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Chapter Six

RIDDLE MEANINGS AND MEANING-MAKING PROCESSES

6.1 Introduction

For many centuries, humans have practiced riddling in lively, intriguing, and enigmatic ways

(Burke, Hester, and Talisse, 2002; Wehlau, 1997) yet in-depth analysis of the objects that reveal

the essences and themes of riddling are hardly tackled. Dan Ben-Amos argues that, “this subtle

shift in focus from society to meaning has barely been acknowledged, yet it provides the clue for

the kind of reception bestowed upon contextual analysis in folklore studies” (1993:209).

Riddling as one of “the many ways in which people enrich their lives through the interlacing of

the poetic and the everyday” (Finnegan 1994:10) is here being used in this endeavour to

determine as Lieber put it, the “(a) signification, (b) denotation, and (c) connotation” (1976:259)

of the act in the event.

As an affirmation of the importance of analysing performance basing on the sequence of events,

this chapter analyses NSS riddling event using an important perspective in CDA that texts are

negotiated and “governed by differences in power which are themselves in part encoded in and

determined by discourse and by genre” (Wodak and Meyer 2001:11). It is also premised on the

“the hermeneutic circle which implies that the meaning of one part can only be understood in the

context of the whole, but that this in turn is only accessible from its component parts” accessible

through “detailed documentation” (Ibid 16). Texts that are often sites of struggle, in that they

show traces of differing discourses and ideologies are seen as contending and struggling for

dominance. I share the view that, “a riddle session is not a chaotic jumble of disconnected

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events but rather a sequence of events with a beginning and an end” (David Evans 1976:170).

This analysis is also informed by conversation analysts who have focused on the sequential

organization of conversation, “arguing that the communicative function of an utterance is

relative to its location in the linear stream of discourse” (Bauman and Briggs 1990: 63). This

approach shows how riddling is linked to artful speaking by discovering the basic elements in the

riddle sequence that makes a riddle session whole. Riddling is seen to be “constitutive and

transformative” (Ibid, 80) and so the meanings and the meaning-making processes involve the

production and reproduction of social life using a language that has social and referential

meaning, communicates action, and constitutes the basics of social life.

Riddling puts across massages with meanings that are relevant to the contemporary and broader

contexts of the lives of the performers. For the most part, riddle acts present individualized

actions. And as Bauman and Briggs suggest, instances where actions are reported, the intention

is to intensify style and ideas “by drawing on multiple speech events, voices, and points of view”

in a process that “opens up possibilities for renegotiating meanings and social relations beyond

the parameters of the performance itself” (1990:70).

6.2 Analysis of the meanings, thematic domains and meaning-making processes in

Lusoga riddles

Physiology and anatomy of the body, its deeds and characteristics

NSS riddling event with a record 111 spontaneous riddle acts began with three important

activities: the first was the exchange of greetings in Lusoga and in English, the second was the

joint reading of a book on the story about caring for children and the consequences of child

abuse and neglect, and the third as the opening statements whereby Ba explained the good deeds

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that Mpolyabigere library (venue) and the proprietor were offering to the children in the locality

affirming that “performance is part of social life (Bauman 1977:300).

Ja isolates the idea of personhood and asks the question “K 1 “Omuntu ni ki? -- What is a

person?” It is constructed on what Ba has said in the opening remarks about how people in a

progressive community need to behave. She gives an answer “foot marks” that is deeply

metaphorical meaning that people are what they leave behind them after they have gone away.

The first sixteen riddle acts are pre-occupied with this theme of the body and its different deeds.

It also remains the dominant theme in the rest of the event. K 1 yields answers like „animal,‟

„creation of God,‟ „legs,‟ and „foot marks‟ that are inspired by the images of „personhood‟ earlier

mentioned by Ba. These answers reveal that, “the central meanings, values and goals of a culture

are seen “in action”, as they shape and explain behavior” (Shechner 2013:7).

This affirms that the riddle is influenced by the contexts of performance whether immediate or

distant, a point further seen in K 2: “The dead who tend the living” which in a way transforms

“footmarks” to the practicality of “a dry pole supporting a banana plant.” The idea of the deed is

so powerfully depicted in alluding to something dead supporting life. This meaning is followed

in “K 3: A badly behaved old woman” which is answered with an elaborate explanation that,

16. An old woman with bad manners was pierced by a thorn two times. [Ja]

17. How? [Na[chorus]

18. When she was going to fetch water, the thorn pierced her and she said that, “O-o! They

have trapped me.” So she took it and set it as a trap. When she returned, it again pierced

her the second time because she had forgotten that she had laid a trap. So, a badly

behaved woman, the thorn pierced her twice. [Twice. [Ja[Gu]

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Culturally and socially, an old woman is expected to be wise and compassionate. For an old

woman to perform a self-disrespectful deed, and ending up herself suffering the more in body

contradict the common adage that, age is wisdom. This story is very close to the previous one

that compares the dead who perform helpful deed with the living who perform unbecoming

deeds to each other. The allegorical “feet” that the old woman leaves behind are those of bad

character while the dry pole epitomises good deeds. More to that, K 4: “Too much wisdom” that

“made it difficult for dogs to hunt” transforms this proverbial text into a riddle text. The variance

lies in Ja using its experiential connotation to admonish the audience who had become rowdy

during the previous riddle act. The rowdy deeds of the audience and the riddle objects in K 3 and

K 5 are seen as beneath the wisdom expected of adult age.

The points that Ja and Ba have raised in K 1 – K 5 are conveyed pleasantly through the

camouflaging that riddling provides. The themes of physiology and deeds are further developed

in K 5: “Kiki kyosinga butayenda ku mubiri gwo? -- What do you hate most on your body?” It

emphasizes the points in the previous acts by looking at “the head ... which is the ... first [to be]

put out of the door when there is danger outside.” There is another reversal of roles and values

when the master of the body and source of human deeds, the head is interpreted as the most

hated part of the body. “You don‟t mind whether it is hit at or not” implies that the master of all

is also the least important. This riddles reasons that leadership is self-denigration; like in the

armed forces where a commander heads the troops by facing the fire.

On losing the contest to Ge, Ja conceded that, “Ok let me accept to give you a chance” because

she expects to profits from Ge as her junior brother. However, when Ge fails to use the chance,

he passes it on to Na who then performs K 6: “Fudubiri does not eat from a pot.” Na observes

void from the audience perhaps because of the change of theme. She quickly accepts to be

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crowned and offers the answer that “a child does not cry in its mother‟s womb.” This act

highlights the positive and negative abilities of the body to function under certain condition, like

reasoning and feeding. Whereas the unborn child does not cry while still in the womb because

the feeding environment it is encircled with is good; the scenario of Nsinze village is

characterised by children feeding on decaying smelly “scrap fish” as told in “K 7: Sanghangha.”

The „sound and smell‟ of Sanghangha raises is so strong that lots of laughter is engaged to

diffuse it and the shame and self-pity connected to this experiential riddle. The exceedingly

stinky fish fragments are brought from the fish factories sixty kilometres away on open air

pickup truck driven all the way from Jinja through the village dusty roads. By the time it reaches

the poor hungry villagers it is rotten and coated in dust. Nonetheless, the villagers scramble to

buy these fish skeletons because it is the only cheap source of proteins they can afford. The

audience further remarks with scorn that, “you can hear the smell of it from a far and even if one

ate it last night, it would remain stinking.” This hyperbole is intended to demonstrate the riddle

of poverty and the meanness that the villagers suffer when they are used as dumping grounds for

low quality food stuffs. The analogy of decayed fish body enriching living body of the villagers

is like in K 2: the dead supporting the living.

The audience gets so absorbed in the food series that when K 8: “weeghembule nkusoogoote –

open you behind and I poke you” is performed, the answers are still in the realms of food –

pawpaw, mango and cassava – and yet the answer is, “a key telling the padlock.” However, the

riddle talks of another kind of “food” and form of “eating” at metaphorical level. Indeed some

participants look uneasy and casting their eyes down because of the explicit sexual undertones in

this riddle. Given that some of them were meeting in this group for the first time, the discussion

of intimate issues is rather sensitive. Nonetheless, Na performs the act of the key poking the

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padlock, with the gesture of rubbing her left palms over the right palm showing the close ticklish

contact between the two objects. With this sexually suggestive gesture, the answer “key and

padlock” is quickly agreed upon with hearty laughter from everyone.

