Final (Uganda) Post

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...

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!

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.

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!