238 Deaf Epistemologies, Identity, and Learning
practices, and language. This constitutes another layer of meaning of the tree,
rooted in heritage.
providing shadow in Sub-Saharan climates, trees are vastly appreciated places
for people to sit together and chat. As such, they are also breeding grounds for
bonding, ideas, and social change. This connection between physical tree growth
and learning was present during an alumni day at the Wakiso Secondary School
for the Deaf, one of the two secondary deaf schools in Uganda’s Wakiso district,
an hour’s drive from the capital, Kampala (also see Chapter 1, section titled “Deaf
Epistemologies, Identity, and Learning: Vignettes from Fieldwork”). This open
day on October 26, 2013, started with the ritual of male alumni planting a tree at
the girls’ dorms and their female counterparts doing the same at the boys’ dorms.
The visitors worked together to dig the hole, put the tree in, cover it with sand,
and water it. Just as the tree will grow and produce fruit for the students to eat, it
is hoped that future societies will benefit from the students’ learning (De Clerck,
2013a).
Anthropologist Tim Ingold (1993) poignantly highlights boundaries between
human beings and elements of natural landscapes, describing The Harvesters, a
painting by Breughel:In its present form, the tree embodies the entire history of its development
from the moment it first took root. And that history consists in the unfolding
of its relations with manifold components of its environment, including the
people who have nurtured it, tilled the soil around it, pruned its branches,
picked its fruit, and—as at present—use it as something to lean against.... yet in its branching structure, the tree combines an entire hierarchy
of temporal rhythms, ranging from the long cycle from its own germination,
growth and eventual decay to the short, annual cycle of flowering, fruiting
and foliation. (p. 168)
After the tree planting, in accordance with the school’s tradition, the alumni shared
their experiences with the students and provided guidance, and together they or-
ganized a debate in UgSL. Following the structures of Ugandan parliament, this
consisted of supporters, opponents, and a president. (The debate topic in 2012
was the responsibilities involved in achieving a good quality education; the 2013
topic was the formation of student relationships.) The session closed with a perfor-
mance involving jokes about teachers’ habits. Mr. Edreke Ssendagire, co-founder of
the UNAD, encouraged students on their educational paths. After a meal cooked
by the students and volleyball and football competitions, the students and alumni
gathered under the shade of an old tree during sunset, looking back on the day and
toward a hopeful future (De Clerck, 2013).
The act of gathering under a tree is also a marker for an important moment in
Uganda’s history. Support for its independence was enlivened by Saturday meetings
under a tree from the early 1950s until 1962, when the country became indepen-
dent. In the shadow of this tree, which is strategically located between two major
roads, people gathered weekly to listen to political speeches and discuss the struggle