Celebrating Kitara: A Festival of Culture and Heritage

Theme: “Honoring Our Identity; Celebrating Our Diverse Cultures”

Uganda hosts many cultural events nationwide and regionally, but the Kitara Cultural Festival is special. It’s an annual event dedicated to recognizing and appreciating the unique history and culture of the Kitara region. The theme, “Honoring Our Identity; Celebrating Our Diverse Cultures,” highlights the festival’s purpose: to showcase the many different cultures that make Kitara so rich and unique within Uganda and across Africa.

A Platform for Unity and Exploration:

This festival creates a space where all the people of Kitara can come together to celebrate, appreciate, and learn about the variety of cultures present in their region, alongside their own traditions.

Culture: A Foundation for Growth:

The festival organizers understand that culture plays a vital role in the development of communities and nations. As they say, “Culture is a strong part of people’s lives. It influences our values, hopes and world view.” Because of this importance, culture cannot be ignored.

Focusing on the Next Generation:

A key part of the Kitara Cultural Festival is the school cultural quiz competitions for both primary and secondary students. This gives young people a chance to learn about different cultures and be inspired by their heritage.

Attracting Visitors and Investment:

This cultural celebration comes at an opportune time. The Ministry of Tourism has partnered with China’s Hainan Province, who are interested in bringing tourists to Uganda. For many of these visitors, culture is a major attraction.

Our Mission: A Vibrant Cultural Future:

The organizers, Fair Missions, believe that art and culture are important for social and economic progress, as well as for individual growth. Their vision is to see a thriving arts and culture scene in Kitara that is professional, creative, and contributes to the region’s overall development. Fair Missions is committed to making Kitara a significant center for art and culture in Uganda, guided by values of respect, shared leadership, transparency, accountability, learning, and collaboration.

Year-Round Cultural Engagement:

Throughout the year, various art and cultural groups deliver programs and activities to the Kitara community. These include educational information shared across the region, arts education programs, concerts, events, and other cultural products and services. These groups have also initiated important projects focused on promoting Kitara’s culture.

Discovering the Unique Kitara Region:

Kitara’s cultures are distinct from those in other parts of Uganda. While the rest of the country relies heavily on written information, Kitara has a strong tradition of oral storytelling. Imagine sitting under an ancient tree or around a village fireplace, listening as a storyteller weaves captivating tales with their words. This rich tradition exists alongside art, cultural dance, and music.

Children in Kitara grow up listening to the stories and songs of their elders. They connect with the characters and learn about life’s possibilities through these gentle rhythms and words.

Festival Time:

This annual celebration takes place every April across the different districts of the Kitara region. It highlights the diverse cultures of the people who call Kitara home, showcasing traditional art and culture from the entire region. The festival features live performances of music, dance, theater, folklore, and storytelling.

Event Highlights:

The annual Kitara Cultural Festival aims to showcase the diverse cultures of the Banyakitara people and other communities living in the region through art, music, poetry, and dance, emphasizing culture and social development.

The goals of the festival include:

• Bringing Banyakitara people from across Uganda back to their home region for a joyful reunion focused on local development issues.
• Having a central theme with guest speakers who share important and educational information about culture.
• Providing a space for children to come together, learn about their cultures, and play with each other.
• Remembering the storytelling traditions of their ancestors, who would gather under trees or around fires to share their wisdom and tales – a gift many Banyakitara still possess.

These are just some of the many aims achieved during this special time.

Why This Festival Matters in Kitara:

This cultural gala is important for Kitara for several reasons:

• It offers young people constructive alternatives to potentially harmful entertainment like betting and aimless movie watching, encouraging them to participate in music, dance, drama, sports, crafts, and entrepreneurship.
• It provides a platform for sharing performing arts skills with the talented youth of the Kitara region.
• It allows the region to assess its achievements in music, dance, and drama.
• It helps individuals, groups, families, and communities in Kitara, guided by local leaders, to realize their full potential.
• It facilitates the sharing of practical skills, experiences, and talents for the overall development of the region, presenting a united voice to the rest of the world.
• It connects the youth of the region with their ancestral customs, helping to preserve the Kitara cultural heritage.

