Death and Afterlife. 1 Northern Uganda or Acholiland is formally known as the Acholi sub-region, an area inhab-ited primarily by speakers of the Acholi language, whom I refer to as the Acholi. In the administrative structure of Uganda, Acholi is composed of the districts of: It encompasses about 28,500km2 (11,000 square miles) near the Uganda-Sudan border.[5]. interpolity interactions at the county level. We hope you find it interesting. Situated 1,025 to 1,350 meters above sea level, the Acholi landscape is typical East African game countryrolling grasslands with scattered trees, streams, and rock outcrops. An Exploration of Linguistic Practices and Language Attitudes in Gulu, Northern Uganda. 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. In . 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 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 northerners also contributed to the further evolution of an Acholi identity, not only by introducing the name "Shuuli," which eventually became "Acholi," but by acting in ways that promoted Acholi as a meaningful ethnic and geographic entity. 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. areas of the Buganda Kingdom and their main trading routes extended eastwards towards Kenya, 13.4 Organizational Politics - Organizational Behavior The Luo, (also spelled Lwo) are several ethnically and linguistically related Nilo-Semitic ethnic groups that inhabit an area ranging from Egypt and Sudan to South Sudan and Ethiopia, through Northern Uganda and eastern Congo (DRC), into western Kenya, and the Mara Region of Tanzania. [23] This resulted in resistance building up in the region and soon a host of rebel groups sprang up in the north. LRA, after losing support from the local population, also turned on the people of northern Most Acholi, however, continue to live in neighborhoods (parishes) that not only consist predominantly of patrilineal kinsmen and their wives, but often carry the old lineage names. Political Organization. Colonial chiefs in a stateless society: a case-study from Northern The republican constitution adopted in 1967 abolished the monarchies and assigned ultimate political power to an elected president. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Identification and Location. He and others have suggested it could help the nation more than adopting the Western system of the International Criminal Court at The Hague (although some charges had already been filed against LRA leaders in 2005 there. The n, Mende morphed into Chuuli, before finally becoming Acholi as it was applicated with the pronoun He overthrew Obote's government and established a dictatorship, ultimately suppressing and killing 300,000 people, including many Acholi. others who benefited from the new dispensation, including collaborators Recognized compensation and reconciliation procedures seem to Idi Amin (197179) the Acholi were severely persecuted and their men systematically executed for their past association with the colonial army and for their support of Pres. The thesis will centre not on the inevitability of the war, but will instead focus on the political processes that preceded it. It is This cookie is set by Youtube. In September 1996, the Ugandan government moved hundreds of thousands of Acholi from the Gulu district into camps, ostensibly for their protection. But a chief's territory seldom corresponded to any pre-colonial entity, while his wide-ranging executive and judicial powers were a complete novelty. 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. Shilluk Acholi In precolonial Acholi, lineage heads and elders were most responsible Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps. London: James Currey. Acholi | people | Britannica Division of Labor. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) under the leadership of Joseph Kony has waged a war against Yoweri Museveni's government. Webster, J. PDF "Acholi Youth Are Lost": Young, Christian and (A)political in Uganda with the British and those who managed to obtain Western education. passed through Sudan to the northern Uganda. The Age-set spokesmen handled affairs involving interclan cooperation. connected and intertwined chiefdoms. Nairobi: East African Literature Bureau. Even in this . Acholi form organisation - New Vision Official Tonga "At Home in the Village: Growing Up in Acholi." NAPE, along with sister organization the National Association for Women's Action in Development, has brought together more than 5,000 women from . Before the late seventeenth century, Luo speakers were limited to only a few peripheral areas of Acholi. In most chiefdoms, only members of designated lineages could make or repair royal drums. Contemporary versions or amalgams of these practitioners continue to function in Acholi. In the most recent phase of the cycle, beginning in the mid-1980s, Acholi has largely been on the receiving end of the violence. