It's a little over an hour before I begin my journey to Ol Kalao, Kenya, where internet will probably be scarce (and blogging scarcer), but I wanted to get in one more post before I essentially went off the grid!
The last week has been phenomenal, if very busy. I've had a wonderful afternoon with effervescent Mama Devorah, the matriarch of Rabbi Gershom's family. I've ventured to two of the more far-reaching Ugandan communities--Namatumba and Nalubembe--the latter of which told me I was only the second foreigner to have visited them (they joined the community about 7 years ago). And I've learned a bit more about the experience of Kenyan students in Uganda, though I hope to multiply this knowledge on my impending journey.
This marks the end of the known part of my trip--I am now heading into the great unknown! First time in Kenya (other than the Nairobi airport) and first time going for two weeks without electricity...it will certainly be a fortnight of many exciting firsts. Most of all, I hope I am able to learn a lot, and maybe even give a little to the community I will leave in the coming weeks.
Sorry for the brevity--I'm going to try to get in a short nap before I head off! Perhaps another posting to come from the airport...
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
JJ/Super Fast No Power Post!
So this'll be quick, as the internet and computer battery gods are against me (as are the moths that keep attacking my computer screen)...
I've been continuing with the Rabbi's Yeshiva daily. In addition to giving my morning some structure (class is typically from 9-11), it always serves as a fun window into the theological thinking of the rabbi and his students, and while we start with the text of the high holiday prayer we always find our way to a discussion of God's character, evil in the world, or some other minor topic of religious inquiry.
I've also had some great interviews lately. I sat down with Saba Gabu Moses yesterday, who will be leaving to Israel in the next few months to study for a year at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He unfortunately missed the intensive Ulpan due to visa issues, but will hopefully be leaving by the end of September. We talked about his religious aspirations, what he hopes to gain from his studies and where he hopes to go after (sights are currently set on Jewish Theological Seminary's rabbinical school).
Today, I spent some time at J.J.'s house, and was able to snag an interview with him and his adopted daughter Zilpah, who was also one of my students last summer. (For more on J.J., see posts from last year.) As noted there, J.J. has approximately 23 kids between his own (10) and the 13 he's adopted. In addition to learning about the new goings on at his coffee coop (like the new "women's coffee" initiative, and that he now has over 2000 farmers!) and getting his insight on my research questions, we casually discussed how much rice it would take to feed his family for a day. 12 kilos (for two meals). And he does it every Shabbat.
To top it all off, on my way back from J.J.'s we passed yet another circumcision procession. These have been ongoing in the area since last week, and today was apparently a particularly popular day. Every boy to be circumcised is danced by his family in a special dance (called the Kah Dodi--probably spelling that wrong--only remember it because every time I hear it I think "Lecha Dodi") as drums are played and he is walked to the place where he will be circumcised. This can be a distance of several miles, as the circumcisions usually take place in particular locations.
Plans for tomorrow include (at least) Yeshiva and two more interviews--with Eria, the Abayudaya chairman, and Esther, the wife of SK headmaster Seth. Might even try to pack in 3, we'll see. I'm trying to correct the gender imbalance I just realized yesterday--today was my first female interview!
Best from the darkened Nabugoye guesthouse!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Interviews, Festivals, and Tikkun Olam (that nasty bugger)
Despite the title, I don't hate tikkun olam, I swear. But more on that later.
So, the last two days--
2 interviews. One was a piggy back of another student researcher, who sadly departed yesterday for home. She had been here since May, and it was great being able to talk shop with her! We talked to Alex Armah, Ghanaian Yeshiva student, about the founding of his community, the House of Israel. If you check one of my last posts from last year, there should be a bit about their story story, but this time I was able to get some more details about the history as well as more current plans for the community. Alex plans to return home for good in October, where he will officially begin to lead his small congregation of 100.
My second Friday interview was with Esau, a youth who has just finished his first year at Makere University. We discussed Abayudaya identity and how one can preserve it away from any other Jewish presence (he is the only Abayudaya to attend university in Fort Portal, in Western Uganda). Following the interviews, I made my way (as promised) for a short visit to the Bugisu circumcision festival. It was wild to say the least. Tons of people, dancing, hoisting of politicians...and tons of circumcisions, though if you were interested in seeing one of those you had to be an expert in pushiness, which is not one of my fortes. Being a mzungu probably could have helped me somewhat in this endeavor, but I decided I'd forgo the opportunity in favor of, um...not seeing anything too gruesome. While I think I've probably had my fill of such ceremonies now (the traffic getting out was an experience in itself) it was certainly an exciting experience I should not soon forget.
