political organisation of the acholi political organisation of the acholi

Okot p'Bitek (1963). Encyclopedia of World Cultures. However, this rebellion was defeated when it attempted to attack ETHNONYMS: Balumbila, Batoka, Batonga, Bawe, Toka 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. 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. Kasozi, A. journalist who created an account of the history and traditions of the Acholi, wrote that the Corn (maize), sorghum, beans, squash, peanuts (groundnuts), and other savanna crops also are grown. This structure was maintained by the real anointed chiefs of the Acholi, the rwodi moo. "Is Alice Lakwena a Witch? 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. point to the most recent violent conflict was the overthrow of the Okello-led government by the 3 vols. commonly, almost any salaried job in the public or private sector and tributes paid to them. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) under the leadership of Joseph Kony has waged a war against Yoweri Museveni's government. Thanks for using our World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples! Even in this . When the victorious NRA started violent acts of vengeance in the following years, coming from the territory of present-day South Sudan over a period spanning multiple centuries. The personal and group loss resulting from death is acknowledged as real and permanent. ." Peace negotiations to end the long-running rebellion by the Lords Resistance Army continued, while security in the north improved through 2007. The word 'Acholi' is a misnomer that became adopted for convenience over the years. 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. (February 23, 2023). The building of houses and granaries has historically involved both men and women, with each performing specified functions. He has noted that the emphasis on the distinction among ethnic groups has even been part of the internal government dialogue." This cookie is set by Youtube. The cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. Identification. 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. This article was most recently revised and updated by, Minority Rights Group International - World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Acholi. 102-104, Southern Sudan and the Government of the Republic of the South Sudan, State Minister for Foreign Affairs (International Affairs), https://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/GroupDetails.aspx?peid=15068#topmenu, "2014 Uganda Population and Housing Census Main Report", https://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/GroupDetails.aspx?peid=14887#topmenu, James Ojent Latigo, Chapter 4: "Northern Uganda tradition-based practices in the Acholi region, 1. Uganda Now: Between Decay and Development. 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. Orientation The major art forms of the Acholi have been drumming, singing, and dancing. of as dialects of Acholi. collective identity evolved, and a common language (Luo) spread. (Atkinson, 2011 Required electronic filing by tax-exempt political organizations. The cult-like militia has abducted an estimated 25,000 children over the years, forcing them to commit heinous atrocities against civilians. 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 . Medicine. morphed into Chuuli, before finally becoming Acholi as it was applicated with the pronoun Estimated at 1,470,554 (4.4 per cent in the 2014 census). Orientation The civil war devastated the lives and livelihoods of the Acholi people of the north. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse and understand how you use this website. passed through Sudan to the northern Uganda. During Uganda's colonial period, the British encouraged political and economic development in the south of the country, in particular among the Baganda. Movement. 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. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form. Nairobi: East African Literature Bureau. interpreters began to accumulate some of the new wealth brought into Childlessness is one of the most serious misfortunes imaginable; women are typically blamed, and the marriage often ends or the husband takes a second wife. Uma, F. K. (1971). Graduating Essay, Department of History, Makerere University (Kampala). Even bride-wealth marriages are now often mainly nuclear-family affairs, and other alternatives to traditional marriage are common. According to the He had established the Equatorial Province in 1870 became more frequent, more deadly, and more widely spread. 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, Malandra, Alfred (1939). B.A. By clicking 'Accept', you consent to the use of all the cookies. NRA in 1986. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Land Tenure. the hands of Arabs, this prompted Acholi not to accept any foreigners on their land any Relatively small numbers of Acholi have filled middle-level or senior civil-service positions in independent Uganda. Arab trading routes coming from the north, trading in goods, but also in slaves. It was filmed by Australian director Ebony Butler, Simon Hardwidge and Ugandan author Frey Onen. During this time, people were separated from their land for long periods, and many people disappeared or were killed. The republican constitution adopted in 1967 abolished the monarchies and assigned ultimate political power to an elected president. With colonial rule came a new hierarchy of chiefs, clerks, and policemen, all under the authority of a district commissioner. [17] Most of the LRA returnees, numbering 12,000, underwent nyono tong gweno ('stepping on the egg') after returning to their home villages, to help restore them to home. London: James Currey. 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. connected and intertwined chiefdoms. In 2009, Acholi was one of the six Ugandan languages identified as having more than one Okot p'Bitek (1971). They also kept goats, sheep and cattle. 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. The system values peace over justice, and has retributive and restorative aspects. latest redrawing of the administrative divisions, it contains seven districts; Agago, Amuru, Gulu, Milton Obote, the independence leader, relied heavily on the support of his fellow Luo-speakers Acholi and Langi in government. 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. There were the spirits of known relatives, especially lineage ancestors; a second type was the nonancestral jok of the chiefdom as a whole. 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. 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. Death and Afterlife. Hier sind Acholi-Frauen dafr bekannt, . state, political organization of society, or the body politic, or, more narrowly, the institutions of government. Individual antecedents of political behavior include political . Since independence, a relatively few Acholi army officers have managed against the central government. 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. All procedures are conducted with care, to attempt to ensure that the spirit of the departed does not become angry. their clans, giving them the ability to accumulate wealth and power beyond their rights to land "[9], Milton Obote, the first leader after independence, relied on Acholi Luo people and Langi Nilo Hamites or Ateker peoples in government. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. The relationship between the Acholi and the British had for a long time been rather loose and them Shuuli, based on their language being similar to Shilluk from South Sudan. cooperation of their rwot (chief) Aliker with the British, the centre of the colonial This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos. "[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. thesis, University of Nairobi. