Roots

One day, I went to a traditional function for the last funeral rites of a dear friend . It made me reflect even further on what makes us who we are and where we come from. These functions are extremely important to the Baganda for they symbolize the end of mourning for the dearly departed, when an heir is presented to the public and subsequently installed. The things that are done are not physically mind boggling or earth moving.

The heir is given a spear, a stick and some other symbols of leadership; with the function carried out by someone who has the authority to carry out the ritual. In this case, it was a youngish man wearing a kanzu underneath a black jacket. A knotted bark cloth was draped over his right shoulder and one could see that it was very old.

He said that it was the same one used to install his father as the heir to his grandfather; emphasized the symbolism of having to look after it and noted that it was over 50-years-old or more than he was. He explained all this to the young man being installed and draped him with a similarly knotted cloth – but one could see that this one was new. He told him to look after it and take his duty seriously. Then he gave him a spear and explained the symbolism of the spear points which I will not go into.

The point I am reflecting over is that this is what makes us who we are, making it so that the stem may have a canopy. The stem is being a Muganda and being a Muganda automatically informs everybody that knows the geography of Africa that I am an African – since Baganda are found only in Africa. Not only that; but I am from East Africa and a Ugandan at that.

I feel that I cannot claim to be a Ugandan while denying my fundamental roots. I claim to be a Ugandan because I treasure my Muganda roots while at the same time, I reassure the roots of being a Muganda. I treasure the roots of the clan and the family that I come from.

There are those that claim not to identify with the roots from which they hail because they look at the bigger picture of being “humanitarian”; believing themselves to be people of the world, or Africans in general. They do not want to be reminded of being Kikuyu, Yoruba, Zulu or Baganda.

They are misguided because in a forest, however much one may admire it, if you think you are going to take care of the canopy of the forest but ignore the stems of the individual trees, you will not have a forest for long. But someone who takes care of the stems of the trees will eventually have a canopy without even bothering to take care of it.

To make the branches of the tree strong, you must take care of the stem and the roots. I know what I am talking about because I do it regularly with the fruit, ornamental and forest trees that I have planted. I nourish the trees by depositing manure for the roots and the stem, knowing that it will result in a forest. Without good nourishment, I would not have the fruits that I want to harvest and eat. For the ornamental trees, I would not have the beauty unless I looked after the stem and made sure the roots were well nourished.

Going back to that function of installing an heir, it strengthened my pleasure to be a Muganda, a Ugandan and an African. This function could have taken place in London, Boston, etc; for It is not the location of the function that is important, but the symbolism of the function itself.

It is this symbolism that informs the viewer who you are fundamentally; where you come from and the people you identify with. Once you identify yourself with your roots, believe in yourself and love yourself, this to me is the road to loving your neighbour. You begin to respect your neighbour’s roots and understand where they come from. You can then start comparing your roots as separate individuals.

This is when people begin to love rather than fight or criticize somebody as being inferior to them. Saying: “You are inferior to me”, “I am superior to you”, “You should believe in what I believe in”, “You should listen to what I say and do what I do” – this is the road to the non-stop conflicts going on around the world.

People have stopped loving themselves and therefore cannot love others as they love themselves. You cannot love yourself without appreciating where you come from, respecting your roots and respecting those things that define you. You cannot take time to learn of those things that define other people that come from different roots.

We need to understand the differences among the people with whom we may be rubbing shoulders and share a common flag; people with whom we share a common continent. Only then that can we expect to have peace and freedom around the world. Think about it.

How much does it take to love yourself? And how do you define loving yourself? Think about it. Reflect on it. Take the time to ask yourself:

· “What defines me?”

· “Where do I come from?”

· “What defines that person I work with who speaks a different language?”

· “What defines that person of a different skin colour who comes from a different continent?”

Learn about that person and share the symbolism of your roots. You may be surprised how much that may create a bond between those you thought of as aliens and did not want to be part of your life.

Think about it.