Leveraging Indigenous Totemic Traditions with Modern Strategies for Enhancing Wildlife Conservation in the Buganda Kingdom, Uganda
Joseph Muyiira
School of Sciences, P.O. Box 237, Nkumba University, Uganda.
John Crysostom Ssekamwa
School of Education, P.O. Box 237, Nkumba University, Uganda.
Alex Barakagira *
School of Sciences, P.O. Box 237, Nkumba University, Uganda.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Totems are animals and plants that are sacred and have special symbolic meanings to some groups of people. Disturbing or eating a totemic animal or plant amongst these groups of people is usually forbidden, the practice that may lead to plant or animal conservation. The overall purpose of the study was to synthesize the contribution of totemic practices towards wildlife conservation. A mechanism of integrating the Buganda totemic practices to wildlife conservation as a modern and alternative conservation practice of wildlife species and their habitats was derived. Specifically, the research was guided by the following objectives. To explore the cultural values, beliefs and norms of totemic practices in relation to wildlife conservation in the Buganda kingdom; and to evaluate the relationship between totem practices and wildlife conservation in the Buganda Kingdom. A cross-sectional research design was employed to achieve the stated objectives because, the study based on the people’s experiences on totemic practices and wildlife conservation amongst some groups of people. Both the qualitative and quantitative research approaches were employed to obtain the data. A total number of the 388 research participants which was obtained from a target population of 13,500 people from the Mawokota, Busiro, and Buddu counties of Buganda were included in the study. Some key informants from the Buganda Heritage Tourism Board, Uganda Wildlife Education Centre and the Uganda Wildlife Authority were included in the study for qualitative data. These were purposively selected since they were assumed to have some requisite knowledge about the study subject. The questionnaire survey, interview and focus group discussion methods were used to generate data. The quantitative data obtained were entered into a Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 23.0 for analysis. The qualitative data were thematically analyzed to generate information to supplement to the quantitative findings. The study revealed that some cultural values, beliefs and norms within the Kingdom positively contributed to wildlife conservation and habitat protection. The majority of the respondents (97.9% and 99.7%) agreed that involvement of the local communities and enhancing indigenous environmental education programmes respectively, contributes to the protection and conservation of wildlife species. In addition, strengthening the enforcement of the wildlife protection laws (94.9%) and collaboration with traditional leaders (92%) to integrate totemic practices and modern conservation strategies was viewed as a valuable approach towards wildlife conservation. A totemic Integration Practices Model (TIPSM) was then formulated aimed at giving some modern and alternative conservation strategies to the Government of Uganda for furthering and strengthening the wildlife conservation practices and habitat protection. In addition, the integration of the cultural values, beliefs and norms of the local community, and the totemic practices amongst the Cultural Institutions are very crucial for wildlife conservation and habitat protection in an area, which may culminate into environmental sustainability.
Keywords: Community-based conservation, cultural institutions, environmental sustainability, modern conservation strategies, totemic practices, wildlife conservation