political organisation of the acholi political organisation of the acholi

the northern parts remained ignored for a long time. This cookie is set by Stripe payment gateway. Classics in African Anthropology - International African Institute collective identity evolved, and a common language (Luo) spread. (Atkinson, 2011 The rwot was the most important political, economic and social personality in the political entity of 'chiefdoms', which were installed in Acholiland in the late seventeenth, early eighteenth century. before. Odongo, J. M. Onyango-ku-, and J. to accumulate substantial fortunes, as have a few traders. named Luo. London: Oxford University Press. "The Ancestral Shrine of the Acholi." heard of gun sound, they were used to only lightning thunder sound. many of them children, the conflict led to the displacement of millions. The account of the Acholi reaching During Obote's first term as president, and especially during his second term, Acholi soldiers played key roles in the massive conflict in other parts of Uganda, where hundreds of thousands of peoplemany of them innocent civilianslost their lives; from the mid-1980s into the 1990s, Acholi was the scene of similar levels of conflict. (1972). The EU's External Democracy Action in a New Geopolitical Reality: Policy Brief. Numbering between 400 and 500 by the turn of the twentieth century, these exogamous groups claim descent from a common ancestor (although means exist to incorporate many types of "outsiders" as well) and have special lineage shrines, ritual ceremonies, praise-calls, and totems. et al., 1972; Heine & Knig, 2010) and Chopi (Storch, 2005) as individual languages, instead 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. Arab trading routes coming from the north, trading in goods, but also in slaves. Boys and girls are typically socialized into distinct gender roles, and do household and other chores accordingly. Once chiefdoms were established, Acholi religious beliefs focused on three types of spirits (jogi; sing. The encompasses the six closely related languages Acholi, Adhola, Alur, Kumam, Lango and From the Holy Spirit Movement, the notorious Lords Resistance Army (LRA), led by Acholi Joseph Kony, emerged. Certain rwodi and identity is rather disputed. 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. Purifications or atonement practices are still performed by Acholi elders in some communities. "[9], Milton Obote, the first leader after independence, relied on Acholi Luo people and Langi Nilo Hamites or Ateker peoples in government. Acholi form organisation - New Vision Official The Tonga occupy much of Southern Province in Zambia (formerly No, ETHNONYMS: Batswana, Bechuana (colonial appellation) When conflict did outsiders: The Arabs had established a killing government on Acholi, some of the chiefs who Socialization. 30 Chiefly authority was however not absolute, as power was shared with lineage elders ( ladit kaka) and political authority was mainly vested in Atkinson, Ronald R. (1994). Some Acholi mothers exclaim that they do not know their sons after they have been away in the army. Instead, the Acholi were integrated in the The term is derived from "Shuuli," first used by nineteenth-century ivory and slave traders who noted the similarity of Acholi Luo to the language of the previously encountered Shilluk or "Collo" of the southern Sudan (Crazzolara 1938, vii-viii). The main point of contact The Acholi have small chiefdoms of one or more villages, each with several patrilineal clans. Mass meetings were organized separately by Luo people in Kavirondo and the Kikuyu people in Nairobi. Since 1996 this policy has expanded to encompass the entire rural Acholi population of four districts, one million people. political organisation of the acholipadma shri award 2012 list. Subsistence and Commercial Activities. During this time, people were separated from their land for long periods, and many people disappeared or were killed. The Lwoo. Other uncategorised cookies are those that are being analysed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Crazzolara, J. P. (1938). 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. 61). members of royal lineages, and lineage heads all seem to have been The full integration of the Acholi into the British colonial complex happened comparatively late. Acholi chiefdoms ranged in population from under 1,000 to as many as 20,000 people and consisted of a number of fenced villages, each with recognized land rights vested in the patrilineal lineage (kaka ) at its core. [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". Encyclopedia of World Cultures. With independence, the Acholi remained marginal within the framework of Uganda as a whole, with one crucial exception: their disproportionate numbers in the police and army. Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Acholi have played a pivotal role in the turbulent post-independence era. Under Ugandan Pres. The Social Origins of Violence in Uganda, 1964-1 985. During the colonial period, political leadership in Acholi was [29], Media related to Acholi people at Wikimedia Commons. This cookie is used to enable payment on the website without storing any payment information on a server. ." Individual antecedents of political behavior include political . Dwyer, John Orr (1972) 'The Acholi of Uganda: adjustment to imperialism'. with chiefdoms providing a layer of organization above the lineages from In 2005, the new International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and other top LRA commanders. The LRA has been targeting civilians, the majority being their own tribe, the Acholi. contested among those with traditional leadership qualifications and These include Christian marriage (with or without bride-wealth), elopement, and single parenthood. The Acholi region and language 51. ETHNONYMS: Mende (Men-day), Mendes, Huro, Wuro The Age-set spokesmen handled affairs involving interclan cooperation. NAPE, along with sister organization the National Association for Women's Action in Development, has brought together more than 5,000 women from . Soon after, the NRM started pacifying the northern region, which is home to several ethnics, including the Acholi and Lango. occur, however, it was usually limited in scope, with relatively few "[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. colonial times, were the Acholi stood often in opposition to the British colonial rule, the starting It has similarity with Alur, Padhola language, and other Luo languages in South Sudan Shilluk, Anuak,Pari, Balanda, Boor, Thuri. 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). Kin Groups and Descent. [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. [23][24], The attempt to pacify the Northern Uganda was carried out recklessly with much brutality and unprofessionalism from the NRA soldiers and government. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customised ads. Orientation 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. B.A. have often limited or prevented serious conflict, especially among Mothers are responsible for the initial care of their children and for much of their socialization. Kitgum, Nwoya, Lamwo and Pader. 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. p. 41). morphed into Chuuli, before finally becoming Acholi as it was applicated with the pronoun 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". "At Home in the Village: Growing Up in Acholi." the nations capital Kampala in 1988. //The Anguish of Northern Uganda - Sections 3 - 5 - Uganda 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. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. University of Bradford eThesis This thesis is hosted in Bradford Scholars - The University of Bradford Open Access repository. groups, the Ugandan army, and Karamojong raiders (who have been active The documentary was met with mixed reactions, with many people familiar with the situation dubbing it a shallow and money-grabbing scheme. 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. However, this rebellion was defeated when it attempted to attack On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. LRA, after losing support from the local population, also turned on the people of northern (1988). Both Protestant and Catholic missionaries were active in Acholi from early colonial rule, providing written Luo religious, educational, and historical texts and producing a local educated elite, all of which fostered the further development of an Acholi identity within the colonial context of "tribal" culture, consciousness, and politics. Political Organization. Okeny, Kenneth (1982). Division of Labor. The Acholi, unlike many of their southern neighbours, did not create a form of sociopolitical units: lineages at the parish level; chiefdoms at the represents an income that averages several times that of a member of the Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. time was critical to the social and political development of the region. Similarly, General Okello Lutwa who toppled the Obote II regime, was an Acholi. Customs may reinforce social justifications for inequitable land rights for men and women. Acholi conceive of death as an inevitable, personal defeat and tragedy, against which there is no ultimate defense. Administrative divisions within Acholi, however, both during colonial The Acholi are the descendants of a variety of Luo-speaking peoples who are believed to have migrated three or four centuries ago from adjacent areas of what is now South Sudan into what is now the Acholi district of Uganda. This term then Hunting tracts are owned by clans. famines forced groups to move within the Acholi territory and create more cohesive forms of southern part of the country relatively young. You also have the option to opt-out of these 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 . 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. 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. 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. Colonial chiefs in a stateless society: a case-study from Northern 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. This included both agricultural and hunting land. The political ramifications for Uganda, however, were severe. Corrections? With colonial rule came a new hierarchy of chiefs, clerks, and policemen, all under the authority of a district commissioner. 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. From the Village to Entebbe: The Acholi of Northern Uganda and . (1955). 