HISTORY, CULTURE AND THE LIFE OF THE ACHOLI OF UGANDA Who Are the Acholi People? The Acholi People Inhabit Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda. Their nationality has been fragmented by the international border of Uganda and Sudan. In South Sudan they number about 50,000 and inhabit what is now known as Magwe County, originally part of Torit District east bank Equatoria. The Acholi in Uganda number about 1.6 Million and live in the northern Part of Uganda. Acholi
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HISTORY, CULTURE AND THE LIFE OF THE ACHOLI OF UGANDA
Who Are the Acholi People?
The Acholi People Inhabit Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda. Their nationality has been fragmented by the
international border of Uganda and Sudan. In South Sudan they number about 50,000 and inhabit what is now
known as Magwe County, originally part of Torit District east bank Equatoria. The Acholi in Uganda number
about 1.6 Million and live in the northern Part of Uganda.
Acholi
Symbol
The Elephant is the official symbol of the Acholi. It represents
intelligence, might, power and resiliance.
The Motto of The Acholi is
“RIBBE AYE TEKO” – or Unity is Strength.
Economy and Natural Resources
The Acholi land lies on the western slopes of Imatong Mountains and Acholi hills that rim the southern borders
of South Sudan extending all the way into Uganda comprising of the districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader. Gulu
Town in Uganda is the largest Town in Acholi Land with a population of about 60,000. The environment has
influenced Acholi lifestyle and economy. They practice a form of mixed farming in which they keep cattle,
goats, sheep and fowls in addition to subsistence agriculture; by growing sorghum, millet, simsim, beans,
tobacco and sweet potatoes. In recent times, just before the war, commercial farming of Irish potatoes, tea and
rice had been introduced. A timber saw mill powered by a small hydro-electrical power plant was operational
until 1992 in Katire. There are potential in minerals like gold and chromite in Kit River area in southern Sudan.
And of recent commercial exploitable Oil has been found in areas of western Acholi in Amuru, Uganda. This
has caused great influx from investors and exploiters alike in attempts to buy large chunks of Acholi Land in the
Amuru area.
Acholi
Mythology and History
Different accounts attest that the Acholi group was formed from different people who inhabited the area as the
result of Luo migration and therefore assert that the Acholi are a product of intermarriages between the Luo and
the Madi; being Luo in language and custom and therefore closely related in history to the Alur of West Nile,
the Jopadhola of eastern Uganda and the Joluo of Kenya, the Shilluk, Anyuak and other Luo groups in the
Sudan. Others say that in Uganda the Luo groups trace their origin to Rumbek in southern Sudan. It is believed
that the major group of the Luo moved downwards Uganda under the leadership of a chief named Olum (means
wilderness of the bushes and Grass) and settled at Pubungu near Pakwach.
Acholi Drum
So Legend asserts that Luo was the first man. He had no human parents. He is said to have sprung from the
ground. It was taken that his father was Jok (God) and that his mother was Earth. Legend adds that Luo's son
Jipiti, whose mother is unknown, had a daughter called Kilak. Kilak was not known to have a husband. Then
one time, she got lost in the bush from where she later emerged with a male child. It was believed the father of
this child was the devil, Lubanga. The child was named Labongo and later had a brother called Gipir. Labongo
was born with bells around his wrists and ankles and he had feathers in his hair. There were definitely magical
elements in Labongo. It is said that he was fond of dancing all the t time and as he danced the bells jingled. The
Luo or Acholi kin include the Alur of Nebbi district and Jopadhola of Tororo in Uganda and the Luo of Kenya.
Moving in small clans, the Nilotics wandered around Uganda, trying to find pastures for their cattle and goats.
Oral legend holds that a conflict arose between the leader, Gipir and his brother Labongo over a bead belonging
to the other that eaten by a child of the other. Gipir moved west. His descendants include the Alur. Labongo's
group moved east of the Nile by AD 1500. It is from this group that the present day Acholi in Uganda and
Langi emerged.
