ETHNONYM: Karanga (historical) The Acholi resisted the establishment of the "[20] They have continued to work to end the war through negotiation. Localized patrilineal lineages, some of which have "brother" lineages of the same or different name in other parts of Acholi, have long been the fundamental social and economic units in Acholi. 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. [9], In the 2000s, James Ojent Latigo described some of Uganda's social problems as based on the way the political elites have used ethnicities to divide the country. Bor Lango London: James Currey. sociopolitical units: lineages at the parish level; chiefdoms at the more. (p. 34). It does not store any personal data. Kin Groups and Descent. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Under Amins brutal regime, an estimated 300,000 died many of them Acholi. By clicking 'Accept', you consent to the use of all the cookies. The majority of elected members of parliament in the Acholi sub-region are members of the opposition.[14]. Millet is the staple food of the Acholi, and tobacco is grown for trade. Soon after, the NRM started pacifying the northern region, which is home to several ethnics, including the Acholi and Lango. Historian Mark Curtis says that after Amin instigated a coup, Britain, the United States, and Israel quietly backed Amin and his campaign against the socialist-leaning President Milton Obote in 1971. to accumulate substantial fortunes, as have a few traders. 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. The LRA has been targeting civilians, the majority being their own tribe, the Acholi. [23][24], The attempt to pacify the Northern Uganda was carried out recklessly with much brutality and unprofessionalism from the NRA soldiers and government. Individual antecedents of political behavior include political . The Social Origins of Violence in Uganda, 1964-1 985. Recognized compensation and reconciliation procedures seem to have often limited or prevented serious conflict, especially among neighboring chiefdoms within the same zone. It refers to people known locally as Luo Gang. Western Nilotic Eastern Nilotic Southern Nilotic, Burun Lwoo Nuer-Dinka Teso-Turkana Bari Maa-Lotuko, North South Religion of the Central Luo. identity is rather disputed. Identification. many of them children, the conflict led to the displacement of millions. Museveni has held absolute power since, surviving unrest, civil war, and numerous attempts at coups. These guns brought Thanks for using our World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples! alongside the other Luo groups in Uganda and Kenya following several waves of migration This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. 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. However, during the dry season, as groups of families were forced to congregate around receding water sources, a greater degree of political organization developed. [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. state, political organization of society, or the body politic, or, more narrowly, the institutions of government. Subsistence and Commercial Activities. 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. with chiefdoms providing a layer of organization above the lineages from "The Ancestral Shrine of the Acholi." 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. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement". jok ). On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. into the independence era. [26], In 2016, the multi award-winning film, A Brilliant Genocide was produced. Before the late seventeenth century, Luo speakers were limited to only a few peripheral areas of Acholi. 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. Acholi officers now expected Obote to appoint an Acholi to replace Oyite Ojok. Industrial Arts. environment and larger distances between settlements kept the hierarchical structures PUBLISHED: 27/01/2023. Contemporary versions or amalgams of these practitioners continue to function in Acholi. Then in Kenya and Tanzania are the Joluo also known as the Luo. Milton Obote (1962-71, 1980-85). Langlands, B. W. (1971). The Population Geography of Acholi District. Diversity Management in Sudan's Democratic Transitional Arrangements: Technical Paper 1, January 2023. collective identity evolved, and a common language (Luo) spread. (Atkinson, 2011 Orientation Malandra, Alfred (1939). to the land by Kuturia caused a lot of death in the sub-region of Acholi. (p. 34). Politics has been around for millennia. The earliest modern African political organization in Kenya Colony sought to protest pro-settler policies, and increased taxes on Africans and the despised Kipande (Identifying metal band worn around the neck). The women have accomplished agriculturists, growing and processing a variety of food crops, including millet, simsim, groundnuts, peas, sorghum and vegetables. Ceremonies. comparably flat. Orientation 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 . The documentary was met with mixed reactions, with many people familiar with the situation dubbing it a shallow and money-grabbing scheme. London: James Currey. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". 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. point to the most recent violent conflict was the overthrow of the Okello-led government by the and created larger political settle disputes that involved more than one lineage. 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. Crazzolara, J. P. (1938). Movement. interpreters began to accumulate some of the new wealth brought into Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. 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. In such a context, the land rights of those with the least power widows, the disabled, the elderly were very insecure. 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. 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. Acholi have played a pivotal role in the turbulent post-independence era. 53- (Whitmire, 2013, p. 46). Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. came a new hierarchy of chiefs, clerks, and policemen, all under the The Acholi region is bordered in the west by the districts with the British was through Samuel Baker. . Since Ugandan forces pushed the LRA out of Northern Uganda, the majority were able to return to their homes, though without much in the way of government support. 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. their clans, giving them the ability to accumulate wealth and power beyond their rights to land [25], Some of the groups in Acholi, like the UPDA, detested the Museveni regime because it had overthrown the government in which they served. 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. with the British and those who managed to obtain Western education. Identification. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. in 1911 in response to the British confiscation of Acholi guns was the With the coming of the ivory 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. Since 1996 this policy has expanded to encompass the entire rural Acholi population of four districts, one million people. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies. 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 . 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. 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. Encyclopedia.com. administration within the region and the district headquarters were erected in the area of the He has noted that the emphasis on the distinction among ethnic groups has even been part of the internal government dialogue." The combination of the two events, have put pressure on the LRA to lay down its arms. Boys and girls are typically socialized into distinct gender roles, and do household and other chores accordingly. Kuturia Housein fired the first gun shot on Acholiland who had never seen and . Odongo, J. M. Onyango-ku-, and J. The word 'Acholi' is a misnomer that became adopted for convenience over the years. 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. population. Death and Afterlife. the northern regions, this relationship changed. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Milton Obote, the independence leader, relied heavily on the support of his fellow Luo-speakers - Acholi and Langi - in government.