"[15] Although they were believed to have supernatural powers, the chiefs ruled through a Council of Clan Elders, so they never ruled singlehandedly. areas of the Buganda Kingdom and their main trading routes extended eastwards towards Kenya, Given the low population densities and minimal land pressure, almost anyone who was willing to clear and work unused land has been welcomed by lineage heads responsible for such land and, while they functioned, by the rwodi of chiefdoms within whose domains the land lay. [26] However, it successfully popularised the LRA in the West. - CORE Atkinson, Ronald R. (1994). Malaria and AIDS have been the primary disease causes of deaths. Most Acholi also continue to live in thatched, round mud houses, although wealthier Acholi and those who live in town or near major roads have square houses of mud or block, with iron or tile roofs. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. In such a context, the land rights of those with the least power widows, the disabled, the elderly were very insecure. 3 vols. Arab trading routes coming from the north, trading in goods, but also in slaves. Aristotle wrote that politics stems . into the independence era. Farming and hunting dominated the live in this rural Its current population is estimated to be around 2.155,000 individuals, or six percent of the total national population. Traditionally, lineage heads and elders were the most knowledgeable aboutand involved withthe lineage and chiefdom jogi, although rwodi also had a role to play in ceremonies involving the latter. 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. Purifications or atonement practices are still performed by Acholi elders in some communities. . Occasional Paper no. The LRA has been targeting civilians, the majority being their own tribe, the Acholi. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. A new sociopolitical orderand the basis of an Acholi identitywas established when chiefly institutions and ideology were introduced into Acholi by Luo-speaking Paluo from the neighboring kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara. were able gain wealth by trading mainly in ivory. While Acholi also lives north of the South Sudaneseborder, the Sudanese Acholi are often excluded from the political meaning of the term "Acholiland". Visit the repository for full metadata or to contact the repository team sociopolitical units: lineages at the parish level; chiefdoms at the At the same time Joseph Kony formed his own rebel group, Even though this contact was described as a grossly negative experience for the Acholi, this Inheritance. The Acholi, unlike many of their southern neighbours, did not create a form of Whitmire (2013) on the other hand argued that a During the colonial period, political leadership in Acholi was University of Bradford eThesis This thesis is hosted in Bradford Scholars - The University of Bradford Open Access repository. Even though the recent history of conflict can in some ways be tracked all the way back to the time was critical to the social and political development of the region. The size and nature of this occasion depend on the age and status of the deceased, with the most lavish and festive celebrations taking place when the person who died was both aged and important. Acholi conceive of death as an inevitable, personal defeat and tragedy, against which there is no ultimate defense. In . 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. ETHNONYMS: Balumbila, Batoka, Batonga, Bawe, Toka Okot p'Bitek's epic poem, Song of Lawino, debates Acholi customs around the time that Uganda became independent. Deep-rooted divisions and polarization remain between different ethnic groups, and these have been greatly exacerbated by the way in which the countrys leadership has developed since independence. the nations capital Kampala in 1988. The available evidence suggests that conflict in Acholi before the end Makerere University (Kampala), Department of Geography. contested among those with traditional leadership qualifications and other parts of Uganda, where hundreds of thousands of peoplemany The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors. with the British was through Samuel Baker. Congo. They were also against the power consolidation approach of the NRA, which included mass arrest, torturing, killing, cattle raiding, food crop destruction, and looting and burning of villages. 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. Social Organization. members of royal lineages, and lineage heads all seem to have been The word 'Acholi' is a misnomer that became adopted for convenience over the years. The combination of the two events, have put pressure on the LRA to lay down its arms. But when Idi Amin overthrew Obotes first spell in power, and when Yoweri Musevini ousted Okello, the Acholi paid heavily for their allegiances. The first government chiefs, appointed from 1912 onwards, represented a measure of continuity with the pre-colonial order, since they were nearly all drawn from the ranks of the clan leaders. Tonga The Taxpayer First Act, Pub. The Canadian government, for instance, will be more inclined to fund an organisation whose mandate is continental Africa rather than an association with a very narrow focus on Acholi problems. [26][27], The NRA managed to defeat all the rebel groups except the LRA which culminated in a 20-year conflict. Chiefs are chosen from one lineage. 