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and the people of the lake

I come and sit here as often as I can. Beside the lake, under my favourite fig tree. To relax, to contemplate. Or if I have a problem, it is a perfect place to search for solution.

Some call it Nyanza,
Outsider named it Victoria.
We know it as Nnalubaale -
We of Buganda.

I prefer to come at evening time, when the lake is quieter - momentary visits of silence. Enraptured always; by the orange of sunset - the canvas of the Creator.

In my sweet reverie,
It's splendour of colour.
Of the yellow-backed weaver,
The paradise flycatcher.

The kingfisher on the branch, dreaming of barbs and dragonfly. The shy situanga, amongst the reeds; one of the most beautiful of antelopes.

Fisherman on the lake,
Fish eagle above me.
Blessed by panorama,
A cinema called Rift Valley.

There's no place I'd rather be than here. To see a Goliath Heron, prominent on his throne. The spotted-necked otter; the swimming supremo, a connoisseur of crustaceans.

Being a farmer,
This water's everything to me.
The source of my health,
The gift of fertility.

So I think of Katonda, the Creator. And of Mukasa, guardian spirit of the lake. I thank and praise them, for what they continue to give me.

I go to Bubembe Isle,
The shrine of Mukasa.
To say thank you for banana,
For sugar cane and cassava.

I speak through a priest or priestess, who we have titled mandwa. They are members of the Njovu clan, whose totem is the elephant.

I give thanks for nile perch,
And also tilapia.
For the white-sand beach,
And the woodland savanna.

This shrine we call ekiggwa. The residence of the sacred drums. A place of pilgrimage, it's balm of beauty.

The stork and the ibis,
Buffalo and crocodile.
I have a little time now,
So I think I'll sit awhile.

These moments are very precious to me. And when I leave, I feel refreshed, renewed. Walking home, smiling at the thought, of bouncing around with my son.

Whether from Uganda, Tanzania or Kenya; we the people of the lake, are blessed by what Katonda has given us, guarded over by Mukasa.

© Natty Mark Samuels, 2012.

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