KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY

BACHELOR OF ARTS WITH EDUCATION

FACULTY OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES

DEPARTMENT OF LITERATURE

COURSE NAME: UGANDAN LITERATURE.

COURSE CODE: ELT 1202.

TASK: GROUP PRESENTATION.

LECTURER: LECTURER ASIIMWE ELIZABETH.

DATE OF SUBMISSION

NAME REGISTRATION SIGNATURE

NUMBER
KOBUSINGE MARY 23/U/AED/14505/GV
ALUNGAT SARAH 23/U/AED/03775/PD
NABAWEESI SILYVIA 23/U/AED/09108/PD
NABAWANUKA 23/U/AED/09104/PD
SANDRAH
ABANG DOREEN 23/U/AED/14425/GV
ATUKUNDA DAPHINE 23/U/AED/03469/PD
NAGASHA PATIENCE 23/U/AED/09334/PD
MBARIHEIHE SILVANO 23/U/AED/08036/PD
KYOMUGASHO SANDRAH 23/U/AED/14506/GV
KAMULI JOAN 23/U/AED/06386/PD
KAYE JOVIAH 23/U/AED/06724/PD
 UPON THIS MOUNTAIN BY TIMOTHY WANGUSA

To begin with, is the author's background, Timothy Wangusa born in 1942 is a Ugandan poet
and novelist. Wangusa was a chairman of Uganda Writers Association and founder president if
International PEN Uganda Centre.

Wangusa is an ethnic Mumasaaba, born in Bugisu, eastern Uganda. He studied English at

Makerere University where he later served on faculty, and the University of Leeds (UK). He
wrote his MA and PhD on British and African poetry, respectively.

Wangusa started working at Makerere University in 1969. He was appointed as professor in

1981. In his acceptance speech ‘A Wordless World’, he looked at how words were starting to
lose meaning and there was a continuous shift from words and speech. Later Wangusa served as
the Head of Department of Literature and Dean of Faculty of Arts. He was also a Minister of
Education in the Ugandan Government (1985-86) and a Member of Parliament (1989-96).
Presently, he serves as a Senior Presidential Advisor in Museveni’s government. Wangusa
played a pivotal role in establishing the Department of Language at Uganda Christian University,
an Anglican University in Mukono.

His collection of poems salutation: Poems 1965-1975(1977), reissued with additional poems as
A Pattern of Dust: Selected Poems 1965-1990(1994), reflects his rural origins. The novel Upon
This Mountain (1989) tells the story of Mwambu, who is determined to touch heaven, and
describes his journey towards adulthood. The novel combines African folklore and proverbs with
Christian symbolism. Its main theme is that of growing up in Ugandan society and what
challenges come with growing up in traditional setting. Wangusa’s work has been featured on
Pan-African platform Badilisha Poetry Radio.

Furthermore the plot of "upon this mountain" is about Mwambu growing up, Mwambu is
fascinated by the presence of the ever towering Mt. Elgon. To him reaching the top of the
mountain means touching heaven and that marks the end of the world.

Evenings in Masaaba’s household are spent around the fire place, where Mwambu and his sister
Khalayi sit to listen to stories from their mother Nabusulwa. Onetime, Masaaba beats Mwambu’s
friend Wabwire a son of Wopata when he is found grazing cattle in Masaaba’s plantation and the
two grown-ups Masaaba and Wopata stop talking as a result. When circumcision time comes,
Wabwire balks at facing the knife. According to the local traditions, a man who fears
circumcision is a woman. From then on, Wabwire’s name is changed to Nabwire, and he is
forced to dress up like a woman.

At school, Mwambu is fond of one girl called Nambozo, he is so disappointed when he finds
reverend Graves their school chaplain in the chapel together with Nambozo red handed having
sex on the floor upon the holy table cloth in the season of lent. He develops a great hatred
towards the two and looks for a way to devour them. He tries to report to the head teacher and
other staff but they all refuse to believe him and instead accuse him of being possessed of
demonic imagination. In another twist, Mwambu sleeps with Mayuba the wife of Patrick Kuloba
his cousin, when the latter is taken to participate in the Second World War. Mayuba gives birth
to a baby boy Buwayirira who is said to resemble Mwambu. Kuloba tries to get information
about Mwambu having slept with his wife. Together with his friends, Kuloba hatches plans to
forcefully circumcise Mwambu, their plan backfires when they find that Mwambu is already
circumcised. Throughout the book, Wangusa uses humor to expose the contradictions in the
church and in the society as a whole.

Additionally, Upon This Mountain by Timothy Wangusa is set in Uganda around Mt. Elgon in
the Eastern part of the country. Published in 1989 by Heinemann International. It portrays
African life in the past colonial era, a time when communities were drawn together through
special religious and cultural occasions like baptism and circmcision.

