Cultural+Norms+and+Values


 * Cultural Norms and Values and Holidays **

Marriage - Marriage is highly valued and has many traditions that must be upheld. The first element is the __**Kwanjula**__ which is when the bride to be introduces her future husband to her family. The bride must pick one aunt to be the Ssenga (official aunt), which is a very high honor. Then a letter is to be written from the groom to the bride's family asking to marry her. The next step is for a bride price to be decided. Meetings are arranged to confirm details about the wedding. The groom must also bring many fruits and vegetables. However, it can not be egg plants (if egg plant is brought, the groom may be fined or denied allowance of marriage). There must be bread, sugar, salt, soap, paraffin, cooking oil, curry powder, sugar and other items. The groom must also buy certificates, one of which being a marriage certificate. The male has to give the father in-law, mother in-law, Ssengas, brother in-laws each an envelope with money. http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/daily/heritage.asp?ID=378

Women's Roles - Women were expected to serve any man around them, they were even expected to kneel when talking to a man. Women were more respected, however. Women could be religious leaders; some women even lead revolts that caused the overthrowing a male dominated society. Women were capable of owning land on their own. Some responsibilities that women had were taking care of children and in more recent Uganda, women also helped out with the cash cropping. When males marries more then one women, he would sometimes give the oldest wife "male status" and she was allowed to act equal to any male. http://countrystudies.us/uganda/34.htm

Religion - Originally, Islam was the major religion of Uganda. During colonization, Christianity spread from the French and the Protestant religion was spread from the British. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/612597/Uganda/37606/Religion

Food - People of Uganda usually only have lunch and supper; breakfast is usually a cup of tea. Almost all people of Uganda grow and make their own food. Uganda has a wide variety of food such as bananas, millet bread, sweet potatoes, chicken and beef stews, freshwater fish, white potatoes, yams, corn, cabbage, pumpkin, tomatoes, millet, peas, sorghum, beans, peanuts, goat meat, milk oranges, papayas, lemons, and pineapples. The food is always prepared by the women and is prepared over an "open wood fire". The kitchen was usually not connected to the rest of the house.

Working - In 1990, 8.5 million people in Uganda were working. 85% of people in Uganda worked in agriculture, 4% in industry and 10% worked in "the services sector" (i.e sales clerks, chefs, real estate) Family Life - In 1990, the average amount of children that a mother would have was over seven kids. There was rarely any planning of how many children and the more the better. The male children were more educated then the girls. At the age of 12, boys no longer went into the kitchen; however, families almost always ate together. http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/Uganda.html

Major Holidays ** Independence Day: October 9 Liberation Day: January 26 International Women's Day: March 8 Labor Day: May 1 National Hero's Day: June 9

Reaction: The cultural values and norms are pretty common as to other countries within Africa; however, I was shocked at how much respect that women received from men. The fact that a women could be equal to a man is surprising when compared to the idea that most people had about women in the past. Even though women had to get permission from a man to be equal to him, it is still a huge step for women. Another aspect of life in Uganda that was surprising is how families were so close. They ate together and even farmed together.