On a different note, one unexpected topic that I've encountered--one which I was not exactly looking to resurrect after devoting my junior independent work to it--is tikkun olam. It was brought up both in a Yeshiva class and in my interview with Rachman, and is apparently used often by the rabbi in the context of forging strong relationships with outside communities. I hope to get more on this, however, when I get my official interview time with the rabbi tomorrow!
Finally, Shabbat--
Mostly as I remember it, though J.J. was notably absent (he apparently hurt himself recently, but I'm hoping to visit him on Tuesday). I was so used to him leading kabbalat shabbat, it was strange to have it without him. I had dinner at the rabbis, which was lovely, got some good Luganda lessons in from the rabbi's niece (rice is umchele! mango is emiembe! garden is enemiro!) and did some nice, traditional Shabbat napping and reading. I also learned a bit more about the community's marriage struggles, one of the most prominent topics of conversation and tension these days. I'm sure I will continue to learn more about this as I continue in my research.
Shavua tov y'all.
So, the last two days--
2 interviews. One was a piggy back of another student researcher, who sadly departed yesterday for home. She had been here since May, and it was great being able to talk shop with her! We talked to Alex Armah, Ghanaian Yeshiva student, about the founding of his community, the House of Israel. If you check one of my last posts from last year, there should be a bit about their story story, but this time I was able to get some more details about the history as well as more current plans for the community. Alex plans to return home for good in October, where he will officially begin to lead his small congregation of 100.
My second Friday interview was with Esau, a youth who has just finished his first year at Makere University. We discussed Abayudaya identity and how one can preserve it away from any other Jewish presence (he is the only Abayudaya to attend university in Fort Portal, in Western Uganda). Following the interviews, I made my way (as promised) for a short visit to the Bugisu circumcision festival. It was wild to say the least. Tons of people, dancing, hoisting of politicians...and tons of circumcisions, though if you were interested in seeing one of those you had to be an expert in pushiness, which is not one of my fortes. Being a mzungu probably could have helped me somewhat in this endeavor, but I decided I'd forgo the opportunity in favor of, um...not seeing anything too gruesome. While I think I've probably had my fill of such ceremonies now (the traffic getting out was an experience in itself) it was certainly an exciting experience I should not soon forget.
On a different note, one unexpected topic that I've encountered--one which I was not exactly looking to resurrect after devoting my junior independent work to it--is tikkun olam. It was brought up both in a Yeshiva class and in my interview with Rachman, and is apparently used often by the rabbi in the context of forging strong relationships with outside communities. I hope to get more on this, however, when I get my official interview time with the rabbi tomorrow!
Finally, Shabbat--
Mostly as I remember it, though J.J. was notably absent (he apparently hurt himself recently, but I'm hoping to visit him on Tuesday). I was so used to him leading kabbalat shabbat, it was strange to have it without him. I had dinner at the rabbis, which was lovely, got some good Luganda lessons in from the rabbi's niece (rice is umchele! mango is emiembe! garden is enemiro!) and did some nice, traditional Shabbat napping and reading. I also learned a bit more about the community's marriage struggles, one of the most prominent topics of conversation and tension these days. I'm sure I will continue to learn more about this as I continue in my research.
Shavua tov y'all.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Ponderings and Circumcisions
In the last two days I’ve officially begun my research. I’ve gotten two of the rabbi's Yeshiva classes and three interviews under my belt, and I hope to get another class and at least one more
interview done tomorrow. So far,
I’ve been coming up with more questions than answers.
That’s not to say I haven’t had some marvelous
conversations. Each one has been fascinating, and has taken me in a very
different direction. I talked with
Seth about the involvement of Semei Kakungulu (the Jewish high school) in the
community, Samson about the birth of his Kenyan community (though I look
forward to hearing what he calls the “real story” from his parents in a few
weeks!) and Rachman, a musically-inclined
Abayudaya university student, about the emerging role of Abayudaya youth in
shaping the community. We
touched on the issues I’m hoping to tackle in my thesis in each interview, though I’ve come to
wonder whether I will have enough to fill a thesis with the questions I noted
in my previous post. At the same time, I'm coming up with many other interesting avenues of exploration that could prove to be an equally fun thesis. I'm hoping I will somehow figure out how to integrate all of this into one grand idea...though I worry I
may not figure it out, earliest, until I reach Kenya…but we’ll see! I’m excited to
continue talking to people and will hopefully figure it out as I go along!
