Gallery
A movement documenting Uganda's clans and their traditional dances — turning research into training, performance, and a lasting record for the generations after this one.
Launched 2018 by Batalo EastKuhamahama began as a documentation project — researchers and dancers travelling into Maracha, Butaleja and Bundibugyo to record the clans and the traditional dances specific to each region. The team studied and catalogued the instruments and props behind each dance, working alongside local elders and cultural leaders to make sure the record was accurate before it was ever taught. Four years of that research culminated in two lasting outputs: the Kuhamahama book, and a companion music EP — the first time much of this material had been documented in a form that could travel beyond the communities that hold it.
Kuhamahama was built to outlast its own funding. Working with district education offices and cultural institutions gave the project a route into schools and communities that a touring company alone couldn't reach.
Kuhamahama worked directly with district education offices and cultural institutions in each region to place the programme inside existing community structures, not alongside them.
Each region's training cycle closed with a public presentation, where trained dancers received certificates in front of their own communities.
A number of the dancers trained through Kuhamahama went on to train others in their own regions, extending the programme’s reach well past its original cohort.
The programme deliberately prioritised school dropouts and youth without access to formal education — giving them a skill, a certificate, and a stage.
Kuhamahama's dancers and research were presented on one of East Africa's largest platforms for music and performing arts.
The project's home stage — where Kuhamahama material has featured alongside Batalo East's wider repertoire, including the book's launch.