The Only Project: Eastern Equatoria

Showing posts with label Eastern Equatoria. Show all posts

Saturday, 2 July 2011

Pari people

Name

Pari (Paeri) or Jo-Pari (people of Pari)

Area of residence:

Lafon County (formerly Torit District).

History of Pari Land

In the past Pari lived in Lipul Hill (Jebel Lafon) in Wiatuo, Bura, Puchwa, Pugeri, Kor and Angulumere.

In 1993 all the villages were burnt down in the war, which left people scattered and now live in various settlements along the Hoss ‘Atondi’ river to the east and the Hinyetti ‘Chol’ river to the east.

Language

Dhi-Pari (mouth of Pari).The Pari people are a Luo speaking people of the Nilotic language group.

Mythology

The Pari clearly recognize their Luo origin. Oral tradition has it that all Luo used to live together at ‘Wi-Pach’ somewhere in eastern Bahr el Ghazal. They then dispersed because of the quarrel among the three brothers: Nyikango, Dimo and Giilo. There is another story of fight among two brothers, Uthienho and Giilo. The latter was killed by the former because of jealousy. It seems that this story refers to an event of more ancient times.

Society and traditions

There are two traditional political systems among the Pari: chieftainship and mojomiji, a graded age-set system. A village is a political and territorial unit and each has its own hereditary chief (rwath). But the chief of Wiatuo, the largest village, is recognized as the chief for the entire Pari. He is the ‘rain-chief’ (rwadhi-koth) whose main role is to bring enough rain for the whole community. Apart from him, there is a ‘bird-chief’ (rwadhi-winyo) whose job is rather specific: to get rid of weaver birds that may destroy sorghum. He is from Puchwa village, but is responsible for the Pari as a whole.

Spirituality

The Pari believe in jwok (pl. juu). There are many places of jwok, including Lipul, where offerings and sacrifices are made. They also say that Jwok is like the wind and is therefore, everywhere. This is both good and bad for human beings. There are traditional healers-diviners or witch doctors. They are both men and women and called ajwa (pl. ajuu). A dying person makes either a blessing (gweth) or curse (cien). The power of a curse is very much feared, as it may bring disasters not only to individuals but to the entire community.

References,Images and further reading: Gurtong

Madi people

Name:

Madi (Mà'dí)

Area of residence:

Torit county

Madi People are found mostly in Uganda with the minority found in Southern South Sudan

Population:

80,000

Environment:

Madi territory is hilly and traversed by rivers and streams.

Economy:

Their economy is based on subsistence agriculture, in which the main crops are sorghum, maize, cassava, groundnuts and tobacco.The Madi also rear small herds of cattle, goats and sheep as well as fowl.

Language:

Madi ti .The Madi language is part of the Moru-Madi group of languages

History:

The mystery of the birth of their origin tends to puzzle the Madi, whose beliefs are based on reproduction and hence, their origin as a people.

Rabanga is the supreme being responsible for creation. In addition to being a spirit, Rabanga was also regarded as the earth in the sense of ‘Mother Earth’. This was grounded in the logic that everything is born from the earth.

Rainmaking

There are more than 45 rainmaking centres .
Their are only two exceptions rain could be made by the rainmaker by using a special set of stones which, were usually white in colour.
The Madi believe that ‘rain stones’ come with rain from the sky and they are categorised as ‘male’ and ‘female’ stones.

Spirituality and Beliefs

The whole life of the Madi is centred on the belief that their ancestors survived after death as spirits known as ori. It is believed that the ori could intervene directly in human affairs. The Madi attribute every misfortune to the anger of a spirit and in the event of a misfortune or sickness, they would immediately consult an odzo or odzogo (witchdoctor) to find out which ancestor was behind the ordeal.

Sacrifices were then offered to the particular spirit in order to avert its malign influence on the living. The powerful families among the Madi bas were believed to have powerful ancestral spirits to help them. ''Babu-garee'' constitutes the whole paraphernalia of the spirits of the dead.

References,Images and further reading: Gurtong

Acholi

Name

Acholi

Population:

30,000 - 50,000 people inhabiting what is now

Language:

Leb Acholi (Acholi).Acholi are a Luo speaking group.

Area of residence

Magwe County, originally part of Torit District on the east bank of Equatoria,which is now part of Eastern Equatoria State.

History

The Acholi are part of the wider Acholi ethnic group where the majority reside in Northern Uganda,in area known as Acholiland.

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 South Sudan.

Customs:

The Acholi society is a sedentary, agrarian community organised 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’.

Culture:

The Acholi culture is expressed in songs, music and dance. The Acholi compose tuneful songs to incidences of interest and colourful communal dance .

Relationships

The Acholi have cordial relationships with their neighbours Madi but not with the Lotuka or Lokoya.

The Acholi neighbour:

The Madi to the west and southwest
The Lokoya and the Lotuka to the east and northeast
The Lulubo and Bari to the north.

Diaspora

The Acholi are now also found in :

Northern Uganda
Americas
Europe
Australia.

References,Images and further reading: Gurtong

Eastern Equatoria State Part 2

INDIGENOUS GROUPS WHICH RESIDE WITHIN EASTERN EQUATORIA STATE INCLUDE:

Dongotono people

Population:

Over 20,000 people,

The Dongotono people reside in:

Chakari
Ikotos
Isoki
Bira
amongst other areas

Language:

Dongotono people are Lotuka speaking and speak a dialect of Otuho (Lotuka)

A Dongotono village

Relations:

The Dongotono people are closely related to the Lango and Logir,who all migrated into Eastern Equatoria in the 19th century.

Imatong people

Language:

Dialect of Otuho (Lotuka)

Beliefs and Customs

Imatong people are known for their spiritual beliefs.They also tend to be extremely conscious of the spirits notwithstanding the fact that they don’t distinguish between the religious and secular aspects of life.Imatong people also believe in a supreme being,which they communicate to through the spirits of their ancestors,amongst other mediums.

Imatong culture is orally transmitted through speech, songs, poems, music and other bodily decorations reflecting the highest values of the self and the community. They also have perfected the arts of warfare and hunting. They have drums, whistles made from the horns of games and other artefacts.

Lotuka people

Lotuka Dance

Name:

Otuho widely known as Lotuka

Populations:

Exceeds 100,000 people

The Lotuka are well known for their traditions which include:

Monyomiji

Which is a nongopira (ceremony of making fire) which held every 16 years using two straight sticks. If the sticks which are cut are weak or crooked,so will the next generation of men and women.All fires in the village are extinguished and re-lighted with the fire made with these sticks.

On this occasion the men of the younger generation take over the duties of military service from their seniors. They are given a collective name which they endeavour to make renowned in songs. Men above or below the age fight as volunteers.The monyomiji or graduates are responsible for the daily running of public affairs and the well-being of the community: they keep internal peace, settle disputes

Magicians

Throughout every village magicians (Ibwoniu or Neibwoni) are always present,they behave like ordinary people but they are distinctive due to their behaviour patterns. Some are known to smear their selves with dirt,whilst others are known to belch loudly repetitively,roll their eyes and pretend to throw fits.

References,Images and further reading: Gurtong (1,2,:3)