rumors of isolated folk who practiced magic originated in africa several thousand years ago and served as the catalyst for the formation of the uagadou institute of magic. credited as the largest wizarding school, uagadou generally accepts students from any country in africa with the majority of its students coming from uganda, kenya, tanzania, rwanda , burundi and south sudan as the curriculum is mostly taught in kiswahili. while there are students who may travel from other regions to attend uagadou, these are generally children of wealthy wizarding families who have elected to raise their offspring having learned both english and kiswahili in order to gain admission into uagadou due to its prestigious reputation.
other wizarding schools in africa have tried to compete for attention but generally pale in comparison to uagadou’s stunning edifice carved out of the rwenzori mountainside in western uganda. it has gain its nickname as the mountain of the moon from muggle explorers who have attempted to locate the source of the nile river but instead come home with only mention of the snow-capped whiteness after being oblivated. the nicname has since been adopted by school staff due to the grey walls of the school that are shrouded in mist so that it simply appears that the school is floating in mid-air.
acceptance
if accepted into uagadou, children at the age of eleven will receive their notice as they sleep through a dream messenger. the dream messengers were sent by either the headmaster or headmistress of the day and included important instructions. the next morning the child will wake with an inscribed stone in their hand that served as proof of their admission to the school.
since students may originate from any country in africa, there is no centralized form of transportation to uagadou. locations of portkeys are made available to students a week prior to the beginning of the school year and first years are encouraged to visit the entrance that is at an undisclosed location along the length of the nile river.
education
uagadou students are famously skilled in astronomy, alchemy and self-transfiguration. cultural pride is at the root of the school chant , in the colors adjourned the dining hall and in the content that is taught to students. to excel is to be expected and anything less was shamed.
since 1650, the uagadou headmaster opened admission criteria to those that are muggleborn once concern of secrecy was dismissed. following this change, two headmasters were necessary due to the large influence of islamic and christian culture in the student body (most notably the muggleborns or those that lived in muggle-dense areas). therefore, both christian and islamic calendars are observed for holidays and exam schedules have been altered to accommodate those that require to say prayers. uniforms are free to be altered to include hijabs or any other religious wear.
core classes
astronomy
at uagadou, astronomy is taught to measure time, seasons, cycles, direction and naming rites. culturally embedded astronomical knowledge and observation are used to inform social forms, ideologies and behaviours in wizarding society as they believe searching the heavens provides insight into the meaning, order and understanding of their place as wizards.
alchemy
with influence from egyptian research , students at uagadou are taught alchemy with focus on the composition, structure and magical properties of the four basic elements and how they can transmutate. despite its heavy metaphysical speculation, professors also lend time in showing its application for mundane uses like the production of ink and dyes which are important to islamic culture. if possible, sometimes a trip is arranged to the egyptian centre for alchemical studies but this is reserved for older students with high marks.
transfiguration
while professors do touch on the basics of altering the physical states of inanimate objects, self-transfiguration is strongly emphasized in uagadou curriculum. starting with transfiguring bodily extremities like arms and legs, students are extensively tested in full bodily transfiguration in later years. since this is a skill that every student exemplified at, students are not required to register as animagus as “it limits their potential”.
legerdemain
the skillful use of one’s hand when practicing magic. although wands were primarily an european invention (and many schools in africa were forced to adopt to these new customs due to outside funding and colonial influence), students at uagadou master the casting of spells simply by pointing their fingers or through other types of hand gestures. wandless magic is taught from the first year and is perfected throughout the years until there is very minimal use of verbal spell casting.
ancient folklore & sacred history
an elective for those that are interested in the integration of wixen and muggle history with emphasis on how non-magical folk practice witchcraft and vague mentions of how wizards have influenced muggle politics indirectly. tribal folklore from east africa is also taught with intention to accommodate some of the backgrounds of the students at uagadou along to reiterate the importance of having a general understanding of the politics in other countries as a form of respect.
advanced classes
advanced application of astronomy
a more in-depth study of how celestial knowledge can be used to chart seasons and to regulate agricultural cycles and ritual calendars in both the muggle and wixen context. celestial bodies have always been appreciated in the sense that they are used to coordinate both work and social activities. additionally, students are exposed to how astronomical objects play roles in divination, spatial design, and decision-making. a major role of the celestial heavens in general and the moon in particular is their embodiment of the pan-african sense of time—the moon’s predictable and regular phases inform, illuminate, and regulate their living experience.
analysis of alchemical studies
a complex look into the history of alchemy with the intention to bring clarity to students about the mysteries of matter, creation, and the life-balance as to harmonize them holistically with nature. this course draws upon influence from astronomy classes as it is believed that the sun’s physics is the factory for creating all physical matter and energies - most importantly, the nexus transformation of unshaped ingredients into shaped matter.
mastery of mental forces
for those interested in further research of the transmutation of one kind of mental vibration into others. traditional alchemy in the african context manipulates the four matter elements in order to discover the processes of nature and how to work with them. this is a popular course as it surveys the use of natural laws to manipulate someone else’s consciousness (also known in the west as legilimency).
grading
it is after a student’s fourth year can a student choose to enroll in advanced courses. students may only select courses with recommendation from a professor or with exceptional grades. at the conclusion of their seventh year, students must take specialized testing (sts) that cover core curriculum topics and any course content that they took in their fifth, sixth and seventh years. these exams were scaled using letter grading with the following distinctions: excellent (a) , very good (b), good (c), fair (d+), marginal pass (d), marginal fail (e), and clear fail (e-). each letter grade has a scaled weight which is summed at the end to give a number in the range 1-5. those with weighted averages closer to 5 had better job opportunities upon graduation.