The rabbi's Yeshiva classes, several of which I attended last year,
continue to be fascinating. For those who are new--the rabbi teaches somewhat consistent classes on weekday mornings to several young men poised to lead their own communities. Some are from far-flung communities like the one in Ghana and Apache in the north of Uganda, and others will simply head to other of the more local communities to lead them once the finish their studies.
Yesterday we mainly went through the High Holiday service (that’s Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur)— which has been the focus of the classes for some time
as these holidays are in September—though it ended with some interesting
discussion emerging from a portion of the service dealing with sexual
immorality. Today, we began with
the same passage, examining a line which instructs Israel to “live” by the laws
of the Torah and looking at the Biblical story of Jonah—and what it teaches
about teshuvah and compassion. The rabbi reiterated his somewhat unusual notion that God cannot create anything "bad"; rather, it is humans who can instill things with "bad-ness." In a move I had not seen before (though
in the five total classes I’ve attended over the last year that means little)
the rabbi assigned his students a paper, for which they were meant to prove the
character of God from different Biblical stories—with the main question being
“compassionate or wrathful?” No small question…
Outside of my research fun, I took a beginner’s break yesterday to
attend a bit of the Bugisu coming-of-age ceremony, which is apparently is one
of the biggest shindigs on the Ugandan calendar. The partying began toward the beginning of July, though it’s
coming to its grand finale tomorrow. When we arrived at the main festival site, we saw several of the boys who will
be circumcised (OK, you probably knew that’s what it was) being covered with a
millet-cassava alcohol and flour while dressed in traditional beads and accessories,
beginning a three-day leadup to tomorrow’s circumcision. To display their new manhood, they
jumped continuously and did various manly dances. [For reference, these boys are mostly between 12 and 20,
though there seems to be a wide variance in what age one can take part in the
ceremony—it happens, I was told, when one “feels” ready to be a man.] Later that evening, there was a similar
ceremony for a local boy right near SK high school. (The ones who had it at the central site are apparently the
descendants of the family that owns the land.) I’ve heard the presidents of
Uganda and Kenya will both be speaking at the circumcision ceremony tomorrow and I’m
tempted to stop by with some Abayudaya…we’ll see if I make it!
Night night, and if I don't post tomorrow, shabbat shalom!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
AbayudayAdventures, P. II
And we're back!
After about 32 hours of travel, I arrived at Nabugoye Hill early this morning, after which a shower and a few hours sleep were all I could muster before heading out to reconnect with old friends. This was really wonderful, and the opportunity to come back--one I was certainly not counting on--was as welcome to some of my friends here as it was to me. It was nice how comfortable it felt coming here. I know my way around, I know where to go for what, I know the electricity might go out at any minute (but that's no reason to charge things just in case).
Some new things:
I'm re-trying metoke (~steamed plantain mush), and it's better than I remember, at least when it's slathered in something--today it was freshly harvested beans!
I've officially transitioned from bottled water to Steripen-ed (UV ray purification stick) water. Really hoping I'm doing it right. I suppose I'll know shortly...
Baby Ziva, the rabbi's now 6 month old daughter. Astoundingly well-behaved and adorable.
From today, I've already got a few interviews loosely set up and some others that should be easy to work out quickly. I napped this afternoon (2 sleepless nights finally caught up with me) and afterwards spent the evening contemplating how I might frame my interviews. My guess is this will change a lot over the next few weeks, but it's definitely a useful, if not essential, exercise to start off with something of a framework. Right now, my questions encompass what people find to be the defining characteristics of their Jewish practice and identity and how/if they view these characteristics as connecting them to people (and specifically) Jews in other countries. How much of a difference does it make that there are Jews in Kenya, and that they study here? Does interacting with another Jewish community strongly affect Jewish identity or practice in any way? The way I pose them to people will obviously shift depending on who I'm talking to, but that's where I'm at right now (thoughts and suggestions welcome!) I've just read an interesting article called "Transnational Religious Communities" (yay Princeton VPN!) which has given me some good background and food for thought, so we'll see how much that and some continued academic reading helps with the whole researching process.
Who knows if I'll stick with these, but I'm hoping to start tomorrow (after a Yeshiva class and possibly a fascinating Bugisu coming-of-age ceremony I just learned about...) with a few interviews, and we'll go from there!
