IDNO

N.18918.ROS

Description

Distant, frontal view, of a Basoga? woman?, wearing a white tunic (possibly a kanzu?) and a white head tie, standing in front of the Busoga Maternity hospital; an oblong, thatched native-style building.

Place

E Africa; Uganda; Busoga District

Cultural Affliation

Basoga

Named Person

Photographer

?Roscoe, John R.

Collector / Expedition

Roscoe, John R. [Mackie Ethnological Expedition, Uganda, 1919 - 1920]

Date

1919 - 1920

Collection Name

Roscoe Collection

Source

Format

Film Negative Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

This negative was kept in an envelope marked C29/77/ by the cataloguer. The envelope was kept in box marked C29/ by the cataloguer.
Previously stored on Shelf 4, in group of 4 wooden boxes numbered 180.

Context: "The people of Busoga who were examined were completely negro in type, though of a somewhat higher development than the Bagesu on Mount Elgon. They were of the same class as the peasants of Kitara or Bunyoro, with broad noses and thick lips. At one time they formed a collection of small independent family groups, whose only connecting link was the intermarriage rendered necessary by the laws of clan exogamy. In later years, however, the Bakitara, or Banyoro, became overlords of the country, and the scattered family groups were united into districts governed by chiefs. The chieftainships were hereditary; but disputes often arose as to which son should inherit, and such questions were settled by the King of Kitara. The people of Busoga called the Bakitara Baduli, and their country, Buduli. Later the Baganda began to encroach upon much of the land which belonged or was subservient to Kitara; and by degrees the whole of Busoga, with the exception of one district, came under the rule of the Kabaka, or king, of Buganda.
The effects of the rule of Kitara are still plainly visible, for the people follow in many ways the customs of the Bakitara.” (Roscoe, J., 1924. The Bagesu and other tribes of the Uganda Protectorate: The Third Part of the Report of the Mackie Ethnological Expedition to Central Africa. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.), p. 97). [ED 13/12/2007]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Elisabeth Deane 13/12/2007]