In his lecture “Kusamira: Ritual Music and Wellness in Uganda”, Dr. Peter Hoesing spoke on the intertwined value of music and wellbeing within the Buganda and Busoga regions of Uganda. The music of these peoples supports a creation of social networks of wellness within the community, creating meaningful rituals within the communities.

Of these rituals, the kusamira ritual is a possession ritual, in which an ancestral or patron spirit possesses the human body. This is a spiritual healing ritual, and as Hoesing says: “it takes a literal village to cure people; not just raise children”. Of these rituals, there are many types. The okusiba ebibi and okubasiba abdongo are rituals of binding negative potential. Okubasiba abdongo in particular involves ‘tying the twins’ at birth, which involves shouting obscenities at the young twins while rattling gourds and drumming to a rhythm. ‘Tying the twins’ removes the negative potential from the twins, and must be performed with every set. There are a number of positive rituals as well, a series of unbinding or opening blessings. The okusumulula amakubo is a ritual for ‘opening the paths’, typically performed during the crowning period of birth. Furthermore, the ritual okusumulukuka is a ritual of coming ‘unbound’ in childbirth.

There are musical repertories including forms of music, medicine, and healing. These are the embodiment of oral historical tradition, creating a historical memory. Technical repertories include the ritual order of spiritual healing. These processes begin with ritually consuming two coffee berries –symbolizing the twins- and brewing banana beer. After this initiation of the ritual comes invocation and songs, many of which are twin-focused. This is followed by spirit possession and the use of power objects; objects associated with a deity. Once this portion of the ritual is completed, there is sacrifice and ritual labor. The final portion of the ritual is ‘making ancestors’ and honoring the dead. Sound is important to the diagnostic practices, and it continues throughout the ritual.

Dr. Hoesing’s intensive research sheds light on the complex rituals and spiritual processes within Ugandan communities. The musical aspects of these societies and the correspondence with healing of both body and spirit will continue to shape studies of ritual and the understanding of ritual within Buganda and Busoga.