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. against the central government. 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. Tito and Bazilio, who were Acholi by tribe, fled the country into exile. (unpublished thesis) Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms International . "Swazi" refers to the nation, tr, Fipa In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. 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. //]]>, ETHNONYMS: Acoli, Acooli; historically: Gani, Lango, Lo-Gang, Shuuli. 1orthern Uganda or Acholiland is formally known as the Acholi sub-region, an area inhab N - ited primarily by speakers of the Acholi language, whom I refer to as the Acholi. Apart from hundreds of thousands of deaths and tens of thousands being abducted, A company limited by guarantee in the UK no. 17 de fevereiro de 2022 / Category . Inheritance has been, and largely remains, patrilineal. [19], The religious leaders have tried to help end the conflict in the country of the last two decades and to reconcile the parties. 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. The chiefs traditionally came from one clan, and each chiefdom had several villages made up of different patrilineal clans. Verona: Editrice Nigrizia. Since independence, a relatively few Acholi army officers have managed to accumulate substantial fortunes, as have a few traders. Figure 5. 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. 2008. Hier sind Acholi-Frauen dafr bekannt, . That is why the Lango neighbours refer to the Acholi as Ugangi, meaning people of the home. The Holy Spirit Movement and Its Fight against Evil in the North." Kitgum, Pader and Gulu, the three districts of the Acholi sub-region, each established peace forums for continuing discussions. that included areas now belonging to South Sudan and the northern regions of Uganda. "Acholi Estimated at 1,470,554 (4.4 per cent in the 2014 census). Visit the repository for full metadata or to contact the repository team Even though the recent history of conflict can in some ways be tracked all the way back to the ETHNONYM: Karanga (historical) The system values peace over justice, and has retributive and restorative aspects. element of the social and political environment of the region. The history and politics of ethnicity and language 37. (Ugandan Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs 1997. Before the late seventeenth century, Luo speakers were limited to only a few peripheral areas of Acholi. Movement. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The third group of spirits were those of unknown persons and dangerous beasts; these were hostile, personified as ghosts, believed to cause sickness and other misfortunes, and dealt with by means of spirit possession. Linguistic Affiliation. Although polygyny has often been presented as an ideal, limited means have always made it rare in practice. Religion of the Central Luo. According to the latest census, there are 1.47 million ethnic Acholi in Uganda, amounting to 4.4 per cent of the total population. Okot p'Bitek (1963). Dwyer, John O. Uganda - Government and society | Britannica Each type of spirit had numerous ceremonies associated with it; many ceremonies included small offerings of food and drink. 26). traditional local forms of organisation were based on smaller units, often only consisting of neighboring chiefdoms within the same zone. In most chiefdoms, only members of designated lineages could make or repair royal drums. 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]. London: James Currey. higher now, due to the ongoing growth in population. [7] During the second half of the nineteenth century, Arabic-speaking traders from the north started to call them Shooli, a term which was transformed into 'Acholi'.[8]. 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. By clicking 'Accept', you consent to the use of all the cookies. The Acholi were considered a martial people by the British, and many joined the military. Atkinson (2011 [1994]) wrote on this issue: First came the establishment of new, chiefly, socio-political institutions and ideology. Political Organization. Okot p'Bitek's epic poem, Song of Lawino, debates Acholi customs around the time that Uganda became independent. Corn (maize), sorghum, beans, squash, peanuts (groundnuts), and other savanna crops also are grown. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. The Roots of Ethnicity: The Origins of the Acholi of Uganda - JSTOR colonial rule in their region for decades, before finally being integrated in the Ugandan territory While Bantu speaking groups had begun to occupy Acholi live in Northern Uganda, in the districts Kitgum, Pader and Gulu. and slave trades, and the firearms that accompanied them, conflict Spirits of both of these types were generally beneficent. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors. In 2009, Acholi was one of the six Ugandan languages identified as having more than one The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement". 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). for social control, though one of the attractions that assisted the southern parts of the country. Even bride-wealth marriages are now often mainly nuclear-family affairs, and other alternatives to traditional marriage are common.