64- year-old using dance and song to restore peace

Sixty four-year-old Matthew Amone Watmon is the founder of a cultural group which focuses on promoting cultural heritage through dance.

Just outside Watmon’s rental apartment in Naguru, a Kampala suburb, the sight of men playing musical instruments welcomes you on a Sunday afternoon. In front of them is a group of seven youthful looking girls turning and twisting their tiny waists to the beat of the musical tunes. The activity is done under the scorching sun.

Since the house has no enclosure, onlookers, mostly children and women, gather around to watch the routine and cheer the dancers. Watmon, the head of the dancers, with a bulky physique, does not fully participate in the performance.

Instead, he stands on the sidelines to watch and from time to time, chips in for a couple of minutes to drum, play the flute or show the girls how to execute certain moves.

“No, not like that, turn your waists gently like this. Do not be too hard, ” he demonstrates briefly during one of the session breaks.
After about two hours, the performance comes to end. The onlookers start retiring to their respective homes while the dancers and instrumentalists converge for a small meeting with Watmon. It takes about 10 minutes.

Soon afterwards, the instruments are ferried into the house by the different group members before leaving for homes. At this juncture, Watmon quickly rushes into the house to change the blue shirt he was wearing earlier on. He returns in a more sophisticated attire which he says is the dancing costume he wanted me to see. It is multi-coloured, with the shoulder and neck design bearing a black and gold spotted coat like a leopard’s skin.
I take a few photos of him wearing the outfit before engaging in a conversation about dance, the group, family life, among other things.

Every Sunday afternoon, like on this occasion, the group meets for rehearsals for about two hours.
“We mostly do the Acholi traditional dances including the Larakaraka which was a name created by the foreigners because of the sound the calabashes make during the performances. But it is not supposed to be called that name; instead, it is Lamokowang,” says the ever smiling Watmon who was born on November 26, 1951 in Kalongo Hospital, Kitgum District.

He adds, “The other Acholi dances we do are bwala-a royal dance, otole-a war dance and dingi dingi-a creative dance.”
The group, which currently consists of 31 members with the youngest being seven years, has also mastered the art of performing traditional dances of other regions including Teso, Buganda, Bugisu, Busoga, among others.

Watmon in his earlier years

As a little boy, Watmon was fond of playing the nanga (harp) whenever he was out in the field, either grazing the family cattle or doing farm work. From time to time, he would also practise the acholi traditional dances he had seen dancers perform at various village events.

The willpower he had throughout the years to perfect his art of playing the harp and master his dance moves at least kept him engaged since he was not studying. This was after dropping out of school in Primary Five because his mother, Antoneta Apoo, could no longer afford to pay his fees having lost her husband, Akwilino Owiny, when Watmon was only three years old. Watmon attended Kitgum Matidi Primary School and is the last born of eight children.
“I only have two surviving siblings now as the rest passed away,” he says.

Besides not having a father figure to look up to, the traditional dancer and singer says what further complicated his life was the fear and uncertainty that existed in northern Uganda at the time.
This started right from Idi Amin’s regime which lasted from 1971 to 1979 to the insurgency of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) headed by rebel leader, Joseph Kony.

The two-decade insurgency in Northern Uganda left more than 1.5 million people internally displaced from their homes.
“The mentality many of us had at the time was that we either going to be killed or abducted. Life was unpredictable and hard,” he says.

It was for this reason that many others like him would often go to seek refuge in other seemingly peaceful places including the city. The Tito Okello Lutwa family home in Kampala happened to be one of the places Watmon would frequent from time to time. Lutwa is one of Uganda’s former presidents and Watmon was a relative to his wife, Esther Akello, who was commonly referred to as Dyee.

About the group
It was during one particular stay when a childhood female friend he met at a function sold him the idea of starting a dance group. This was having known his previous dance and singing background.
“I remember her telling me that it would be a great venture to indulge in because it would at least put my skills into use rather than waste,” he says.
The idea indeed sounded worthwhile and in 1991, Watmon moved to Luzira, a Kampala suburb.