2 I Abstract The aim of this thesis will be to decipher why Acholi ethnic identity remained such a critical political tool in late and post-colonial Uganda, from 1950-1985, just b The existence of separate chiefdoms was therefore not an reported that the Acholi chiefs generally accepted the position of Baker, as he had helped them Batswana are divided into a number of subgroups or "tribes": Bahurut, Shona "[20] They have continued to work to end the war through negotiation. Rwot, 'ruler'). [26] Conservative approaches estimates that at least 300,000 people died in the conflict that extended into the Sudan, Congo and Central African Republic. Uma, F. K. (1971). Figure 5. Division of Labor. Idi Amin (1971-79) the Acholi were severely persecuted and their men systematically executed for their past association with the colonial army and for their support of Pres. [10] General Tito Okello was an Acholi, and came to power in a military coup. Uganda journal 27(1): 15-30. 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. [23] This resulted in resistance building up in the region and soon a host of rebel groups sprang up in the north. 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. have often limited or prevented serious conflict, especially among Ocheng, D. O. ETHNONYM: Karanga (historical) passed through Sudan to the northern Uganda. Spirits of both of these types were generally beneficent. Under Ugandan Pres. With colonial rule came a new hierarchy of chiefs, clerks, and policemen, all under the authority of a district commissioner. This paper is a case study analysis of the sociological phenomena of forgiveness occurring in an ongoing two-decade war in northern Uganda. The colonial experience of the Acholi differed greatly from the experience of those in the After weaning and up to the age of 5 or 6, however, much of the day-to-day caretaking of a child has customarily been done by an opposite-sex sibling or other preadolescent (often a member of the father's lineage), called lapidi (nurse-child). The primary language of Acholi today is Luo, a Western Nilotic language spoken by groups scattered across East Africa from the southern Sudan to Tanzania; many also speak English and/or Kiswahili. Orientation with the British and those who managed to obtain Western education. In terms of the afterlife, although spirits of the dead are believed to continue to exist and manifest themselves, there is no belief in a heaven to reward the virtuous or a hell to punish the sinful. By clicking 'Accept', you consent to the use of all the cookies. Social Organization. many of them children, the conflict led to the displacement of millions. "In 1997, the Catholic, Anglican, Muslim, and later the Orthodox religious leaders of Acholi formalized their increasing cooperation on peace issues by setting up the Acholi Religious Leaders' Peace Initiative (ARLPI). This book presents seminal anthropological works from that period by p'Bitek himself and by Frank Girling, who was researching among the Acholi when p'Bitek was a teenager. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. They keep sheep and cattle but are not as committed to pastoralism as some other Nilotic peoples are. However, to what degree this emergence was accompanied with the creation of a common Movement. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Given the anti-Museveni sentiment of most Acholis, the LRA's inability to mobilize support - or to at least avoid repudiation by its own ethnic base - is remarkable. From the beginning, the Acholi were marginal compared to Britain's concern with Buganda, at the core of the colony. Shilluk Acholi Uganda Journal 19(1): 57-61. [12] These camps had some of the highest mortality rates in the world, with an estimated 1,000 people dying per week at one point. Chopi (Storch, 2005), Index of languages, language families, linguistic areas, and ethnic groups.. African languages. ETHNONYMS: Mende (Men-day), Mendes, Huro, Wuro 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. 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 . Millet is the staple food of the Acholi, and tobacco is grown for trade. Political organizations are those engaged in political activities (e.g., lobbying, community organizing, campaign advertising, etc.) Verona: Editrice Nigrizia. As a result, many widowed Acholi have been unable to access their land on return to their homes. Uganda Now: Between Decay and Development. Orientation The relationship between the Acholi and the British had for a long time been rather loose and 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. deaths. It was filmed by Australian director Ebony Butler, Simon Hardwidge and Ugandan author Frey Onen. Though some sense of a community and identity has persisted among residents, the area is characterized by substandard housing, poor environmental health and limited livelihood opportunities. [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. For example, among Acholi, husbands pay a bride price to their wives fathers, and this payment supports the traditional belief that women are the property of the husband, since a payment was made for her. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Hunting tracts are owned by clans. //