Who will redeem Teso’s rain maker?

A female Abyssinian ground hornbill at Opuure Swamp in Atiira Sub-county, Serere District

What you need to know:

Under threat. The Abyssinian ground hornbill is on the verge of extinction, according to Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Isidoro Ocak’amani, 76, a resident of Olagara village, in Kateta Sub-county, Serere District was banished from his community for almost four decades for killing a bird that his clan associates so much with strong rain making beliefs. In the fateful year, a prolonged dry spell, harsher than any other before, had befallen Ocak’amani’s village and when the elders were consulted to establish the possible cause of the drought, he was found to be the culprit. One of his younger brothers, in a group of other boys looking after goats, had seen him bury the bird at a swamp in the neighbouring village.
Clan elders decided that Ocak’amani’s punishment, among others, would include forfeiting all his inherited land and neither would he attend any burial in the village, not even of his own closest relatives.

Sought after species
“Someone had told Ocak’amani that a portion of the bird’s beak could work as a love charm. That is why he killed it,” Yakobo Osingiro, Ocak’amani’s brother says.
The Abyssinian ground hornbill, commonly known as esukusuk among the Itesot, is a black bird that walks gracefully with a coloured throat, red in males and blue in females.
The bird, which is about one metre tall, preys on frogs, snails, young snakes and other small reptiles in the bush. It belongs to the hornbills family found in Tropical and sub-tropical Africa, north of the equator in particular. Unlike most birds, the Abyssinian ground hornbill is carnivorous.

“Abyssinian ground hornbills live in small families of about six members. They nest in trunks of big trees, that they bore with their hard beaks,” William Ojilong of Teso Community Action for Nature, says.
Ojilong reveals that due to its rare characteristics, the hornbill is much sought after by scientists interested in researching about it, specifically the taboos and traditional beliefs associated with it, especially those related to rain making. For long, communities in Teso believed that when the bird hooted, it was time to prepare gardens for planting.

Whenever rains delayed to return at their normal season, it was suspected something wrong had happened to the bird and the search to recover its remains for a decent burial, after conducting a ritual to appease the gods, would commence immediately.
“The belief was so strong that whoever harmed the bird would face the wrath of the community. It was a serious taboo and the moment one was killed, there would be a serious drought and community members ganged up to search for its remains,” Moses Ariong, member of Iteso Cultural Union, says.

Although the belief has not been proved scientifically, several people in the region are still holding onto the cultural values attached to the bird, which is currently facing extinction.
“As children, we knew the bird is the rain maker for us. But they are no longer common. Maybe that is why the dry seasons are longer these days,” Christopher Amorut, a clan elder in Serere District, says.

Traditional beliefs
In most areas across the region, it is believed the rain patterns have been affected because some people begun killing the birds for witchcraft-related demands.
In Teso, they are mostly found in the districts of Kumi, Ngora, Serere and Katakwi, particularly in areas surrounding lakes Bisina, Opeta and Kyoga.

Charles Okuta, a law enforcement officer with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), says the Abyssinian ground hornbill’s existence is under threat as it has been forced to abandon its natural habitat because of the rampant cutting down of big trees on which it curves out the nest holes to lay eggs in.
He says Teso is rich with such rare birds and the unique cultural values associated with them. These, he adds, could be turned into a big a potential for tourism in the sub region.
Uganda is a birder’s paradise, with over half of all bird species in Africa found in the country, making it the richest African birding destination. It boasts of over 1000 species.

“There is also the shoebill, another rare bird that has attracted great attention from international birders. It is these kind of species that we are fighting hard to protect,” Okuta says.
“Conservation status for these birds that survive on wetlands is increasing becoming uncertain and we encourage communities living around swamps to participate in efforts to save the species,” Okuta adds.
The UWA law enforcement official reveals that the shoebill stock in particular is currently estimated at 200 across in the country, dropping from 5,000 in only a decade.