Food and nutrition series

The riddles in K9 – K18 largely belong in the food series. The allegorical eating represented in

the graphic use of the word “poke” links “K 8: “weeghembule nkusoogoote – open you behind

and I poke you” to “K 9: Kasepikikaamadyoliyo? -- Source-pan-of-water-are-you-there?” The

answer is that, “where you there when your mother grew breasts?” It first broadens the general

perception of the child in the womb which does not crying for the breast until it is outside the

mother‟s body (K 6). The child does not have to worry about the mother developing breasts until

the time for breastfeeding comes. The contemporary „source-pan‟ (food vessel) is analogous to

the natural breast of the woman. The theme of good feeding comes in contrast with “K 7:

Sanghangha” which is deplorable. Emphasis on food, feeding and food vessels within the

anatomy and physiology of a person underscores the importance and value attached to quality of

food and quality of life. Riddling on breast and milk as the vessel and food for the child is

important for these adolescent girls and boys who will soon become mothers and fathers.

Growing breasts to a Musoga means physical maturity and the onset of sexual activity. This

riddle is performed rapidly with a tongue-twist to make it difficult for the audience to figure out

what it is saying. This is suggestive of the rapid physical and emotional changes that take place

in the human body as girls mature into women and boys into men. It also endorses “milk from

breastfeeding” as the child‟s “water from the source-pan.”

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Furthermore, Na performs “K 10: Tugye e Iganga tuyege ku shampoo -- Let‟s go to Iganga to

learn how to shampoo.” Shampoo is a smooth jelly that is kept in containers with a small

opening to let the jelly out just like the breast. This riddle plays on the “g” sound for its meaning

that is why it cannot make much sense in translation. It links the breast as a source of good

feeding for the child to the eating of fish and millet bread as the most palatable dish of the

Basoga. The texture of shampoo is used to express the smoothness of eating fish and millet

bread. The “tilapia fish dish” is hidden behind the name of the town “Iganga” which sounds like

“ngege” because of the „g‟ sound. The smooth texture of shampoo is also appropriated to mean a

transition from breast milk to solid food. Eating fish with millet bread is common practice

among the Basoga children because it is slimy and smooth to eat. It again connect to K8 on the

manner in which “the key pokes the padlock,” and contrasts with K 7 on the quality of the fish

food. In some events, “Igaga” is used instead of “Iganga” to attain analogous sound effects.

The statement in K 10: “going to Iganga …” gives Ja the suggestion for performing “K 11:

Gyanga ndi kwidha -- Go I am coming” as if it were a continuation of the same journey to

Iganga. Her answer that, “the fluorescence of a banana fruit” falls in the food series because it

depicts the physical growth and development of the banana, which is one of Busoga‟s staple food

stuffs. The fluorescent flower that comes ahead of the bunch of bananas is analogous to the

breast that comes before the child (K 9).

The idea of the tight cone shaped folds in the banana fluorescent flower (empuumuumpu or

enhundo) is assimilated into “K 12: “Ntambula neghumba -- I walk while folding myself up.”

The answer to K 12 is “corpse,” falling in the death series. The link between K 12 and K 11 is

also in the uses put to the banana tree in managing funerals. The dry banana leaves (eisandha)

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are used as bedding and shelter while the banana fibre (ekyayi) is used to tie up whatever needs

to be tied up. The bereaved may tie a wide banana fibre around their forehead (omuge) to avoid

headaches or around the waist (ekikaakaati) to indicate that they are in mourning. The dry

banana leaves are also used for identity of people in mourning. The banana mid-rib (ekisuumwa)

is crushed and used to clean the corpse. So, we are looking at the banana not just as food but as a

pacifier when we die.

The view that animals and plants live and die after sometime is a recurrent one in Busoga‟s

riddle acts and we see more riddles contemplating human physiology and deeds in parallel to

plants physiology and as sources of food. This is the case in “K 13: “Kantolintoli makina

maleedhe” <tip-tip tied up dance>” and “K 14: “Serengeta emmanga olabe obuwala obwesibye

enviiri -- slope down and see the girls with plaited hair” (Luganda). These two acts unravelled as

“pineapple” by Ba because he wanted to stress the point but also because he grows pineapples.

We note that when Na loses K 13 to Ba, the domain of food series is maintained with inclination

to human and plant physiology. The pineapple fruit has a tuft which looks like a woman with

plaited hair knotted above her head. He picks up “hairstyle” in K 14 in Luganda to expound on

the answer in K 13 in Lusoga. Code switching signifies that this experience is similar in both

cultures. Like Milroy, Lesley, and Pieter Muysken, eds. (1995) have argued, it does not mean

that Lusoga riddles are incompetent in addressing this matter without using another language.

Scenarios like these often happen to shed more light or even confuse the more and bring history

into the picture. K 31 and K 48 of the same event deliberately call for translations of the key

words of the precedents into English as part of the riddling. The audience‟s capacity to adapt

meanings and sound to riddle form in both Lusoga and English language shows that language

may not totally bar comprehension as long as the audience is keen at what they are performing.

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The point made in the preceding two riddle acts, is that, form (looks) and sounds are dynamic

sources of riddles. The word obuwaala (girls) in Lusoga and Luganda which sounds like

obwaala (fingers) brings out the looks of the tuft of a pineapple. The auditory and graphic

analogies make riddling effective in communicating themes such as these. On the other hand, “K

15: Ndin’omuntu wange akuba engoma yamala yakina -- I have my person who plays the drum

and afterwards dances” handles the food series from the perspective of a sole performance. Na

introduces the language of “the cock” flapping its wings before crowing as part of the analogy of

playing the drum and singing at the same time comparing the human to the bird. The metaphor of

“the drum” is deeply rooted in the culture of the Basoga and Baganda. It is not just about sounds

and entertainment but power and authority. What is known as nkokonkulu in Luganda and

engoma (the drum) in Lusoga is - the gizzard in chicken – is the most revered part of the chicken.

Without the gizzard in the dish, there is no chicken on the table. So, Na has not entirely let go of

the food series but has returned to the anatomy and physiology series with food in mind.

The idea of the cherished “gizzard” referring to “the cock” although all birds have gizzards is

pointer to “K 16: keekulungula keeliipa -- it is rounded; it is stuck.” This meaning is reflected in

the answer “a man‟s breasts” that seems to be challenged by Jo who says, “akabeere akomukazi

– the breast of a woman.” This riddle act is commonplace and is defeated just like that without

any resistance. Na in turn accepts defeat without much ado but the point that Jo makes about

woman is an important one. The reason for this is probably because Na had stayed on too long

and she wanted to take it easy while Jo was wondering why it could not be woman since some

woman had breasts like those of men.

The riddle small breasts of a man physically contrast with the large breasts of a woman and yet

the man (as gizzard of a cock) takes precedence as symbol of power and authority. It is thus

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understandable why the dominance of the girls during this first part of the event raises a sense of

completion between the sexes. It also influences the thematic domains by allowing acts that are

closely associated with women in rural discourse.

The end to the first session of the event was determined by the time of the meals. Meal time was

an equally interesting riddling session and the scenery from the venue of the first session to

where the meals were served together with what happened there informed the second session of

the event. First and foremost, Na linked the meal to her own name when she complained that

there was no food at the restaurant. This comment moved me and I quickly responded by going

to the next shop to buy for the participant some soda. Consequently, I learnt from Na herself that,

“they had served us only beans” and yet “Nabirye, a mother of twins does not eat food without

meat.” On the surface of it, Na refers to meat sauce yet deeply, the cultural rite of twin child

initiation in Busoga, sings of Nabirye „eating the penis‟ as the allegorical meat before she could

bear twins. The name “Nabirye” literary means “female gobbler” and the equal is “Isabirye.” As

to whether Na understands this meaning is without doubt given the nature of the riddles she

performs. This riddle becomes even more vivid when the majority in the audience seem silent to

what she is driving at but instead offer to me explanations that she had eaten up all her food.