Acholi
Acholi Houses
This is what a normal Acholi Village and Homestead looked like before the Lra and
Uganda Government wars devastated the region with almost 80% of all the villages have huts and homes burnt down by both the Uganda government troops and the Lra
rebels. The Government troops burnt down the houses to force the Acholi people into so
called safe camps for the internally displaced while claiming that the huts and homes housed the rebels. The rebels also burnt down homes with the same claim, or in some
cases to punish and teach lesson to anyone who dares oppose them
When Labongo grew up, he married and had a child in the normal way in spite of his peculiarities. Luo's home
is said to have been at Bukoba, near Pakwach. He possessed an axe which he is said to have driven into the
ground and out came the chiefs of many Luo groups. Labongo became the first in the line of the Rwots (chiefs)
of Payera. The same Labongo whose full title was Isingoma(' Icing ngoma' means by the toils of the hands of
my own lands) Labongo('means without' in his case it means without power as compared to his brother Gipir)
Rukidi, is also remembered as being first in the line of the Babiito kings of Bunyoro-Kitara. He is said to have
been the twin brother of Kato Kimera who is remembered in some quarters as the first in the line of the kings of
Buganda. The first Namuyongo of north Bugerere is also said to have been a son of Labongo.
Whether true or false, this legend brings forward the complicated interrelationship between the various peoples
of Uganda. It is quite interesting that the Banyoro and the Acholi, different as they seem, could claim common
origin. Some groups in Acholi such as the Pajule trace their origin directly to the Bagungu of Bunyoro. It is said
that after settling in Pawir, while some Luo (Biito) moved southwards, others also moved northwards and
Acholi
settled in Pajule.
He had no human parents. He is said to have sprung from the ground. It is taken that his father was Jok (God)
and that his mother was Earth. The legend adds that Luo's son Jipiti, whose mother is unknown, had a daughter
called Kilak. Kilak is believed to have conceived a son, Lubongo, whose father was said to be the devil,
Lubanga. Lubongo was the first in the line of Rwot – the chiefs of Payera, the dominant Acholi clan.
The Language
The Acholi speak leb Acholi [literally Acholi tongue] which is close to Alur, Anyuak especially in syntax and
structure. Like other Nilotic languages, the Acholi count only up to five which correspond to the five fingers of
the hand. They then add one to five [abic] until ten [apar] literally meaning have become equal.
Society: Social Events, Attitudes, Customs and Traditions
The Acholi society is a sedentary, agrarian community organized in chiefdoms, which vary greatly in size but
consist of a cluster of villages including the surrounding territory used for agriculture and hunting over which
the Rwot exercise his authority.
This territory comprises of the aristocrats who are the agnatic kins of the Rwot commoners who are not related
to the Rwot. The villages formed a protected ring around the royal village ‘gang kal'.
The structural configuration of the Acholi into aristocrats and commoners definitely is as a result of the unequal
distribution of wealth and the social relations in the Acholi society.
The members of the royal lineage kaka pa Rwot are known as the ‘people of the court' or ‘jokal' (sing) lokal or
jobito (sing) Lobito or the ‘people of power'- joker, while the commoners' lineage is called lwak meaning bulk
or mass. An ordinary person is known as dano.
The Acholi observe an elaborate system of social norms, customs and traditions:
Marriage
Among the Acholi, marriage is a lengthy process. It begins by courting until the young man wins the girl's
consent. He goes to her father and pays a small installment of dowry [otongo keny] after which the pair is
considered betrothed.
This may last for a long time depending on the final completion of dowry payment after which the bride's status
changes from girl [nyako] and becomes a house wife [dako ot]. Acholi dowry is traditionally settled in cows,
sheep, goats, spears, hoes. In recent times, money is now accepted.
Birth
A curious custom attends to the birth of a child. For three days after the birth of a girl (four in the case of a boy)
the mother has to abstain from certain acts, varying from village to village, including eating certain foods and
the baby is not allowed out of the house.
At the end of this period the mother calls her women friends together for meat and formally commits the
previously forbidden act. The baby has various charms hung around the neck for protection against diseases and
‘evil eyes'.
Acholi
Naming
The Acholi can take as many as five names. The first one ‘nying kwan' the name taken from some event at his
birth e.g. Ulum -born in the grass; Okec - born at a time of famine.
Some of these names may be split into two or three, e. g, a man named Okec may also be called Langara
(locust), because the famine at his birth was caused by locusts; flirtation name [nying mwoc] a curious name
taken from some curious event and acclaimed by others e.g. olwiyo, she whistles - a man's wife calls him to
food by whistling for him. There are war [spear] names [nying tong]. There are also drum names [nying bul]
shared by the youth among themselves.
