Since the British had set up their administrational centre in the Jur Alur Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. social control in the area. Peace negotiations to end the long-running rebellion by the Lords Resistance Army continued, while security in the north improved through 2007. 1.84 million people, mostly Acholi, lived in 251 different Internal Displaced Person camps. The Acholi are the descendants of a variety of Luo-speaking peoples who are believed to have migrated three or four centuries ago from adjacent areas of what is now South Sudan into what is now the Acholi district of Uganda. From the Village to Entebbe: The Acholi of Northern Uganda and . Okot p'Bitek (1963). It was also during this period that the name Acholi was coined by the Arab traders, calling Traditionally, a young man was dependent upon his lineage head and elders both for permission to marry and for the material goods required for bride-wealth; elders of the woman's lineage were also much involved in the discussions and negotiations surrounding the marriage. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Political Organization Defined A political organization subject to Code section 527 is a party, committee, association, fund or other organization (whether or not incorporated) organized and operated primarily for the purpose of directly or indirectly accepting contributions or making expenditures, or both, for an exempt function. Under Ugandan Pres. Ethnic group of South Sudan and Northern Uganda, Atkinson, Ronald R. "The Evolution of Ethnicity among the Acholi of Uganda: The Precolonial Phase.". 1orthern Uganda or Acholiland is formally known as the Acholi sub-region, an area inhab N - ited primarily by speakers of the Acholi language, whom I refer to as the Acholi. ETHNONYMS: Afipa, Wafipa colonial times, were the Acholi stood often in opposition to the British colonial rule, the starting Anywa Adhola Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. In addition there were priest- or priestess-diviners, private practitioners who worked for the well-being of their clients, and witches, who worked in private for evil or destructive purposes. A single rainy season, from April-May to October-November, produces a reliable annual rainfall nine years of every ten, ranging from 102 centimeters in the central and western portions of Acholi to only 51 centimeters in much of the north and east. Administrative divisions within Acholi, however, both during colonial rule and since independence, have often reflected preexisting sociopolitical units: lineages at the parish level; chiefdoms at the subcounty level; and larger zones of the most intensive (and peaceful) interpolity interactions at the county level. Okot p'Bitek (1971). Kasozi, A. When the camps were disbanded and people began to return to their land, customary rules for land tenure did not necessarily have the answers to some of the problems faced by Acholi people: men had lost their fathers from whom they would be granted land; children did not know where their clan land was; women were married to men without following the customary rules for marriage because of a lack of resources; and women were widowed and left with few options for survival. Inheritance has been, and largely remains, patrilineal. (Whitmire, 2013, p. 46). state, political organization of society, or the body politic, or, more narrowly, the institutions of government. Industrial Arts. Nairobi: East African Literature Bureau. Batswana are divided into a number of subgroups or "tribes": Bahurut, Shona ETHNONYMS: Ebantfu ba kwa Ngwane (the people of Ngwane), emaSwati, emaSwazi, Swati Linguistic Affiliation. The system values peace over justice, and has retributive and restorative aspects. Langlands, B. W. (1971). areas of the Buganda Kingdom and their main trading routes extended eastwards towards Kenya, The majority of elected members of parliament in the Acholi sub-region are members of the opposition.[14]. p. 41). Women also provide major labor in the fields, as well as being responsible for most child rearing and all cooking and other food-preparation tasks. the furthest back is the historical reconstruction by Atkinson (2011 [1994]), who described the This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile. The relationship between (real) brother and sister is often very close, especially when one acts as the lapidi (nurse-child) to the other, as are the bonds between the children of sisters. passed through Sudan to the northern Uganda. 30. Acholi: Talking Politics in Northern Uganda Many Ugandans follow politics with keen interest, and President Yoweri Musevei's 34-year tenure notwithstanding, politics is a frequent topic of in-depth conversation and spirited debate among friends and acquaintances, and my conversations with my mentor are no exception. Ocheng, D. O. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Tonga 61). However, during the dry season, as groups of families were forced to congregate around receding water sources, a greater degree of political organization developed. This has continued in various guises ever since. Uganda, leading raids all over the region. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Acholi's role in the colonial economy was confined mainly to the peasant production of cotton as a cash crop and the provision of recruits for the colonial army or police and migrant labor for the more "developed" Buganda. Customary leadership of the Acholi was severely affected by the long conflict in Northern Uganda, when many Acholi people lived in IDP camps for as long as 20 years. In precolonial Acholi, lineage heads and elders were most responsible for social control, though one of the attractions that assisted the development of chiefdoms seems to have been the ability of rwodi to help settle disputes that involved more than one lineage. Similarly, General Okello Lutwa who toppled the Obote II regime, was an Acholi. The government of Uganda has responded to the conflict by adopting both military and general amnesty strategies. While rwodi, Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The civil war devastated the lives and livelihoods of the Acholi people of the north. The Song of Lawino, one of the most successful African literary