The Baganda people of southern Uganda have been making cloth from tree bark for several centuries. Until the mid nineteenth century barkcloth was made in almost every Baganda homestead and had a wide variety of uses, ranging from the practical to the ritual and ceremonial. Political and economic events since then have brought about profound social and cultural changes, with resulting impacts on the role of barkcloth in Baganda society. While many of its more practical functions have been taken over by imported or artificial materials, its ceremonial role has survived, and new uses have...