Culture of Uganda

The Culture of Uganda

The Republic of Uganda, located in the heart of Africa, is known as one of the friendliest African countries. It is located in East Africa, surrounded by Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania (Wikipedia, 2006). Uganda was established in 1914 with help from the United Kingdom; however, in 1962 Uganda became an independent nation. Currently, Uganda is ruled by President Yoweri Museveni, who has been the President of Uganda since 1986. When President Museveni first came into power, Uganda was known as one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy had completely collapsed, leaving the people of Uganda in despair. However, since 1987 the government has worked tirelessly to implement an economic reform. By 1992, progress was seen and Uganda was back on its way to being a stable country. Since then, there has been a steady incline of the Ugandan economy, and a 44% drop in poverty rates (Tijssen, 2005). All of these struggles that Uganda has faced have lead to the development of a unique culture. In order to be prepared to travel to Uganda, one must first become accustomed to the culture of Uganda, which includes the people, the economy, the religions, and the way of life. Understanding all of these things will help any American traveler to be prepared to enter a totally new and different culture.

The people of Uganda are extremely diverse, and cannot be classified into one group. The people of Uganda come from many different cultural groups, and speak over thirty different languages. There are five main categories of cultural people groups who reside in Uganda; the Bantu, the Nilo Hamites, the Luo, the Sudanic people, and the Pygmoid people. The Bantu make up 50% of Uganda's population, and they live in the southern part of the country. The next group of people is the Nilo Hamites, and they live in the north, east, and northeastern parts of the country. This group is thought to be descendants of Ethiopia, who were forced to migrate to Uganda. The Luo people also live in the north and east parts of the country, but they migrated from Sudan. The Sudanic people form another group of Ugandan residents. Their origin can also be traced from Sudan. The last group of people is called the Pygmoid people, and these are the closest surviving relatives of the stone Age Man. These people live in western Uganda along the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo. There are also subgroups of people in each of these main groups, which allow Uganda to be a truly diverse country with many origins. However, there has been some conflict among the people that has led to many wars and rebellion (Enter Uganda, 2001).

The economy of Uganda is dominated by agriculture; over 80% of the workforce is employed in the agriculture business. There are many different crops that are exported from Uganda, which include tobacco, tea, sugar cane, and cocoa. In addition to these crops, there are large amounts of copper and cobalt found in the mines of the country. These products bring in most of Uganda's revenue; however, the majority of the revenue that the country makes goes towards paying off the debt inquired in previous years (Wikipedia, 2006) Since the main source of income for Uganda is agriculture, there are many people who work as farmers, growing crops and selling things. Although this is good for Uganda's economy, the pay for working in the agricultural industry is not very much, which leads to poverty in many towns and villages.

The main religion of Uganda is Christianity, which makes up 85% of the population according to the National Census of 2002. There are several different denominations that are represented in Uganda's Christian population including Catholic, the Church of Uganda (a local Anglican church), Pentecostals, and Seventh-Day Adventists. The second religion of Uganda is Islam, which represents 12% of the population. Although there appears to be a large number of Christians in the country, there is still a need for Christian missionaries to travel to these countries to teach more about the Christian lifestyle (Wikipedia, 2006).

There are several things to remember when visiting Uganda in order to not insult or offend the native people there. First, it is important to remember that women are treated very differently in Uganda than in America. Women's roles in Uganda are subordinate to those of men. The women are taught to obey the men of society, and show them the utmost respect. Women are expected to take care of the home and raise the children. This means that the main source of income comes from the man, which also contributes to the people of Uganda's level of poverty (About.com, 2006). Many women in Uganda marry; however, there is a lot of unfaithfulness that occurs in Ugandan marriages. It is not uncommon for men to have mistresses