The Oral Tradition of the Baganda of Uganda

Book excerpt: The Baganda people of Uganda enjoy an extraordinarily rich oral tradition, which serves as a window into their culture, history, and experiences as a people. This comprehensive, multigenre work is both a study of the Baganda people's oral literature--framed within the broader contexts of the African oral tradition genre, modern African literature, and global literary studies--and a collection of representative stories. Cultural explanations throughout the text explore the living culture of this unique East African nation. Particular attention is paid to the history of Uganda, thus placing the oral tradition within its proper context. An appendix offers sample Luganda songs.