Some even mentioned that “her protruding stomach could show it” suggesting that she could be

pregnant yet in fact meaning that she ate much food.

I concur with Okpewho that other than the mere text, “the art” of telling enriches our perceptions

of the performance. The laughter drawn from these observations could be for some, considering

that her being „Nabirye‟ is likened to eating meat and growing a large stomach like that of a

pregnant woman expecting twins while the less witty may just take it in as a plain funny story

from a complaining naughty girl. A riddle act like this one is socially effective when the message

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becomes authenticated and made operational in social contexts relevant to public life

(Fairclough, 2001:117) which indeed it does.

The session after lunch last for nearly three hours from 2:00 to 4:55P.M and has altogether

ninety-four (94) spontaneously interconnected acts. K 17: “Bungutu does not eat Bungutu”

unravelled as “termite does not eat metal” keeps to the food series. It connects the „eating‟ during

the lunch break to the inability of the termite to eat metal. However, Ju shows that he is not

equipped enough with thoughts to sustain the pondering on food. He therefore reverts to the

anatomy and physiology series which by far is the most popular and he seems to be more

competent and confident to perform in that area.

Transport series

Jo performs “K 18: Sabaani mu loole -- Shaban in a lorry” that combines human physiology and

transport series. There is no doubt that the younger audience-participants are familiar with this

riddle precedent and yet it takes so much time to arrive at an agreed answer. When the answer,

“amabbaata mu mpale -- testicles in trousers” is mentioned, they all burst out laughing. The

reason for this circumvention to reach the answer is more of a desire to work around the

generation mix in the audience rather than incapacity to unravel the riddle. The girls are excited

by it while the boys are cowed into silence. Na tells Ja not to tell the answer and she instead says,

“luguudo -- road” in an attempt to divert attention. “The road” though is also a euphemism for

penis. It is understood that a pair of trousers is the lorry in which testicles are carried. The

massive “Shaban” is transported in a huge “lorry.”

K 18 influences other acts during the event, for example, “K 19: Nsamba tractor -- I kick a

tractor” is powerfully linked to transport but also the male organs. Before Ju could give away the

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answer as “a sewing machine,” the audience was already laughing off and referring to “Shaban

in a lorry.” The sexual undertone in the act of the sewing machine is also continued in K 20:

“Dawudi muleeyi -- David is tall” which again is in the transport series. Jo unravels the answer as

“oluguudo -- a road” amidst whispering from the audience about the long penis explaining why

Ja proposed “road” in K 18.

Skills, deeds and habits series

The next couple of riddle acts highlight skills, deeds and habits series as shown in “K 21: Dundu

mukuunule – Dundu plucked” to which he explains that, “a bundle of grass” is „dundu‟

<something> as a child learning to talk would say it. It is followed by “K 22: Kyakyewuunio - It

is a wonder!” K 22 is so common that to some people it no longer passes for a riddle but a

proverb or saying. There is not much to ponder in this riddle because the audience, like in most

other instances, rush to the answer, “a doctor‟s child to die.” A string of other possibilities is

given including “a black cow giving white milk” and many others. The brevity of act 22 is partly

because it is overdone unlike some complex and unfamiliar precedents that take some time to

unravel. When Na unravels K22, she scorns Jo for underrating the audience. It seems to me that

these two acts are dwelling on the skills and deeds of the people plucking the grass and working

contrary to their reputations.

Similarly, in “K 23: Katonda mu kikebe -- God in a tin,” the reputation of the Supreme Being is

degraded. Na rejects most of the answers “that could have been accepted by others” to show the

rest that riddling is a matter of taste and proficiency. Complexity in the answer “a jigger in a

foot” is received amidst serious disagreements inviting a long discussion of the answers. Her

style of performance is so unique that the rest of the audience find it difficult to break through

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her guarded walls. K 23 falls in the religious series and the anatomy and physiology series. It

connects with K 21 and K 22 in the sense that jiggers have to be plucked out of the feet and it is

also surprising that well placed people may also catch jiggers.

The problem of jiggers in Busoga continues to traumatize many people and at the time of this

performance, it had hit the newspaper headlines. Jiggers have always been a topical issue in

Busoga where many people are reported to suffer even to death because of jiggers. There is an

old song that tells of one Mpaata who was totally eaten up by jiggers. This song is taught both at

home and in school and it is also imbedded in the otamenhaibuga courtship dance of the Basoga.

The idea is to warn the children and the couples on the prevalence and dangers of jiggers.

Referring to jiggers as “God” and the foot as a “tin” is a powerful analogy in situations where

many people have turned to God to find solutions to their many problems including this one but

they are let down. Ba is extremely disturbed by the thought that a jigger could be equated to God.

Riddling sometimes encroaches on personal spaces to either attack or influence their ways of

thinking. The perception of God by a devout Christian is threatened by the analogy of the

inferior jigger to the Supreme Being. Ba finds this analogy incomprehensible and he puts up a

spirited disagreement to change this opinion. Unfortunately for him, Na and the others have fully

endorsed the analogy. They agree that the jigger is so powerful that when it is in one‟s foot, it is

like God because that person cannot do anything but to pay attention to the foot with the jigger.

However, the pain inflicted by the jigger, according to Ba, is contrary to God‟s mercy. Yet,

according to Na, “God inflicts pain even to those he loves including His own Son Jesus Christ

simply because He is powerful like a jigger.”

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Relatedly, “K 24: a little short man wearing a short coat that reaches here <shows the

waistline>” uses the same frame of proximity and social positioning to bring out the riddle

answer “padlock.” Fundamentally, this riddle refers to the condom which is widely known in

Busoga as „the coat‟ that locks the Human Immune Virus (HIV) out of the human body.

Therefore, the little short man wearing a short coat is the penis.

Just like the jiggers, HIV is a social problem that has devastated many households and

communities in Busoga. In fact, the majority of the riddles in this performance event have a

focus on HIV/AIDS. The insights shared in the allegory of the padlock as a security measure

against unwanted intrusion into the house is a diligent reference to guarding the body against this

terrible disease. The language used tells of the need to pay attention to the „little‟ things in life

because they matter the most.

The theme is further developed in “K 25: Oyandhaire obwaala oyenda ki? -- You have spread

out your fingers what do you want?” It goes back to the sound of the word “bwaala” (fingers)

and “buwala” (girls). Word-play in this context dwells on the “fingers spread out” that look like

a cassava leaf to refer to girls (buwala) who have exposed their genitals (buwala). By using the

condom, a couple remains wanting as reflected in the spreading of the fingers in the image of

“the cassava leaf” as Bu unravelled it.

Bu performs his first precedent in “K 26: Ntambula mpodoire -- I walk with an open bottom” but

it is quickly unravelled by Ba as “omugaabe -- the long drum.” This is another common riddle in

this series that has now passed into the realms of sayings. Anyone who performs it to an

experienced audience stands to be ridiculed. The problem is not in the precedent text but the way

it is told. The riddle behind this riddle is that one should not move about polluting the air by

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defecating anywhere or puking in the air. Unlike the long drum that has no covering to its bottom

and transmits noise unhampered when beaten, human beings have possibilities to control the free

passage of human waste into the environment.

In line with this, Ba performs “K 27: I go when it is looking and I return when it is looking” to

refer to “the entrance to a house.” This act falling in the housing and construction series shows

how infrastructure is linked to human activities. This act suggests that human beings depend on

each other for survival even when they are unrecognised. The audience insists on “the woman”

and “the wife at home” as the answers yet Ba disputes the answers. It means that “the physical

entrance” to a house is seen as more responsive and responsible in its duties of waiting on the

master than the wife.

