Yesterday, a local priest of the Church of Uganda (the Anglican Church) died at the age of 83, and since his daughter works at the health center and he himself was quite involved with the World Harvest team, I was invited to attend the funeral. Scott volunteered to drive the casket to his traditional home in one of the nearby villages, and as soon as it was loaded on, about 10 Ugandans jumped in the back of the truck along with the body. Now with a heavily laded truck, we drove (or slid) through the rain over steep, rutted, dirt roads for about 30 minutes to reach the man’s home. The last couple yards were impassible so we all walked through the deep mud to join probably 100 people gathered for his funeral, the large number indicating the level of respect that he held in the community. Awkwardly, we white people were told to sit in plastic chairs brought out for us, right next to the casket, while most of the Ugandans stood or sat in the mud. It feels horribly superior and colonial to be treated that way, but as honored guests it would be far worse to refuse. The ceremony consisted of multiple people standing up to speak about the late Reverend Sereboyo, some of which was summarized in English for us, and Dr. Scott was also asked to speak, which was translated into Lubwisi. The people gathered sometimes cried and sometimes laughed. The service included much singing, and also readings, teachings, and prayers from other clergy in the Church of Uganda (all of which was done in Lubwisi). This remarkable man was monogamous for his 65 years of marriage, unusual in a society where multiple wives indicate high status. The ceremony was long, though I was told that it could have been much longer. It was an honor to attend so sacred and important an event, especially as a new arrival here.
The other big news here is the result of the American election. Early Wednesday morning the whole team was gathered at the Myhre’s, listening to the radio for the news. When, during Obama’s speech he addressed “people in the forgotten corners of the world, huddled around radios,” we had a good laugh, as that pretty perfectly described us. On my walk to the Health Center, many people cheered “Obama! America!” as I walked by. I think that people here are incredibly encouraged and excited that someone with roots in this part of the world can attain such influence.
2 comments:
83 is a ripe old age to be moving on as a priest, local to BundiBugyo. Think of all that the man has seen in his life. He was your age in 1947. Idi Amin was the same age. In 1945, the brits admitted the first native Ugandan to the country's legislative council. In 1958, when the priest was 34, Uganda was given it's own self government. He was 38 when Uganda gained independence, 48 when Idi Amin came to power and 54 when the Tanzanian Army ousted Amin.
Your arrival and his departure are an interesting conjoin. You will be mindful of this man's achievements after 83 years in the jungle as a way of giving you perspective of what you can accomplish in two years. There are many lessons I would have benefited from had I gone out as you have. This funeral you attended would have been one of them, and I trust you will learn far more than I would have. I voted for Obama though, I trust that I am not too hopeful that he can retrieve us from our inexhorable decline from the country we once were. Perhaps he can at least unite the passengers aboard the ship in rough seas...
Nathan, I love the image of all of you around a radio listening to Obama talk about about people in forgotten corners of the world "listening to the radio." It brought his acceptance speech even more to life for me.
--Pam
Post a Comment