“I recall going around telling a few people in the area about my intention to start the group and many encouraged me to embark on it. In fact, they helped me spread the message to other people,” he says. “Eventually, I had people coming to me saying they wanted to be part of the group and that was how it all began.”

He recruited 25 people. The men were 17 and the women were eight. With their help, he solicited for funds that he used for purchasing different musical instruments as well as costumes.

“Some of them were from families that had been affected by the LRA war and wanted to dance as a way of keeping busy and try to forget the heartache the insurgency had manifested upon them,” Watmon says.
The group was lucky that right from the beginning, individuals and organisations including corporate ones were interested in booking them for jobs.

“The money which was coming in was enough to cater for the group. At least I was happy some of the group members, especially those that had been affected by the war, were using it to resettle their lives,” he says.

Meanwhile, Watmon juggled the group responsibilities with a job as a security guard at National Water and Sewerage Corporation he had acquired in 1994. After leaving the company in 1998, he decided to fully concentrate on the group.

Watmon relocated to Naguru in 2003 to a three roomed rental apartment where he currently stays. He lives here with some of his family members including grandchildren whose parents bring them for the holidays.

The father of three has two partners; Bironica Apiyo and Natalia Aciro who are staying in Kitgum.
Otherwise, Watmon says it is the profits from the group that have helped him sustain the family.

Neighbours’ thoughts
The sound the instruments make during practice is unmistakably nerve wrecking. It is so loud.
This is what compels me to ask Watmon if this ever makes some neighbours uncomfortable.

“No, they do not complain because it is a form of entertainment as anyone is allowed to come and watch us during practice. Besides that, many of the youth in the community have learnt how to dance because of the group. We usually welcome and teach them,” Watmon says, adding, “It is their parents who gave me permission to use the compound as a training ground, therefore, there is no problem.”

In fact, Rebecca Nankya, a resident of Naguru and a mother of three, supplements by adding that indeed the group’s vigorous activities help to keep the youth busy and away from trouble.

“The group has helped restore order in the community and that’s why I can even afford to accommodate the noise because I know that Watmon is helping our children,” Nankya says.

In the near future though, the group leader hopes to build an appropriate facility for the group to train effectively.

The George Bush handshake
Regarding his most memorable performances, Watmon says the time when the group entertained former United States President, George Bush, during a state visit to Uganda years ago stands out for him.
“It was such an honour in that I wanted a picture taken but security did not allow it,” he says.

Challenges
Being a group, Watmon states that there are moments when the members have disagreements, for instance, over money.
“It’s why I was forced to get a treasurer to monitor our financial accounts. Otherwise, I am usually open about money to the extent that I inform members how much we are going to get from each gig as well as ensure that each one is paid right after,” he says.

The other issue is the absenteeism either during rehearsals or final performances because some of the members get caught up in responsibilities as some are married while others are school going children.
But also, the gigs come once in a while; therefore, the money is not always there.

“I have some foreign friends who are fond of my work. At one time when I wanted to retire because of old age, they urged me to persevere and hang in there. They thought I was doing a fantastic work,” Watmon says.

Those are the people who send him funds occasionally to sustain himself and the group.

Beauty of dance
Besides doing it out of passion and putting food on the table, Watmon says dancing and singing keeps his health in check.
“It is like doing exercise. I already have age mates using walking sticks but look at me, I am still physically fit,” he says with a loud laughter.
And if things remain this way, Watmon concludes that he will continue on for years to come.

What the dancers say about watmon

“I have been in his group for more than five years and he is the one who has taught me how to dance most of the traditional dances. Watmon is a good director. He knows how to lead us very well. Even at times he shouts at us during training, he will apologise at end of the session.”
Constantine Odida, 39

“He is such a friendly, understanding, accommodative and helpful person. He does not only look at us as his dancers but children as well. For example, whenever one of us is stuck with a problem, Mzee will always find a way of helping out.”
Joel Okeny, 21

“I have known Mzee for more than 10 years. It is because of him that I have been able to meet some of the famous personalities in this country. Other than that, he is friendly and very good at giving helpful advice.”
Caroline Oyella, 25

[email protected]