Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International. Linguistic Affiliation. Vincent (2012), a Gulu-based 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. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Political Organization. Acholi men say, Property cant own property, and the notion of women having independent land rights is an anomaly to them. 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. [22], In January 1986, the junta government of Gen. Tito Okello-Lutwa in Uganda was overthrown by Museveni and his NRA rebels. the hands of Arabs, this prompted Acholi not to accept any foreigners on their land any Verona: Editrice Nigrizia. the northern regions, this relationship changed. In 2005, the new International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and other top LRA commanders. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". The Southern Lwoo language group settle disputes that involved more than one lineage. named Luo. reported that the Acholi chiefs generally accepted the position of Baker, as he had helped them It is The majority of elected members of parliament in the Acholi sub-region are members of the opposition.[14]. With colonial rule came a new hierarchy of chiefs, clerks, and policemen, all under the authority of a district commissioner. 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. [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. others who benefited from the new dispensation, including collaborators Changing Uganda: The Dilemmas of Structural Adjustment and Revolutionary Change. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. In response, Musevenis government forced 1.4 to 1.9 million civilians into camps where they ostensibly were to be protected by the Ugandan army. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. 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. [26] However, it successfully popularised the LRA in the West. The largest political unit was the tribal section, regarded as the geographical nation. be possessed by a spirit named Lakwena, the so-called Holy Spirit Movement fought a rebellion 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. 30. In . 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. Once chiefdoms were established, Acholi religious beliefs focused on three types of spirits (jogi; sing. 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. This structure was maintained by the real anointed chiefs of the Acholi, the rwodi moo. Over the second half of the nineteenth century, Acholi was incorporated into international trade networks through the activities of northern, Arabic-speaking ivory and slave traders. Shilluk Acholi Webster, J. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". In precolonial Acholi, lineage heads and elders were most responsible 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. From the Holy Spirit Movement, the notorious Lords Resistance Army (LRA), led by Acholi Joseph Kony, emerged. The Central Lwo during the Aconya. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website. 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. By the mid-nineteenth century, about 60 small chiefdoms existed in eastern Acholiland. Organizations that are driven by unhealthy levels of political behavior suffer from lowered employee organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and performance as well as higher levels of job anxiety and depression. 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. 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. Medicine. with the British was through Samuel Baker. 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. Sign up to Minority rights Group International's newsletter to stay up to date with the latest news and publications. the furthest back is the historical reconstruction by Atkinson (2011 [1994]), who described the Ocheng, D. O. Movement. Behrend, Heike (1991). of mutual intelligibility amongst each other, they were at times interpreted as a dialectal cluster [19], The religious leaders have tried to help end the conflict in the country of the last two decades and to reconcile the parties. "[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. Tito and Bazilio, who were Acholi by tribe, fled the country into exile. 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. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. 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. The Acholi region and language 51. Division of Labor. Milton Obote (196271, 198085). Okeny, Kenneth (1982). Kuturia Housein fired the first gun shot on Acholiland who had never seen and While Bantu speaking groups had begun to occupy London: James Currey. 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. 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 Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) under the leadership of Joseph Kony has waged a war against Yoweri Museveni's government. Recognized compensation and reconciliation procedures seem to have often limited or prevented serious conflict, especially among neighboring chiefdoms within the same zone. Even in this . This period of increased contact with non-Acholi accelerated the 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. 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. Boys and girls are typically socialized into distinct gender roles, and do household and other chores accordingly. Traditionally, land rights were vested in localized patrilineal lineages, under the control and guidance of lineage heads and elders. Ethnohistory 36(1): 19-43. But when Idi Amin overthrew Obotes first spell in power, and when Yoweri Musevini ousted Okello, the Acholi paid heavily for their allegiances. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. areas of the Buganda Kingdom and their main trading routes extended eastwards towards Kenya, (1988). In war, the men used spears and long, narrow shields of giraffe or ox hide. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customised ads. heard of gun sound, they were used to only lightning thunder sound. At the peak of the conflict, 90% of the Acholi population moved into IDP camps designed as protected villages. "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). ETHNONYM: Karanga (historical) 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 . Identification. Latigo, James, "The Acholi Traditional Conflict Resolution in Light of Current Circumstances:". [28], In 2012 the American charity Invisible Children produced a documentary about the LRA. The Acholi occupy a 39,000-square-kilometer area, three-fourths of which lies within Uganda, extending roughly from 215 to 4159 N and 3325 to 3345 E. Their neighbors include the Luo-speaking Lango, Paluo, and Alur to the south and southwest, the Central Sudanic-speaking Madi to the west, and the Eastern Nilotic Jie and Karamojong to the east. Land Tenure. coming from the territory of present-day South Sudan over a period spanning multiple centuries. The Population Geography of Acholi District. M.A. Since independence, formal schooling has provided a strong socializing influence from outside the home for more and more Acholi, especially those attending secondary school. In the most recent phase of the cycle, beginning in the mid-1980s, Acholi has largely been on the receiving end of the violence. 