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile. Peace negotiations to end the long-running rebellion by the Lords Resistance Army continued, while security in the north improved through 2007. Forging Forgiveness: Collective Efforts Amidst War in Northern Uganda Vincent (2012). "Some Notes on Acholi Religious Ceremonies." On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Acholi - Minority Rights Group Once chiefdoms were established, Acholi religious beliefs focused on three types of spirits (jogi; sing. All members of the household acknowledge the authority of its head, the husband; each wife or other adult female in the household has traditionally had her own fields, granaries, and kitchen or cooking hut. (February 23, 2023). We have a small favour to ask: if you appreciate our work, would you mind considering making a donation to support our work? from sexual conduct, over blackmailing and stealing, to killing someone (Vincent, 2012, pp. [23][24], The attempt to pacify the Northern Uganda was carried out recklessly with much brutality and unprofessionalism from the NRA soldiers and government. 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 cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Orientation Twentieth-century densities have been consistently the second lowest in all of Uganda (after Karamoja). Further tidying up and smoothing over the grave take place within the week. southern part of the country relatively young. This in turn forged new political entities and identities as well as wider social relations. According to the reconstruction by Atkinson (2011 [1994]), the Acholi as a group emerged supported them at first also regretted their support after seeing the sufferings of Acholi in David Oyite-Ojok | Military Wiki | Fandom Most political organizations take the form of a voluntary association of persons or organizations that pools its members' and constituents' financial and other resources, and engages in conventional political actions to affect policy-making outcomes. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Thanks for using our World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples! The chiefs traditionally came from one clan, and each chiefdom had several villages made up of different patrilineal clans. They keep sheep and cattle but are not as committed to pastoralism as some other Nilotic peoples are. The conflict had dramatic effects on the local Most prominent among them was the Uganda People's Army (UPA) in Teso and Lango sub region, the West Nile Bank Frontiers (WNBF) in the West Nile region, the Uganda People's Democratic Army, the Holy Spirit Movement and the LRA in the Acholi region. 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. The LRA received much of its financial, logistical and military support from the Khartoum government in neighbouring Sudan. Kasozi, A. development of the chiefdom and clan system in the 17th and 18th century that is still a vital One obvious candidate, Bazilio Olara-Okello who, although unrelated to Tito Okello, was, as in the case of Oyite Ojok, another officer who participated in the overthrow of Idi Amin. He had established the Equatorial Province in 1870 The Acholi sub-region is a part of the administrative region of Northern-Uganda. The majority of elected members of parliament in the Acholi sub-region are members of the opposition.[14]. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. 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. "State Formation in Acholi: The Emergence of Obbo, Pajok, and Panyikwara States c. A.D. Of their history during this time only little is known. From the Holy Spirit Movement, the notorious Lords Resistance Army (LRA), led by Acholi Joseph Kony, emerged. The available evidence suggests that conflict in Acholi before the end families living together in hamlets. Sons have traditionally learned about farming, hunting, herding, and lineage and chiefdom traditions from their fathers and other lineage males; girls learn farming and domestic duties from their mothers. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. Much of that hierarchy continued into the independence era. political organisation of the acholipadma shri award 2012 list. The cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. Okeny, Kenneth (1982). Conflict. Omissions? 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. This cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website. Acholi have played a pivotal role in the turbulent post-independence era. "The Ancestral Shrine of the Acholi." Uganda journal 27(1): 15-30. Until 1967 Uganda was a quasi-federal polity that included five subregional monarchies, non-monarchical districts, and a central government. 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. While Bantu speaking groups had begun to occupy Acholi | Encyclopedia.com - CORE 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. From early on, girls and boys learn gender-appropriate behaviors and activities, and these are reflected in both their play and their chores and other responsibilities. Traditional beliefs, however, still persist, often meshed with Christian doctrine in complex ways. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. into the 1990s, Acholi was the scene of similar levels of conflict. 30 Chiefly authority was however not absolute, as power was shared with lineage elders ( ladit kaka) and political authority was mainly vested in Yet the northerners living in these squalid camps were prone to attack by the LRA and the national army alike, and unable to raise their own food. This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. Crazzolara, J. P. (1950-1954). The settlement of the Acholi in their current territory is compared to the ethnic groups in the In such a context, the land rights of those with the least power widows, the disabled, the elderly were very insecure. The old staples of eleusine (finger) millet, sorghum, sesame, and various peas, beans, and leafy green vegetables continue to be grown, along with twentieth-century crops such as cassava, maize, peanuts (groundnuts), fruits, and cotton. