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ABSTRACT
This essay analyses the social underpinnings of the oral tale of "Mudo," which belongs to the Aarne-Thompson tale type 333, along with a group of similar tales that resemble the action and movement of "Little Red Riding Hood." Basic to the exposition is Adolf Bastian's assertion of the fundamental similarity of ideas between all social groups. In the "Mudo" story and its Ugandan variants, the victim is a solitary little girl and the villain a male ogre who devises ways of eating her; the ogre is mostly successful, although in some variants the girl manages to escape. Although these tales come from a great range of cultures and different geographical locations, and the counterpart of the ogre in the European tales is a wolf in disguise, they share elements of plot, characterization, and motif, and address similar concerns.
Introduction
Busoga is part of Eastern Uganda, surrounded by water. The Rev. Fredrick Kisuule Kaliisa1 notes:
To the west is river Kiira (Nile) marking the boundary between Buganda and Busoga. To the East is river Mpologoma separating Busoga from Bukedi. To the North are river Mpologoma and Lake Kyoga, forming the boundary between Busoga and Lango. To the south, is Lake Victoria (Nalubaale).
It might be the result of the geographical location of Busoga that ogre stories were composed to warn the people against impending harm if they went out alone and stayed in secluded places. Nnalongo Lukude emphasizes this:
Historically, Busoga was surrounded by bodies of water and forests, it was very bushy and as a result harboured many wild animals, some of which were man-eaters. The ogres indeed existed, and devoured women and children. They never devoured men, because men were always armed with spears and were strong but the women and children were very vulnerable and were always at risk of being devoured. The men up to today in some parts of Busoga carry ammunition with them whenever they leave their homes.2
From Lukudde's assertion, it can be argued that ogres existed, and for this reason tales were composed to sensitize people about the risks and dangers of being left alone in a secluded place that was not within society's protection. This is also echoed by Jack Zipes:
Little children were attacked...