K 27 connects with “K 28: Over there it is throwing sticks and over there it is throwing sticks”

that Ba performs and is unravelled by Ge as “a cow‟s tail.” However, Ba disputes this answer

insisting on a different answer. In all cases, a riddle performer has a right to an answer of their

choice and may insist on a specific way of performing the answer as part of the correctness of the

answer. Accuracy is a virtue that riddling teaches and audience is encouraged to acquire this skill

as best as they can. The audience does not give much time to discuss this riddle because it is not

considered as a riddle in their circles because it is too cheap in the way it was told.

So, when Ge gets the opportunity to perform, and it is so short because he performs from the

common stockpile, he is laughed at. His contribution, “K 29: Father‟s beard is outside” is quickly

unravelled by Na as “maize tussles” and many laugh at Ge while others sympathise with him. In

the process, Na and Ja get involved in a false act “K 30” which is intended to make the less

endowed members of the audience participate more actively.

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Very often, when the event is dominated by a few individuals, a decision might be made to allow

even those who have not won to propose precedents. In other cases, a winner might pass out their

turn to someone of their choice so that the two can hold on to the floor a little longer. This may

be done either because one has run out of riddle precedents to share or because they simply seek

to pass out the opportunity to other members of the audience. In any case, the idea of riddling as

social discourse is maintained by the fact that the on-going acts are connected and the themes

brought out are linked one to the other in different ways. As to whether the linkages are

understood by all members in the audience is a different matter that needs to be studied. What

seems to be clear though is that the members in the audience have varying degrees of perception

of the riddles and it is these different levels of perception that make the riddle event an

interesting activity for some if not all people.

The longest act, “K 31: kali mun sonda -- it is in a corner” is imbedded in the different

perceptions of the word “nsonda” and “corner” in Lusoga and English respectively. Whereas in

Lusoga, the word for both the singular and the plural form of the word “nsonda” is “nsonda,” the

English singular „corner‟ has the plural as “corners.” There is a lexical and semiotic problem in

this death series riddle that also qualifies to be under the housing and construction series.

The audience-participants challenge each other on whether it is proper to speak Lusoga in

English and English in Lusoga as part of their discussion of the riddle. This shows how riddling

appropriates language to convey meaning. Na gives the answer as “a corpse being buried in a

corner” but it is inconceivable to some members especially Ba who interprets the four corners

<nsonda> of the grave as different from a single corner <nsonda> like that of a house. Na seems

to be referring to the four corners as one grave.

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The theme of housing construction serves to portray the different perceptions of containment

including that of the human body as the house of sickness and sorrow. The images of the corpse,

grave, jigger and padlock earlier performed refer to HIV/AIDS and the burden of death that is

likely to occur in people‟s lives. K 31 employs euphemism to make reference to patients ailing

with the AIDS disease even before they are dead. The riddle relates “the thing in the corner” as

the HIV in the dark corners of irresponsible sexual intercourse to the physical dead body in the

dark grave corners. In moments such as these, a lot is communicated through silence because

situations such as these are difficult to fathom.

Silence connects the theme of K 31 to K 32 where Na “<moment of silence> I have finished.”

She performs this so well that some of the audience-participants are fooled into thinking that she

is giving up the floor when she says that, “Mmaze – I have finished.” It is Ja (one of her best

friends), who correctly interprets the riddle and immediately breaks it in the interrogative saying;

“when swallowing saliva do you tell a friend?” The others are just confused because of the

timing of the riddle was indeed confusing. Swallowing saliva is a silent act happening behind the

scenes of human relationships. Like the grave that swallows the dead regardless of whether they

have friends or not, a person swallows saliva without informing their best friends. The acts

swallowing saliva and being in the corner of death are so personal that friendship is believed to

have no place in their execution.

Hence, “K 33: Alimbonera ensonda ya Dina ndi muwa ente (Luganda) -- One who will see for

me Dinah‟s corner I will give them a cow” is like a promissory note to friendship building. This

riddle in the housing and construction series as well as the possibility and probability series is

unravelled by Jo as “the sky.” It continues with the idea of the “corner” by evoking the corner

less universe. Again, switching to Luganda serves the purpose of distancing the riddle from the

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locality. It also possible to infer from this distance the distance of “Dinah” – “the sky” as one

would Busoga from Buganda. The English name “Dinah” emphasises this strategy while its

sounding like “dinner” is used to confuse the audience.

Possibilities and impossibilities series

Acts in the possibilities and impossibilities series are continued in “K 34: “However much you

try!” resolved by Jo to mean: “You can‟t throw a needle across water.” Similarly, “K 35: It is

goes like this it goes like this it goes like this” is unravelled as “a path through a potato garden”

and “K 36: However much you praise yourself” is resolved by Ge that, “you will never pick up a

needle from millet seeds.” Even “K 37: “It is there!” with the answer, “an old person on a hill”

provided by Ju suggest that not all riddles are linked to sex and sexuality like some people think.

Inclination to sex riddles depends on the audience structure and context of performance. The

departure from anatomy and physiology series is occasioned by some members of the audience

deliberately veering the performance from that thematic area.

However, the anatomy and physiology series are so popular that the next nine riddle acts are

linked in that area. Ju builds on the idea of “the hill” in K 37 perform “K 38: I was up there and I

saw a bold head” to mean what Jo unravels as “iron sheets on a roof.” Ge tries his best to

lengthen this riddle act, but being one of stock riddles in Busoga that are better left to novices he

loses the turn. Ja proposes “K 39: I have my blanket but when I wash it does not dry” and Na

quickly says it is “the tongue.” The move from the top of the hill (K 37) to the top of the head (K

38) to the inside of the mouth (K 39) is a remarkable process in creating meaning. “K 40: In

Buganda asperagus does not get finished” performed by Ge goes back to “hair on the head” as

given by Na who then performs “K 41: sugarcane goowa” which goes down the human body to

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“the thigh of a bride.” The riddle refers to the Goans from India who came to cultivate sugar

cane in Busoga and many of them got married to the locals prompting this kind of riddle. The

“sugar cane” named „goowa‟ is associated with the Goan women who got married to Basoga

men and exposed their brown thighs in the process of “cutting sugar cane” (a euphemism for

making love) just like okutemera embooli (making potato mounds) refers to pregnancy.

Hence the connection between K 41 and K 42: “my young mother beats me but she is young”

unravelled by Ja it as “young spear grass.” It would be surprising for Na to perform and accept to

lose the turn in this way if she had no other intentions. Instances like this come up when a

dominating riddle performer feels exhausted but instead of pulling out, they give a simple riddle

to get off the hook. Riddles in themselves are a language that communicates without being aided.

The actors use riddling to shape their conversation and they use the riddles to engage and

terminate the process. This means that riddles form part and give shape to the language of

speaking, chanting, and singing (Tedlock, 1992). In the next set of acts, the audience is pre-

occupied with body riddles bordering on sexuality.

Sexuality series

In “K 43: I went by the boot and returned by the boot” uses the metaphor of the “boot” to convey

three different messages. Firstly, boot refers to the behind of an ordinary motor vehicle in which

goods are carried but people may also travel in the boot under duress. Secondly, boot refers to

the rubber shoes which are used to prevent the feet from injury especially during work on a farm.

Thirdly, the boot refers to the rubber condom used to prevent conception and the spread of

HIV/AIDS. These three possibilities are given by the audience. Nonetheless, the protagonist

having the final solution; provides “banana sucker” as his preferred answer. This answer

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advances a heated debate as to how it is related to the boot. Consequently, we are told that the

banana stool which produces suckers is referred to as a boot because of its association with

banana reproduction.

In the same style of performance, K 44: “Take pinini put on pinini get pinini” implies

reproduction. Ge accepts one answer, “take potato put on mound get potato” given by Ja

although amidst serious contestation. Other instances of this riddle substitute pinini with bukutu

and dinini to makes different riddles using the same structure. The message is that plants and

animals of the same species reproduce the same species. That is why “when one goes by the boot

they return by the boot” as Na explains implying that when one uses a condom they can only

produce a condom.

The connection between K 44 and “K 45: Mother beats me I get to police first” is less probable

except the reference to “mother” that maintains a thread with previous riddle acts. The solution is

that, “when you climb a tree to pick a jackfruit, it gets to the ground before you.” The noise it

makes on hitting the ground is equated to a child reporting their mother to police for a wrongful

beating. The “ground” is the “police” charged with keeping law and order. The analogy is

between the illegality and breach of the child‟s rights through beating and the throwing to the

ground of the jackfruit from a tree.

