Bitone Rocks!

FILMING BITONE

Bitone Means "Talent"
children and youth heal their lives by learning traditional African performing arts




Thank You Bitone

Way up there in the realm of "Best Life Experiences...Ever" now sits the memory of walking into a small, light filled living room with four worn out couches (evidently from lots of practice sessions), and unfamiliar musical instruments hanging on the walls. Children spilled into the room and organized themselves in choir-like rows behind one of the couches as five young men removed various instruments from the walls- one took a seat behind a carved wooden xylophone, and another beneath what I could best describe as a harp. Neither Ssanyu, Erik nor I were prepared for what we were given and I can't quite put into words how the voices I heard touched me, but I'll try. Imagine a chamber of "stuff," locked away inside your soul, a messy room of suppressed emotion you never knew existed, and now imagine a key opening that door to let in a flood of blinding, healing light...

And then they danced for us. The young men and women showed us a courtship dance with much bravado and took to drumming that electrified the ground. A couple girls were kind enough to teach Ssanyu and I traditional moves from our clan...Thank you Bitone.


****** Pssst. Over here!

Bitone was recently invited to perform for dignitaries entering Uganda at Entebbe airport but could not afford costumes. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to perform so I can't sit well with the disappointment my Bitone homies felt from this setback. Please keep Bitone in mind and listen to the music as Peace & Happiness organizes a structured way to contribute to the purchase of costumes, sound equipment and transportation.



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Special thank you to Bitone Director Branco Sekalegga, who was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and is currently studying musicology at Wesleyan University (serendipity strikes again, Wesleyan is my Alma Mater). And to Grant Buhr the producer, activist, engineer who diligently records the sounds of Bitone and is responsible for the US promotion efforts.

Coming Soon: The Talented Youth of Bitone Troupe!!!

Omg. The Bitone Troupe blew us away with dynamic performances of traditional Ugandan dance and music last Sunday. Beyond amazing...Once we have a better internet connection we'll post those pics and video...for now listen to the music at www.myspace.com/bitonetroupe!!!

Under the Shea Tree: Photos

Certified Organic Shea Oil

The Market Under the Shea Trees

Orum Edition

Part of our research into the Rwot Ber Women's Association (the shea nut gatherers organization) led us to the weekly Saturday morning market that takes place beneath a halo of shea trees. The location once served as a rebel camp ground. We went to the market in search of shea oil, a common cooking oil in the region, and after a few hours of filming we sat our tired behinds down for a meal at the Obama Hotel (a round mud structure with a grass roof) for pigeon peas with shea nut oil and cassava.

While Ssanyu spoke with 11 saleswomen in the market whose husbands had been killed by The Lord's Resistance Army, I wandered around and took photographs.
We walked through the remnants of the IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps on the way to the market, a stark reminder of the atrocities that went on there. One woman said they had to always travel together to gather nuts during that time because gatherers were dissapearing, taken away by the rebels.

Ssanyu W/Local Woman, Lira

Photos: Northern Uganda

Erik Shirai, Cinematographer

Expedition: Northern Uganda

We have been dipping ourselves in shea butter and climbing shea trees in Northern Uganda for the past two days. We are in the Northern province of Lira after a bumpy 4 hour ride that involved crossing the Nile River... I was afraid to come here at first because of the Lord's Resistance Army's control over the area but Ssanyu was fearless from our initial planning meeting in the US. The LRA has been wrecking havoc on the local people, although as we learned today from the village official there has been relative peace for the last three years. Still, I can't say I'm comfortable crossing military checkpoints...

Today we drove through the bush further upcountry from Lira to the Okwang district with cinematographer Erik Shirai to film the Rwot Ber Women's Association, a women's group comprised of shea nut gatherers. Meeting with the women will help us better understand their needs and their relationship with the shea trees. They spoke of needing sewing machines to create jobs outside of the shea trade and to clothe their children...

The shea trees against the clear blue sky is a breathtaking sight to behold. Ssanyu and I climbed one that had been damaged by men who burn the base of the tree to to make coal, the largest threat to the shea trees survival. Deforestation as well as coal are destroying the harvest, but a healthy tree can provide more income from the nuts than the coal which provides quick money...

It is nothing less than heart wrenching the moment we learn who is HIV positive in the groups of women we meet with . This is the second women's group we have met since we arrived in Uganda, the first being in the Eco Village on Lake Victoria near Kampala. Both groups of women have been devastated by AIDS. In Okwang the infected women are mostly rape victims of LRA soldiers, while in Lake Victoria, the problem is primarily marital infidelity.

We can't wait to share the video footage Erik shot of the organic shea butter process from A-Z and of the Rwot Ber Women's association, but for now, here are some photos from today.

Peace & Happiness