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Banana in Uganda More Than Just Cereal Topping

 

People Arriving in Uganda for the first time will be struck by the sheer volume of Bananas that dot the side of the road on bicycles, piled high in trucks on their way to market, eventually creating the mountains that adorn them. The banana, Musa accuminata and musa balbisiana, is perhaps one of the most important crops grown in Uganda .The Grate Lakes region has become the second centre worldwide for the world’s largest herb second to India – never mind the fact that India ‘s population is approximately fifty times that of Uganda! Uganda alone produces more than 11 million tones per year, the majority of it locally consumed. Though hard to measure, it is estimated that the average Ugandans consumes more than 400kilos of Bananas each year!

There are many theories that try to explain the origin of the Banana. What is Known is that musa accuminata originated in Malaysia and musa balbisiana came from India .At some point, perhaps seven well before Mohammed’s followers took refuge in Abyssinia the present Ethiopia during the sixth century, these two species of banana mixed and created a wide diversity of different species. The majority consensus is that the banana was brought to East Africa via the Swahili culture’s trade routes from the orient to the East African coast. This also partially fits with the Baganda’s belief that their ancestral father, Kinto brought the banana from foreign lands trekking towards the Great Lake from the Northeast. Historians clearly acknowledge that the rise of the Baganda civilization, which endured centuries of propensity was largely due to the pivotal role the banana played in political, social, cultural, spiritual, medicinal and economic element of Baganda. Since then, the banana has become a cultural core of many different people throughout Uganda particularly the southwest

To the untrained eye, there is the Yellow dessert banana, the big ones, and the small ones. There is also matooke, which most people commonly mistake for plantain. In truth, there is more than a hundred different species of banana in Uganda, a dozen of, which are endemic, therefore, unique to this particular region. The Banyankole people of Uganda believe that the ownership of a banana plantation is a symbol of a man’s passage to manhood and thus his capacity to marry .Social prestige is derived from he ‘proper’ state which he keeps his plantation it must be ‘smart’ . A thick wad of steamed matooke on a dinner plate
Signifies that the meal is worthy of being called ‘food’.

One Muganda man describes matooke(green bananas) as,”….a special food. When you eat it, it is soft and hot; it feels nice in the mouth. It makes me think that I am eating the best. If there is a special function, and there is no matooke, I would not go. The taste of matooke is smooth in the mouth, in the throat, and I feel satisfied when I eat it.” Though many foreigners beg to differ regarding these perceptions, the majority of the people who have perceptions, the majority of the people who have been eating it for more than a thousand years vouch for its quality!

The edible part of the banana is used not only as food, but also as ceremonial gifts and for making locally distilled alcohol called waragi. The actual plant and its parts passes unique qualities and traits.

Many cultural beliefs are derived from them. The banana plant is used in a vast bed of local agro-ecological knowledge including medicinal remedies. Ailments for which banana plant and it’s various parts is a remedy include, upset stomachs, swelling, ulcers laceration, pain reduction, burns, for inducing labour, for expelling the placenta when it has failed to come out after giving birth, reducing flatulence, curing yellow fever, and even expelling evil spirits which have invaded someone’s body. However, don’t expect to find these remedies at Dr. Stockley’s surgery.

When you stroll through the local market and set your eyes upon another stock of Matooke,(Green Bananas) take a moment to reflect on its cultural and historic significance in the land you have now set foot in. Uganda sits on an elevated plateau, not one of the most agriculturally rich regions of the world. With two natural rain seasons, volcanic soils, and many other positive factors agricultural production should excel. However currently, the banana faces overwhelming threats from pests and diseases. The traditional banana growing areas of the northern lakeshore are no longer capable of producing banana as they once did due to environmental degredation and socio-cultural debilitating constraint, such as the inequitable way women are faced with too much work ad few livelihood strategies to provide for their families. HIV takes its toll on the labour force; soil erosion and genetic mining exacerbate the situation. Pests such as nematodes and weevils stunt the growth of the Banana. Fusarium wilt, black and yellow sigatoka disease, and the horrid bacteria wilt devastate banana plantations across the region, threatening the existence of countless species of banana.

Though the growing areas in the southwest have not been hit as hard yet, their time is coming .The banana plant and its rich genetic diversity are endangered as never before. Collective action and environmental rehabilitation are required to reverse this devastating trend, otherwise, the globe could lose one of its most unique resources and Uganda may face unprecedented food shortages. Such a tragedy must be avoided!

As you chow down on a bogoya, throw some sukaali ndiizi(sweet yellow bananas) into your picnic lunch, or much on some Gonja at the Karuma pit stop on your way to Arua, remember, you are biting into Uganda’s history and future.

 

About the Author

 

Tanah Hadijah is a free lance author found in Africa with a love for adventure and exploration of the biodiversity in Uganda. More of her articles can be found on Uganda Safari guide,

Tours in Uganda .

 

Uganda travel guide