Note: this probably won't be as consistent as my last blog, but I'll do my best! Also it just started POURING.
After about 32 hours of travel, I arrived at Nabugoye Hill early this morning, after which a shower and a few hours sleep were all I could muster before heading out to reconnect with old friends. This was really wonderful, and the opportunity to come back--one I was certainly not counting on--was as welcome to some of my friends here as it was to me. It was nice how comfortable it felt coming here. I know my way around, I know where to go for what, I know the electricity might go out at any minute (but that's no reason to charge things just in case).
Some new things:
I'm re-trying metoke (~steamed plantain mush), and it's better than I remember, at least when it's slathered in something--today it was freshly harvested beans!
I've officially transitioned from bottled water to Steripen-ed (UV ray purification stick) water. Really hoping I'm doing it right. I suppose I'll know shortly...
Baby Ziva, the rabbi's now 6 month old daughter. Astoundingly well-behaved and adorable.
From today, I've already got a few interviews loosely set up and some others that should be easy to work out quickly. I napped this afternoon (2 sleepless nights finally caught up with me) and afterwards spent the evening contemplating how I might frame my interviews. My guess is this will change a lot over the next few weeks, but it's definitely a useful, if not essential, exercise to start off with something of a framework. Right now, my questions encompass what people find to be the defining characteristics of their Jewish practice and identity and how/if they view these characteristics as connecting them to people (and specifically) Jews in other countries. How much of a difference does it make that there are Jews in Kenya, and that they study here? Does interacting with another Jewish community strongly affect Jewish identity or practice in any way? The way I pose them to people will obviously shift depending on who I'm talking to, but that's where I'm at right now (thoughts and suggestions welcome!) I've just read an interesting article called "Transnational Religious Communities" (yay Princeton VPN!) which has given me some good background and food for thought, so we'll see how much that and some continued academic reading helps with the whole researching process.
Who knows if I'll stick with these, but I'm hoping to start tomorrow (after a Yeshiva class and possibly a fascinating Bugisu coming-of-age ceremony I just learned about...) with a few interviews, and we'll go from there!
Note: this probably won't be as consistent as my last blog, but I'll do my best! Also it just started POURING.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Going back, going back...
Hello World! I know it's been awhile...
Here's the deal in a pinch--(leaving to the airport super soon. No, I haven't eaten anything since last night. No, I didn't realize it was Tisha B'av when I booked my flight. Yes, I'll check a calendar next time.)
I'm heading back to Uganda for my third summer in a row, but this one's a little different: I'll be doing hardcore, official research for my senior thesis! My first stop is back in Nabugoye, where I will be talking to people about religious identity and expression, but that's not all....I'll also be heading to Gathundia, Kenya, with my friend Samson (check out my last post for more about him...), to visit his community and do some comparative ethnographic research on religious identity in the two communities.
This trip will be fast--I fly back August 29. This will probably mean less blog time, and perhaps less info-packed posting, as now that I'm fully IRB approved I'm also trying to be extra-special careful about what I write in a public forum. But for those of you who may be interested in learning a bit more, or just hearing what my brain sounds like after trying to process conversations and thoughts into thesis-able data, feel free to check back!
Thanks for those who followed last time, and hope I can send a little more your way in the next month :).
(P.S. For those of you who were confused by the title, it's a reference to a silly Princeton song.)
Here's the deal in a pinch--(leaving to the airport super soon. No, I haven't eaten anything since last night. No, I didn't realize it was Tisha B'av when I booked my flight. Yes, I'll check a calendar next time.)
I'm heading back to Uganda for my third summer in a row, but this one's a little different: I'll be doing hardcore, official research for my senior thesis! My first stop is back in Nabugoye, where I will be talking to people about religious identity and expression, but that's not all....I'll also be heading to Gathundia, Kenya, with my friend Samson (check out my last post for more about him...), to visit his community and do some comparative ethnographic research on religious identity in the two communities.
This trip will be fast--I fly back August 29. This will probably mean less blog time, and perhaps less info-packed posting, as now that I'm fully IRB approved I'm also trying to be extra-special careful about what I write in a public forum. But for those of you who may be interested in learning a bit more, or just hearing what my brain sounds like after trying to process conversations and thoughts into thesis-able data, feel free to check back!
Thanks for those who followed last time, and hope I can send a little more your way in the next month :).
(P.S. For those of you who were confused by the title, it's a reference to a silly Princeton song.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)