The noise that comes from both the child and the jackfruit constitutes the heart of this riddle.

The point is made that child beating is unlawful even if it is done by a loving parent. Underlying

the dismembering of the jackfruit from its mother tree is the weaning of a child from breast

feeding. This leads it to suffer as it crushes to the ground. The “police” duty is to crush wrong

doing and restore law and order meaning that wrongs should be reported for redress. This act is

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followed by a false start in “K 46: Aha!” when Ju loses the turn to Ja who performs “K 47:

“Bbo!” The first impression is that it is echoing the sound of the jackfruit falling to the ground.”

Yet, the answer, “darkness” given by Jo is accepted by Ja to a precedent that is usually

performed as “wooo!” This shows the flexibility in riddling structure and how answers may vary

from one event to another for same precedents.

The sexuality theme is more pronounced in “K 48: a small thing, it has no liver, it eats grass,” it

is immediately unravelled by Jo as “a hoe” and he rejects, “small black ants.” The symbolic

“hoe” is the penis and immediately after this, Jo moots “K 49: the old little ones fight from the

backyard” to re-enforce the topic with the answer “black ants.” The riddle behind this riddle is

twofold: Jo uses the answers he rejected in K 48 to construct the new riddle. It is like in the

game of piling where one uses the rejected brick to construct the next layer of the wall. And after

another false act, K 50 where Jo takes up a turn that is not his, the participants advocate for the

less active audience-participants to be given chances to perform.

Turn taking is an important course of action during conversation. Consideration of the less vocal

members helps to build group cohesion and enhance interpersoanl communication. In most

cases, riddling excludes even those who are included. So, when Bu is given the chance to

perform, he proposes “K 51: “Kantolintoli eight eyes” which had already been performed and the

answer, “pineapple” is given by Ja and Jo in a chorus. They accompany their answer with a

mocking laugh as if to say that the „riddle‟ is absent.

Similarly, “K 52: mother, large breasts!” performed by “Ja is instantly resolved by Ge as

“pawpaw fruits.” The domains of food and body have numerous acts because members of a

subsistence farmer community like Nsinze are well acquainted in this than anything else.

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Senses and sensibility series

The next two acts, “K 53: I have my soldiers; they salute at the same time” by Ge and “K 54: I

have my minister but thorns are his guards” by Jo are answered as “the eyes” and “the tongue”

by Jo and Ge respectively. These fall in the category of the many riddle acts in Busoga that

begin, “I have my…” which are very popular among the children because they are easy to learn.

The analogy of “the eyes” as “soldiers” and “the tongue” as “minister” implies that “the head” is

“a state” with ordered roles and responsibilities. The eyes spy into what is happening while the

tongue is “guarded” by the teeth and other mouth parts. In this palace like environment, the

vitality, authority and fiery nature of “the tongue” is curtailed under the pretext of protection.

As if to admit that sometimes the ministerial tongue is not smart enough and the soldier‟s eyes

aren‟t sharp enough, Ge performs “K 55: Madiina is dirty” to refer to “the broom.” The point

being made is that a person ought to be “clean” or smart. The name “Madiina” is suggestive of a

female of Islamic religious inclination that takes cleanliness as next to godliness. For Madiina to

be found dirty is sacrilegious. The riddle act implore for cleanliness in the home and the body

and the soul. A broom that sweeps dirt is expected to get dirty but it needs to be cleaned often.

Similarly, the way a Muslim girl, Madina, does regular ablution to remain clean, so should the

minister (tongue) and soldiers (eyes).

A clean and smart head is affirmed by Ge‟s riddle act “K 56: Hm hm hm!” Ju says it means a

“son in-law is asking for soup.” This is a smart way of ministering the tongue by using gestures

to achieve the same goal. Culturally, a son-in-law is not expected to talk during the visit to the

parents of the girl. The main reason for this is that he might talk and the food chokes him.

Choking would mean that he has to get up and move out to cough. And if his mouth is not clean,

or he has bad teeth or he could talk and create a bad impression which might mean a pre-mature

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end to the relationship. A betrothed girl is customarily trained by her paternal auntie (Songa)

“not to look into her husband‟s mouth” for similar reasons.

Mean language habits series

The next six acts use mean language yet K 56 advises against such language. In “K 57: gubone --

see it” is about “a big pumpkin on an ant hill.” Ordinary reference to a pumpkin is “libone,” yet

the riddle uses “gubone” which is abusive. If it were a person, it would be “mubone – see him or

her.” This means that through riddling abusive language is allowed. Character traits associated

with “a big pumpkin on an ant hill” include docility, idleness and empty headedness. This riddle

is therefore justifiable in this context as it relates to K 56 where the son-in-law is expected to sit

there like a pumpkin on a hill, where hill stands for the special position he occupies. K 57

contrasts with “K 37: kaakali (Luganda) -- It‟s there” referring to an old person on a hill and K

74 in Edhikolyoka riddling event that refers to “the pointing finger and the object it is pointing

at.” In this way, K 57 leads to “K 58: bikalaayibikalaayi - little basins; little basins” referring to

“the buttocks of an older person.”

The mean reference to the behind of an older person even when an older person is in the

audience is only permissible because of the poetic license that riddling provides. However, the

audience is taken aback and there is a false engagement at K 59 when Na seeks to perform out of

turn. I observed a rush to cover up the abusive riddles. When Na is told that the turn is for Ju, she

grudgingly relinquishes the floor to Ju who then performs “K 60: flesh on top; inside is bone”

which derives from K 58. Ju says the answer is “blackberries” because it is what was on his

mind. Thus affirming that during riddling, “a correct answer” is not always “the” only correct

answer. Others say “even the mango is correct” but he rejects the idea. The position of the riddle

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performer is so powerful and so privileged that they can do anything within their powers under

the frame of the event. Opportunities like these are used to challenge people for anything that the

riddle performer considers important.

Some abusive riddles are set in remote contexts and brought to bear on the prevailing context of

the performance event. “K 61: Ntambula mpalapaita -- I walk waddling” by Ju along with “K

62: “Nkumi ibiri muleera - Two thousands a hem” by Na and “K 63: Kampinimpini jambo ni

pasikalamu wuuyo - Kampinimpini wave and pasperum is there” by Jo refer to spitefulness or

debased social order. Ja gives “duck” as the answer to K 61 arguing that a duck walks a waddle

while Jo answer “two snakes in a hole” in K 62 because the hem is long and rough. “Two

thousand” implies the length of two hem-like objects (snakes) in a hole. Jo also tells says,

“kampinimpini jambo pasikalamu wuuyo” is “a wizard in grass” reasoning that like snakes and

ducks, wizards are believed to be numerous and unwanted in Busoga. These riddles are

embedded with disgust. The sense of distance in “nkumi ibiri,” gestures like “jambo” and motion

“mpalapaita” serve to communicate separation and detarchment.

In my observation, riddle language is a form of cultural and social practice that describes and

interprets social life as experienced by the performers. The use of mean language shows how

“social power abuse, dominance and inequality are enacted, reproduced and resisted” (van Dijk

2001:352) during riddle performances. The use of mean language with reference to the older

persons, for example, is not coincidental but a reality both during the event and in community

life. Ultimately, the attitude created by the audience-participants in belittling the older persons in

the hearing of Ba, an older person himself in the audience raises concerns over the social security

of older person in general. Though this is allowed by riddling where degree of artistry is above

the message being conveyed, but the impact of the message has far reaching implications.

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The relaxation of the rules on turn taking at this point in the riddling event affects the coherence

of the thematic pattern. Whereas the session up to this point had adhered to the rule of winner

takes turn, allowing anyone to perform out of turn resulted into some overlaps and noise in the

process of the event. On a positive note, those who were not firm enough to hold the floor for

longer periods used this opportunity to perform isolated acts. This explains why the meanings are

not so consolidated as in the previous acts. The polarisation is shown in the next section.

