Can the Batwa survive in “modern”Uganda?
The Batwa believe that any disease can be treated by marijuana and regular sex.
By Henry Lubenga
Like many other rural Ugandan communities, the Batwa people, who inhabit the western district of Bundibugyo bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, have suffered from the effects of the political instability and rebellion that have engulfed the area for so many years.
The Batwa population has fallen drastically over the past 10 years and is currently estimated at only 76. They live in Ntandi Forest along the Fort Portal-Bundibugyo road. Previously, they lived deep in what is now Semliki National Park, from where they were relocated to Ntandi.
The Batwa are short, averaging slightly over a metre tall. The king of the Batwa, Geoffrey Nzito, says the move to Ntandi has forced them to change their lifestyle radically. Their traditional lifestyle involves hunting and gathering, but they have now been forced to adopt farming, which is “not easy.”
The Batwa also claim that their community is now becoming diluted as a result of people trying to have children with their women.
Two years ago, according to Nzito, some people came and built them “better shelters” to replace the small huts that they make for themselves. But the houses were no good, Nzito says, because they had jiggers. And the Batwa preferred their huts to the iron-roofed houses.
Astanjona Bikene, the 65-year-old mother of the king, also complains of being forced to wear clothes. “Wearing clothes all the time makes the body dirty, as there is no fresh air”, she says. As a result, the clothes given to the women are instead cut into short skirts which they wrap around the waistline, leaving the breasts exposed.
The Batwa are reclusive in nature, and relate as little as possible with people in surrounding areas. The king says that this is because the majority of the people outside their communities “have diseases”, which the Batwa fear they could catch.
They also believe that all diseases can be treated by marijuana and regular sex. When asked about Aids, the king smiles and answers that it’s a disease meant for other people, not the Batwa.
Nzito says they have been affected by people “sniffing” around them. “It’s true that sleeping with a Batwa is in itself medicine, and that is why we hardly fall sick”, he says. This has attracted non-Batwa to start sleeping with their women. At the moment, they have children born to people from as far away as Acholi.
They believe everything they need in life is found in the forest from which they were expelled. Indeed, their population has fallen rapidly ever since. In the past two years alone, Nzito says, they have lost over 20 tribesmen. But the 27-year-old king says his people are determined to keep their culture alive.
Funerals are a communal affair. When a Twa dies, the road is closed and motorists have to pay a fee to be allowed to pass. The Batwa king says they are forced to do this to raise money to give their departed a decent burial.
Before marriage, the groom’s family pays bride price to the family of the woman. This consists of at least one kilogramme of marijuana, a male dog and waragi, a local gin.
The Batwa are bitter about the government’s failure to help them. Even though they are the smallest community in the country, two of their tribesmates, Steven Wandera and Grace Malutu, served in the National Resistance Army before it was transformed into the Uganda People’s Defence Forces.
Wandera, who retired with the rank of corporal, was in the 4th battalion. He retired from the UPDF last year after serving for 16 years.
Wandera says he was trained at Semliki Military School, after which he was deployed in the 3rd battalion, moving later to the 4th battalion. Malutu was trained at Kabamba Military School and served for 14 years.
Though the Batwa live in the bush, they have tried to obtain some education. Nzito, who schooled up to Primary 7, is the most educated person in the community and wants to go for further education.
Many who do not want to go to school, however, claim that the classrooms are not friendly to the Batwa. They have iron-sheet roofs, which are noisy when it rains. The classrooms also have a lot of jiggers. If the government is interested in assisting them, it should build special classrooms for them.
The source: The East African, Kenya (www.nationaudio.com/News/EastAfrican/Current/index.htm)