Batwa cultural trail
Experience the Amazing Batwa cultural Group
The Batwa cultural trail
The Batwa pygmies are one of the popular tribes in Uganda as well as East Africa living in the forests of Congo as well as around the protected areas of Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, and Semuliki National Park.
The Batwa pygmy people are a small minority group, in Uganda they originally lived in the forests co-existing with the wildlife. However, when the forests were gazetted as protected areas. They were forced to live in the areas around the gazetted protected areas including Bwindi Impenetrable National Park then known as Echuya and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
The eviction of the Batwas started during the 1990s and it was done by the colonial rulers and later the government of Uganda, they were pushed out of the national parks and forced to abandon their traditional homes and customs and forcefully settle in camps in districts of Kanungu, Kabale and Kisoro.
To the colonialists, the Batwa were considered to be poachers and saw an urgent need to protect the forest and the rare and endangered mountain gorillas living therein. Thus, their forced eviction.
Despite, the efforts of the government and other international organizations to ensure a smooth eviction of the Batwa and moving them into their new settlements. There have been some challenges such as, the Batwa have still failed to completely cope with the modern ways of life.
While living in the forests, the Batwa had a simple life as they had everything they needed in the forest. They only had to hunt and gather fruits. But with their new settlement, they have to face several challenges including poverty, sickness and drunkenness among others. Also, they have to cope with modern farming methods like beekeeping, crop farming and animal rearing.
Still, a few of the Batwa groups live forests on the outskirts of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Who is helping the Batwa People?
The appalling condition of the Batwa people has not gone without notice, several organisations and individual donors work with the government to help stop the poverty, primitive practices, discrimination, marginalization, high mortality rate and possible extinctions of the Batwa Pygmy.
One of the great challenges faced by these organisations, individuals and projects had to deal with was the high mortality rate among the Batwa specifically due to both communicable and non- communicable diseases. These deaths were mainly because the Batwa were less immune to diseases found outside the forest, also the batwa have no access to high quality clinics.
Apart from the government through the Uganda Wildlife Authority, other organisations supporting the Batwa include The United States Agency for International Development (USAIN) and United Organization for Batwa Development in Uganda (UOBDU)
The Batwa Cultural Experience in Bwindi Vs the Batwa trail in Mgahinga
As away of helping the Batwa gain from tourism and attract more funding, the Batwa Cultural Experience was introduced by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and United Organization for Batwa Development in Uganda (UOBDU) with support from USAID. The Uganda Wildlife Authority is a governmental Agency responsible for managing all of Uganda’s protected areas.
The Batwa trail experience is done Bwindi Impenetrable National Park as well as Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, the experience has become a major tourism product which is normally included in gorilla trekking packages.
The Batwa Cultural Experience in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park involves visiting communities of the Batwa living in the edges of Bwindi Forest, this activity is often done after gorilla trekking in Bwindi Forest. On this experience, the pygmies showcase all the important aspects of their culture to tourists through dance, drama and storytelling.
The Batwa Cultural Experience in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is a longer and more exciting Batwa experience, this trail is set to ensure that tourists get a more practical understanding of the history and kind of life lived by the Batwa pygmies.
This thrilling activity is led the Batwa themselves and right in the forest, a group f Batwa guides accompany tourists deep into the forests to unlock their ancient hideouts, caves and hunting groups. Tourists participate in hunting, gathering fruits, making fire and identifying herbs to treat common ailments and visiting the Garamba Caves.
The mystical caves were very important in the history of the Batwa people, it was home to their king and where he presided over major meetings. Also, they were used as store for food and a hiding place for the Batwa incase of they were attacked by enemies.
After visiting the forest with the Batwa, tourists are led back to Batwa homesteads for cultural entertainment – dance, drama and storytelling. This Batwa trail takes about 5 hours, all proceed and funds collected from tourists are invested in various Batwa Community development projects.
Note: The Batwa Culture experience in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park may be different in the way they are organized, they remain the same and they were started to protect Eco-tourism and to enable the marginalized Batwa People benefit from tourism after being forcefully expelled from the forests of Bwindi and Mgahinga.
