political organisation of the acholi
These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Tito and Bazilio, who were Acholi by tribe, fled the country into exile. According to Latigo, prior to colonialism, "the Acholi people maintained a traditional government that was rooted firmly in their religious beliefs, norms, and customs, which demanded peace and stability in Acholiland at all times, based on their philosophy of life. Milton Obote (1962-71, 1980-85). into the independence era. second term, Acholi soldiers played key roles in the massive conflict in Divorce, which can occur for numerous reasons, is not uncommon and may or may not involve return of the bride-wealth; children, as members of the father's lineage, usually either stay with the father or return to him later. Kitgum, Nwoya, Lamwo and Pader. Congo. Bride-wealth has varied over time but has usually included iron objects, domestic animals, and, in the twentieth century, money. 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 InThe Roots of Ethnicity, Ronald R. Atkinson argues that although colonial rule and its aftermath have played a major role in shaping the particular manifestati. In the precolonial era, warfare, herding, and hunting were the domain of men. Further he described how this negative experience led to generally negative attitudes towards During Uganda's colonial period, the British encouraged political and economic development in the south of the country, in particular among the Baganda. Since 1996 this policy has expanded to encompass the entire rural Acholi population of four districts, one million people. Girling, F. K. (1960). Corn (maize), sorghum, beans, squash, peanuts (groundnuts), and other savanna crops also are grown. Medicine. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website. However, this rebellion was defeated when it attempted to attack be possessed by a spirit named Lakwena, the so-called Holy Spirit Movement fought a rebellion M.A. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. 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. development of chiefdoms seems to have been the ability of rwodi to help By the mid-nineteenth century, about 60 small chiefdoms existed in eastern Acholiland. An individual had personal claim to land that he and his wife (or wives) had under cultivation or that had been cultivated but was lying fallow, and such rights passed from father to son. expression of difference, but one of a common political ideology and identity (Whitmire, 2013, 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. Approximately 2.1 million Acholi were counted in the Uganda census of 2014, and 45,000 more were living in South Sudan in 2000.[4]. Whitmire (2013) on the other hand argued that a 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. The Shona-speaking peoples comprise about 80 percent of the population of Zimbabwe,, Swazi We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse and understand how you use this website. 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. The Acholi, a Nilotic Lwo-speaking ethnic group, live predominantly in the central region of northern Uganda, an space collectively named to known as Acholiland. Lineage heads, assisted by lineage elders, organized both production (based on cooperative village-lineage labor) and reproduction (through the control of the material means and ideological rules of marriage). The government of Uganda has responded to the conflict by adopting both military and general amnesty strategies. 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. When not disrupted or dispossessed by the violence endemic since the mid-1980s, most Acholi remain primarily mixed farmers. Certain rwodi and interpreters began to accumulate some of the new wealth brought into Acholi by international trade, and descendants of some of these men used their inherited wealth to build up prominent twentieth-century families. Milton Obote, the independence leader, relied heavily on the support of his fellow Luo-speakers Acholi and Langi in government. Acholi have played a pivotal role in the turbulent post-independence era. After his own father, however, a man's strongest kinship ties are typically with his mother's brother. Dances and other activities surrounding spirit possession seem to have been originally introduced from Bunyoro in the early nineteenth century and then became more wide-spread during the tumultuous years of the latter part of that century. and created larger political interpreters began to accumulate some of the new wealth brought into thesis, University of Nairobi. All affines, meanwhile, are known as "mother." The 1980 population of the Uganda Acholi was approximately 580,000 (Kasozi 1994, ii), up from some 465,000 in 1969 (Langlands 1971), perhaps 125,000 in 1900 and about 100,000 at the end of the eighteenth century (Atkinson 1994, 275-281). Inheritance has been, and largely remains, patrilineal. environment and larger distances between settlements kept the hierarchical structures The activities of the LRA have been devastating within Acholiland (though they spread also to neighbouring districts and countries). 53- 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. The documentary was met with mixed reactions, with many people familiar with the situation dubbing it a shallow and money-grabbing scheme. their inherited wealth to build up prominent twentieth-century families. The political ramifications for Uganda, however, were severe. (1991). Since the Lords Resistance Army was largely pushed out of Northern Uganda, the majority of Acholi more than 80 per cent have been able to return to their homes. groups, the Ugandan army, and Karamojong raiders (who have been active During the colonial period, political leadership in Acholi was Okot p'Bitek's epic poem, Song of Lawino, debates Acholi customs around the time that Uganda became independent. Common synonyms for this type of organization are "interest groups," "pressure groups," and . )[9], "Since independence in 1962, Uganda has been plagued by ethnically driven, politically manipulated violence referred to by some as a history of 'cycles of revenge and mistrust'. Since independence, formal schooling has provided a strong socializing influence from outside the home for more and more Acholi, especially those attending secondary school. 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. of as dialects of Acholi. 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. Farming and hunting dominated the live in this rural Figure 5. 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. 