Abstract

This article reports on a study that investigated the namadu healing ritual of the Bagwere people of Uganda. The ritual involves drumming, singing and dancing, as well as sacrificing chicks, birds and animals towards gaining spiritual, emotional and physical healing of afflicted clan members. This music and dance mediated ritual is no longer commonly performed in African indigenous communities, and has not previously received scholarly attention. The current study sought to find out the deeper meaning of this indigenous heritage; what modern society could learn from it; and its viability in a contemporary context. Ethnographic data was obtained through observation, interviews, focus group discussions, and analysis of extant videos and photographs. The findings revealed that the namadu ritual embeds cultural identity, and increases agency in communities. Further, the music and dance have been re-invented into a royal and social entertainment, and a cultural festival for the Bagwere Cultural Union (BCU) and communities, respectively.

摘要

本文报告了一项研究，该研究调查了乌干达巴格韦人的纳马杜康复仪式。仪式涉及击鼓，唱歌和跳舞，以及牺牲小鸡，鸟类和动物以使受灾的氏族成员获得精神，情感和身体上的康复。这种音乐和舞蹈介导的仪式不再在非洲土著社区中普遍使用，并且以前没有受到学术界的关注。当前的研究试图找出这种土著遗产的更深层含义。现代社会可以从中学到什么？及其在当代背景下的生存能力。人种学数据是通过观察，访谈，焦点小组讨论以及现有视频和照片的分析获得的。调查结果表明，纳马杜仪式嵌入了文化认同，并增加了社区的代理权。此外，音乐和舞蹈已被重新发明为皇家娱乐和社交娱乐，分别被改编为巴格里文化联合会（BCU）和社区的文化节。