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SOMALIS 699
activities produce meager results. While the Ahmadiya missionaries do not insist
on circumcision, this is obligatory for the Sunni Muslims.
The recognized head of the Muslim community in Busoga is the Shaikh-Qadi,
who is also responsible for the Shariah court, which deals with Muslim personal
affairs such as marriage and divorce. The first Muslim shaikhs in Busoga were
Ganda or Swahili, but gradually local Soga walimu (teachers) and shaikhs have
been trained and have assumed these positions. Among the first well-known
Soga Shaikh-Qadi was Juma Waiswa, who did much for the spread of Islam
during the colonial period.
The first mosques were built in Busoga in the 1890s, and today in all the main
towns and townships there are numerous beautiful mosques. Even in the small
villages where Muslims live, one can find small, well-attended mosques. Muslims
are easily recognized by their special white head caps and turbans. In the
towns and commercial centers, Islam is more strictly observed than in the more
remote villages, where traditional beliefs connected with ancestor spirits are still
strong.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Fallers, L. A. Bantu Bureaucracy: A Century of Political Evolution Among the Basoga
of Uganda. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965.
King, N. Kasozi, and Oded, A. Islam and the Confluence of Religions in Uganda 1840-
1966. Tallahassee, Fla.: American Academy of Religion, 1973.
Lubogo, Y. K. History of Busoga. Jinja, Uganda: East African Literature Bureau, 1960.
Oded, A. Islam in Uganda. Jerusalem: Israel Universities Press, 1974.
Richard, Audrey, ed. East African Chiefs. London: Faber and Faber, 1959.
Roscoe, J. The Northern Bantu. 2nd ed. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1966.
Trimingham, J. Spencer. Islam in East Africa. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964.
Uganda, Republic of. Report on the 1969 Population Census. Vol. 1. Entebbe: The
Government Printer, 1971.
Welbourn, F. B. Religion and Politics in Uganda. Nairobi: East African Publishing
House, 1965.
Articles
Nabwiso-Bulima, W. F. "The Evolution of the Kyabazingaship of Busoga." Uganda
Journal 31:1 (1967): 89-99.
Rigby, P. "Political Change in Busoga." Uganda Journal 30:2 (1966): 223-225.
Arye Oded
SOMALIS The Somalis inhabit the Horn of Africa and form one of the most
uniformly homogeneous populations of the continent. Somalis speak a common
language, adhere to a single faith, Sunni Islam, and share a cultural heritage