Bagisu people to start Imbalu Ceremonies this week

Bagisu people to start Imbalu Ceremonies this week

Have you ever heard about Imbalu? Well, if not the most prominent cultural ceremony in Uganda, Imbalu is one the most interesting African ceremonies that everyone would enjoy viewing on a Safari. Imbalu is an ancient cultural ceremony where young boys from Bagisu tribe are circumcised to initiate them into manhood. In this kingdom, its only circumcised men that are regarded as true men who can be given attention in a clan meeting or during any gathering. Those who are not circumcised are taken to be cowards who are isolated and they are treated as outcasts in the kingdom.

Though other tribes in the country carry out male circumcision, it is only in Bugisu where this practice is taken as a cultural practice which commands respect from all members from the kingdom. However, Imbalu is a seasonal practice which is done during the month of August and during this time, all Bagisu young boys ready to become men get ready for the ceremony. One special thing about this ceremony is that it is natural and it is done in open when everyone is watching with people dancing in a circle playing all sorts of musical instruments singing cultural songs on top of their voices.

This year, the ceremony is expected to take a different dimension which is different from the past because of the massive campaign against uncircumcised Bagisu men in Uganda. According to the kingdom’s elders, Imbalu ceremonies will start this week on Tuesday and all people from the kingdom were called upon to take part in the ceremonies so as to make it more colorful. You might have booked a safari to Uganda this year in August and September and probably you as you travel to your favorite destination, a groups of people dancing and singing on top of their voices carrying spears and other cultural objects may by-pass you. Dont get scared, this a normal thing in the country during this time of the year as elders from Bugisu search for their tribe mates from all corners of the country to initiate them into men. Even those that might have escaped from the kingdom as a way of avoiding the practice are searched and forced to go through it. It doesn’t matter where they find you so long as you are an uncircumcised man from Bugisu, the ceremonies have to go on. This is the reason why Imbalu is a common thing throughout the country even in the capital city, Kampala.

What is Imbalu?

Imbalu is a cultural practice in Bugisu Kingdom of Uganda which involves circumcision of boys as a way of turning them into men. This practice dates way back when the Bantu people had just migrated to Uganda and it is the ancestors of Bugisu who started Imbalu. According to the cultural beliefs of Bugisu,a man is considered to be unclean if he is not circumcised and therefore every boy in the Kingdom has to be circumcised before he is called a man and also allowed to get married. Just like the way ancestors used to do it, today Bagisu people treat this imbalu as a special ceremony which distinguishes them from from people from other tribes. In fact if you meet a Mugisu man and you get a chance of interacting with him, one of the first words you will hear from his mouth is this cultural ceremony. Both men and women from the kingdom are proud of the ceremony no matter where they are.

If you get a chance of attending one of the Imbalu ceremonies this year, trust me, it will be a lifetime experience that you will live to tell. Make sure that you carry a camera and take some photos which you will look at when you get back to your home country and remember the true African culture.