To commense with, cultural clash refers to a situation in which the diverging attitudes, morals,
opinions or customs of two similar cultures are revealed.

Cultural clash can also be defined as a conflict arising from the interaction of people with
different cultural values.

QUESTION

DISCUSS CULTURAL CLASH IN THE NOVEL UPON THIS MOUNTAIN BY TIMOTHY

WANGUSA?

The novel Upon This Mountain by Timothy Wangusa is a Ugandan text set. The novel is about
Mwambu who is determined to touch heaven and describes his journey to adulthood. Mwambu’s
journey from naïve curiosity to adulthood will reveal unexpected contradictions as traditional
values collide within the society. The culture within the society makes Mwambu to see things in
a different perspective which brings about clashing of the culture in the novel in the following
ways;

Firstly, there is tradition verses modernity that is to say, names like Nerima and Abraham
represent western tradition and when Mwambu is given a task to give a name to his born son by
Kuloba, and he suggests Ismail or Isaac. These names bring out the modernity in the novel, while
other names like Mwambu, Kuloba, Masaaba represent tradition. This shows that a child should
be baptized in order to match with modernity and get a Christian name, yet in the traditional
culture one is given names traditionally which carry meaning of the owner of the name.
Secondly, Marriage institution is portrayed in the novel Upon This Mountain, the Bamasaaba
believe in polygamous marriages for example Khalayi gets married to a man with many wives
because Murumbi wants to produce some girls and his wives produce only boys. The way
Mwambu wants to get married to Nambozo is contrary to the traditional way of which it is
supposed to be done. Mwambu wants to do things in the modernized manner yet his culture
follows steps and tradition in marriage issues and one is free to have as many wives as he wants.

Furthermore, in the gishu land circumcision is taken to be a serious step in a man’s life.
According to the Bamasaaba, for one to be a man has to be circumcised traditionally yet
according to the western cultures, you have to be baptized to be a man. This is evidenced when
Wabwire and Kangala do all the practices and even collect items from their relatives to initiate
their circumcision and during circumcision one has to be brave, once you cry they call you a
woman. Wabwire cries and he becomes a woman and is forced to put on dresses and his name
becomes Nabwire while on the other hand, in Christianity, the parish priest Matamali tells they
young boys during baptism that baptism makes them men.

Another cultural clash is depicted when Mwambu gets circumcised in the hospital yet according
to the Bamasaaba one has to get circumcise traditionally so as to go through the pain and show
his ability of being a man, but Mwambu doesn’t follow the traditional way which leaves a lot of
questions on the lips of the native in Namwombe sub county where others suggest that he should
be circumcised again.

More to say cultural clash is depicted through the education system. Traditionally, people could
get together and learn while on their fire places yet in western culture, one has to go to school for
instance Mwambu goes to school. Mwambu and his father Masaaba contradict each other in the
way that mwambu embraces education and is taken to school where he is able to attain all
education levels from primary to secondary yet back then. His father embraces tradition and
takes education as a mere thing that’s why he educates Mwambu a boy and leaves out a girl
Khalayi.

Additionally, cultural clash is depicted through the rainbow conflict. Nabusulwa the mother of
Mwambu believe the rainbow suck out blood from you if your near a water body and also
believe that rain does not flow when rainbow comes while in the western culture the rainbow is
a sign of reconciliation for example Mrs. Nawera teaches the creator and tells the pupils that the
rainbow is a covenant of God with his people reminding him to never send much rain to kill his
people, that is to say whenever rain is too much the rainbow appears to remind God about the
covenant. On the other hand, the Nabusulwa takes the rainbow to be deadly and she calls
Mwambu and Kangala to go away from the water stream so that the rainbow may not suck their
blood.
Besides, due to colonization of African countries, there was introduction of Christianity that has
its own beliefs for instance they believe in God where they baptize their children and also the
religion teaches about the rainbow as a remainder to God’s promise and its only god to make it
rain. The traditional culture on the other hand believe that someone can make rain for example
they believe that Mukaimba makes rain when there is no rain, to add on, traditionally Mwambu
and Khalayi believe that the ancestors eat food that’s why after super they keep the left overs for
the ancestors to eat.

Furthermore, the preaching of reverend Matamali Kusengeja also comes to be against the
traditionally way of doing things that is to say his teachings are always about purifying the
children through baptism, he baptizes Mwambu to Abraham, Wayero to Peter yet traditionally
one to be purified is through circumcision and sometimes sacrifices made to the gods and
ancestors. That is why mountain Elgon is seen as a devine place yet it is seen as a geographical
feature in the western culture.

In conclusion, Timothy Wangusa brings out conflicts and tensions that arise in the Bamasaaba
land during colonization and it’s after math due to introduction of western culture for instance
Christianity, education, language among others hence leading to loss of identity due to mixed
cultures.