have religious references printed on their vehicle. 

 

One of the many religious references.

This is completely different to Northern Ireland where religion is such a controversial issue and has been the main cause of any of the troubles that have occurred in Northern Ireland. Yet, here in Uganda, an under developed country, everyone seems to be very tolerant and respectful of each other’s religious preference. Therefore in terms of religion tolerance, Uganda is a lot more developed than Northern Ireland, the ‘developed’ country.

“Religion is like a pair of shoes...Find one that fits for you, but don't make me wear your shoes or complain about my shoe choice” (Carlin, 2009, p.152).

References:

Carlin, G. (2009) Last Words, Washington, Free Press.

Hall, E.T. (1973) The Silent Language, London, Anchor.

Otiso, K. M. (2006) Culture and Customs of Uganda, Westport, Greenwood Press.