Pleasure Katusiime could fly away if she wanted. But she doesn’t. She’s perfectly content at Edirisa on Lake Bunyonyi, where she reigns as the one and only resident pet.
Forget guesthouses with dogs. While they may be loyal companions, they can be intimidating to local people. Edirisa, as a cross-cultural space, has chosen a gentler ambassador: a dove.
Pleasure Katusiime arrived at the lakeshore about three months ago with her owner, Serene Pleasure, who knows a cultural trick: you chop a bit of your hair, mix it with a bird’s feather, burn it and give it to the animal to inhale; that ensures loyalty for life.
During the day Pleasure Katusiime explores the eucalyptus forest that surrounds us, but cautiously. She used to have a husband who was tragically snatched away by an eagle two months ago.
At night our widow in white finds comfort in the kitchen. It’s warm, almost like a nest, and stocked with an endless supply of her favourite food, rice. (It doesn’t matter if it’s cooked or not, as long as it’s rice.) Chef Brenda Katusiime enjoys her quiet companionship; the kitchen can feel lonely sometimes, and having someone to talk to — even a dove — makes all the difference.
Serene Pleasure, however, often does a double take when she hears Brenda chatting with the bird, calling it “Pleasure.” To clear up the confusion, we’ve decided to add “Katusiime” to her name. And so our little dove will have an identity all her own …
photos by Miha Logar and Brenda Katusiime