21/09/2025
The Endangered Basoga Greeting of Eternity: A Dramatic Discourse on Love, Assurance, and Affection.
If UNESCO can preserve dances, caves, and cuisines as world heritage, surely the basoga greeting deserves protection as aworld human behavioural treasure. It is an endangered jewel. To lose it is to lose not just a word but a way of seeing humanity. (Isaac Christopher Lubogo)
By Isaac Christopher Lubogo
Act One: The Greeting Begins
Two Basoga meet — not rushing, not hurrying — but ready to open their souls in a ritual of recognition. This greeting is no mere “hello.” It is an embrace of existence, a dialogue of reassurance.
> A: “Nsaangaire mukaagwa!”
(N-saan-gaa-ray moo-kaah-gwah — “I am very glad to see you my dear/friend!”)
> B: “Kale munange.”
(Kah-leh moo-nahn-geh — “Indeed, my dear one, my own.”)
Already, hearts soften. The phrase “mukaagwa” (my sibling, my kin) collapses distance. The Basoga do not greet you as a stranger; they re-baptize you into kinship.
Act Two: The Investigation of Well-being
The dialogue now becomes an audit of existence. Not shallow, not passing, but investigative love:
> A: “Mulimutya eyo?”
(Moo-lee-moot-yah eh-yoh? — “How are you all, that side?”)
> B: “Baliyo.”
(Bah-lee-yoh — “They are there, they are fine.”)
> A: “Isuka ngira?”
(Ee-soo-kah ngee-rah? — “ How was your travel hopefully it was fine”)
> B: “Kale munange.”
(Kah-leh moo-nahn-geh — “Yes indeed, my dear one.”)
The greeting is like a drone camera flying over every corner of one’s life — home, garden, children, livestock — everything is checked, accounted for, embraced in care.
Act Three: The Assurance of Family and Life
Now the greeting stretches deeper, like roots pressing into soil. It refuses to leave any stone unturned:
> A: “Abeeka balibatya?”
(Ah-beh-eh-kah bah-lee-bah-tyah — “How are those at home?”)
> B: “Baliyo, mbaaleeseyo.”
(Bah-lee-yoh, mm-bah-leh-seh-yoh — “They are there, I left them well.”)
> A: “Batukoobaki?”
(Bah-too-koh-bah-kee? — “And what did they tell you to bring/say?”)
> B: “Babalamwisa.”
(Bah-bah-lah-mwee-sah — “They send greetings.”)
Even the absent become present. Through words, the unseen family now stands in the arena of fellowship.
Act Four: The Children, the Livestock, and the Soul of Busoga
No one is forgotten:
> A: “Abato batya?”
(Ah-bah-toh bah-tyah? — “How are the little ones?”)
> B: “Baliyo balungi.”
(Bah-lee-yoh bah-loon-gee — “They are there, they are fine.”)
> A: “Bawalika bange batya?”
(Bah-wah-lee-kah bahn-geh bah-tyeh — “And my in-laws, how are they?”)
> B: “Baliyo.”
(Bah-lee-yoh — “They are there.”)
> A: “Baliyo balungi?”
(Bah-lee-yoh bah-loon-gee — “They are there, fine?”)
> B: “Baliyo baziira buzibuu.”
(Bah-lee-yoh bah-zee-rah boo-zee-boo — “They are there, and life goes on despite its hardships.”)
Notice this genius: truth with tenderness. Even in hardship, the Basoga do not despair. They phrase struggle as “baziira buzibuu” — “they are pushing through.” Optimism encoded in language.
Act Five: The Cosmic Rounding
Finally, the environment itself is summoned:
> A: “Obukooko?”
(Oh-boo-koh-koh? — “And the chickens?”)
> B: “Buliyo mwanaiwe.”
(Boo-lee-yoh mwah-nai-weh — “They are there, my dear freind.”)
> A: “Obubuzi?”
(Oh-boo-boo-zee? — “And the goats?”)
> B: “Bwona buliyo.”
(Boh-nah boo-lee-yoh — they are there.”)
> A: “Mutusingaki eyo?”
(Moo-too-seen-gah-kee eh-yoh? — “What is there there in plenty ?”)
> B: “Ahh, wazzira, maadhi gonka.”
(Ahhh, wah-zee-rah, maa-dhee keen-dah — “Ahh, only much rains this time of the season.”)
This is poetry in survival. The greeting captures not just abundance but scarcity. It normalises endurance.
Act Six: The Crescendo — The Endless “Hiiiii”
Then comes the musical climax — the ecstatic, playful, soul-shaking echo:
> A: “Ehh gatoona ku!”
(Eh gatoo-nah koo — “Eh, does it rain over there?!”)
> B: “Ii katoona!”
(Eee kah-too-nah — “Yes it rains and indeed, God is faithful!”)
Then it explodes:
> A: “Ehh!”
B: “Iiiih!”
A: “Hiii!”
B: “Hiii!”
A: “Hiii!”
B: “Hiii!”
For a minute, sometimes more, the “hiiii” rolls like thunder, like drumming hearts in sync. It is not empty repetition — it is soulful saturation, like pouring water until the thirst dies.
Here, two souls collapse into oneness of laughter, affection, relief.
Philosophical Ethos of the Greeting
1. Investigative Love – No aspect of life is ignored. The Basoga greeting is a full medical check-up of the soul.
2. Communal Assurance – You do not greet an individual, you greet his/her entire ecosystem.
3. Spiritual Resilience – Even suffering is translated into language of continuity, not despair.
4. Affectionate Closure – The final “hiii” is not speech; it is a chant of existence, a musical assurance that “you are not alone.”
Why Preserve This Greeting?
This greeting is heritage in action. It is more than etiquette; it is a social therapy, a protective ritual. In a world where greetings have become shallow “hi” and “hello,” the Basoga gift the world a ritual of depth, empathy, and assurance.
If UNESCO can preserve dances, caves, and cuisines as world heritage, surely the Basoga greeting deserves protection as a World Human Behavioural Treasure. It is an endangered jewel. To lose it is to lose not just a word but a way of seeing humanity.
✨ The Basoga did not just greet — they loved, investigated, reassured, and healed through words. This greeting must live, not only in Busoga, but in the chronicles of global civilisation.
# Suigeneris
