ABSTRACT
The Ugandan proverb, ‘the child drums and the elder dances’,1 is mentioned regularly when parents, community elders, and other adults who play important roles in the lives of young rural Ugandans discuss issues of young people’s2 agency and empowerment. At face value this proverb mirrors calls within academia and the NGO world for recognition that young people have an active role in (re)constituting their lives and those of people around them (Stephens 1995; Scheper-Hughes and Sargent 1998; Hart et al. 2004). A deeper analysis of young people’s lives in rural areas of Uganda leads to several important questions interrogating this proverb and highlighting problems faced by young people when they try to negotiate established power relations and gain more control over their own lives. Are adults dancing to rhythms chosen independently by young people, or do they choose to dance only when young people drum rhythms taught to them by their elders? What are the consequences for young people when they choose to drum their own rhythms?
