Njabala This Is Not How

Samba Gown is a performance piece re-enacting and rethinking the bride's walk down the aisle but using the streets of Kampala as the Church. The performance challenges the institution of marriage as it is the context of the story of Njabala. While  elaborating the origins of  the traditions around marriage, the artist hopes  for Ugandans and Ugandan women to have the opportunity to establish exactly how and why we fall into this jigsaw. Throughout our lives, it seems that everything we are taught is to prepare us for the institution of marriage which has been defined as the truest culmination of love between two people. This performance portrays the woman on her wedding day, waking up early in excitement and getting ready as culture would have it. All would be well, and she would get her makeup done and get ready in her beautiful gown. She starts the long journey down the aisle. Along the way a number of things are added to her: words written one her dress, household materials that she needs to use in the home pegged on her gown. Throughout the performance, the bride is presented happy, smiling and looking like everything is okay.

The title takes inspiration from the Acholi word Kanyo, which means to endure, to be resilient. Kanyo, Love is an intimate body of work about love in the aftermath of war as experienced by former forced wives of Lord’s Resistance Army combatants (The Women). Using love as an entry point, the project explores post-conflict reintegration in Northern Uganda. Kanyo, Love consists of a series of works that function separately or together as a more comprehensive body of work. This presentation includes individual portraits of The Women and testimonies about post-war romantic love relationships and the attendant courtship gifts.

Context: Between 1986 -2006, the Acholi, and other people of northern Uganda, endured a conflict between the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and Uganda Defense Forces. A weapon of war, used by the LRA, was to abduct young women and girls and force them into marriage with LRA combatants; young men and boys were abducted and forcibly conscripted as fighters; In 2006, an agreement between the LRA and the government of Uganda formally ended the war.

Wake With Me is a shamanistic portrayal of a folklore story from Kampala, Uganda, based on the popular folktale story entitled: Nsangi And The Ogre. The performance is an exploration of the metaphorical loss of cultural identity through the literal loss of a family member, and the journey through storytelling as a method to reclaim or preserve what was lost.  Throughout the piece, the performer engages poetic language to play the role of narrator while using the body and familiar objects from home. Wake With Me is a work in progress, and the creator is ever seeking new avenues of exploration and expression in her artistic process. “Our stories are representative of our cultural expression and identity. As we continue to develop as a nation, and to grow in mindfulness and equality, we find that our cultural identity is at war with our mindfulness. This war is exciting and multi-faceted, and it is my hope that Wake With Me can grow to not only portray the stories as they are, but to explore this complex relationship in a meaningful way” Sarah Nansubuga.

Immy Mali’s LORD seeks to make us imagine or even feel the pain that surrounds sexual abuse, the kind of pain which is more often experienced by one person and in silence. The kind of pain which cannot be talked about in public, just like that. It is embarrassing to speak about it. How will It be heard?

When presented together, Silence in Dance and Lord, both works of art first conceived in Addis Ababa complement each other although they can each exist independent of each other. LORD seeks to make us imagine or even feel the pain that surrounds sexual abuse, the kind of pain which is more often experienced by one person and in silence. The kind of pain which cannot be talked about in public, just like that. It is embarrassing to speak about it. How will It be heard? Silence in Dance conveys the inherent reluctance to hold conversations about sex and sexual abuse.

Made of wood and copper, this sculpture was initially constructed as two forms; a mortar and pestle. At a later stage concave and convex copper objects symbolising male and female were added to enhance the composition. The mortar is designed as a humorous, four legged creature with a protruding, expressive head with staring eyes made of metal nuts, suggesting pleasurable astonishment. Mortar and pestle are utensils used in pounding groundnuts, but symbolically they can relate to sexual intercourse: the mortar representing a vagina and the pestle, the penis. Sexual issues are taboo in Uganda, and ethnic groups like the Baganda could be insulted or embarrassed by sculpture depicting sexual intercourse in a realistic manner. Copper was nailed in and around the mortar to instate safe sexual intercourse engineered by the woman.

A woman stuck in a cycle of routine, obligation and guilt figures out a way to reset her life amidst a feminist uprising. Little Black Dress is a story about a couple who are struggling with infertility and seeks to subvert the tendency to blame infertility on only the woman by creating a scenario in which the man too is not only responsible but accountable.

“I woke up one day to news that the Minister of Tourism in my country, Uganda had decided that women’s bodies were to be used as a tourist attraction. He went on to start a campaign coined “Miss Curvy”.
To loosely state his words; ”We have very beautiful women here. Why can’t we use them to draw more tourists into the country?”
Immediately my mind went to this place and I started to ask myself questions. Do women’s bodies belong to men? Or society? Do women have a say on what happens to their bodies? And most of all, what would a world where women made the rules and made decisions on men’s bodies look like?
What would happen if women made the whole world uniform and run it through the feminine eye?
What would happen if men stepped into the shoes of women and lived just a day as a woman?
LITTLE BLACK DRESS was born” Esteri Tebandeke.

Ikare Moro: A bad girl's advice to Njabala is a mixed media project responding to a Buganda/Busoga myth of Njabala – The Lazy One to activate conversation on the pluralities of womanhood as a site of resistance. The myth of Njabala – The Lazy One is taught to children in Uganda as a cautionary tale about decision making. This project seeks to offer responses in the format of poetry, visual, audio and video art. The ultimate function of myths is to “naturalize the culture” by making “dominant cultural and historical values, attitudes and beliefs seem entirely ‘natural'” (Chandler, 2006) … no matter how ‘unnatural’ these practices seem to the logical mind. The story of Njabala is a perfect illustration of how [Ugandan] society has used and continues to use myth and storytelling to reinforce [toxic] culture especially where women are concerned.

The works presented in this exhibition is an excerpt of a large conversation to be presented in a solo exhibition later this year.

Women are programmed to expect shame and embarrassment when they speak out on their experiences of physical and sexual abuse. The subliminal belief that a woman definitely has character issues that provoke the men into abusive actions. She probably resisted, was disobedient, seductive, suggestive or spoke up to a man. This vicious cycle of indoctrination is passed down from generation to generation and as such breeds environment for silent torture, suffering and abuse. The photo story is a part representation of the stories of women and girls who have suffered at the hands of lovers ending up with both physical, emotional and mental damage. The goal is to create a collection of photos sharing stories of women who have suffered physical and sexual abuse in intimate relationships under the blanket of silence that is held as a badge of honor and justification of the strength of a woman.

The photo story seeks to normalize conversations about physical and sexual abuse in a bid to help former victims know that they heard, seen, understood and that their truth is valid. I seek to reach the right audience that would in turn take relevant action on the issues of physical and sexual violence especially for minority groups like the Internally displaced women and girls. I seek to prove to the younger generation of girls that silence is not always the solution for women as culture has taught them, Njabala this not how! To create awareness of the need to speak their truth without fear and seek the help they need. To know that they are not alone and that when it comes to physical and sexual abuse with all its consequences, Silence is not Okay.

On the morning of the exhibition opening day, 8th March 2022, we held a Tuwaye session hosted by Immy Mali of the Iraa the Granary project. The session brought together women artists and art enthusiasts to speak about Rest, which is the theme for Njabala exhibition of 2023. The session was held at Buuka Space, a place located in Bulowa. There was transportation means for participants to and from Buloba as well as refreashments. The following images give an impression of the setting and ambiance.

Participants:
Martha Kazungu, Sandra Suubi, Gloria Kiconco, Stacey Gillian, Letaru Jovia,Pamela Enyonu, Mona Obua Okul, Immy Mali, Joanne Namunina and Lindah Nayebare Mutungi.