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION. a civil resistance movement started forming in the region. Inheritance. 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. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. [19], The religious leaders have tried to help end the conflict in the country of the last two decades and to reconcile the parties. Museveni has held absolute power since, surviving unrest, civil war, and numerous attempts at coups. It has similarity with Alur, Padhola language, and other Luo languages in South Sudan Shilluk, Anuak,Pari, Balanda, Boor, Thuri. Significantly, iron-ore deposits were located mainly at or just beyond the western, northeastern, southeastern, and southern boundaries of what became Acholi, and trade for this iron created networks of movement and interaction that helped determine a collective identity within these boundaries. Girling (1960) notes that as late as 1950 there was still no system of individual land tenure in Acholi; however, such tenure has become increasingly common since independence. 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 [26], In 2016, the multi award-winning film, A Brilliant Genocide was produced. From the Village to Entebbe: The Acholi of Northern Uganda and - CORE Uganda, leading raids all over the region. The women have accomplished agriculturists, growing and processing a variety of food crops, including millet, simsim, groundnuts, peas, sorghum and vegetables. Starting in the late seventeenth century, a new sociopolitical order developed among the Luo of Northern Uganda, mainly characterized by the formation of chiefdoms headed by Rwodi (sg. This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy McKenna. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Killing of a person was prohibited but if it took place, negotiations for blood money were led by the victim's family, with agreement followed by rituals of a reconciliation ceremony to restore the killer to the community, and to bring peace between clans. 3 vols. with the Gulu district being by far the most populated one (Uganda, 2016). The building of houses and granaries has historically involved both men and women, with each performing specified functions. (UNHCR, 2012). Graduating Essay, Department of History, Makerere University (Kampala). These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. and tributes paid to them. Figure 5. One illustration of this is the various spirit-possession-based millennial (and military) movements that have been prominent in Acholi during the extremely difficult period of the late 1980s and early 1990s, most famously the Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Lakwena. "Acholi Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. fight the Arab slave traders and his colonial administration was viewed as not very invasive Political Organization. In addition, the peace forums have worked to help establish the Amnesty Commission. With the coming of the ivory The word 'Acholi' is a misnomer that became adopted for convenience over the years. 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. At the height of the insurgency, 1.8 million people in the north were living in camps. Conflict. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Kinship Terminology. After his own father, however, a man's strongest kinship ties are typically with his mother's brother. Its current population is estimated to be around 2.155,000 individuals, or six percent of the total national population. Idi Amin was also from north Uganda, but was of the Kakwa people. With colonial rule Then a final dance and feast takes place at a time chosen to make possible the maximum attendance by relatives and other interested people. et al., 1972; Heine & Knig, 2010) and Chopi (Storch, 2005) as individual languages, instead more. (p. 34). However, to what degree this emergence was accompanied with the creation of a common 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. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website. . The system values peace over justice, and has retributive and restorative aspects. formations in the form of chiefdoms and kingdoms by the end of the first millennium A.D. point to the most recent violent conflict was the overthrow of the Okello-led government by the Ethnohistory 36(1): 19-43. Even though this contact was described as a grossly negative experience for the Acholi, this The most common domestic animals are (and have long been) chickens and goats, with some cattle, especially in the dryer portions of Acholi. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. During this period of growing integration into the colonial trade routes, the Acholi chiefdoms [13] The refugees in the camps have also been subject to raids by both LRA and government forces.