What have you heard about the backcloth? There is a lot that has been written and majorly documented about the barkcloth, how it was prestigious and an outfit for royals. How this ended up becoming a symbol of demise is a whole story that needs to be investigated.
But the clearer story is that before Christianity and civilisation, the barkcloth was worn on weddings and was gifted to people. It was used to bridge and cement social relations. It served as a connecting thread between the past and present generations; the finest prints or materials were usually secured for some of the most important people in the society.
According to a research by Dr Venny Nakazibwe, ever since its collection and documentation as an ethnographic artefact during the late-19th and early-20th century. Bark cloth has evolved and its functions are no longer confined within the cultural boundaries of Buganda, since it has now become an international medium of visual artistic expression.
There is a lot of detail associated with barkcloth, especially the different terms such as lubugo, which is the most renowned.
Then there’s olusango, which many have stated that it gets it’s name from Sango- a place in Buddu County, know for having the best barkcloth trees. Then there is omusala and kimote. Kimote barkcloth was steamed, which rendered the bark fabric softer andproduced a rich terracotta-brown hue.
This was predominantly made from Buddu County. Nakazibwe, in her research, says Kimote was a 19th-century chief of Sango, in Kannabulemu sub-county, in Buddu. As the system had been at that time, the Baganda were required to provide labour and give part of their produce as tribute to the monarchy, through their respective county chiefs.
Hence, it was a common practice for the chiefs to spend several months at the royal capital, attending to state duties. For that reason, caravans from various counties used to bring supplies necessary for the royal duties and for the maintenance of the chiefs and their men during their stay at the royal capital.
Caravans from Buddu were commonly loaded with high quality bark-cloth, which was much softer and of a richer hue as compared to the type produced in other counties. So, whenever the Bannabuddu arrived at the royal capital, the Baganda from other counties would say: "Abe Buddu baleese embugo za Kimote", meaning "the caravan from Buddu has arrived with bark-cloth from Kimote's chieftainship".
From then, bark-cloth from Buddu was associated with Kimote. Reciprocally, Kimote also came to be associated with the high technology of bark-cloth production. With this background, you know Kimote, though, Hassan Mageye’s film is not about the man who gave that barkcloth its name, it is about a descendant of his.
Kimote, a local film which will be premiering on April 25 at Acacia Mall’s based Century Cinema. The story follows a disillusioned descendant of Kimote, who spent his life making barkcloth, but now sees it as nothing but an image of death.
He abandons and orders his son to abandon it too, although the son decides to keep the culture alive, against his father’s wish. Kimote is not a medieval film, al though it takes Uganda back to its time. It is a film which also comes off as a reflection of the times and beliefs of the time.
Starring Isaac Mendez Kintu, Natukunda Blessing, Rogers Masaba, Sarah Kisauzi and Abbey Mukiibi among others, the film looks at a society on crossroads between tradition and modernity. For instance, at this time, barkcloth has since been relegated to death and sombre moments, still at this time, rape is blamed on the victim than the aggressors, in fact, one of our characters is an outcast because she was raped.
How all this ties into the barkcloth and the story of Kimote Jr going against his father to keep a culture alive is something very interesting. "A unique story that holds the strength of a true African tale.
It embraces the life and traditions of how our greats lived before civilization, weaving the essence of the past into a compelling narrative for new generations," Mageye says. Mageye is not new to films laced with social justice messages, from his films such as Devil’s Chest about war lord, Joseph Kony to Bedroom Chains which talked about domestic abuse and how men went away with it in the 1970s. With Kimote, the writer aims to document and preserve an important aspect of African material and culture through storytelling.
