Of extended families (Okwebuga)


  1. It is at a traditional marriage ceremony. All villagers and well wishers have gathered at the bride groom's father to celebrate and make merry.
    The program of rituals that stared at least three months ago is still rolling out. At this point in time the young bride groom has been given all the gifts due to him including a spear to protect his family. He is now an adult member of the clan and his whole extended family has taken part in one way or another in his upbringing. On receiving the spear he jumps up from the seat he has been occupying as bride groom. He keeps jumping in pride and show of strength and begins a song, a urology of his family, his origins. He begins with the name of his tribal clan and the fames it is known for, what they eat and what is taboo to them, what they do and the territory of land that they occupy and heard their cattle, where they hunt, their God and spirit, the wonderful works that they do and what they pride themselves for, the bravery of their character, the totems and all the former elders of the clan the grand parents. He names his aunts and uncles, brothers, and important nieces from both paternal and maternal sides. The line of relatives proceeds to those arising from tight friendships such friendships were made between two people who liked one another so much. They cut their navels smeared a dry coffee bean in the resulting blood and used the blood smeared coffee beans to exchange and mix their blood. The result is recognition by everyone that they were blood brothers now on. Through "okwebuga" oral history was yet being passed on and reinforced.

    The extent of the extended family is almost limitless. If your mother came from a certain clan then all members of that clan born, young, grown up and unborn were your mother deserving love and respect of the highest degree. So is the same if a person belongs to the clan of your grandmother or grandfather or your aunt, or your father, they can order you around, they can take you in their house and look after you. They share all your concerns you share all theirs. A clan's size varies from say 20 people for disappearing clans to more than hundred for thousand the large clans. The extended family is the basis of relations, respect and character. Who then was not your relative? Room for that still existed. It was from those you were not related to, that marriages could take place. So it was in Njwanga's dynasty of Kamachumu Kagera.