Países beneficiario: Uganda

Resumen:

Bigwala music and dance practiced by the Basoga people from eastern Uganda were inscribed by the Committee on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2012. Only two surviving master players are said to exist together with a handful of trainees. The performance is given by a set of five of more gourd trumpets each producing a single tone and blown in hocket to produce a melody, accompanied with singing, drumming and dancing; singers and dancers move in circular formation around the instrument players. The sense of identity and belonging as well as diverse issues of their society’s history have been passed on to the younger generations through the performance of Bigwala, which has also been used to mark the important events of the Busoga kingdom such as the enthronement of the king or royal burials. Because of the diminishing number of practitioners, however, Bigwala is not enacted as often as it used to be in the communities. The communities, notably village leaders, local council leaders and the Busoga Kingdom, are concerned by the situation and wish to join hands to safeguard their living heritage. The proposed project aims at ensuring the viability of Bigwala music and dance by creating the environment favourable for its continuation. The National Council of Folklorists of Uganda (NACOFU) will spearhead the work of the project management committee in organizing training workshops, a Bigwala festival as well as activities related to documentation and information sharing. It is hoped that nine groups of young people will have gained the skills to perform Bigwala and to produce the instruments associated with the practice. The festival and the documented information with audio-visual recordings would also contribute to raising awareness of the importance of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage among the public at large.

Noticias y actividades:

• 2016-06-01 – Workshop in Bigwala and drum playing and Bigwala dance
• 2015-08-24 – Peacebuilding, natural disasters mitigation and indigenous communities supported by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund

:

00749 - Bigwala, gourd trumpet music and dance of the Busoga Kingdom in Uganda (7.COM, inscribed/selected/approuved)

14/09/2016 - 19/09/2017 – Safeguarding the knowledge systems associated with traditional Fijian (iTaukei) house (Bure) construction methods in Navala village, Fiji01/03/2016 - 31/07/2017 – Strengthening sub-regional cooperation and national capacities in seven Southern African countries for implementing the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Part II