Possessive language habits series

The next two riddles use the opening frame “I have my wife…-- Ndini mukazi wange…” but one

of them is not solved. Jo performs “K 64: I have my wife whenever she cooks; she burns” and he

abandons it for “K 65: I have my wife but whenever she cooks she puts sauce” to which Na

answers, “to defecate and urinate at the same time.” The two riddles are different and the only

possible reason for Jo changing his text is that he was performing from memory. Memory can

fail and it results into incompetence that is why riddling from memory is unpopular. During

Edhikolyoka riddling event, the audience criticised their colleagues that were performing from

textbook records. It was agreed during that event that creativity is the best strategy for riddling

and not copying and memorisation.

The phrase “I have my wife” suggests total endearment on one hand and a man‟s double

possession on the other. The use of pronouns “I”, “my” and “wife” in the same short phrase

indicates egotism of Basoga men in particular. Na performs “K 66: Kansikinsiki kansikiride has

drawn my love” to underscore this idea of control which “the hiccup” does to a person. As

unravelled by Ja, a hiccup is like a love potion that shakes the individual‟s self-being. It is

believed, among the Basoga, that a hiccup affects a person who has friends speaking about his or

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her name from afar. Once the affected person identifies the cause, the hiccup goes. Scientifically,

a hiccup is a result of the lowering of air pressure in the chest cavity. If it persists for a long time

death may occur.

The riddle of the hiccup connects to the one about the wife who cooks and “puts sauce” and the

wife who cooks and “burns” the food because the three riddles are metaphorically concerned

with the subject of love. The functioning of the body respiratory and excretory systems is related

to acts of intuition. The audience-participants use their intuition and knowledge of science to

inform this performance.

The love implicit in K 64, K 65 and K 66 is suggestive of total commitment embedded in the

phrase “she cooks” which in Kisoga culture refers to preparation and readiness of the woman

during her conjugal duties. Like the body systems, the relationship between a wife and a husband

is expected to be that of total commitment like the hiccup in the riddle.

Related to the above is “K 67: Pasperum a wet pair of shorts” performed and solved by Jo as “the

base of a water pot is never dry.” This means that the base of a water pot is like the pasperum

grass that retains much water over time. The base is usually made out of dry banana leaves or

sand. An earlier reference to dry banana leaves in K 63 where the wizard hides and here in K 67

were water is logged denotes a situation that is not desired. Just like children and adults who wet

their pants and beddings are ridiculed so is the wizard and waterpot. Na follows up this water

imagery in “K 68: Mustafa‟s pond is full” to perform and reveal the answer “a box of safety

matches.” She rejects the traditional answer, “an egg” because it‟s her right to be creative.

It was not explained to me why the pond belongs to “Mustaafa” but I can infer from “K 55:

Madiina is dirty” that names from Islam are commonly used because of the many Moslems in the

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area. Na skilfully twists the original riddle to make this one with the same meaning. In this

performance she uses the familiar objects in her environment. People in this locality are more

acquainted with boxes of safety matches than eggs. In particular, when asked, none of the

participants had a recent experience of breaking a raw or boiled egg. Indeed, a girl like Na has

access to a box of safety matches which she uses to make fire on a daily basis. Ordinarily, eggs

are left to hatch into chicks or sold in the market. The eggs are possessions strictly guarded by

the chicken and the owners of the chicken. In that way, access to the inner parts of the egg is

quite limited.

In riddling, the audience shared their most intimate experiences and evidence of learning was

also apparent. Jo consulted with Ba (K 88 line 37) as an elder on the authority of the answer that

Na had given. This means that elders are a point of reference for traditional wisdom. Riddling

therefore has social value that may not be under looked.

Even in “K 69: I have my soldiers; they wear similar clothes,” Na would have accepted “the

eyes” which is popular but she cites “leaves of a mango tree.” It derives from soldiers wearing

green uniform. The mango trees in this locality serve food for breakfast, lunch and supper for

many children and adults alike implying that mangoes are soldiers fighting hunger. Constant

contact with the mango tree enables the riddle performer to shift meaning from “the eye” that she

has but cannot see to the mango leaves which she is “seeing” with her eyes. She says:

40. Yet the answer is there. [Na]

41. Where is it? [Ba]

42. I am even seeing it. [Na]

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The concept of seeing in Lusoga serves for the sense of touch, sight and taste. This uniformity of

perception may be the motivation for this riddle. The themes of food and clothing that makes

and unmakes a person are performed at this stage.

Dress and social identity series

Dress defines social identity, class and status like it is portrayed in “K 70: I went to ours naked

and I returned dressed” performed by Na to show the idea of dress as transforming power. Ge

observes that, “beans” when planted they are naked and when they grow they are dressed in

pods. The use of the possessive pronoun “I” and “ours” to refer to the bean seed and “ours” to

mean “the soil” is grounded in Kisoga cultural perception of “the soil” (eitaka) and home place

(ewaife) as “obutaka” meaning “our all.” The semantic fit between “eitaka,” “obutaki” (lacking

provisions) and “obutaka” (place of residence) portrays the soil as the source of provisions. The

wealth of a person is measured by how a person is dressed up. Nakedness in public reveals a

person‟s inner weaknesses and like the naked seed is vulnerable so is a „naked‟ person without

necessary provisions.

This idea of nakedness is continued in “K 71: Fall down in a trench and take cover” where Ba

performs using extensive gestures and explains that,

Marrying from the neighbourhood is a great disadvantage because the son-in-law and

mother-in-law whenever they meet along the village paths, it is taboo to stand and greet

each other. Therefore, the first one to see the other at a distance hides in a nearby trench

to allow the other to pass-by before he or she continues with the journey. It doesn‟t

matter how well the son-in-law or mother-in-law is dressed; they simply cannot meet face

to face.

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The youthful audience-participant listen in disbelief as this tradition if emphasised would put

many into this situation. The social problem raised by this riddle is that of close habitation

between in-laws and the cultural obligation of keeping a respectable distance as a kind of

undressing. The discussion during the agreement stage concludes by advising the young people

present not to engage in premarital sex in their village locality that will lead them into marriages

with people in the same village. The discussion gets so interesting that a turn taking issues arises

at K 72 with Gu and Ja disputing Na taking the turn. Ba asserts his rights and performs “K 73:

wowowo” which Jo answers as “darkness.” This compare with “K 47: “Bbo” which has the same

answer. In this particular case, Ba uses “wo wo wo” chide Na who had taken his turn. It may also

represent the fear over the dark situation in K 71.

The idea of dress and social identity is continued through to K 81. In “K 74: kapininikapiso --

Nip nip needle” by Ge quickly answered in a chorus as “a hole of a small black ant,” is

commonplace in Busoga and as a result it has multiple interpretations. Primarily, it refers to the

numerous holes on the ground where these bottom biting insects hide. Secondly, it refers to

medical injections for treating illnesses. Tertiary, it refers to sexual intercourse from which

painful HIV/AIDS might be contracted. This riddle echoes the anxiety and darkness that is acted

in “wowowo” as a feeling of nakedness.

Gowlett (1979) rightly points out that the typology, patterns and meaning of the language in use

shows how meanings are sustained and recognized. In this case, the term “kapinini” in isolation

is meaningless while “kapiso” alone is simply a diminutive for a needle, i.e. small or tiny needle.

Apparently, the tiny stinger of the small black ant is a „tiny needle.‟ But, the word on the page

cannot bring out the meaning of this riddle statement without analysing the multifaceted meaning

of the spoken word.

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The performance progresses another onomatopoeic riddle “K 75: Kwikirikirikiikiii” by Na which

portrays the sound a male squirrel makes during intimate communication with a female squirrel.

Na later explains that the male squirrel beckons the female saying, “quickly it‟s like this” in

English. The English pun portrays earnestness. Related to this is “K 76: Pave where the great

male will fall” that Ba performs. Although the answer “defecating in the bush” is fairly

commonplace, the audience refers to making love. Ba is visibly puzzled by the twist and I had to

come in to save the situation. Interventions like this help to save face and consolidate the group.

