The Ugandan community of the greater Oklahoma City area came together on the evening of Saturday, March 27th in the home of Geoffrey and Jacqueline Oryema to celebrate the fifteenth birthday of their daughter Kelsey Oryema. Prior to the beginning of the actual festivities, a small fence was removed to allow the attendees to park their cars, and in time a flotilla of large vehicles was in place on the grass lawn there and some of them displayed license plates that indicated that their owners were from the Lone Star State. The honoree displayed the warmth and sophistication that is often found in people considerably older than herself as she welcomed the guests and thanked them for their birthday greetings. She had previously been featured in a Facebook Posting with her mother demonstrating a dance that is part of the heritage of the Acholi people of Uganda, and it was explained that their traditional homeland is close to neighboring Sudan and Lake Victoria which is the source of the Nile River. When she was presented with a large birthday cake, the celebrant began to cut pieces and offered them to the children present with a gracious smile. Many of the guests, including Father Martin, a Roman Catholic priest originally from Uganda, gathered outside where several bottles of liquor were in plain view on a table and sat in chairs and spoke to one another cheerfully in different East African languages as children joyously frolicked around them. Under a pale full moon, when each individual container of spirits was opened a small quantity of its contents were spilled on the grass in accordance with African tradition.
Large slabs of meat were put on an equally oversized grill that was cheerfully manned by Geoffrey Oryema who took obvious pride in his five children, the youngest of which were soon playing with the small offspring of the other guests. Some of the guests brought food as well, and soon the attendees gathered in the garage where they were offered food that included Indian chapatti bread and a chicken concoction that is similar to the chicken tikki masala that is served in Indian restaurants and became part of the cuisine of Uganda due to the presence of Indian immigrants there when both of those nations were colonies of the United Kingdom in the last century . A large television set was in place in the family’s living room, and music videos made in Uganda were shown that displayed professionalism and skill on the part of the actors who appeared in them as well as the technical mastery of those who had produced them. Several of the male guests could be seen working on the electrical wiring system of the home, which was indicative of the cooperative nature of the Ugandan community of Oklahoma City.
Against the Grain 