The Music of Buganda in Uganda

The Buganda are located in the central area of the country and are the biggest and most powerful ethnic sect in the country. The kingdom of Buganda is the longest living monarch in the country; the kingdom is dominated by a king, who is known as the Kabaka. The kabaka has traditionally been the main support of the music of Buganda. Musical instruments include the different types of drums, which makes the drumming an essential part of the music. The massive and sacred royal drums are just one of the many drum forms. The ngalabi is another shared drum. This is a long round shaped drum with a high pitched tempo used in harmonization of both instruments and dances. The drums are utilized in accord with different other sweet musical instruments extending from chordophones like the ennanga harp and the entongoli lyre, lamellophones, aerophones and idiophones and the locally made fiddle known as kagingidi. The locally made xylophone is known as amadinda, it is the one of the biggest in sub Saharan Africa. The Baganda have a type of vibrant dances that go along with the elaborate instrumentation. The bakismimba dance is the very common and most performed. There are others such as the nankasa and the amaggunju. The amaggunju is an exclusive dance established in the palace for the Kabaka. The folk music to-date is still held where by many people within the area popularized and protected by the monarchy and ethnic loyalists.

source of picture: www.xlztst.com