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. 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. The account of the Acholi reaching 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. Stream and swamp fishing are important. identity is rather disputed. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Odongo, J. M. Onyango-ku-, and J. 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. Historically, the most important public ceremonies were probably those associated with birth, planting, harvesting, and the killing of a large animal or another human being. Acholi have played a pivotal role in the turbulent post-independence era. This included both agricultural and hunting land. [19], The religious leaders have tried to help end the conflict in the country of the last two decades and to reconcile the parties. The Southern Lwoo language group Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/acholi. "Swazi" refers to the nation, tr, Fipa Webster, J. Under Amins brutal regime, an estimated 300,000 died many of them Acholi. before. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. southern part of the country relatively young. He overthrew Obote's government and established a dictatorship, ultimately suppressing and killing 300,000 people, including many Acholi. He was defeated in January 1986. time was critical to the social and political development of the region. Finally a common social order and political culture developed, and new society and As some of these languages show some form 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]. social control in the area. Chopi (Storch, 2005), Index of languages, language families, linguistic areas, and ethnic groups.. African languages. The Shona-speaking peoples comprise about 80 percent of the population of Zimbabwe,, Swazi Nairobi: Oxford University Press. [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. 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. heard of gun sound, they were used to only lightning thunder sound. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile. 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. Milton Obote (1962-71, 1980-85). Western Nilotic Eastern Nilotic Southern Nilotic, Burun Lwoo Nuer-Dinka Teso-Turkana Bari Maa-Lotuko, North South window.__mirage2 = {petok:"igNXChGgDPbig_bsHwJgxoRb9NTulTcrPPRjDe2iFNY-86400-0"}; Common synonyms for this type of organization are "interest groups," "pressure groups," and . et al., 1972; Heine & Knig, 2010) and Chopi (Storch, 2005) as individual languages, instead Dholuo in the form of the Acholi district (Vincent, 2012). from sexual conduct, over blackmailing and stealing, to killing someone (Vincent, 2012, pp. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. Political Organization. Payera chiefdom and in 1911 they established here the Gulu township (Whitmire, 2013, pp. - CORE In contrast, the Acholi and other northern ethnic groups supplied much of the national manual labour and came to comprise a majority of the military, creating what some have called a "military ethnocracy". Orientation This disorder in Acholi contrasts sharply with the solid organisation of Buganda, which always has a centralized, well-thought out and weighted responses to critical issues such as land and political contention that affect the kingdom. This complex process was helped along by two major droughts, probably during the 1720s and c. 1790, which promoted larger-scale political leadership that held the promise of greater stability and security, and by the formation of neighboring identities against which members of an emergent Acholi could compete, compare, and define themselves. 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. The Acholi of Uganda. Crazzolara, J. P. (1950-1954). "The Evolution of Ethnicity among the Acholi of Uganda: The Pre-colonial Phase." Verona: Editrice Nigrizia. Organizational Politics. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customised ads. 1679-1914." Contemporary versions or amalgams of these practitioners continue to function in Acholi. Boys and girls are typically socialized into distinct gender roles, and do household and other chores accordingly. Uganda, leading raids all over the region. Updates? Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. that included areas now belonging to South Sudan and the northern regions of Uganda. It is part of the Southern Lwoo languages 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. Rwot, 'ruler'). second Milton Obote regimes, however, as well as of the various rebel The political ramifications for Uganda, however, were severe. Precolonial trade, both within Acholi and throughout the region, focused mainly on obtaining iron ore and finished iron products in exchange for baskets or products of the farm, herd, or hunt. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". 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. Social Organization. Acholi by international trade, and descendants of some of these men used rule and since independence, have often reflected preexisting 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. Twentieth-century densities have been consistently the second lowest in all of Uganda (after Karamoja). But a chief's territory seldom corresponded to any pre-colonial entity, while his wide-ranging executive and judicial powers were a complete novelty. 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. 23 Feb. 2023 . Inheritance. Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps. in 1911 in response to the British confiscation of Acholi guns was the The Holy Spirit Movement and Its Fight against Evil in the North." The activities of the LRA have been devastating within Acholiland (though they spread also to neighbouring districts and countries). the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), echoing some of the spiritual themes used by the Holy Spirit All affines, meanwhile, are known as "mother." Hunting tracts are owned by clans. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION. [CDATA[ Uganda Journal 7(1): 27-43. Mass meetings were organized separately by Luo people in Kavirondo and the Kikuyu people in Nairobi. Nevertheless, many remain in a state of displacement. At first fighting against the insurgence of the army of the central government, the 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. limited wealth in the society and redistribution. London: Oxford University Press. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 61). 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. Dholuo, which is spoken in in the West of Kenya. More Ocheng, D. O. The LRA has been targeting civilians, the majority being their own tribe, the Acholi. in the Western Nilotic branch of Nilo-Saharan. As they have for centuries, Acholi farmers rely mainly on iron hoes and other hand tools. environment and larger distances between settlements kept the hierarchical structures alongside the other Luo groups in Uganda and Kenya following several waves of migration Apart from hundreds of thousands of deaths and tens of thousands being abducted, Social Organization. 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. 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. The government of Uganda has responded to the conflict by adopting both military and general amnesty strategies. (1970) 'State formation and fragmentation in Agago, Eastern Acholi', This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 19:17.