Copyright © 2025 Damascus Kafumbe
The eBook edition of this book is available under the Open Access License CC BY-NC-ND. Open access publication of this book was made possible through generous support from Middlebury College and the Pabst Steinmetz Foundation.
Some rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, any part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise).
First published 2025
Our Authorised Representative for product safety in the EU is Easy Access System Europe - Mustamäe tee 50, 10621 Tallinn, Estonia, gpsr.requests@easproject.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-64825-122-1 (hardback); 978-1-64825-048-4 (paperback); 978-1-80543-333-0 (ePUB)
ISSN: 2161-0290
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kafumbe, Damascus, author.
Title: Interpreting court song in Uganda : musical meaning, power relations, and political life / Damascus Kafumbe.
Other titles: Eastman/Rochester studies in ethnomusicology ; 16.
Description: Rochester : University of Rochester Press, 2025. | Series: Eastman/Rochester studies in ethnomusicology, 2161-0290 ; 16 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2025009571 (print) | LCCN 2025009572 (ebook) | ISBN 9781648250484 (hardback) | ISBN 9781805433330 (pdf) | ISBN 9781805433323 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Music—Political aspects—Uganda. | Songs, Ganda—Political aspects—Uganda. | Songs, Ganda—Uganda—History and criticism. | Uganda—Court and courtiers. | Uganda—Politics and government.
Classification: LCC ML3917.U33 K33 2025 (print) | LCC ML3917.U33 (ebook) | DDC 782.42096761--dc23/eng/20250305
A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library
Cover image: Ludoviiko Sserwanga singing to the accompaniment of the Kiganda tube fiddle (endingidi) at the Uganda Museum. Photograph by Damascus Kafumbe.
Cover design: riverdesignbooks.com