In light of this, Ja asks for an explanation on people‟s perception of greatness, “K 77: Explain,

between an in-law and God who has greater respect?” After several attempts the son-in-law is

declared more important than God for the reason that, “when an in-law comes home, you rush to

clean up and dress up, but for God, you just go out to meet Him.” Cleanlines in dress and body is

identified with respect while dirtiness is identified with disrespect.

As already noted, Ba does not tolerate any riddle that debases God. In this one too, he puts up a

spirited battle against the notion that God is lower than man but he loses. The problem being

raised is indeed the people‟s perception power. When Ba performs “K 71: fall in the trench and

take cover,” he is convincing that marrying from the same village is dis-empowering. He plays

double standards when he disagrees that people are more likely to hide away from their in-laws

that from God. The subject of God is prevalent in this event right from the opening remarks. In a

society where religion is deep-seated, one has to be careful the way they go about addressing this

subject. Religion and sex are some of the sensitive topics in Busoga that are done in riddling.

The values related to dress and nakedness are continued in “K 78: A valued object is valued.”

Contextually, the riddle seems to suggest that God and the son-in-law are their intrinsic values

that cannot be lost under any circumstances. After many attempts, Ju states that, “a curtain is not

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hanged in a prison cell” as his preferred answer. This provides the participants with an chance to

appreciate the argument about respect with regards to the dress code before God and man.

Nakedness is again portrayed in “K 79: pampalampalapampa” meaning nakedness of the palm.

Ju performs this routine riddle and Na quickly unravels the answer, “there are no hairs in the

hand palm.” The riddle has sexual connotation too which gives Na the impetus to perform “K 80:

take bukutu, put on bukutu, and get bukutu” which she unravels as; “take a man, put on a

woman, and get a child.” Ja wanted to block Na from revealing this answer but she lets her to

speak her mind. This “communication about communication” is as Bauman (1977:295) says a

result of Ja evaluating “how performance is keyed” without hurting the audience.

The meaning aside, pilling like this is just one way of creating riddles in Lusoga. Its metric form

is similar to what Alan Dundes and Ved Prakash Vatuk (1974) finds in Hindi prosody. It is

interesting to note how man, woman and child semantically fit in the bukutu identity. The

anatomy and physiology series reinforced by this riddle brings to the fore an understanding of

animal reproduction. Na gives hints to the answer by varying her voice pitch but none is able to

get at it because the majority had formed a biased opinion that she was “just making it up.” So,

the performance is remobilised by Na “swearing by heaven” (line 21) to prove her point.

Mobility series

There is wonder and disbelief on the mobility of “water in the pumpkin leaves” in “K 81: What

beat Igulu where did it pass?” Ba performs the precedent premised on the knowledge that rain

originates from the skies (Igulu) and so, it is impossible for the rain to turn around and fall

upwards to wet the skies. The riddle as to how water got into the pumpkin leaf stalk can be

explained scientifically. The movement of water to the plants is through the root hairs and it

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circulates to all parts of the plant through the cell vacuoles. This process is long and complicated

as as the next riddle suggests.

This onomatopoeic tongue twistor, “K 82: konkodionkodionkologokosiyamagalankologo”

understood to mean “Konkodionkodio Nkologo son of Kosiya Magala Nkologo” implies “the

long winded path through a banana plantation.” I picked up this riddle from a twelve year old girl

during Nsinze book week event in 2008 at Nsinze Gombolola grounds. In the previous event,

the answer was “the mole rat‟s hole in the ground.” A boy at Kidiki Primary school in

Namwendwa, Kamuli district also performed this same riddle with such meticulousness that

everyone in the audience felt too stupid to say anything. Such a riddle takes time and practice.

Ideally, the riddle is an introduction of „Konkodionkodio Nkologo son of Kosia Magala

Nkologo.‟ The family name „Nkologo‟ serves as lead to the riddle depicting the idea agility in

self-introduction by chanting one‟s name according to lineage and parentage in a precise

corroboration of knowledge. The long windedness in this riddle is a test for accuracy and

endurance. When faced with verbal and practical difficulties, such as having to remember other

people‟s names over many generations, this riddle provides good training. Speed creates verbal

confusion in like „mutaane‟ [you [pl.] arrange] instead of „mutabane‟ [son of] and, „Kosya‟ [what

you grind], instead of „kosia‟ thus complicating the riddle. The part of „nkologo‟ sounds like

„nkolo‟ (plant stem) further obscuring the message.

This mouthful riddle is probably the reason why Na performs “K 83: I have my child who has a

bad chest.” The answer Ba provides is that, “a pig” in its movement, it “grunts as if it is panting

for air.” The next three acts also dwell on mobility as stated by Na in “K 84: One who walks

slowly reaches afar” Ju provides the answer as “a chameleon” that walks slowly but covers long

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distances. Next Ju performs the familiar riddle in “K 85: Bogolibogoli boo” inviting a chorus

answer, “feet of cattle” moving; which is quickly followed by “K 86: Pass and I pass” performed

and unravelled by Ba as, “the beam of a house.” The repetition of “pass” means that the beam is

a repetitive circuit appealing to tradition where people‟s movements are repetitive.

There are other graphic riddles like “69” which use the mirror effect to signify the riddle “pass

and I pass.” While some people unravelled this riddle as “husband and wife,” others took it to be

the year when Pope John Paul VI visited Uganda in 1969. Contrary to Dalfovo (1983) who

regards the riddle as “established in a fixed linguistic form” it is observed that this riddle cannot

be fixed. It is the same case with “K 87: Singa -- If” which is variously answered with Ju saying,

“If I was Museveni…” meaning that the answer is anyone‟s wish and guess. While this answer is

accepted by Ma as the correct answer, it leaves many confused until Na offers an explanation

that, “If I was this or that then I would do this and that.” This riddle takes a political tone and a

yearning for power. For a generation of people under thirty years, Museveni is a powerful figure.

It is not surprising that in this riddle, the participants say that, if they were “Museeveni” (a

veteran) and “Museveni” (the current president of Uganda), they would do certain things.

Interestingly, the riddle that immediately follows, “K 88: However much you do it” by Na seems

to challenge the very thought in K 87. Whereas the answers are many and identical, the one

agreed upon is that, “you cannot collect water on a cocoyam leaf” because it is glossy. Na

proficiently transforms a popular precedent, “wuluutuwuluutu” to form the answer to her riddle.

Na is being sensitive as a social critic using riddling to tell Ma that, “however much you try” you

cannot be like Museveni. And the motion she makes K 89 by rubbing her eyes is interpreted as

“an eye disease” only to learn that it was an unintended action on her part. Nonetheless, such an

action though unintended signifies how an audience is capable of reading meaning into anything

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that happens around them. Skilful performers usually take advantage of any incidents to make

meanings into other people‟s intentional and unintentional actions like this one.

In the next five acts K 90 - 94, the precedents focus on the female human body with relationship

to mobility. In “K 90: I have my wife when she goes to hers she returns pregnant.” Ju argues

that, “when a jerry can is taken to the well empty it is returned full of water.” Ba accepts this

answer with amendments that during their times it was a pot but these days a jerry can is

acceptable. The idea of travelling to the well along a small path is quickly reinforced by Jo‟s “K

91: Sarah, it is a pity!” meaning that, the “trees along the path are always disturbed” by those

passing by. The transformation to pot is analogous to the inconveniences the “Sarah” (girl) faces

along the way to their well of knowledge.

Likewise, “K 92: Mother has beaten me and I have looked at her” is performed and unravelled

by Na that, “when one stumbles he or she habitually looks back.” This implies self-reflection

during mobility and any other undertakings in life. Related to this act, “K 93: mother beats me

and afterwards she carries me” performed by Jo is resolved that when “a bicycle throws you

down, it carries you again.” Ja reasons that one cannot abandon riding a bicycle because of an

accident. Similarly, when there is a motor accident the injured and the dead are likely to be

driven in a motor car to the hospital. This riddle profoundly connotes the inexhaustible kindness

and reliability of “motherhood.”

