Ssenyonga Oscar Uganda

Ssenyonga Oscar of Uganda

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Continuing with our research on the Ugandan practical norm and tribal dances we will start with

  MAGGUNJU DANCE

maggunju is a dance performed by the people known as Baganda who live in the central region of Uganda. This region covers the districts of Mpigi, Wakiso, Masaka, Mubende, Kiboga, Luwero, and Mukono. Amaggunju has a royal significance in the history of the Kingdom of Buganda. Amaggunju was a result of the people’s search for ideas to entertain an infant king, Kabaka Mulondo, who ascended the throne of Buganda while still in his mother’s womb. This followed the passing of his father, who had left no son to take after him. It is important to note that while Buganda is a patrilineal culture, the Kabaka is an exceptional case which takes up the mother’s clan.

Mulondo’s mother was Namulonda, after whom the throne of Buganda was named as her reward for carrying the king in her womb until he was born. And when the baby king was born, he found one of the taboos for Buganda’s kings was that they were never expected to cry no matter the circumstance. This is the reason behind the Buganda custom that kings are never allowed to attend burial ceremonies, even for their closest relative or parents.

maggunju was a dance that resulted in the quest of ensuring that the infant king was constantly entertained. One clan, the Obutiko (“mushroom”) clan was assigned the duty of dancing in order for the king never to cry until he grew up to fully understand his duties as the Kabaka of Buganda. The dance amaggunju is said to have derived its name from the infant king’s maternal uncle , Gunju, who was assigned the responsibility to entertain this infant king.

Ssenyonga Oscar Uganda

 

I,m from a land of 46 dances, Which means i have been made by these 46 practical norms I,m part part of all these Dances,each one is part of me,

Now i know your asking yourself how,I,m going to share each Dance and why we were practicing that particular dance at hat Particular time and why we should keep practicing it or not, I Will start with what you call Uganda, and what you call Ugandans,

Ugandans can be classified into several broad linguistic groups: the Bantu-speaking majority, who live in the central, southern and western parts of the country; and non-Bantu speakers who occupy the eastern, northern and northwestern portions of the country (who may in turn be sub-divided into Nilotic and Central Sudanic peoples). The first category includes the large and historically highly centralized kingdom of Buganda, the smaller western Ugandan kingdoms of Bunyoro, Nkore and Toro, and the Busoga states to the east of Buganda. The peoples in the second category include the Iteso, Langi, Acholi, Alur, Karamojong, Jie, Madi, and Lugbara in the north and a number of other smaller societies in the eastern part of the country

Bantu-speakers entered southern Uganda probably by the end of the first millennium a.d. and developed centralized kingdoms by the fifteenth or the sixteenth century. At independence, Bantu-language speakers made up approximately two thirds of the population. Their languages are classified as Eastern Lacustrine and Western Lacustrine Bantu in reference to the populous region surrounding East Africa's Great Lakes (Victoria, Kyoga, Edward, and Albert in Uganda; Kivu and Tanganyika to the south). Eastern Lacustrine peoples include the Baganda (whose language is Luganda), the Basoga, the Bagisu, and many smaller societies in Uganda

Fembi by Oscar Ssenyonga

Within Us is a piece about relationships choreographed and danced by Ssenyonga Oscar. It’s a piece that brings out a more tender side of the dancer, while maintaining the standard of performance art beyond pure dance. It begins with the dancer laying on the floor with a female mannequin and its various parts upstage. The first movements are clearly the dancer remembering the touch of that woman, who is now just a shadow, during happier times. The track playing is an acoustic love song. The pieces of the mannequin laying on the floor project the pieces of the past as the dancer reminisces.

As the dancer moves to an upright position, we are shifted from remembering to an attempted reconstructing of the love they once shared, as the dancer attempts to assemble the deconstructed mannequin. The soundtrack switches to live spoken word, which hits home the point as it paints an audio picture of the situation.
The next segment shows us the response of the woman. The soundtrack changes to a haunting female spoken work, effectively shifting the mood and painting a picture of the two sides that there are to every story. The struggle of two trying to become one is reflected in the variety of movement—from stagnation to fighting, static to vibrant, as we journey with them. The true intertwining of sound and movement, as well as the fusion of different styles, brings out the kaleidoscope of emotions in any relationship.


The music and words then cut out completely, leaving the audience with only a soundtrack of vigorous breathing, though the movements would appear to be anything but a struggle, rather a natural outpouring of the dancer’s heart.
Suddenly and effortlessly, as rope is whipped out of seemingly nowhere, as the soundtrack changes to an a acapella hymn for a stark contrast with the morbid symbol of the rope. The rope takes on a life of its own as it moves from punishing the dancer to punishing the female, until the female spoken word returns in objection. Finally, the two—dancer and mannequin—end together on the floor, expressing the sentiment that no one escapes a failed relationship unscathed.