works, was written by Okot p'Bitek, published in 1966 in Acholi, and later translated to English. Since 1996 this policy has expanded to encompass the entire rural Acholi population of four districts, one million people. A typical household consists of a nuclear family (husband, wife, and unmarried children), although aged parents, unmarried siblings, offspring of deceased siblings, or others are often household members as well. As some of these languages show some form Acholi have played a pivotal role in the turbulent post-independence era. Since the entrenchment of colonial rule, an average of 10 to 20 percent of adult Acholi males at any one time have been involved in migrant labor or employment in the police or army that has taken them from their home and families. Milton Obote (1962-71, 1980-85). centralised kingdom but instead organised themselves as a collection of smaller chiefdoms. A rebellion in 1911 in response to the British confiscation of Acholi guns was the last large-scale conflict in Acholi until Amin came to power in 1971. Latigo, James, "The Acholi Traditional Conflict Resolution in Light of Current Circumstances:". [17] Most of the LRA returnees, numbering 12,000, underwent nyono tong gweno ('stepping on the egg') after returning to their home villages, to help restore them to home. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Social Organization. Ruhakana Rugunda, the Ugandan minister of internal affairs and leader of the government negotiating team, noted the effectiveness of the traditional system. The dry season is long and hot, with temperatures that can reach more than 35 C. Demography. Politics has been around for millennia. This special access to Uganda's security forces has alternately presented opportunity and danger as a succession of regimes replaced one another in a cycle of political violence often played out in ethnic (or "tribal") terms. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Acholiland or "Acoli-land" (also known as the Acholi sub-region) is a necessarily inexact ethnolinguistic taxonomy that refers to the region traditionally inhabited by the Acholi. the northern regions, this relationship changed. The Acholi are proud and loud, but have been exposed as a group without a uniting leadership. Stream and swamp fishing are important. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/acholi. Large, dry-season hunts were an important part of the precolonial economy; these gradually decreased in significance as the varied roster of both large and small game animals dwindled over the twentieth century. It is At first fighting against the insurgence of the army of the central government, the morphed into Chuuli, before finally becoming Acholi as it was applicated with the pronoun The Acholi of Uganda. A company limited by guarantee in the UK no. prefix a- denoting the 1st Person Singular (Whitmire, 2013, p. 51). Land Tenure. Chiefs are chosen from one lineage. in 1911 in response to the British confiscation of Acholi guns was the These rebellions sprung up in defiance and from disapproval of the conduct and legitimacy of the new NRA government. Updates? the northern parts remained ignored for a long time. Central to the new order were a set of notions about political leadership in which chiefs (rwodi; sing, rwot ) shared power and decision making with the heads of chiefdoms' constituent lineages; a system of redistributive tribute within each polity, with the chief at the center; and royal, often rainmaking, drums as symbols of sovereignty and authority. [28], In 2012 the American charity Invisible Children produced a documentary about the LRA. He understood the emergence of an Acholi identity as a final step in a social process that did not "[9], Milton Obote, the first leader after independence, relied on Acholi Luo people and Langi Nilo Hamites or Ateker peoples in government. Much of that hierarchy continued a civil resistance movement started forming in the region. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. Pyerino Okoya and Lt. Gen Bazilio Olara-Okello. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. In such a context, the land rights of those with the least power widows, the disabled, the elderly were very insecure. Acholi Sub-region is consist of seven districts, namely; Gulu, Kitgum, Lamwo, Pader, Agago, Amuru and Nwoya, and are situtated in northern Uganda. The third group of spirits were those of unknown persons and dangerous beasts; these were hostile, personified as ghosts, believed to cause sickness and other misfortunes, and dealt with by means of spirit possession. Ceremonies. limited wealth in the society and redistribution. The chiefs traditionally came from one clan, and each chiefdom had several villages made up of different patrilineal clans. Odongo, J. M. Onyango-ku-, and J. Political Organization. "Land Tenure in Acholi." their clans, giving them the ability to accumulate wealth and power beyond their rights to land them Shuuli, based on their language being similar to Shilluk from South Sudan. [26][27], The NRA managed to defeat all the rebel groups except the LRA which culminated in a 20-year conflict. political organisation of the acholipadma shri award 2012 list. The most common domestic animals are (and have long been) chickens and goats, with some cattle, especially in the dryer portions of Acholi. Payera chiefdom and in 1911 they established here the Gulu township (Whitmire, 2013, pp. second term, Acholi soldiers played key roles in the massive conflict in Building on a long-term relationship with the region and utilizing the methods of participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and a qualitative questionnaire, I identify two especially important social mechanisms that correlate with the prevalence . Comprising less than 5 percent of the country's population, during the early years of independence the Acholi constituted more than 15 percent of the police force and fully a third of the army. The Acholi or Acoli are part of Luo-speaking Nilotic people of East Africa who lives predominantly in Northern Uganda (an area commonly referred to as Acholiland), including the districts of Agago, Amuru, Gulu, Kitgum, Nwoya, Lamwo, and Pader; and Magwe County in South Sudan. Conflict. Acholi conceive of