Traditional Busoga hymns rent the air amid ululations and the systematic beating of drums. Several fires had been lit and a couple of cows slaughtered.

The Budhagali spirits had finally been relocated to three new modern shrines in Basoga kingdom, to pave the way for the Bujagali hydropower project.

Also included in the pilgrimage were ceremonial objects such as a three-legged stool, drums, pots, bark cloth, baskets, mats, beads, smoking pipes and spears.

Local chief spirit medium Benedicto Nfuudu, conducted the ritual. Standing before a fire, with clouds of smoke rising above him, Nfuudu told the Busoga faithful: “Ever since the spirits were temporarily kept at my home after the ground breaking ceremony for the power dam, I have not had peace. They have been nagging me for another home.”

He added: “These new shrines are in honour of the Basoga. People will be coming here to worship the spirits of our dead who protect, direct and guide us. I pray and ask that the Basoga sacrifice a cow each year to appease the spirits.”

Bujagali Energy Ltd, the developers of the Bujagali Hydropower Project in collaboration with Busoga Kingdom, constructed the shrines. It was part of the community compensation package .

“We hereby certify that the construction of the shrines and associated features has now been completed to our satisfaction…,” reads a certificate of Completion of Namizi Shrines and Relocation of Budhagali Spirits singed by Busoga Kingdom and the government.

According to cultural leaders Dumbbell Island, where the Bujagali hydropower project is located was an important cultural and traditional burial site where local communities gathered to pay respect to departed ancestors.

The site will be submerged when the 250MW hydropower project on the Nile is completed.

The acting Kyabazinga (king) of Busoga Kingdom, Kawunhe Wakooli, who was the chief guest said: “Today is an important day for Busoga and Uganda. Giving up our shrine was not easy — but for development’s sake, we had to. The government should give our children jobs because the power project will benefit all of us. Busoga Kingdom should also get its fair share of the proceeds from the project.”

BEL’s head of community interventions, Zakalia Lubega, underlined the importance of this cultural ceremony, noting that it was the final fulfilment of the community’s land acquisition demands, most of which the company had already met.

Reaching consensus

“In as far as the transfer and appeasement of the Budhagali spirits was concerned, we had difficulty in finding an alternative home. BEL was required to find a new home with guidance from Busoga Kingdom. We thank the Basoga for giving up their land for this project because the benefits of the power project are greater than their personal interests,” Lubega said.

All the people with varied interests in the land were documented, assessed and special interest groups such as those associated with cultural issues identified. Consultants were engaged to conduct further research and come up with amicable ways of dealing with cultural aspects.

“All stakeholders including those who had interest in the Budhagali spirits were compensated and cultural ceremonies such as re-burial of the dead and relocation of household shrines and spirits performed,” said Lubega. “However, the final resting place for the spirits had not been completed hence the importance of today’s ceremony.”

In Busoga folklore, water spirits are legendary. Besides the Budhagali water spirits, others include Lumbuye, Lubale, Walumbe and Mukasa that play a key religious role in society.

In his book, The Bagesu John Roscoe underscores the attachment Basoga traditional society had to water spirits.

“When a man drowned in a river, for example, members of his clan offered a fowl to the river spirit by throwing it into the water alive. They then drew some water, drank a little of it and used some to cook a meal by the river bank which they ate in the presence of the spirits. Only then were they free to take the body from the water and bury it.”

He adds: “When streams had to be crossed, coffee beans were scattered to appease the water-spirit. A menstruating woman was never allowed to cross a river in a canoe as the water spirits would sink it…”

Important ritual

The Basoga are Bantu-speaking people occupying the region between Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga, made up of the districts of Jinja, Iganga, Bugiri, Kamuli, Mayuge, Kaliro, Luuka, Butende and Namutumba.

Their primary economic activity is agriculture — they grow both cash and food crops as well as rearing cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep and goats.

The hereditary ruler of Butembe chiefdom in the greater Busoga Kingdom and custodian of the Budhagali spirits, Chief Waguma Yasin Ntembe, thanked the Ministry of Energy for consulting the community on the relocation of the spirits.

“We are grateful to the government for being keen on the importance of the Budhagali spirits. If this was not done the outcome could have been devastating,” said Ntembe.

The Busoga Kingdom has 11 chiefdoms that were united by colonialists and is ruled by a democratically elected Kyabazinga.

Compensation package

“Whenever you talk of a kingdom you are talking about the spirits, gods, name it. So the kings are the overall administrators of the spirits. Today we are transferring the spirits of our grandfathers. Budhagali was a person, we should remember in the same vein Christians hold memorial services for the departed relatives,” Ntembe said.

Chief Ntembe said in return for their sacrifices the people of Butembe would like the government to provide them with piped water and electricity, a tourist information centre with trained personnel as well as a perimeter fence to protect the shrines.

The assistant commissioner, electrical power division in the Ministry of Energy, Henry Bidasala-Igaga said: “We thank the Basoga who have been very coperative in this initiative of the new dam as we seek to protect our cultural heritage and develop our country at the same time. We also thank BEL for fulfilling their promises including the relocation of the spirits.”

He added: “Development and culture complement each other. As we initiate projects, it’s important that we respect the norms of a community. The people of this area should therefore guide, maintain, develop and protect this new home of the spirits. This place will not only serve as a worship location but will also attract tourists and cultural exchange programmes.”

Cultural compensation is not a new phenomenon. For example, in order to pave the way for the construction of the Aswan dam, Unesco dismantled the ancient Egyptian Philae Temple and relocated it to an island 550 kilometres away.

This temple, whose origin dates back to the earliest Egyptian dynasties, was consecrated to the goddess Isis, an ancient divinity of Egypt.

The Unesco cultural consultant in the Ministry of Energy David Kalanzi, said: “While we appreciate development we should endeavour to preserve people’s cultures and beliefs.

“Because the original home of the Budhagali spirits will be flooded we needed to relocate the spirits so the Basoga can continue worshipping them. So the dam will not prevent the people from worshipping the spirits.”

The first unit generation of 50MW from the Bujagali Hydropower project being built on the Victoria Nile near Jinja is expected towards the end of October or early November.

The remaining 200MW will be completed in phases culminating in full commissioning by April 2012.

“Hydropower will be considerably cheaper when we start commercial production towards the end of this year. In April 2012 we shall have enough power. We shall then start to retire the thermal plants that are highly subsidised by the Government of Uganda, which pushes the cost of business upwards,” BEL deputy construction manager, Kenneth Kaheru said.

BEL is a special purpose company, co-owned by Industrial Promotion Services (Kenya), an affiliate of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, Sithe Global Power, LLC (US) an affiliate of the Blackstone Group and the government of Uganda.

BEL will own and operate the $860 million Bujagali Hydroelectric power plant for the 30- year concession period before transferring it to the government of Uganda.