WE ARE STRONG BECAUSE OF OUR MILLET BREAD: STAPLE FOODS AND THE GROWTH OF ETHNIC IDENTITIES IN UGANDA; pp. 159–172

This paper examines the phenomenon of ethnicity in Uganda with a view to underscoring the role of staple foods in ethnic identity formation and maintenance. By way of qualitative discourse, predicated on both primary and secondary sources, the paper observes that Uganda’s ethnic identities emerged and are maintained by, among others, the staple foods and delicacies of the respective people in question. Although food choices are largely determined by culture, the availability of various foodstuffs is a function of diverse edaphic, topographic, vegetative and humidity conditions across the country. Millet, cook­ing bananas, cassava and sweet potatoes are the major traditional foodstuffs, and members of different Uganda’s ethnic identities are known by the traditional foods and delicacies they consume and how they consume them.