Community documenters constitute a committee to popularize Empaako

Workshop participants

Participants attending the one week (3^rd – 8^th March, 2019) residential workshop at Crown Hotel, Hoima have formed a media committee to sustainably popularize Empaako safeguarding and revitalization in Bunyoro Sub Region. The committee was formed on 6^th March, 2019.

The media committee will mainly focus on using online media especially social media and mainstream media to target young people and the general population in Bunyoro sub region. In addition, the media committee will enhance engagement between Empaako ritual leaders and communities where Empaako is threatened with extinction.

The Committee which will be headed by Kiiza Wilson of Bugungu Heritage and information centre and coordinated by Bamuha Allan of Empagi Za Bunyoro also includes journalists from Radio Hoima, Spice FM and Liberty FM.

The Executive Director of Engabu Za Tooro, Stephen Rwagweri Atwoki while guiding on the operations of the committee appealed to committee members to work tirelessly in popularizing their very own Empaako heritage.

Empaako naming practice is facing threats of extinction mostly due to decline of its mother languages (Runyoro - Rutooro), modernization, abandoning the performance of traditional rituals like Empaako naming ritual, weakening cultural institutions especially at clan and family levels and attack from modern religious denominations.

Media Committee members

The 5 days residential second capacity building workshop mainly attended by ritual leaders and guides, community based writers, folk performers and cultural resources people mainly from Bunyoro sub region is aimed at giving practitioners of Empaako naming system the rationale and basic knowledge of documentation of intangible cultural heritage beginning with Empaako.

The workshop has also attracted book writers, creative writers, videographers, professional photographers, visual artists, sculptors, song writers, composers, poets, ritual leaders, herbalists, presenters of cultural programs on electronic media, vernacular teachers and translators among others.

Currently, Engabu Za Tooro is implementing a UNESCO co-funded Empaako safeguarding and revitalization project which is on documentation and revitalization of Empaako naming rituals and practices.

Empaako is naming system whereby in addition to a family and given name, a child is given a special name called Empaako selected from a fixed and closed list of 12 (twelve) Empaako names shared by the entire society and used as a declaration of respect, endearment or affection.

The 12 Empaako’s are Okaali which is reserved for a king, Acaali, Bbala, Apuuli and Araali which are only reserved for men and finally, Abbooki, Adyeri, Abwoli, Akiiki, Amooti, Ateenyi and Atwoki for both men and women.

This practice has been shared and transmitted from generation to generation in Empaako communities of Batooro, Banyoro, Banyabindi, Basongora, Batuku, Batagwenda, Banyaruguru, Bagungu, Ba Nya Mboga and Baziba located in Western Uganda, Eastern DR Congo and Northern Tanzania respectively.