Part V

Part V explores these ideas of mutuality and cooperation as an overall approach toward life in Buganda and Uganda. The four songs featured in this part offer intricate, nuanced, and unique portrayals of reciprocity, examining all angles of the subject and in myriad contexts. Chapter 16 analyzes the themes of love, unity, and reciprocity in the first two songs, “They Show Each Other Stumps” (“Balagana Enkonge”) and “Mawanda Loves His Men” (“Mawanda Ayagala Abasajja Be”). The songs illustrate these themes in the context of friendship and family relationships but also, more broadly, in the context of the king and his people. “They Show Each Other Stumps” portrays an ideal mutual relationship through a story about two friends warning each other of upcoming obstacles as they walk down a path together. Although the song’s subject arises in a specific context, it can apply to various relationships, including twenty-first-century politics. A song about a king who cares for his subjects, “Mawanda Loves His Men” also encourages people to care for one another, an essential component of any healthy, reciprocal relationship. The song particularly celebrates how King Mawanda (r. ca. 1738–1740) displays love for his people.

The other two songs featured in part 5 both embody and reinforce the function of praise in the royal court. They demonstrate how love and respect serve as the basis of the mutuality constantly affirmed and cultivated between a king and his people. Whereas the songs discussed previously demonstrate the way performers utilize false praise to manipulate the fancies of political leaders, the songs discussed in part 5 use praise as a sincere and legitimate affirmation of mutual love between the king and his subjects. Framed around this notion of genuine praise, chapter 17 examines the song “Baamunaanika Hill” (“Akosozi Baamunaanika”). Commending King Muteesa II (r. 1939–1966) and his eminence, the song highlights the symbiotic, loving relationship he has with his subjects. Chapter 18 continues this idea by exploring the love and respect one feels for one’s king in the song “We Love the Supreme Man Exceedingly” (“Ssaabasajja Tumwagala Nnyo”). Although closely related in subject matter, each song lends a new angle to the mosaic of mutuality and cooperation that we have touched on in previous parts.

The songs presented in part 5 are unique in their narrative perspective, historical significance, and stylistic qualities. The analyses presented portray the emotions and actions that constitute mutual bonds, which can range from friendships to romantic endeavors to political relationships. This part focuses on the latter, as the lyrics of these songs express the relationship between the king and his subjects. However, through interpreting these lyrics, contemporary Ugandans reimagine the songs, evaluating the kingship and the national government in tandem. As a result, this process adds differing and sometimes conflicting meanings to the ongoing discourse in Uganda’s political landscape. Thus, the meaning morphs into something more diverse and malleable. It is in this spirit that the meanings behind the five songs in question take on a vast array of possibilities, inviting a new tangibility to modern political discourse.