Bujora - Sukuma museum
We visited this museum for two reasons. The first was that we wanted to learn about one of the many cultures (tribe) in the country. The second was that the founder of the museum and the church attached to it is a Quebec missionary; Father David Clement.
A feature of this place is that the Sukuma people, with the help of father Clement, have preserved a good part of their customs and beliefs despite being converted to Catholicism.
Several African tribes have lost their traditions after the arrival of colonialists and missionaries. This priest wanted the people to keep their traditions while embracing a new religion. The Sukuma people have a great admiration for what he did for them.
The museum provides a glimpse of what were the Sukuma customs and preserve examples through a nice collection of antiques.
On this picture, one can see a theatre where two dance groups were facing each other in a friendly way. The audience chose the best team by shouting for them.
This building contained the royal drums. These were as important as the king himself. If a neighbouring tribe was vanquished, the royal drums were recovered by the victors. It was a symbol of power on another tribe.
The following three pictures illustrate a healer's house, and objects he was using for his work.
Father Clement has founded a church that conserves a part of the belief of the Sukuma People.
At the time, Father Clement was denigrated by the Church, since it was going to destroy the religion by allowing these people to keep their traditions.
One of the customs of the Sukuma culture is dancing to the rhythm of drums. We had the chance to be invited to a wedding where the local traditional dance group would be doing a show for the guests.
With the current priest, we took part in the ceremony in honour of the bride and groom. We ate there and were seating in the front row to watch the dance show.
