Uganda’s traditional clothing varies by region, and several garments have become national symbols.
The gomesi
The gomesi, also called the busuuti, is a bright floor-length dress with a square neckline, short puffed sleeves and a sash tied below the waist. Sources trace it to 1905, when the Goan designer Caetano Gomes introduced it, and it spread after the Kabaka’s wife wore it at his 1914 coronation. It is the traditional dress of Baganda and Basoga women and is worn for weddings, funerals and formal events. Its fabric has changed over time, from bark cloth to cotton in the 1960s, Khadi in the 1970s and more recently kikooyi.
Other regional styles
The kanzu is the national dress of men. Women from the west and north-west drape a long cloth called a suuka around the waist and shoulders, while women from the south-west wear the omushanana, a long skirt with a short cloth tied across the shoulders.
Sources: Wikipedia: Gomesi, Wikipedia: Culture of Uganda.
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