“Empaako Yaawe?”

We’ve been keeping busy since arriving in Fort Portal. We have gone to two church services with our new church family, been given empaakos (nicknames) at our Empaako Party, traveled out to a friend’s village, have been learning the town, meeting other missionaries, and then of course, we had Christmas! It’s been a whirlwind and it’s nice to have a day where we are just at the house relaxing, recouping and getting ready for Faith Quest. It is only a few days away!!

The first week that we went to Fort Portal town Church, we received a very warm welcome. Everyone was thrilled that we were finally here and we enjoyed praising and worshiping with the Tooro people. After church last Sunday, we all met up at the new church property and had a combined Christmas/Empaako Party. Jeff had purchased a cow to be slaughtered and many of the women & men were busy preparing the meat and cooking the food all night long. Andrew and I were the honored guests, as this would be the day we would be given our empaako, or pet names.

It is a tradition in the Tooro tribe to be given an empaako at birth. Each young Tooro boy and girl is given an empaako at birth (after 3 days for the girls and four days for the boys). There are 12 different empaakos (one reserved for the King = Okaali) and each empaako has a different meaning. At the Empaako Party an elder decides and gives whatever empaako they deem most fitting for the baby. Since we were not born here but have settled here, we were given empaakos at our party last week.

Here are our Empaakos:

Andrew: Akiiki – Leader

Aimee Jo: Ateenyi – Guardian or Protector

Anaiah: Abwooli – Beloved

From now on, we will be known here by our empaakos first and then our names. Being addressed with your empaako is considered an honor and it is used out of respect. We feel blessed to have these new names.

At the Empaako Party, we were introduced to the traditional tribal meal for those receiving their empaakos. It is a mashed up grainy substance called Millet and a type of mushroom sauce. Each person who is receiving an empaako is supposed to take some of the millet in hand, dip it into the mushroom sauce and enjoy! We appreciated our new experience and look forward to many more in the future.

There have been many new changes in our lives aside from taking on new names. We are struggling to communicate and learn the culture. We have yet to drive ourselves in town and are anxious about the prospect of having to drive in these crazy driving conditions (rules of the road seem to be optional at best). We are adjusting to the food and weather and have been battling minor illness over the past few days as our bodies adjust to the new “bugs”. All in all, we are doing very well and look forward learning more as time goes by.