Wrestling piece wins at Uganda National Youth Heritage contest

An illustration portraying traditional Ugandan wrestlers won the grand prize in the 2016 National Youth Heritage Competition.

Titled Traditional Wrestling by Joshua Muyinza, a senior six student at Sacred Heart Kiteredde Secondary School in Rakai District, the work shows a wrestling match held in a palace in front of a Kabaka (King) of Buganda.

According to Muyinza, “Wrestling matches started with great excitement through singing and dancing. Wrestlers danced and bowed to the king to show respect for him. Thereafter, the two competitors shook hands to display their bravery to each other. The wrestler who put his opponent’s head and back on the ground first was the winner. The winner would then kneel down while facing the King and bow.”

The first runner-up prize went to Wendy Nyamutooro, a senior four student of Rubaga Girls Secondary School in Kampala for her illustration titled Omweso, which is a traditional chess game.

Rogers Okot, a senior four student of Kitgum Comprehensive College in Kitgum District won the second runner-up prize for his piece titled Hunting.

The competition is organised by the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda with the aim of encouraging the youth to appreciate and preserve their culture and to respect diversity.

This year’s theme was “The illustration and relevance of traditional games and sports.” Young people aged below 20 years were invited to illustrate a traditional game or sport, explain how it is played and its relevance to their local culture.

According to the organisers, this year, 260 entries were received from different parts of the country. There were 13 winners who were feted at the awards ceremony at the Uganda National Museum in Kampala on December 1. The winners will see their pieces features in the 2017 National Heritage Calendar.