Karioki, a Modern African Subculture: Social Relationship among the Youth in Kampala, Uganda

Abstract

In Kampala, the capital city in Uganda, people enjoy popular entertainment show called karioki, which is performed on stage in restaurants and bars with popular music at night. It has become a craze during the last 10 years. It is performed by groups of about 15 men and women in their mid-teens to mid-20s.

This article attempts to characterize the social relationships among Kampala youth through karioki. First, it examines the social backgrounds of karioki performers and shows how a variety of youth participate in karioki. Second, it makes clear how they form groups in order to perform karioki shows. Third, it describes how a particular day's performers are determined, and how they make their program.

It was found that karioki performers do not form exclusive groups. They move easily from one group to another, and sometimes they quit karioki itself, later returning without any difficulty. Their grouping is ‘open' and temporary, and they take it for granted that they will not develop strong feelings of identity and discipline. They are able to adjust themselves impromptu to abrupt changes in membership of the day's performers, as well as unrehearsed alterations in their program.

This article discusses these features of Kampala youth's social relationships in the light of contemporary subculture studies. It concludes that Kampala youth form highly fluid groups, and their social relationships are always “unsettled” and instantly created without the participants having identity and/or attributes.