2.4. [29], Media related to Acholi people at Wikimedia Commons. formations in the form of chiefdoms and kingdoms by the end of the first millennium A.D. Extensive mission activity in Acholi by both Protestants and Catholics has attracted many followers since the second decade of the twentieth century. Similarly, General Okello Lutwa who toppled the Obote II regime, was an Acholi. Ruhakana Rugunda, the Ugandan minister of internal affairs and leader of the government negotiating team, noted the effectiveness of the traditional system. Its current population is estimated to be around 2.155,000 individuals, or six percent of the total national population. Notable among the Acholi soldiers who made the ranks were Gen. Tito Okello-Lutwa, Brig. Museveni has held absolute power since, surviving unrest, civil war, and numerous attempts at coups. Encyclopedia of World Cultures. of mutual intelligibility amongst each other, they were at times interpreted as a dialectal cluster 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. Localized lineages have been the fundamental social units in Acholi, with chiefdoms providing a layer of organization above the lineages from the late seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries. Individual antecedents of political behavior include political . Occasional Paper no. Thanks for using our World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples! Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [16] In addition, the people have important rituals for cleansing homes and sites, to welcome back people who have been away a long time, to clear spirits from places where killings have occurred, and to welcome people who have been captive. According to the latest census, there are 1.47 million ethnic Acholi in Uganda, amounting to 4.4 per cent of the total population. 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 cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". With colonial rule Since the British had set up their administrational centre in the (February 23, 2023). In 1986 Alice Lakwenas charismatic Holy Spirit Movement mounted an insurgency in the Acholi region. Uganda journal 27(1): 15-30. Inheritance. Religion of the Central Luo. With the coming of the ivory and slave trades, and the firearms that accompanied them, conflict became more frequent, more deadly, and more widely spread. [23] This resulted in resistance building up in the region and soon a host of rebel groups sprang up in the north. As a result, many widowed Acholi have been unable to access their land on return to their homes. University of Bradford eThesis This thesis is hosted in Bradford Scholars - The University of Bradford Open Access repository. Many contemporary Acholi continue to use these treatments, although nearly all with access to clinics and hospitals rely on these as well, whenever they can. The Acholi region and language 51. Acholi Sub-region is consist of seven districts, namely; Gulu, Kitgum, Lamwo, Pader, Agago, Amuru and Nwoya, and are situtated in northern Uganda. limited wealth in the society and redistribution. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. The Acholi resisted the establishment of the Langlands, B. W. (1971). Industrial Arts. "Some Notes on Acholi Religious Ceremonies." Acholi Quarter in Kampala, for example, is largely populated by formerly rural Acholi from Northern Uganda, uprooted by years of conflict and now caught in a situation of prolonged displacement. Arab trading routes coming from the north, trading in goods, but also in slaves. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) under the leadership of Joseph Kony has waged a war against Yoweri Museveni's government. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. In the most recent phase of the cycle, beginning in the mid-1980s, Acholi has largely been on the receiving end of the violence. (1976). "Kony's Message: A New Koine?". According to the "The Evolution of Ethnicity among the Acholi of Uganda: The Pre-colonial Phase." Purifications or atonement practices are still performed by Acholi elders in some communities. (Whitmire, 2013, p. 46). 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. [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. LRA, after losing support from the local population, also turned on the people of northern 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. This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos. Classification of Southern Lwoo after Heusing (2004) and Storch (2005). 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. [CDATA[ Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 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. In 2005, the new International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and other top LRA commanders. Since independence, a relatively few Acholi army officers have managed 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. With the coming of the ivory These figures represent population densities of 20.4 persons per square kilometer in 1980, 16.5 per square kilometer in 1969, and about one-fourth and one-fifth the 1969 densities during the earlier two periods. 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. The Acholi's harrowing ordeal began under Idi Amin's dictatorship in the seventies. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. Apart from land, the rights to which were passed on equally to all sons, the eldest son was traditionally the designated heir of the father's property, although he was supposed to provide for the needs of his younger brothers. "[21] In discussing the peace talks of 20052007, Latigo noted leaders who called for a revival of the traditional processes of the indigenous people by which they worked for accountability and justice, namely, mato oput. Hier sind Acholi-Frauen dafr bekannt, . All of these early inhabitants were ironworking mixed farmers, organized into localized patrilineal lineages or, in some cases, into temporary groupings of two to four such lineages. 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. families living together in hamlets. This cookie is set by Stripe payment gateway. In East African Childhood: Three Versions, edited by L. K. Fox, 43-75. 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. "Acholi 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). collective identity evolved, and a common language (Luo) spread. (Atkinson, 2011 contested among those with traditional leadership qualifications and . The account of the Acholi reaching With higher population densities during the dry seasons, groups of families would fall under the rule of one person known as Jago, or clan chief (Cohen & Atieno-Odhiambo, 1968 , p . Okeny, Kenneth (1982). The Roots of Ethnicity: The Origins of the Acholi of Uganda before 1800. 