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Culture Of Uganda

The Culture of Uganda
The Republic of Uganda, located in the heart of Africa, is known as one of the friendliest African countries. It is located in East Africa, surrounded by Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania (Wikipedia, 2006). Uganda was established in 1914 with help from the United Kingdom; however, in 1962 Uganda became an independent nation. Currently, Uganda is ruled by President Yoweri Museveni, who has been the President of Uganda since 1986. When President Museveni first came into power, Uganda was known as one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy had completely collapsed, leaving the people of Uganda in despair. However, since 1987 the government has worked tirelessly to implement an economic reform. By 1992, progress was seen and Uganda was back on its way to being a stable country. Since then, there has been a steady incline of the Ugandan economy, and a 44% drop in poverty rates (Tijssen, 2005). All of these struggles that Uganda has faced have lead to the development of a unique culture. In order to be prepared to travel to Uganda, one must first become accustomed to the culture of Uganda, which includes the people, the economy, the religions, and the way of life. Understanding all of these things will help any American traveler to be prepared to enter a totally new and different culture.
The people of Uganda are extremely diverse, and cannot be classified into one group. The people of Uganda come from many different cultural groups, and speak over thirty different languages. There are five main categories of cultural people groups who reside in Uganda; the Bantu, the Nilo Hamites, the Luo, the Sudanic people, and the Pygmoid people. The Bantu make up 50% of Uganda's population, and they live in the southern part of the country. The next group of people is the Nilo Hamites, and they live in the north, east, and northeastern parts of the country. This group is thought to be descendants of...