The museums of any country represent their past and history. Ugandan Museums too present a part of Uganda on their own. Visit Uganda and see our History, culture and heritages unfold itself in the unspoken walls of these museums which have the past closed in them. Here are the some of the most famous ones….
Uganda National Museum
The National Museum is 3km along Kira road from the heart of Kampala city. It is the oldest in East Africa. The museum was established in 1908 with assortments of item/objects from the different traditional chiefs. The Museum holds items on Uganda’s history, natural historical samples, musical instruments and archeological artifacts.
Ankole Culture and Dramactors Museum
Ankole Culture and Dramactors Museum located at Kabingo Sub-county, 10km off the Mbarara-Isingiro Road in Isingiro, Here you can see artifacts and dances that depict the history and cultural traditions of the Banyankore. The museum helps women earn a living through the preservation of artefacts, performances and education.
Butambala Heritage Centre of Civilization
Located in Mpigi District, Butambala is known as the home of the Akasimba clan, the official ironsmiths of the Buganda king, the Kabaka. Here you can see the Akasimba blacksmiths in action, following the process from heating and shaping the iron into farming tools, traditional home utensils, and especially the spears still in use today when the new heir of the family takes over from his/her deceased father.
Centre of African Christian Studies Museum
Located in Kampala along Ggaba Road Just before Bbunga, Long before modern Christianity was introduced to Africa, Africans believed in a loving supreme God. Christianity therefore found existing values and societal standards, as well as instruments that were used in spiritual worship. At the CACISA Museum in Kampala, one can find materials that depict African values, indigenous wisdom and cultural heritage that have been ‘inculturated’ to promote the integration of Christian and African values.
Cultural Research Centre Museum
Located in Eastern Uganda, In the centre of Jinja town, at the Nile Garden, you will find the Cultural Research Centre Museum where you will learn all about the cultural heritage of the Busoga kingdom and their People.
Edirisa Museum
Located in the centre of Kabale Town off Kisoro road, renowned activist of the Kiga culture and language Omugurusi Festo Karwemera has built a unique replica of the traditional Kiga homestead, complete with traditional tools, domestic utensils and a shrine. The Home of Edirisa has grown to serve both locals and tourists, with a cultural museum, a backpackers’ hostel, a craft gallery, an internet café and a restaurant, all with the Kiga homestead as the central theme.
Igongo Culture Centre
Located at Bihaarwe, 10 Km before Mbarara town on the Masaka– Mbarara highway, the Igongo Cultural Centre was launched in 2009 to preserve and promote the cultural and natural heritage of South-Western Uganda. The location enjoys a culturally rich hinterland and close proximity to Lake Mburo National park. The Centre offers a museum, a cultural village, craft shop, and gardens where performances are held.
Iteso Cultural Union Museum
At the headquarters of the Iteso Cultural Union in Soroti Town (opposite the Soroti Hotel) you will find a museum displaying domestic utensils, the regalia and hunting tools of the Itesot. The museum also promotes the intangible heritage through a film on the traditional stories, norms and values of the People of Teso.
Kabalega Development Foundation
Located in in the town centre of Hoima District western Uganda, you will find spears, crowns, dress and furniture of the kings of Bunyoro-Kitara kingdom all have a story to tell. Did you know that the King’s stool has nine legs, compared to the three on the stool for an ordinary person? At the Kabalega Development Foundation, you will learn about the history of the Banyoro, as depicted in the kings’ regalia. Additionally you get to enter the royal palace and residence of the reigning Omukama of Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom.
Karamoja Women’s Cultural Group
Located In Natumkasikoua village near Moroto town, a group of women display a collection of Karamojong items – headgear, beads, stools, pots and handicrafts and many more. The Museum gives you the opportunity to buy a ‘piece’ of the Karamojong culture: a Karamojong tartan wrap complete with hand-made beads and tyre sandals.
Kaere African Museum
Located in Busega 1km from Kampala, The artist and museum owner Godfrey Kawere displays a collection of art-pieces, newspaper cuttings and photographs that depict the political history and culture of Uganda, Africa and the World. Here you can ‘see’ history on canvas: the portraits, architectural replicas and precious documents, all presented by the owner to show-case Uganda’s history up to the present.
Kikonzo Language and Culture Centre
Located in Kasese town, The Bakonzo may be one of the ethnic minorities in Uganda, but they are making efforts to preserve and promote their language and culture. The Kikonzo Language and Culture Centre researches, documents and publicises the culture of the Bakonzo.
Koogere Community Museum
The museum is located 200M along Mugurusi Road in Fort Portal, Named after an ancient heroine who defied custom and became a leader in the kingdom, the Koogere Community Museum promotes Tooro culture as a resource for education and development. you will learn about the evolution of the various customs of the Batooro including dressing, literature and clan totems.
Peace Museum Gulu
Located in Gulu town, Peace Museum Gulu was established by the Human Rights Focus in Gulu, the Peace Museum is especially directed at the new Acholi generation whose childhood and young adulthood was spent in camps for internally displaced persons. It teaches them how indigenous cultural practices have in the past helped to promote peace and reconciliation. At the Peace Museum, you can for instance learn about the Matoput, the traditional reconciliation rite of the Acholi.
Uganda Martyrs University Museum
Located near the equator on Kampala-Masaka highway, and one of the very few anthropology museums in Uganda, the UMU Museum is the place to visit to see artefacts and sculptures from Uganda and frica. The Museum welcomes visitors and also acts as resource for local and international students and researchers of anthropology, African history and sociology.
URDT Cultural Assets and Wildlife Centre
Located in Kagadi town in Kibaale District, the Uganda Rural Development Training Institute has established the Cultural Assets and Wildlife Centre as a living encyclopaedia of Bunyoro’s traditions and cultural heritage, to exhibit an extensive collection of artefacts. The wildlife education section promotes the conservation of local wildlife resources, the Centre emphasizes the culture of preservation and sustainable management of the cultural and natural resources.