[10]. of them innocent civilianslost their lives; from the mid-1980s into the independence era. These include Christian marriage (with or without bride-wealth), elopement, and single parenthood. "Land Tenure in Acholi." Farming and hunting dominated the live in this rural It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information. (Byrnes, 1990, p. 6), did the Acholi not arrive in their present-day area before the 15th century The socio-political and economic organization of the Maasai during the ETHNONYMS: Mende (Men-day), Mendes, Huro, Wuro Medicine. The PEPFAR Uganda 2023 Science Summit on HIV and TB: Following the Science and Sustaining the Gains as PEPFAR Turns Twenty This report is a record of the virtual summit organized by the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Uganda for its stakeholders; Uganda Ministry of Health (MoH) including its Public Health Fellowship Program (PHFP), implementing partners, and . Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. 26). Hansen, Holger B., and Michael Twaddle, eds. 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. It was also during this period that the name Acholi was coined by the Arab traders, calling settle disputes that involved more than one lineage. southeast by the Langi region and to the south, across the Nile, by Bunyoro. 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 before the outbreak of civil war in 1986. encompasses the six closely related languages Acholi, Adhola, Alur, Kumam, Lango and They also oversaw village-lineage ritual and chiefdomwide ritual, were the main advisors to their rwot, and were responsible for most of the social control exercised in Acholi. In 2005, the new International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and other top LRA commanders. (Whitmire, 2013, p. 46). State | Definition, History, Figures, & Facts | Britannica Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Dwyer, John Orr (1972) 'The Acholi of Uganda: adjustment to imperialism'. "The Concept of Jok among the Acholi and Lango." It does not store any personal data. Arts. Identification. Some Acholi mothers exclaim that they do not know their sons after they have been away in the army. The name "Acholi" is used for peoples living in the former Acholi District of northern Uganda (now divided into the Gulu and Kitgum districts) and the adjoining area of the southern Sudan. Out of these, the cookies that are categorised as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Similarly, General Okello Lutwa who toppled the Obote II regime, was an Acholi. Uganda Now: Between Decay and Development. the nations capital Kampala in 1988. The conflict", UGANDA: 1,000 displaced die every week in war-torn north - report | Uganda | Refugees/IDPs, UGANDA/DRC: OPERATION RUDIA II UPDATE 2009-06-29, "The Anguish of Northern Uganda - Section 1 - Uganda", Sample of written Acholi from the Language Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Acholi_people&oldid=1142669727, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022, Short description is different from Wikidata, "Related ethnic groups" needing confirmation, Articles using infobox ethnic group with image parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. The term Mende refers to both the people and the langua, Achievements by Indian Physical Scientists, https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/acholi. and created larger political 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 subcounty level; and larger zones of the most intensive (and peaceful) "Swazi" refers to the nation, tr, Fipa The government of Uganda has responded to the conflict by adopting both military and general amnesty strategies. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. The Southern Lwoo language group Colonial rule brought the penetration of a money economy into Acholi, along with the establishment of numerous rural and small-town trading centers and the two major urban centers of Gulu and Kitgum, where a range of local and imported goods are available. somewhat better off than others before the latter part of the nineteenth were able gain wealth by trading mainly in ivory. The cookie is used by cdn services like CloudFare to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. friendly, but after the inception of the British Protectorate of Uganda in 1894, which included Instead, the Acholi were integrated in the In war, the men used spears and long, narrow shields of giraffe or ox hide. second Milton Obote regimes, however, as well as of the various rebel (1976). Encyclopedia of World Cultures. find its conclusion until the 19th century. Similarly, when Yoweri Musevenis National Resistance Army (NRA) took power in 1986, there were revenge killings and looting of livestock in the north of the country. Acholi, also spelled Acoli, also called Gang or Shuli, ethnolinguistic group of northern Uganda and South Sudan. that included areas now belonging to South Sudan and the northern regions of Uganda. Political Organizations | Internal Revenue Service - IRS tax forms "[9], Milton Obote, the first leader after independence, relied on Acholi Luo people and Langi Nilo Hamites or Ateker peoples in government. The Social Origins of Violence in Uganda, 1964-1 985. 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. 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. p. 41). More Location. "Acholi This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos. [22], In January 1986, the junta government of Gen. Tito Okello-Lutwa in Uganda was overthrown by Museveni and his NRA rebels. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style.