And in the eighth month of her eighth pregnancy, Mama Africa went up to the midwife and asked, “What poem shall we welcome this child with?”
Midwife Beverley Nambozo said, “This calls for another celebration of words.”
So she organised a festival in Kampala, the city of rolling hills and boda bodas, from August 24-26. Poets from around the continent vied for the honour of regaling Mama Africa’s baby with their finest words. The elders selected the top contenders and invited them to present their works.
The ceremony was christened Babishai Poetry Festival, for Mama Africa gave birth around this time every year. The name came from the midwife’s poetry foundation, Babishai Niwe, which means ‘creating with you’.
“But why are you so fond of poetry?” some relatives asked Mama Africa. They brought her matooke, nakati, rice, sweet potatoes and tilapia, but still she wanted poems.
“Ever since I read Okot p’Bitek’s Song of Lawino, poetry has been food to my soul,” she said with a smile.
Fifty years since the book’s publication, the clash of cultures it bespoke still bore relevance to Mama Africa. She felt giving birth in the comfort of her home was poetry in nature.
But Dr Susan Kiguli, writer of The African Saga, told her the ancestors were not foolish when they allowed hospitals to be built. “When the music changes, so does the dance,” she said.
Mama Africa confided in a friend that, even though she was heavy with child, “My husband is still asking for it.”
The friend told a friend, until even the village idiot knew about it. Soon, aunties were bombarding Mama Africa with advice.
“Give him… No, tell him to wait … Banange, dowry has consequences…”
Abashed, Mama Africa said she didn’t want to talk about sex. Sensing her dilemma, though, the midwife asked Akello writer Abigail Arunga to counsel her.
Mama Africa’s baby showers used to be women’s affairs, but the midwife opened the door to men two years ago. Some of them needed clues on what to compose for a pregnant woman. So the midwife asked A Nation in Labour author Harriet Anena, “What are Ugandan women ‘poeting’ about?”
Blogger Magunga Williams thought he could find some answers on the internet. He had tried the library but it was full of academic, motivational and Western literature. So the midwife called a meeting to discuss innovative ways to find content by Africans.
A debate ensued: Who should propose a toast to Mama Africa — public speakers or spoken word poets? The midwife set the stage for a verbal duel, titling it the ‘Toastmasters Challenge’.
And then came the time to determine which poem to welcome Mama Africa’s little one with. The shortlist featured two poets from Kenya, two from Nigeria, three from South Africa and one from the host nation, Uganda.
There were oohs and aahs as they recited — a society immersed in poetry. Mama Africa waited until she felt a kick of joy in her womb, and then she announced, “We have a winner.”
Ululations filled the air. Even before Mama Africa’s child drew its first breath, a new poetry ambassador was born.
In 2009, it was Lillian Aujo. She felt validated that others enjoy what many deemed “eccentric and purely academic”. For Sophie Alal a year later, it was the affirmation she needed to “probe silences and mine local traditions”.
Winning in 2011 changed Sanyu Kisaka’s approach to writing from the personal to the communal. And yours truly realised in 2014 that the write-ups I used to pester my friends with were not early symptoms of insanity, after all.
When Mama Africa gives birth, poetry wins. Mark your calendar, book your ticket, and join the welcoming party for three days of poetry, music and untamed culture.
The festival will be at Maria’s Place, Ntinda. To register, call George Kiwanuka on +256 703 147862, or email [email protected].
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A quiet boy beneath a loud hat, Tom Jalio won the Babishai Poetry Award in 2014 with the heartbreak poem, ‘There was once something special here’ (http://bit.ly/1wAztpz). It has since been translated to Dutch, German, Italian and Spanish.