Since mid-April, Dr. Scott Nokes has travelled throughout Uganda collecting pre-colonial oral stories from storytellers as part of his research through a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program grant.
Nokes, professor of medieval literature in TROY’s English Department, arrived in Uganda in January with the plan to conduct his research for six months. However, he spent the first three months trying to obtain his research license. During those three months, he taught at his host school, Kyambogo University, developing future programs for TROY students in Uganda and laying the groundwork for his research.
As soon as he received his permit, he began traveling around the country documenting stories and meeting with cultural leaders. He was even granted an additional three months to conduct his research by Fulbright.
Because of Uganda’s history with dishonest and unethical researchers, Nokes shared people are often initially suspicious when approached.
“I constantly run into people who tell me that I’m the first researcher they’ve met who actually had a permit,” Nokes said. “As soon as I give them a copy to show them that I’m working within the ethical and legal boundaries, all of the walls come down, and people are eager to work with me. Although that permitting process initially stalled my research, once I had it, everything began moving very quickly, and I’ve had access to people and places that otherwise I never would have had – I’ve been invited to palaces, cabinet meetings, to meet with kingdom cabinet ministers, hereditary guardians of historical tombs – in fact, I don’t have a problem with invitations anymore; now people complain that I haven’t visited their area yet!”
While his main objective is recording stories from before the arrival of the British in the 19th century, Nokes has met with storytellers who want to share more, including long-held legends and personal stories.
“They have been so eager to tell their stories and have them reach out beyond Uganda,” Nokes said. “So far, every single storyteller has chosen to use his or her real name and has also chosen the ‘For Public Use’ option on the informed consent form. They love their various cultures and want others to know about them.”
Nokes shared Uganda is made up of several kingdoms, each with their own cultural significance. Word-of-mouth references have made most of his follow-up interviews possible.
“At first, I thought that each kingdom in Uganda would have to be approached separately, and there are some kingdoms that I have better contacts in than others, but what I’ve found is that when I interview a cultural leader from one kingdom, he’ll say, ‘I have a friend who runs a museum in another kingdom, would you like me to contact him for you?’ They have been unbelievably generous with their time and connections. It’s not unusual anymore for me to be having lunch with someone who then will just call the Prime Minister of a kingdom and ask to set up a meeting.”
On more than one occasion during his travels, Nokes has had the opportunity to meet with a king, including Kwar Adhola Moses Stephen Owor, who is the 100-year-old-king of the Jopadhola people in the eastern part of Uganda. During the meeting, Nokes wore a kanzu, a long robe that was originally worn by Arab traders centuries ago but has become the choice of formal wear in modern Uganda.
“As I arrived, he happened to be sitting out front on his porch,” Nokes said. “When he saw that I had worn a kanzu out of respect, he rose and greeted me with a hug, surprised that I had taken such care to understand their customs and buy the appropriate clothing. His English is excellent, and we spent some time in his palace talking about his travels abroad, his family in America, and my experience in Uganda. I gave him a Troy University pennant, and he suggested we take photographs of him receiving it so that the TROY community might experience friendship with the Jopadhola people.
“He then agreed to sit and give us a story,” Nokes continued. “He chose to speak in English and gave a lot of cultural contexts for his tales, from the historic to analysis of current politics. The reason he gave for speaking in English rather than Dhupadhol, the language of his people, was that he wanted the rest of the world to experience their culture. Perhaps the most notable thing about the Kwar Adhola is how humble he is for a man of such importance.”
Kwar Adhola even gave Nokes a name to use while visiting his kingdom.
“’Okoth,’ meaning ‘rain’ because I came at the end of the rainy season,” Nokes said. “People from that kingdom have already started addressing me as ‘Professor Okoth,’ and several have pointed out that the name is a particular blessing because rains are seen as a blessing from God. In fact, one of my Ugandan colleagues and I had a conversation about the Toto song ‘Africa,’ and how the line ‘I bless the rains down in Africa’ now applies to me.”
Another challenge Nokes has faced is the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa. While there have been some recorded cases in Uganda, Nokes and his team are staying vigilant.
“We travel with hand sanitizer and avoid handshaking,” Nokes said, “We take private transportation everywhere, and even carry latex gloves and face masks when we travel.”
After receiving a CDC briefing and establishing a plan to keep his team healthy, Nokes hopes to travel to western Uganda to conduct even more interviews with his contacts there.
You can learn more about Nokes’ travels in Uganda and what he’s learning along the way by following him on social media on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or X.
