What makes Ntungamo tick?

Why would one drive for six hours all the way from Kampala city to Nsenyi Cultural Centre (NCC) in Ntungamo district in Uganda's west?

My curiosity sees me embark on the journey to find out. And now, after spending 24 hours there, I am spoiled for answers.

There is the undulating landscape, the story of former President Idi Amin’s war with neighbouring Tanzania, gardens of bananas, valleys, birds, Ankole cows and culture.

I will not mention the piping hot cups of coffee, pineapple juice, the cool breeze and lessons on how to keep the love embers flaming.

Upon arrival at NCC, general manager Moses Sinayobe receives us smiling from ear to ear.

 “Karibu!" he welcomes us to the facility.

He is quite the engaging type, and with that, it is unsurprising he is keen to know the developments happening elsewhere.

“How was the journey? You must be pretty tired and hungry. Is the sun shining or is the rain falling [in Kampala]?

“I heard about the submerged Lwera bridge on your way. Has it been fixed?”

“What do you have that we do not have here?"

A milk-white towel to cleanse palms and the face makes for a good, calming start after travelling some 370 kilometres from Kampala.

The nearest town to this village is Kitwe. Strangers will say “Osibiregye” if they want to find out how your day is.

Culturally, you do not inform your host, in advance, when visiting.

“That is why the lady preparing the food splits the first finger of the banana peeled into two,” confides Sinayobe. “This makes the food bigger like baking powder does the flour. It is magic to make enough portions for all diners in place at serving time.”

In the company of tour operators, guides and drivers, we see the sunset and the moon shyly pop out of the horizon. Dinner is white rice, banana fingers, potatoes and vegetables. A bowl of thick and shimmering goat meat crowns the variety of sauces.

“We have to be up early to master how cows are milked in Ankole,” announces Sinayobe.

With a chilled beer and in the company of Geoffrey Baluku holding a bottle of gin, I agree that either beverage tastes different while in Kitwe compared to doing it in Kampala. The juicy contents slide down the throat smoothly.

A lady destined to her husband's home symbolically leaves home with Ebyanzi. Photo by Titus Kakembo

The sound of insects and the chirping of birds audibly encourages one to appreciate nature.

Milking

The following morning, the voice of a young lady rings and penetrates my door: “Get out of bed. It is time to go milking! Come with a shawl. It is pretty cold.”

Moments later, my walk into the kraal turns into a memorable experience.

Calves and their mothers try to outcompete each other at mooing. One shoves its head hard on the udder. Another one sprints swiftly towards the call of its mother.

A herdsman fondles the back of the biggest bull in the kraal. He proceeds to whisper endearing words to it and picks a fly whisk.

“This and the fire are one way of keeping the irritating flies away from the animals,” says the herdsman Joseph Owesigire.

“These cows understand my audio and body language. They keep a distance when I am hungry. They are calm when I play music while milking them.”

Meanwhile, the master hut is a dome of a neatly grass-thatched hut.

The interior is partitioned into a sitting room. There is a kitchen where ghee is churned and milk is stored in ebyanzi (gourds). Eshabwe, a popular delicacy, takes skilling and patience to perfect

An Ankole traditional family hut with a partition for the girls and the family heads.Photo by Titus Kakembo

Grooming

The Banyakole have relationship counsellors who coach young girls (interns) for three to twelve months before they go to their marital homes or bring a suitor to kuhingira (propose).

“A typical Ankole man wants his spouse chubby, curvy and shimmering," reveals Sinayobye.

"The milk diet makes the intern’s skin texture tender to the touch. While away, she is draped in omushanana (sari) to preserve her looks for the groom.

"There is this shwenkazi (pot with four eyes). It is stuffed with some special grass. The bride strips and the smoke cloud engulfs her for three to five minutes. This is a check for body odours.”

The girl is taught entalire (how to talk to her spouse) in tender tones and contests his view politely and in private.

There is a way an Ankole lady is supposed to sit and walk with grace like a giraffe. Beads in intimate body parts are a compulsion.

The men also have a horn stuffed with a scent applied in the evening after showering. As the sun goes down, either party sit together and chat about how the day was.  

“This lifestyle is what made divorce rare in the past,” sums up Sinayobye.

“The menu makes the girls pretty to the extent that tribal intermarriages are competing for spouse in Ankole. Cousins used to and still do marry each other in here.”

Nsenyi is the perfect place for a honeymoon, office retreat and tourism for urban folks that have no idea of rural life. There are single and double rooms. Organic food lacks words in English to describe the way it tastes.

If you have not been to Kitwe in Ntungamo district, now you know what you are missing.