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. Nevertheless, many remain in a state of displacement. The republican constitution adopted in 1967 abolished the monarchies and assigned ultimate political power to an elected president. named Luo. Pottery and basket making were widespread and relatively nonspecialized arts, carried out by both men and women. 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. [1994], p. 80). ETHNONYMS: Balumbila, Batoka, Batonga, Bawe, Toka Milton Obote, the independence leader, relied heavily on the support of his fellow Luo-speakers - Acholi and Langi - in government. "Acholi When Britain established its rule during the early twentieth century, both ideological predisposition and practical utility prompted the colonizers to consider the Acholi a "tribe" and to administer the area as a "tribal" unit. More commonly, almost any salaried job in the public or private sector represents an income that averages several times that of a member of the majority peasant population. Conflict. It does not store any personal data. The Acholi, unlike many of their southern neighbours, did not create a form of The Acholi live in small hamlets among patrilineal kin. During this time, people were separated from their land for long periods, and many people disappeared or were killed. Mothers are responsible for the initial care of their children and for much of their socialization. The LRA has been targeting civilians, the majority being their own tribe, the Acholi. In September 1996, the Ugandan government moved hundreds of thousands of Acholi from the Gulu district into camps, ostensibly for their protection. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. became more frequent, more deadly, and more widely spread. The EU's External Democracy Action in a New Geopolitical Reality: Policy Brief. The existence of separate chiefdoms was therefore not an 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 . Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps. 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). Corrections? identity is rather disputed. The Acholi are proud and loud, but have been exposed as a group without a uniting leadership. "State Formation in Acholi: The Emergence of Obbo, Pajok, and Panyikwara States c. [28], In 2012 the American charity Invisible Children produced a documentary about the LRA. Bor Lango areas of the Buganda Kingdom and their main trading routes extended eastwards towards Kenya, Traditionally, land rights were vested in localized patrilineal lineages, under the control and guidance of lineage heads and elders. 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. The Age-set spokesmen handled affairs involving interclan cooperation. Social Organization. Nairobi: East African Literature Bureau. The thesis will centre not on the inevitability of the war, but will instead focus on the political processes that preceded it. ETHNONYMS: Mende (Men-day), Mendes, Huro, Wuro Their traditional communities were organised hamlets of circular huts with high peaked roofs, furnished with a mud sleeping-platform, jars of grain and a sunken fireplace. 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. "Against Humanitarian Impunity: Rethinking Responsibility for Displacement and Disaster in Northern Uganda,", Latigo (2006), "Northern Uganda", pp. Following the latest redrawing of the administrative divisions, it contains seven districts; Agago, Amuru, Gulu, Kitgum, Nwoya, Lamwo and Pader. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. It was filmed by Australian director Ebony Butler, Simon Hardwidge and Ugandan author Frey Onen. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. southern part of the country relatively young. ." (1970) 'State formation and fragmentation in Agago, Eastern Acholi', This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 19:17. While Acholi also lives north of the South Sudaneseborder, the Sudanese Acholi are often excluded from the political meaning of the term "Acholiland". Acholi men say, Property cant own property, and the notion of women having independent land rights is an anomaly to them. [22], In January 1986, the junta government of Gen. Tito Okello-Lutwa in Uganda was overthrown by Museveni and his NRA rebels. Omissions? In Changing Uganda: The Dilemmas of Structural Adjustment and Revolutionary Change, edited by Holger B. Hansen and Michael Twaddle, 162-177. The Fipa are a Bantu-speaking people of southwestern Tanzania in East-Central Africa. Men have also traditionally played a significant role in agriculture, especially for such time-limited, labor-intensive tasks as clearing, planting, and harvesting (often as part of lineage-based cooperative labor teams). Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. 17 de fevereiro de 2022 / Category . came a new hierarchy of chiefs, clerks, and policemen, all under the The system values peace over justice, and has retributive and restorative aspects. 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 . 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. solidification of an Acholi identity, with their common language becoming an important marker. From the beginning, the Acholi were marginal compared to Britain's concern with Buganda, at the core of the colony. 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 first leader was Kuturia as mentioned Since independence, a relatively few Acholi army officers have managed to accumulate substantial fortunes, as have a few traders. Soon after, the NRM started pacifying the northern region, which is home to several ethnics, including the Acholi and Lango. PUBLISHED: 30/01/2023. with the British was through Samuel Baker. deaths. (1955). Contemporary versions or amalgams of these practitioners continue to function in Acholi. A rebellion 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. They have also "played a vital role in Acholi traditional reconciliation processes and in preparing the community to receive former combatants. The results showed that students had, On the one hand, languages are translatable, which can be demonstrated from different perspectives such as the general characteristics of language, the parallel linguistic, The purpose of this study was to examine the language attitudes and language practices of Arabic-speaking families living in the United States. (UNHCR, 2012). 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]. Uganda Journal 19(1): 57-61. "Land Tenure in Acholi."
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