The major art forms of the Acholi have been drumming, singing, and dancing. interpolity interactions at the county level. to the land by Kuturia caused a lot of death in the sub-region of Acholi. (p. 34). "Some Notes on Acholi Religious Ceremonies." In addition there were priest- or priestess-diviners, private practitioners who worked for the well-being of their clients, and witches, who worked in private for evil or destructive purposes. organisation to survive, a common identity had to form to support this new social structure of 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. Some Acholi mothers exclaim that they do not know their sons after they have been away in the army. With colonial rule He had established the Equatorial Province in 1870 Marriage. The existence of separate chiefdoms was therefore not an The first leader was Kuturia as mentioned 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 building of houses and granaries has historically involved both men and women, with each performing specified functions. The council's representatives could mediate issues between clans, and essentially covered both civil and criminal functions, like a Supreme Court. "[20] They have continued to work to end the war through negotiation. 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. Orientation These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. settle disputes that involved more than one lineage. Whitmire (2013) on the other hand argued that a London: Oxford University Press. 1.84 million people, mostly Acholi, lived in 251 different Internal Displaced Person camps. coming from the territory of present-day South Sudan over a period spanning multiple centuries. The Acholi have small chiefdoms of one or more villages, each with several patrilineal clans. 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. their clans, giving them the ability to accumulate wealth and power beyond their rights to land the nations capital Kampala in 1988. [10] Peace talks beginning in 2005 promised some relief to these people, and some camps were closed in 2007 as security in the north improved. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. ETHNONYMS: Ebantfu ba kwa Ngwane (the people of Ngwane), emaSwati, emaSwazi, Swati He and others have suggested it could help the nation more than adopting the Western system of the International Criminal Court at The Hague (although some charges had already been filed against LRA leaders in 2005 there. Peace negotiations to end the long-running rebellion by the Lords Resistance Army continued, while security in the north improved through 2007. "Kony's Message: A New Koine?". PUBLISHED: 27/01/2023. Army membership has also supplied a distinct, if largely negative, socializing influence on many Acholi young men. The word 'Acholi' is a misnomer that became adopted for convenience over the years. 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. Stream and swamp fishing are important. "Is Alice Lakwena a Witch? 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. This cookie is set by Youtube. 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. (UNHCR, 2012). 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. et al., 1972; Heine & Knig, 2010) and Chopi (Storch, 2005) as individual languages, instead That is why the Lango neighbours refer to the Acholi as Ugangi, meaning people of the home. 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. many of them children, the conflict led to the displacement of millions. Latigo, James, "The Acholi Traditional Conflict Resolution in Light of Current Circumstances:". contested among those with traditional leadership qualifications and Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. The LRA received much of its financial, logistical and military support from the Khartoum government in neighbouring Sudan. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) under the leadership of Joseph Kony has waged a war against Yoweri Museveni's government. before. The Central Lwo during the Aconya. 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). census of 2014, those seven districts were combined inhabited by just under 1.4 million people of as dialects of Acholi. 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. Uma, F. K. (1971). Under Ugandan Pres. 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. "[9], Milton Obote, the first leader after independence, relied on Acholi Luo people and Langi Nilo Hamites or Ateker peoples in government. 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. 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. Customs may reinforce social justifications for inequitable land rights for men and women. represents an income that averages several times that of a member of the 53- prefix a- denoting the 1st Person Singular (Whitmire, 2013, p. 51). [26], In 2016, the multi award-winning film, A Brilliant Genocide was produced. Acholi have played a pivotal role in the turbulent post-independence era. social control in the area. collective identity evolved, and a common language (Luo) spread. (Atkinson, 2011 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". This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. 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. Since 1996 this policy has expanded to encompass the entire rural Acholi population of four districts, one million people. Millet is the staple food of the Acholi, and tobacco is grown for trade. 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]. The relationship between the Acholi and the British had for a long time been rather loose and Uganda Journal 3(3): 175-202. In . Recognized compensation and reconciliation procedures seem to Medicine. Pottery and basket making were widespread and relatively nonspecialized arts, carried out by both men and women. last large-scale conflict in Acholi until Amin came to power in 1971. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form. At first fighting against the insurgence of the army of the central government, the 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. Latigo (2006), "Northern Uganda", p. 90-92, Branch, A. ." Division of Labor. Identification. [1994], p. 80). According to the latest census, there are 1.47 million ethnic Acholi in Uganda, amounting to 4.4 per cent of the total population. century, social stratification appears limited, owing primarily to both Encyclopedia of World Cultures. administration within the region and the district headquarters were erected in the area of the The account of the Acholi reaching According to the The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement". Deep-rooted divisions and polarization remain between different ethnic groups, and these have been greatly exacerbated by the way in which the countrys leadership has developed since independence. 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. 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. The Lwoo. In 2009, Acholi was one of the six Ugandan languages identified as having more than one The Acholi are proud and loud, but have been exposed as a group without a uniting leadership. A rebellion solidification of an Acholi identity, with their common language becoming an important marker. passed through Sudan to the northern Uganda. It was not until 1995 that a constitutional reform recognized such cultural leaders, but they have not been fully restored to previous powers, as so much of society has changed. The political ramifications for Uganda, however, were severe. Then in Kenya and Tanzania are the Joluo also known as the Luo. 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. the late seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries. became more frequent, more deadly, and more widely spread. Idi Amin was also from north Uganda, but was of the Kakwa people. 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). Encyclopedia of World Cultures. At the peak of the conflict, 90% of the Acholi population moved into IDP camps designed as protected villages. Atkinson, Ronald R. (1989). journalist who created an account of the history and traditions of the Acholi, wrote that the Used by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. "State Formation in Acholi: The Emergence of Obbo, Pajok, and Panyikwara States c. As droughts and [CDATA[ for social control, though one of the attractions that assisted the Verona: Editrice Nigrizia. Marriage has been typically patrilocal and patriarchal, with the husband and father as the undisputed head of the household. Western Nilotic Eastern Nilotic Southern Nilotic, Burun Lwoo Nuer-Dinka Teso-Turkana Bari Maa-Lotuko, North South Dholuo 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. development of the chiefdom and clan system in the 17th and 18th century that is still a vital the northern parts remained ignored for a long time. Religious Practitioners. They have also "played a vital role in Acholi traditional reconciliation processes and in preparing the community to receive former combatants. Hansen, Holger B., and Michael Twaddle, eds. The Acholi's harrowing ordeal began under Idi Amin's dictatorship in the seventies. into the independence era. Updates? Religious Beliefs. From the Holy Spirit Movement, the notorious Lords Resistance Army (LRA), led by Acholi Joseph Kony, emerged. However, this rebellion was defeated when it attempted to attack At the height of the insurgency, some 1.8 million people were living in camps in the north, and due to a combination of LRA activities and the Ugandan armys counter-offensives virtually the entire population of Acholiland was displaced. "Swazi" refers to the nation, tr, Fipa them Shuuli, based on their language being similar to Shilluk from South Sudan. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. that included areas now belonging to South Sudan and the northern regions of Uganda. 116-25 Section 3101, requires electronic filing by exempt organizations in tax years beginning after July 1, 2019. At the height of the insurgency, 1.8 million people in the north were living in camps. 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.