death as an inevitable, personal defeat and tragedy, against which there is no ultimate defense. Hansen, Holger B., and Michael Twaddle, eds. came a new hierarchy of chiefs, clerks, and policemen, all under the Customs may reinforce social justifications for inequitable land rights for men and women. be possessed by a spirit named Lakwena, the so-called Holy Spirit Movement fought a rebellion [23] This resulted in resistance building up in the region and soon a host of rebel groups sprang up in the north. of the West Nile, to the north by the South Sudan, to the east by the Karamojong region, to the, 23 Each Ugandan district has a language board responsible for implementing policies on indigenous language. portrayed this relationship in his account as rather hostile and negative: Most of these Arabs carrying business of slave trade were coming from Egypt, they Due to its central location and the close heard of gun sound, they were used to only lightning thunder sound. When conflict did During the later nineteenth century, the emergent Acholi became involved in the international trade in ivory and slaves, which were exchanged mainly for cattle, beads, blankets, cotton cloth, and firearms. Socialization. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Malandra, Alfred (1939). The n, Mende to the land by Kuturia caused a lot of death in the sub-region of Acholi. (p. 34). Girling, F. K. (1960). Apart from hundreds of thousands of deaths and tens of thousands being abducted, Historically, the most important public ceremonies were probably those associated with birth, planting, harvesting, and the killing of a large animal or another human being. Sign up to Minority rights Group International's newsletter to stay up to date with the latest news and publications. The largest political unit was the tribal section, regarded as the geographical nation. The available evidence suggests that conflict in Acholi before the end of the nineteenth century, both among Acholi chiefdoms and with neighboring peoples, was neither rare nor endemic. Administrative divisions within Acholi, however, both during colonial comparably flat. 102-104, Southern Sudan and the Government of the Republic of the South Sudan, State Minister for Foreign Affairs (International Affairs), https://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/GroupDetails.aspx?peid=15068#topmenu, "2014 Uganda Population and Housing Census Main Report", https://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/GroupDetails.aspx?peid=14887#topmenu, James Ojent Latigo, Chapter 4: "Northern Uganda tradition-based practices in the Acholi region, 1. expression of difference, but one of a common political ideology and identity (Whitmire, 2013, These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. The state is a form of human association distinguished from other social groups by its purpose, the establishment of order and security; its methods, the laws and their enforcement; its territory, the area of jurisdiction or geographic boundaries; and finally by its sovereignty . The LRA has been targeting civilians, the majority being their own tribe, the Acholi. With colonial rule came a new hierarchy of chiefs, clerks, and policemen, all under the authority of a district commissioner. "The Evolution of Ethnicity among the Acholi of Uganda: The Pre-colonial Phase." https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/acholi, "Acholi (1970) 'State formation and fragmentation in Agago, Eastern Acholi', This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 19:17. 3 vols. Ironworking, mainly but not entirely confined to certain lineages, appears to be almost as ancient as agriculture, going back perhaps to the first millennium b.c. The political ramifications for Uganda, however, were severe. groups, the Ugandan army, and Karamojong raiders (who have been active The Acholi people (also spelled Acoli) are a Nilotic ethnic group of Luo peoples (also spelled Lwo), found in Magwi County in South Sudan and Northern Uganda (an area commonly referred to as Acholiland), including the districts of Agago, Amuru, Gulu, Kitgum, Nwoya, Lamwo, Pader and Omoro District. traditional local forms of organisation were based on smaller units, often only consisting of "Kony's Message: A New Koine?". Milton Obote, the independence leader, relied heavily on the support of his fellow Luo-speakers Acholi and Langi in government. Both Protestant and Catholic missionaries were active in Acholi from early colonial rule, providing written Luo religious, educational, and historical texts and producing a local educated elite, all of which fostered the further development of an Acholi identity within the colonial context of "tribal" culture, consciousness, and politics. encompasses the six closely related languages Acholi, Adhola, Alur, Kumam, Lango and This cookie is set by Stripe payment gateway. The Central Lwo during the Aconya. members of royal lineages, and lineage heads all seem to have been The essential lawlessness of the Idi Amin and second Milton Obote regimes, however, as well as of the various rebel groups, the Ugandan army, and Karamojong raiders (who have been active in Acholi since the mid-1980s) have led to a breakdown of any meaningful social control in the area. jok ). More During the colonial period, political leadership in Acholi was contested among those with traditional leadership qualifications and others who benefited from the new dispensation, including collaborators with the British and those who managed to obtain Western education. A.D. Of their history during this time only little is known. PUBLISHED: 27/01/2023. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Children are highly prized, and historically a couple did not set up their own household until the birth of their first child, living until then in the household of the husband's mother. He has noted that the emphasis on the distinction among ethnic groups has even been part of the internal government dialogue." Traditionally, a grave is dug as soon as a person has died, following which a small and brief ceremony is held in the deceased's house prior to burial. Acholi officers now expected Obote to appoint an Acholi to replace Oyite Ojok. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.