Reawakening Obuntu

I Am Obuntu. I was born by the land to steward the land.

We recently organised a Conference of Landstewards inviting over 60 landowners in Kiwaatule, Kampala (Uganda) to embark on a journey of transitioning from mere landowning to landstewarding — stewarding the natural, social, and economic health of their bioregion. We’re essentially prototyping an Obuntu Governance System where both human and nonhuman ecological stakeholders (in this case the Nalubaaga Wetland) co-shape decisions.

I’m reposting the content we share with the landowners. This is the first of three pieces.

I’m Obuntu.

I was born by the land to steward the land. Many interpret me as humanity but my story is rooted in life itself. Millions years ago, all of Africa was flat. One day powerful underground forces pushed and pulled until hills rose up and valleys sank down. Water gathered in valleys creating wetlands and other water bodies. Life blossomed – soil, bees, bananas, lions, mushrooms, worms, etc. In this richness I was born, as a living intelligence of right relationship.

My work was simple — to hold life together by keeping all parts in harmony – in a state of nested interdependence while honoring the unique role of each part. This enabled life to evolve to higher orders of potential. In humans this is innovation; desk phones led to simple phones, then to smart phones, like parent species turned into better versions of themselves.

When the wise Bantu people migrated to the Great Lakes region, I practically taught them how to live in harmony with the motherland. They loved me and i loved them. They created totems, told fireside stories, songs, proverbs, drum beats and dances, all to stay in right relationship with motherland. I lived in their hearts, minds and bodies– influencing their every action.

One particular act – naming of places, water bodies, showed their love for healthy relationships. For instance, when they found the Impala grazing the hills and drinking the wetlands, they respected the relation between the land, and Impala saying Kasozi ka Impala- (Hill for Impalas) which became Kampala. But what i love the most, is that they named themselves after me; Obuntu ⟶ Bantu – a people whose way of life was to honor healthy relationship in a place, so that all life on earth could thrive.

For generations, I lived in the spaces between neighbours, between the tree and the child who climbs it for fruit, between the butterfly and the flower, the worm and soil, between the motherland and the stories she tells children, between what the soul feels and what the hand does.

Then colonizers came. They tried to bury me under paperwork, greed, and control. They forced Ssessangas of the Elephant Clan to kill their totem for ivory and carry it as slaves. They told you, I’m me soft. Old. Unfit for modern life.

Now the land cries out in floods, droughts, heatwaves. Signals of broken relations are everywhere – unproductive soils, rising prices and cancers, dying trust, corruption denies livelihoods.

But I am still here - in the grandmother who remembers the old ways, in the child who wonders why the river is sick, in your hands when they plant a seed. I am not law. I am not policy. I am that knowing you feel when you care for what is not yours, that feeling in your heart when you know we can do better to be better versions of ourselves tomorrow.

I am Obuntu.
I am the memory of how to live well in this place.
I rise again in Kiwaatule's dreams of a better 2030.

I am Obuntu.
And I am coming home.
Will you steward life with me? Will you be a Landsteward?

Reflection #1 – Motivation

What part of Obuntu's story speaks most to you? Why?

Complete: "I feel called to protect ______ because ______."

Reflection #2 -- Who I could become

1) In what ways does my current relationship with neighbours and nature reflect Obuntu?

2) Who am I when I feel deeply connected to the land and community?

3) How would you introduce yourself if you saw land as kin? (e.g., "I am [Name], caretaker of the mango tree near Nalubaaga.")

Reflection #3 -- What i can do today

1) What daily actions can I take to honor Obuntu in my interactions with neighbors and nature?

2) What practical steps can I take to rebuild trust and cooperation with my community?

3) List one colonial habit you’ll unlearn (e.g., throwing waste in the road) and one Obuntu practice you’ll revive (e.g., giving away clothes i haven’t used in a year).