Divorce
The Acholi women enjoy great freedom to divorce once not satisfied with their husbands but on condition that
the new husband pays the dowry that her earlier husband had paid. Fornication and adultery are punished in the
Acholi tradition. It costs 5 sheep for fornication and 15 for adultery.
Relationships
The Acholi entertain extended family [blood] relationships and this may affect distribution of wealth. However,
the closest relations after the father and mother are his brothers by the same mother and next his maternal uncle.
A man has to give one tusk of his first elephant to his mother's brother and one to the chief. Inheritance is
always in the male line and runs roughly as follows: sons, brothers, half-brothers and then uncles. On a man's
death his son or failing which, his brother son takes over all his wives.
Death
On a person's death all the friends and relatives gather together f for the death dance. Sheep are killed and
sorghum beer is brewed and the man is mourned from 2 - 5 days according to his age and importance.
He is buried by the entrance of his hut, and trees are sometimes planted on the grave and a sheep sacrificed.
Chiefs are buried in special chief's burying grounds wrapped in clothes and placed on a bed.
The grave is kept open and watched by a young man and girl until decomposition sets in when it is thought safe
to throw sand on the body and fill up the grave. The grave is then planted with trees and a fence built round it.
It is thought to be a great misfortune for a man to die a natural death and not be buried in his house. A man who
is killed in the bush during hunting or fighting, however, is thought to be lucky, even though he is not buried at
all and his body is eaten by vultures.
A special ceremony is then performed under the direction of the ajwaka to call the spirit back to the village.
Social and Political Organization, Traditional Authority, etc.
The Acholi had a centralized system of government organized in chiefdoms under a hereditary ruler known as
Rwot. Like the Räth of the Shilluk, the Acholi Rwot exercised judicial, executive and legislative powers.
He also enjoyed spiritual prowess linking the two spheres of living and the dead. He offered sacrifices to the
ancestors on behalf of his people. The Rwot's wife [dako Ker] exercised authority over the junior co-wives and
adjudicated their petty quarrels.
Acholi
A chief establishes his reputation and maintains his following by the hospitality he is able to provide. He is
expected to provide for the marriage of his indigent subjects lacan by giving them a girl or cattle for bride-
wealth. This form of distribution is considered both a duty and a privilege.
The regalia [jam ker] of the chiefly power i.e. traditional right to the chieftainship consisted of a sacred drum
[bul ker], a leopard skin garment [la ker] and a sacred spear [tong ker], on which he administers oaths.
The position of the war-leader [oteka, ‘oteka lawi mony' or ‘ladit me tong'] was clearly distinct from that of the
chief or Rwot. He was appointed by or with the approval of the warriors of the chiefdom.
However, he had no authority of his own to engage in war without the approval of the Rwot or his counselors.
Spirituality, Belief and Customs
The Acholi believe in the supreme being God [Jok] to whom they build a shrine [Abila] where all sacrifices are
performed. The spirits of the departed are worshipped and offered meat, pudding, beer and simsim in order to
protect the living from diseases or to assist in successful hunting.
Culture: Arts, Music, Literature, Handicraft, and Dances
ACHOLI DANCES
In Acholi culture, different dances are used for different purposes. The Bwola dance is used to honor
royalty and was traditionally performed on two occasions: when a new chief was enthroned and when a
chief died. A big drum and a small drum are used to keep beat, while the men performing beat small,
hand-held drums throughout the dance. The Dingi Dingi (pronounced dee-ng-ee) is a dance done only
by females and is meant to honor the chief. Another dance, the Otole (o-to-lay), is the warrior dance,
traditionally performed before the tribe went to war. The men dance with spears and shields,
demonstrating how to attack their opponents. My personal favorite is La Raka Raka, the courtship
dance, which is performed by the youth throughout the year at different celebrations. The boys all dance
with toy axes, and hook their female partner to bring them closer.
Bwola dancers. Note the details of attire.
Acholi
The Acholi culture is expressed in songs, music and dance. The Acholi compose tuneful songs to incidences of
interest and colorful communal dance [myel]. As a result they have evolved different instruments and artifacts
for music and dance.
The Acholi usually sing about everyday incidents but some of their songs refer to well known incidents in the
past. Songs are tuneful and dancing s communal. Solo dancing is rare. The Acholi have eight different types
namely: lalobaloba, otiti, bwola, myel awal (wilyel) apiti ladongo, myel wanga and atira. In the lalobaloba
dance, no drums are used. The people dance in a circle. The men form the outer ring. A man may move a hand
above his head. There are no special occasions for this dance. All dancers carry sticks.
