Although Cosmas had to leave us, Sam stayed for lunch at the Guest House. We had fried plaintain, rice, chicken, rice and beans in sauce. We all agreed the pineapple was the best. Mmmmm!
We went for a very hot, sunny walk down the road with Sam. Just as we decided not to go too far (we were too tired) we heard drums nearby. The cathedral, which is right next to the Guest House, has a number of buildings--one of them is a tall, round building with a stage and sloped floor inside. That’s where the sounds were coming from, so of course we had to go and investigate…
Sam asked if we were allowed in (we were) and we sat on some empty chairs at the back (white resin lawn chairs). WOW! Turns out it was a competition for youth in all the surrounding parishes—there was drama and dance, although we had missed the poetry. They were all built on the theme of “See ye first the kingdom of God”.
The drama was amazing. It was all in Lugandan, but we understood what was going on so easily. The youth were amazing actors--I was so impressed with their openness and self-confidence. The first play was about a girl in high school who made partying and a boyfriend her priority, instead of God. But then she got pregnant and everyone was very upset. The poor girl was so upset she cried real tears! (Karen said it made her want to rush the stage and tell her everything was OK, but decided against it)
The dancing was even more amazing. It was traditional African dancing with colourful costumes. With each performance there were drummers, a choir and dancers. Awesome, says Karen. The biggest group had 25 singers plus 6 drummers and 12 dancers. The singers all wore matching dresses—the same style that Dr. Joyce used to wear to church sometimes. The dancers all wore similar red skirts with black fur on top at the back (like an old fashioned bustle). The men and women all wore white t-shirts (was this modesty?) underneath short tops. Some also had bells around their ankles.
It’s almost impossible to describe the intensity of the music and dancing. The dancing was so fast and frenetic. Karen was a little disappointed that the drums all but drowned out the singing! Steve said that he could never dance like that—and the rest of us don’t really want to see him try…
The heat and smells of the room didn’t bother us at all. Anne was busy making friends with a woman from one of the churches (who sings in her church’s adult choir). She thanked us for coming and made sure we stayed to the end to see her church’s dance group. The other women she was with kept looking over at us, so Steve gave them the thumbs up. They seemed to like that we were enjoying their youth.
We were exhausted by the time the last group had performed (actually, Anne drifted off during the drama performance. Steve says he had to catch her to keep her from falling over). But what a wonderful afternoon, and all by accident!
We went for a very hot, sunny walk down the road with Sam. Just as we decided not to go too far (we were too tired) we heard drums nearby. The cathedral, which is right next to the Guest House, has a number of buildings--one of them is a tall, round building with a stage and sloped floor inside. That’s where the sounds were coming from, so of course we had to go and investigate…
Sam asked if we were allowed in (we were) and we sat on some empty chairs at the back (white resin lawn chairs). WOW! Turns out it was a competition for youth in all the surrounding parishes—there was drama and dance, although we had missed the poetry. They were all built on the theme of “See ye first the kingdom of God”.
The drama was amazing. It was all in Lugandan, but we understood what was going on so easily. The youth were amazing actors--I was so impressed with their openness and self-confidence. The first play was about a girl in high school who made partying and a boyfriend her priority, instead of God. But then she got pregnant and everyone was very upset. The poor girl was so upset she cried real tears! (Karen said it made her want to rush the stage and tell her everything was OK, but decided against it)
The dancing was even more amazing. It was traditional African dancing with colourful costumes. With each performance there were drummers, a choir and dancers. Awesome, says Karen. The biggest group had 25 singers plus 6 drummers and 12 dancers. The singers all wore matching dresses—the same style that Dr. Joyce used to wear to church sometimes. The dancers all wore similar red skirts with black fur on top at the back (like an old fashioned bustle). The men and women all wore white t-shirts (was this modesty?) underneath short tops. Some also had bells around their ankles.
It’s almost impossible to describe the intensity of the music and dancing. The dancing was so fast and frenetic. Karen was a little disappointed that the drums all but drowned out the singing! Steve said that he could never dance like that—and the rest of us don’t really want to see him try…
The heat and smells of the room didn’t bother us at all. Anne was busy making friends with a woman from one of the churches (who sings in her church’s adult choir). She thanked us for coming and made sure we stayed to the end to see her church’s dance group. The other women she was with kept looking over at us, so Steve gave them the thumbs up. They seemed to like that we were enjoying their youth.
We were exhausted by the time the last group had performed (actually, Anne drifted off during the drama performance. Steve says he had to catch her to keep her from falling over). But what a wonderful afternoon, and all by accident!
1 comment:
Wow! Thanks for including all the details - I don't know if I could remember all that stuff to write down later. I love you guys - keep writing and making the most of your experiences in Uganda!
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