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. He has noted that the emphasis on the distinction among ethnic groups has even been part of the internal government dialogue." against the central government. 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. Further tidying up and smoothing over the grave take place within the week. "[20] They have continued to work to end the war through negotiation. families living together in hamlets. In the precolonial era, warfare, herding, and hunting were the domain of men. PUBLISHED: 30/01/2023. At the same time Joseph Kony formed his own rebel group, Museveni has held absolute power since, surviving unrest, civil war, and numerous attempts at coups. Even though this contact was described as a grossly negative experience for the Acholi, this These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. organisation to survive, a common identity had to form to support this new social structure of (1991). Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [25], Some of the groups in Acholi, like the UPDA, detested the Museveni regime because it had overthrown the government in which they served. were able gain wealth by trading mainly in ivory. In East African Childhood: Three Versions, edited by L. K. Fox, 43-75. 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. Classification of Southern Lwoo after Heusing (2004) and Storch (2005). Odongo, J. M. Onyango-ku-, and J. Spirits of both of these types were generally beneficent. During Uganda's colonial period, the British encouraged political and economic development in the south of the country, in particular among the Baganda. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. He wrote, "Part of the structural causes of the conflict in Uganda has been explained as rooted in the 'diversity of ethnic groups which were at different levels of socio-economic development and political organisation.' Acholi have played a pivotal role in the turbulent post-independence era. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. L. No. Acholi Sub-region is consist of seven districts, namely; Gulu, Kitgum, Lamwo, Pader, Agago, Amuru and Nwoya, and are situtated in northern Uganda. They keep sheep and cattle but are not as committed to pastoralism as some other Nilotic peoples are. According to the latest census, there are 1.47 million ethnic Acholi in Uganda, amounting to 4.4 per cent of the total population. While rwodi, 61). p. 41). Stream and swamp fishing are important. The thesis will centre not on the inevitability of the war, but will instead focus on the political processes that preceded it. At the height of the insurgency, 1.8 million people in the north were living in camps. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. The Age-set spokesmen handled affairs involving interclan cooperation. The Taxpayer First Act, Pub. Acholi, also spelled Acoli, also called Gang or Shuli, ethnolinguistic group of northern Uganda and South Sudan. The account of the Acholi reaching Encyclopedia of World Cultures. This trade brought new wealth into Acholi that was unevenly accumulated, with rwodi and interpreters (and eventually their sons and other kinsmen) the major beneficiaries. 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. 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. Latigo (2006), "Northern Uganda", p. 90-92, Branch, A. formations in the form of chiefdoms and kingdoms by the end of the first millennium A.D. Atkinson, Ronald R. (1989). [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. However, to what degree this emergence was accompanied with the creation of a common The full integration of the Acholi into the British colonial complex happened comparatively late. (Ugandan Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs 1997. 17 de fevereiro de 2022 / Category . time was critical to the social and political development of the region. Identification. Farming and hunting dominated the live in this rural . In the past, medical problems were addressed through approaches to various spirits, by visits to diviners, and by the use of herbs, roots, and other folk medicines. to accumulate substantial fortunes, as have a few traders. 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. This paper is a case study analysis of the sociological phenomena of forgiveness occurring in an ongoing two-decade war in northern Uganda. Specifically, this study explored, Living with Language. [13] The refugees in the camps have also been subject to raids by both LRA and government forces.[10]. 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. "Some Notes on Acholi Religious Ceremonies." neighboring peoples, was neither rare nor endemic. Chiefs are chosen from one lineage. and slave trades, and the firearms that accompanied them, conflict Used by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. According to the As of September 2009, large numbers of Acholi people remain in camps as internally displaced persons. He understood the emergence of an Acholi identity as a final step in a social process that did not Social Control. At first fighting against the insurgence of the army of the central government, the The Lwoo. The LRA received much of its financial, logistical and military support from the Khartoum government in neighbouring Sudan. It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information. 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. It was a system of governance fully integrated with their religion and cosmology. traditional local forms of organisation were based on smaller units, often only consisting of Trade. It was also during this period that the name Acholi was coined by the Arab traders, calling Nevertheless, many remain in a state of displacement. Updates? However, the date of retrieval is often important. Common synonyms for this type of organization are "interest groups," "pressure groups," and . The most common domestic animals are (and have long been) chickens and goats, with some cattle, especially in the dryer portions of Acholi. came a new hierarchy of chiefs, clerks, and policemen, all under the Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Identification and Location. 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. 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. interpolity interactions at the county level. of the nineteenth century, both among Acholi chiefdoms and with [6] While Acholi also lives north of the South Sudanese border, the Sudanese Acholi are often excluded from the political meaning of the term "Acholiland". 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). represents an income that averages several times that of a member of the Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/acholi. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Milton Obote (1962-71, 1980-85). Orientation The existence of separate chiefdoms was therefore not an While rwodi, members of royal lineages, and lineage heads all seem to have been somewhat better off than others before the latter part of the nineteenth century, social stratification appears limited, owing primarily to both limited wealth in the society and redistribution. 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