In the otiti dance, all male dancers carry spears and shields. The dancers encircle drums which are usually
attached to a post m the middle of the arena. This dance involves more shouting than singing; in the end, spears
and shields are put down and the dance converted into lalobaloba.
Above: The Otole (Warrior Dance) of the Acholi
The bwola dance is the most important. It is the chief's dance and is only performed on his orders. The men
form a large circle a of them carries a drum. The movement of the feet matches rhythmically with the beating of
drums. The girls dance separately inside the circle without beating the drums. The dance has a definite leader
and he moves by himself within the circle. He sets the time and leads the singing. He is considered important
person and traditionally he was to wear a leopard skin.
The myel awal dance was a funeral dance. The women wail around the grave while the men, armed with spears
and shields dance lalobaloba. Apiti was a dance for the girls. Men were not supposed to participate. The girls
danced in a line and sang. It was usually held in the middle of the year when the rains were good.
Acholi
The Larakaraka – Courtship dance
Ladongo was danced following a successful hunt when the hunters were still away from their homes. In this
dance, men and women faced each other in two lines and jumped up and down clapping their hands. In the myel
wanga dance, all men sat down and played their nanga (harps) while in front of them, the women danced apiti.
This dance was usually held after marriages or at beer parties. Then there was the atira dance. It is now
completely outdated. It was held on the eve of a battle. All the dancers were armed and they went through the
motion of spear fighting and thrusting.
LIST OF ACHOLI DANCES
•
Bwola Dance
• Apiti Dance
• Otole Dance
• Dingi Dingi Dance
• Laraka Raka Dance
• Ajere Dance
• Lakubu Kubu dance
• Aguma Dance ( Adungu)
• Nanga ( Ajulina Dance) - is this really a dance?
• Aiije
• Myel jok
• Myel lyel
• Lamuya
Acholi
• Lalur Akel
• Obet
• Ajere
• Myel Lyel
• Lachukuchu
• Myel Acut
• Lamuya
• Omik/lukeme
Neighbors and Relationships
The Acholi neighbor the Madi to the west and southwest, the Lokoya and the Lotuka to the east and northeast,
the Lulubo and Bari to the north. The Acholi have cordial relationships with the Madi but not with the Lotuka
or Lokoya.
Latest Developments
The Acholi land in southern Sudan was affected by the first SPLA war of [1955-1972] and the Acholi Land of
northern Uganda have been affected by the [1986-Present] wars of Yoweri Museveni and Joseph Kony. Many
Acholi took refuge in Bunyoro parts like Byale, Kigumba, and Kiryandongo etc in Uganda, where they settled
among their kins. The southwards displacement during these wars was accelerated by the influx of displaced
people from Upper Nile and Bahr el Ghazal to Kitgum and Gulu in Uganda and the differential or rather
selective favorable treatment at the hands of the international humanitarian agencies. The Acholi have moved en
masse in Diaspora to the UK, Sweden, USA, Canada etc and a small Acholi Diaspora community also exists in
parts of Congo.
ACHOLI FOODS
1. Malakwang Dish Malakwang is a vegetable with sour leaves that is highly popular in Acholiland. Only the Acholi have
the unique way of preparing this dish. It is normally boiled in water with soda ash to deaden the sour
properties of the foliage. Tomatoes are cut into the boiling pot and allowed to blend with the soup.
Fermented skin, usually of hippopotamus with a strong smell called Del is chopped into small pieces
and boiled separately and mixed with malakwang source and given a few minutes to boil. The whole
concoction is then generously mixed with pure peanut paste to form a thick soup, salt is added to taste
and the dish is eaten with sweet potatoes. It has a powerful lactation ingredients and mothers breast
feeding are usually encouraged to eat the same for the sake of more milk to the new born babies.
2. Smoked Dry Meat (Ringo Otwo) Traditionally, the Acholi are hunters hence, smoked game meat or domesticated animal meat like beef
and mutton often are properly boiled in salt ,water, and later added tomatoes and dry cucumber broken
into small pieces to improve the Quality of the soup. Once the cooks are satisfied that the meat is ready,
a little quantity of sim-sim paste is mixed into the soup and gently steered to get right into the grains of