Videos by slystonester

3rd January 2003, I attended the funeral rite of the old man called Bondet 'Sweet' Petro in lower Kaptanya area. The late was over 100 years. There were more than 150 guests, many children and grandchildren, clansmen and relatives including the LC5 chair person Mr. Chelimo in that time. Young men of family members of the late dug the grave girls and young lady sang gospels with reverend (a man with parasol) supervision. This kind of death of very old man is not necessarily sad occasion; people call it "sweet death".

January 2003, in a research village of Sabiny society, lower Kaptanya area on Mt. Elgon, eastern Uganda. A lady and girls, they are my sisters and their friend, are smearing the wall of new grass-thatched house (kota ap suswok). They smear with the mixture of mad, water and cow-dung so that the wall become smooth won't crack roughly. I asked them the pronunciation of their Sabiny vocabulary (Kupsabiny) of 'smear house', whether 'mol kot' or 'maal kot', they taught me the right one is 'maal (smear) kot (house) '. It was joyful work, sometimes girls danced like crazy. We call this condition as 'nori-nori' in Japanese. Back music from the radio-cassette was my favourite disc of Neil Young !

Here is a canteen (dukaet) in a village of Sabiny on Mt. Elgon, eastern Uganda. This is the typical style of the canteen in the villages on Mt. Elgon, they sell sukaaruk (sugar), musiondet (salt), maitya udo (cooking oil), maitya taarit (paraffin for the ramp), soboniondet (soap), makarendaanuk (some tablets) and so on. We can see tomatoes in front, and in the container of 'NOMI' and 'Cow Boy', there were dried maize grain. I visited this canteen on the way back from my grandmother's relatives (kap-gogo) to my village (where I slept in my days of field research). A girl-baby on the table is the daughter of this shopkeeper (on the right hand). A lady on left hand, the neighbours of the shopkeeper, tried to give a piece of bread to the baby.　　Bread is commercial product from outside so it is somehow popular as souvenir in this society. I bought it in this canteen and I gave small share to this little friend. " Yam magatyandet, gogo (Eat bread, baby) ". Jan 2004, lower...

In December 2003, Kampala. I glanced this location from a window of the building where I stayed. Government documents tell us the fomal name of this market as St. Balikuddembe Market, but I have never heard that name from people. Now that Nakivubo channel, which runs front of the market we can see, is now fenced. A lorry (Fuso) were just crossing the Nakivubo Place (Allen Rd), DJ advertised some event on the platform.

In December 2003, Kampala. Young ladies liked photos, they requested me to be taken their images many times, but they did not like taken in movies, I don't know why. A lady in a red shirt is the one who peel matooke in another movie, a lady who running away to somewhere was my Luganda teacher, she gave me Ganda name "Mukasa". They were workers of a Hotel just near Old Taxi Park, but are no longer there. The Hotel changed manager around 2006 and now again the new manager is going to sell to a new tenant, I have heard from one of the workers.

These are all my friends, some of them are brothers and some are relatives and neighbours. And first of all, those little friends were the best teachers for me, a student of anthropology, in my first days of field research. I always thank them very much, they are here and there in villages, anytime made some fun and cheered me up. In this movie, they challenged to understand what's "another type of picture (pikutaanuk arak)", movie. While I stayed there for the first years, that was around 2000, some of them were still babies or even not there, but now they have grownup and became well-known village members. This movie was taken when I re-visited lower Kaptanya in October 2007. I love them all.

In February 2004, on Mt. Elgon, eastern UGANDA. Girls and a few ladies are doing practice of gospel songs after their Sunday service. They belong to one of East African Pentecostal sects named 'Body of Christ'. The mud-wall iron sheet-roofed house behind them is their church in the area, Kaptanya.

In February 2004, on Mt. Elgon, eastern UGANDA. This is the first ploughing work of maize field before rainy season. Ploughing is the work for men (karimandet ako bondet), and weeding is the work for women (korget ako cheshet) on the other. One handles plough, while the other sings and whips oxen. He sings the names of oxen and encourages them. We can hear some of the names such as 'Kongony' or 'Nyundo'. This movie was taken in the area called Kaptanya.

In December 2003, at Owino Market, Kampala. While I stayed in Kampala, I took accommodation near Old Taxi Park, there is the biggest local market in Kampala, Owino Market. I used to take breakfast at the market in every morning, around a half past seven. Cheap and good dishes are available. I was famous as a strange customer of the stand of Mrs. Nakaunde. These people in this film were some of the neighbours of Mrs. Nakaunde at the market. The girl called Khadija was a primary school student, she helped her mother working the market while in her holidays. A young lady tasted pawpaw, another one peels some root crop. I thought that was yam, but some children who saw it through the monitor said "Awaata muhogo (She's removing cassava ! )". My little friend Khadija requested me "Kandabe (Show it to me ! ) ". (# thanx for Luganda translation by MD)

In December 2003, the grand floor in a Hotel I stayed just near Old Taxi Park, Kampala. Two lady staffs were peeling matooke (bananas) in dining kitchen. Matooke is a staple food in a south-central region of this country where those major ethnic groups such as Ganda, Soga and so on. They peel matooke, then boil and steam. A lady in front accused me "Njakukuba ! (I will slap you okay?)". A man said "Akuli buzi akulaba, kyokola kyonna laba a kilaba (He sees you, anything you do !)". It was happy hours before lunchtime. (# thanx for Luganda translation by MD)