Specific Goals:

• To use the performances of various Cultural Troupes to attract large audiences.
• To encourage citizens to actively participate in government policies and programs.
• To educate the community on ways to improve household income in line with Uganda’s Vision 2040.
• To empower young people to start and manage their own income-generating activities, achieve self-reliance, and improve their livelihoods.
• To inform the people of the region about their right to participate in local political leadership and governance.

Festival Activities and Exhibitions:

The festival will feature a wide range of activities and exhibitions, including:

• Storytellers sharing captivating narratives.
• Cultural dance performances showcasing diverse traditions.
• Cultural musicians and artists presenting their talents.
• Craft makers displaying their unique creations.
• Herbalists sharing knowledge of traditional medicines.
• A museum showcasing cultural artifacts.
• Displays of traditional foods and drinks.
• Exhibitions of cultural fashions.
• Portrait artists capturing the essence of Kitara.
• Demonstrations of traditional agricultural practices.
• A cultural quiz competition for schools.

The Competition:

The competition will feature various categories designed to attract talented individuals and groups who can showcase different cultural attributes in their original form. Following a strong mobilization effort, different cultural groups and tribes within the district will be represented by individuals or groups in the following six categories:

• Traditional Dance: Troupes will present original dances lasting 5-8 minutes. Judging will focus on originality, expression of purpose, clarity of message, authenticity of props and costumes, artistry of instruments, vocal talent, organized presentation, and overall quality. Rarely seen but well-presented dances will receive higher scores.
• Folk Song: Solo or group (4-6 minutes) performances are welcome. Solos accompanied by traditional instruments like the omukuri/umuduri, enanga, endingiri, akakyenkye, engoma will be favored, though unaccompanied solos are also accepted. Group songs should be accompanied and dramatic. Judging will consider vocal and instrumental originality and quality, the purpose and clarity of the message, variations and pitch, stage presence, props, and costumes. Folk solos can include songs related to cattle (ebizaano by’ente/amahamba y’inka), worship (ebyeshongoro/ebizina byokuramya/indirimbo y’ogusenga), praise (kusingiza/gusingiza), war (kutabaara/gutabaza), disputes (kutonganirira), harvest (kusharuura/gusaruura), and other social activities. Solos without clear meaning will not proceed beyond the initial stage.
• Rhetoric: This category includes ebyevugo/ibyivugo or emigunju/imivugo (poems) expressing themes like love (imitooma in Rufumbira), victory, supplication, and others.
• Puzzles: Participants will compete in riddles (ebishakuzo/ibisakuzo) and structured challenging puzzles (amahurizo in Rufumbira). Representatives will challenge each other on stage, with those posing unfamiliar but original puzzles and those whose puzzles are difficult to solve earning more marks.
• Modeling: Participants will showcase traditional attire and hairstyles according to their heritage. Original beauty enhancements (neck, arms, legs, markings) will be highly regarded. Clarity in representing different life stages (children, adolescents, singles, married, elderly) is important.
• Exhibition: Participants will display collections of traditional items used in warfare, worship, marriage, politics, agriculture, household activities, and other areas. Judging will focus on originality, accurate explanations of purpose, the art of display, and the communication skills of the exhibition narrator.

Special recognition will be given to participants who can trace their genealogy back to their great-grandfathers, with the longest (subjectively authenticated) lineage being awarded.

Different Cultural Troupes will organize this event to promote unity among stakeholders in development, leadership, business, religion, and recreation, fostering connections with development partners.

The month-long event in April will culminate towards the end of the month. The process involves identifying participating groups and sponsors by various Cultural Troupes and stakeholders.

This includes training group leaders on festival competition tips and designing the competition roadmap. Competitions will start at the sub-county and constituency levels in early April, leading to district finals towards the end of the month.

Collaboration and Sponsorship Benefits:

Various Cultural Troupes, with their established audiences and unique artistic formats, offer sponsors a valuable opportunity to market and promote their services and products to a large gathering, ensuring a return on investment.

Areas for Sponsorship:

• Mobilization through radio, print, and outdoor advertising.
• Printing of banners, bandanas, posters, t-shirts, flyers, caps, and tickets.
• Stage management, including the public address system and lighting.
• Transportation for performers and the brass band.
• Venue and decorations.
• Drinks and refreshments.
• Prizes and trophies for participants.
• Artists’ fees.
• Tents and seating arrangements.
• Orientation meeting for participating groups.