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Traditional Handicraft in Uganda

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Craftsmanship from Uganda: potsHandicraft has always enjoyed a tradition in Uganda, and you will come across handcrafted products at every corner. What here often serves as an entirely ordinary everyday object is a popular souvenir. for travellers to Uganda. For some important products you will find some explanations and background information here.

Barkcloth – The production of the so-called barkcloth (olubugo) is a tradition of the Baganda; since 2008 it has been part of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is a cloth obtained from the bark of the mutuba fig tree (Ficus natalensis ) is produced. After the bark is stripped off, it is repeatedly soaked in water, worked with wooden mallets of different structure and dried, which ultimately produces the cloth. With sisal threads, smaller pieces are joined into larger ones and further processed.

Incidentally, the trees are not damaged by harvesting the bark. On the contrary, they are protected from drying out with banana leaves, and after about a year they can be “harvested” again. Besides clothing, the use of the cloth is varied. You can see all the things that can be done with barkcloth on the websites of “Barkcloth.de” or “Losgeloest.com” (links to the websites can be found at the end of the page).

Calabash – These are products made from the hollowed-out and dried shells of the bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria ) are produced. Primarily they serve to store liquids, but are also used as a basic component for musical instruments. Websites with further information can be found at the end of the page.

Basketry – Basket weaving has always been one of the widespread arts in Uganda. On your safari in Africa you will find numerous opportunities to stock up on the most varied goods.

Pottery – A pottery souvenir from Uganda looks good. In Uganda there are various clays as raw material in different colours: red clay, yellowish and whitish kaolinite and a greenish-bluish variant. Pottery is used in Uganda for the transport and storage of all kinds of goods.

Wood – The list of products made from wood in Uganda is endless. Not only for daily use, for example in the form of chairs or cutlery, but also as art objects such as masks or musical instruments.

Weapons – The arsenal of traditional weapons, which are quite suitable as mementos, is equally numerous: spears, bow and arrow, shields and sticks were the original combat and hunting utensils used before the arrival of the first Arab traders.

Musical instruments – Among the many musical instruments, the drums deserve particular mention. They are offered for sale in all kinds of colours and shapes. They almost always consist of wood and animal hides. It is a rare art to obtain the exact tone through the thickness and tension of the hides.

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