Heart and Soul: Musambwa - Lake Victoria's sacred island

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 23 May 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Musambwa Island in Lake Victoria, Uganda, is a five-acre rocky outcrop of land five miles from the mainland and is the biggest breeding ground in the world for grey gulls and home to hundreds of other bird species and cobra. Amid the birds, snakes and lizards lives a male only community of fisherman who live by a code of cultural and spiritual practices. Reporter Zawadi Mudibo travels to live among the men of Musambwa to explore their sacred relationship with nature. Although the men have lived this way for generations there is the creeping influence of modernity. Through personal stories and reflections, the deep-seated beliefs that shape the lives of the island's inhabitants are revealed.

Transcript

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0:00.0	What you're hearing is an offering ceremony from a
0:12.1	fisherman by the shows of Lake Victoria.
0:16.0	In the Baganda oral tradition, the lake was formed by the tears of the gold Katonda, who wept for the world
0:23.3	as he created it. These tears turned into water, giving rise to Lake Victoria. He kneels down
0:33.8	in prayer, invoking the protection and blessings of the deities believed to govern the
0:40.1	waters led by the head demigod, Judge Amcasa. He expresses gratitude for the bounties received
0:47.8	and seeks favor for future catches. After the prayers, the offerings are left on the altar and the fishermen retreat
0:57.3	to watch the next part of the ritual and fold. Snacks regarded as sacred creatures come forth
1:06.0	from the shadows to feed on the eggs offered. This phenomenon is seen as a sign of the gold's acceptance of their offerings
1:15.4	and a manifestation of divine presence.
1:21.8	Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service with me, Zadimdibo for this episode of heart and soul
1:29.8	exploring personal approaches to spirituality from around the world i'm coming to you from the heart of
1:38.1	lake victoria in the rakai district of southwestern Uganda on the island of musambwa. The word Musambwa, which means spirit in Luganda, refers to a place of extraordinary natural wonders.
1:52.0	We live with the snakes here peacefully. They do not bite us and will not beat them. We live in harmony.
2:08.0	That's Emmanuel Katongole, the oldest resident and a spiritual guardian of Musambwa. Over 150,000 birds, including more than 30 rare species, called this
2:21.3	island home, making it the largest breeding ground for grey-headed gulls in the world. Living
2:27.6	among the birds, lizards and thousands of rock and forest cobras are just over a hundred fishermen.
2:34.9	These male-only community
2:36.8	teaches a code of spiritual naturalism
2:39.7	that ensures the island's delicate ecosystem
2:42.8	remains intact.
2:49.2	If you kill a snake here, you would have committed an irredeemable sin.
	...

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