Also, Na in “K 94: Sarah chases after Sarah but Sarah does not catch Sarah,” evokes inevitability

and futility in mobility. The “bicycle tyre chasing after the bicycle tyre” can never meet unless

there is a crash. The image of bicycle shows that it is the common mode of transport in this

community. Whether the tyre has symbolism is not made clear to me, but it seems that the

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continuation of the “Sarah” and “mother” allegory is on purpose to reinforce the point that

women as mothers are indispensable. This is also shown by the many riddles referring to female

characters. Na puts it differently in “K 95: My escort in the meantime is going ahead.” The

answer is given as: “tears told laughter, that when you laugh so much, I too will come.” This

answer brings out the double edged nature of life that has joy and sadness at the same time. It

implies that too much of anything is not good.

Hence the proverbial riddle, “K 96: That without rest” performed by Ju and completed by Jo that

it, “caused the death of the owner” comes in sequence. In response, Na offers precedent “K 97:

the one who goes while picking” and the answer, “is preferred to, „I will see it there.‟” She

follows it up with “K 98: You chase a huge man” and Ge responds, “leave some strength to

return.” These three riddles are popular as proverbs on self-control and their riddle texture is

based on the way they are used to tactfully call the event to a close.

Riddle performers seldom declare plainly that, „we are tired „but instead; they use the tools of the

game to speak out. Jo seems to be musing on this idea when he performs, “K 99: Nabirye is

covering her children” which he resolves as “a potato mound” thus explaining that potatoes are

underneath but no one can tell by just looking. This directly applies to the audience-participants

who, like potato mounds, are sitting in the room but no one knows their inner feelings. So,

„Nabirye‟ protects their interests by performing these riddles that are suggesting the termination

of the performances. The theme of shelter and housing is also apparent in these preceding riddle

acts and it predominates in subsequent riddles.

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Housing and Shelter series

The next acts from K 100 – K 105 are concerned with shelter and housing in society. “K 100: I

have my house we built it many of us but I sleep in it alone” is agreed to be “a grave” as given

by Na, while “K 101: I have my house it has one pole” performed by Jo is answered by Na as “a

mushroom.” Along with “K 102: I have my house it has four corners” performed by Na which is

also chorused as “a grave” and “K 103: I have my house it has no door” given by Hu and

unravelled in chorus as “an egg” does not betray any evidence that these last riddle act were in

the spirit of completing the task of reaching the targeted number of acts. They steadily maintain

artistry and “mediation” (Fairclough na.30). The intervention in K 104 concerning recording the

texts confirms that the point just made. Ba appeals to the others to perform quickly so that the

targeted number of riddle acts is met. He performs “K 105: Dry sticks built on wet sticks” to

prove his point. This is quickly solved by Jo as, “the horns on a cow‟s head” marking the end of

the second session. The idea of building, housing, sheltering emerge strongly in this section.

Culture and Values series

The last session is concerned with values forming the culture of the people. “K 106: When the

boys fall sick the girls go and check on them but when the girls fall sick the boys do not go to

check on them” typically refers to the fact that, “when in pain, the hands reach out to the feet but

the feet do reciprocate when the hands are injured.” This riddle is explained by Ba and accepted

by Hu without much ado. It connects well with the idea of the dry horns of an animal that are

fixed on a wet head in the sense that the protective horns are not supplied with food from the

body they protect.

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The girls take it literary thinking that the riddle refers to menstruation periods that only the girls

go through. Others think it‟s the boys who rarely do work at home that are the subject of the

riddle. Certainly, these are true sentiments raised by the riddle although as the saying goes, the

answer is as obvious as the hand scratching the foot and the foot not being able to reciprocate.

This riddle is like, “K 32: when you swallow saliva do you tell a friend?” which contrasts the

value of friendship with service. These compare with the inanimate bicycle that carries the one it

has thrown down (K 93) and the pot that goes to well and returns full (K 90). Goodness is

expected to be repaid with goodness.

In this last part of the performance event, the so called “five wives and one husband” questions:

„who,‟ „where,‟ „why,‟ „what,‟ „when,‟ and „how‟ come into play. I suppose, this is where riddle

scholars derive their description of riddles as „question and answer‟ forms yet, as seen above,

there are not many riddle acts taking this form in Busoga. Na performs “K107: Who taught the

European to build the railway?” and it is solved by Ju reasoning that it is “the centipede” because

of the way the skin of the centipede resembles a rail line. The strength of this riddle seems to lie

in the device of analogy between the rail line and the centipede.

In “K108: Who taught the European to make kingly coats?” performed by Jo also attributes the

culture of textile making to Europeans. The idea that this knowledge was got from “bats” as

explained by Ja also draws analogy between the kingly dress and the flamboyant wings of a bat.

It is worth noting how interrogation on modern building construction and clothing is attributed to

“the European” and not “wives” and “women” as the case has been in previous riddles on the

same theme. These riddles show that discoveries by Europeans have always been with us in our

backyards. Bats and centipedes are plentiful in the locality and these two riddles are also

commonplace that is why they are resolved in very short spans.

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The last three acts, “K 109: What s/he defecates is what s/he covers with” is performed and

resolved by Ba as the “fire covering itself under the ash it has produced.” This builds on the

theme of value of clothing and shelter implied in “defecating” and “covering.” Similarly, “K110:

The skin of a pig” performed by Hu is resolved by Ja as “being unable to make a drum” which

means that it cannot provide clothing for the drum. Interestingly, this riddle is proposed by a

Muslim and that is the reason why he perhaps does so with hesitation, bringing the event to a

close with an uncertain riddle, “K111: banaamuleetera emperekeze? – Will they bring for her

escorts?” This pseudo-precedent is performed by Ju and only one person responds. Hu asks this

precedent because he is the winner of the previous riddle act. However, the rain-storm outside

makes the conversation impossible to carry forward, forcing a change from riddling to practical

instructions on how to survive the storm.

6.2 Conclusions

I have identified the strategies of performance that audiences use to resolve riddles and reflect

critically on their insights from the context of the riddle performers and their social positioning. I

considered the culturally constructed conventions on how audiences say things, the sequencing

and orderliness of conversations, and interpreted utterances by referring to their turns within the

sequence. These social and psychological themes were freely explored by the audience and

enforced by agreed turn taking frames. As a result, NSS riddling event has revealed thirteen

major interconnected thematic fields with at least ninety acts falling in the anatomy and

physiology series and sexuality series. Of these, there are fifty-five riddle precedents and

resolutions denoting sexuality. The other dominant themes are in the dress or clothing series;

speech series; mobility and transport series; and housing and construction series. The fact that

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the body, food and deeds dominated the dialogues suggests that the participants used this

opportunity of riddling to explore aspects in their lives that are dear and near to their minds.

The performance event revealed the thoughts and feelings of the audience more than the isolated

precedent and preferred answer could reveal. This is the reason why CDA is a reliable method of

reaching an understanding of the intentionality and meaning of the riddle acts. Whereas the final

resolution often closes out other answers performed, it remains up to the audience, in particular,

the protagonist to direct the event in the desired direction. In situations where peers, for example,

young schoolmates and neighbours meet in the village with a couple of strange people, the ideas

that emerge are mostly of mutual nature.

Following the sequence of the acts in analysing NSS riddling event helped in understanding

riddling themes and how meanings were arrived at during the performance. Such an analysis

established how the behaviour of the audience-participants in their roles and relationships related

to the process of creativity and sense of order in society. The analysis revealed that “there can be

structure to a complete riddling session and that this structure is determined partly by the context

and ever-changing behaviour of the participants in the session itself and partly by unconscious

patterns of thought and perception brought to the session by the participants” (Evans 1976:170).

It also showed that riddles are not mere guesses but coherent discourses and events with well-

connected meanings. And like Bauman and Briggs (1990: 66) have pointed out, sequencing

portrays the audience-participants “as partners who have substantive contributions to make” and

not “as dupes who lack the ability to reflect meaningfully on their own communicative conduct.”

In this way, riddling assumes responsibility on the part of the audience to display unrestrained

skill and effectiveness in whatever they perform.