Acholi (Northern Uganda & South Sudan)

Acholi language is spoken by the Acholi people. The majority of the Acholi people come from Northern Uganda. In the past few years there has been a rise in the population of Acholi, therefore as a speech-language pathologist working in the Portland metro area, it is important to be familiar with the Acholi culture and language. Unfortunately, information regarding the specific demographics of Acholi in Portland was not found.

Learn more about Uganda and South Sudan

History of the Acholi people

For the last 20 years, the Acholi have been victims of constant war between the NRA and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) a Christian fundamentalist group led by Joseph Kony. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “the group largely comprises the Acholi, but does not represent group interests. Many of its soldiers are recruited forcibly and a significant proportion are children.” Attempts to avoid LRA led to thousands of “Invisible” children living in rural villages to commute to cities under the cover of darkness.

Effects of War

The war has had a devastating impact on the region and the people. It is estimated that more than 1.5 million people have been displaced. In 2002, the government gave the people 48 hours to vacate their homes and villages in anticipation of increased hostilities with the LRA. The Acholi had to leave everything and flee to government created Internally Displaced Person’s (IDPs) camps. This destroyed their traditional ways of life and forced many in to poverty and dependence on aid.

Peace talks took place between June of 2006 and March of 2008 mediated by the Southern Sudanese government but failed in April 2008 when Joseph Kony refused to sign the Final Peace Agreement. This was the longest period of peace in northern Uganda in 23 years.

Facts & Figures

(United Nations Development Program Uganda)

• 3.9 million: population living in absolute poverty in Northern Uganda (2004)

• 1.7 million: number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Northern Uganda (over 6% of the national population)

• 20,000 to 30,000: number of children abducted over the 20 years of the armed conflicts in the North

• One in five children in the North has lost either one or both parents to the conflict

• One in three young men and one in six young women has been abducted at some point in his/her life

Thousands of Acholi have not been able to return to their villages, some have sought refuge in other countries such as the Americas, Europe, and Australia.

Cultural Aspects

Birth

Please be aware that the source for this information is from 1973. The current culture of the Acholi could be quite different now. We've included information on birthing to demonstrate how superstitions/religious beliefs contribute to views of disability and what factors may play a part.

During pregnancy, mothers are advised not to be away from home. The mother would usually use the center post of the hut for support while a lacol (midwife) delivered the baby into her outstretched arms. The placenta would be buried outside the home, under the woman’s granary, in the bush or by the river. Care was taken that the placenta was buried out of reach of those who might use it to harm the child. The lacol would not touch the ground with her hands when they still contained the blood of the placenta because it was feared in such an event, the mother would become barren. If complications were found during birth, a medicine man would be invited. He would administer medicine and then rub the back and belly of the woman. If the medicine man failed, the jwara (diviner) would be consulted. She would hold a chicken by the legs and flutter it around the expectant mother’s head while uttering a prayer. If the child’s genitals were touched, it was believed the child would be infertile. The mother was not supposed to look up at the sky otherwise the child would be impotent.

Post-Natal Care

Starting at 3-6 weeks of age, an Acholi baby is carried much of the time on the backs of the mother, child nurse, or elder sister during the day. After three months, the child is able to be straddled to the hip. Parents encourage the child to talk as soon as a child can coo or gesture. Later on, he is encouraged to repeat words or follow instructions. Parents often question what their child has learned by asking “What is this?” and “Who is this?” Children would learn nursery rhymes and sing them at play times. Children are shown a great deal of affection by embraces, cuddling, tickling, caressed but kissing is not a known form of affection in Acholi. A mother who turns a deaf ear to a child’s cry was regarded as very unkind and unsympathetic. Tantrums and other aggressive feelings are usually met with scolding, strong warning or beating. To inculcate good habits in their children, incentive methods are used such as encouragement, rewards, approval and praise.

Children with language disorders are often respected, partly for the fear that their spirits after their death might come back and into the world to haunt people who had been unkind to them. Vocabulary related to language disorders includes: “latelebe oto”- one who has unintelligible speech whose nerves connecting the tongue to the brain was damaged or dead; “lagwong” one who lisps; “ladwal” a person who stutters.

Feeding

For Acholi in Uganda, the transition from breast feeding to eating adult food was usually a gradual one as most mothers made it a point to see that their infants got used to a mixed diet from about one year. Most mothers interviewed in the resource for this information began thinking about weaning only when the breast milk was not enough or when the baby was fond of biting the nipples. The transition from breast feeding to adult food is a gradual. Usually “nyuka” (gruel) or liquid food was introduced. Then the infant is gradually given “kwon”, (a stiff dough like preparation form millet) and sweet potatoes or meat. Great care was taken to see that whatever was given was soft. A study found that 41% of children aged 19 to 24 months were still breast fed. A common method to stop breast feeding was to put red pepper on the nipples.

The Role of Religion in Acholi Culture

In Uganda, many of the Acholi believed in a supreme being called Jok. The shrine for Jok was known as the Abila. All sacrificed were made in the abila. The spirits of the dead were believed to appear near the abila. They were offered meat, pudding, simsim and beer. The missionaries forced the Acholi to adopt the concept of lubanga to represent God. Formerly, among the Acholi, the term Lubaya was used to mean death or evil. No huts or shrines were built for Lubanga in the villages. Sacrifices or cooking for Lubanga was done outside the village and the dung of fowls was often added to his food as another step to degrade him.

Marriage

Many Acholi believe that marriage is an obligation that every person ought to fulfill to live an orderly and normal life. Many considered a man abnormal if he did not marry and he would have little social standing in the community regardless of his achievements. Women are expected to marry as well. Traditionally, some of the qualities sought in a woman were youth, physical beauty, moral qualities as reflected by obedience, ability and fidelity. The qualities sought of a man are first and foremost, hardworking, good-looking, and able to pay the marriage payment; someone who is outstanding in hunting, fighting and dancing and whose family records are good as well.

Life after Death

Many of the Acholi believe that, after death the spirits or souls go to live in the hand of the Creator Spirit. Both the good and the malefactors go to the same God and are received or dealt with separately. Some of the Acholi people believe that after death, their ancestors keep themselves active and are interested in the welfare of the children left behind on earth.

Witchcraft or Magic

There is a wide belief in black magic. Lajok is generally one who generally harmed other human beings or property through evil means. A sorcerer (Layir) is believed to have the power of casting an evil eye on someone who refused to give him (or her) something he had asked for. A sorcerer might make the victim blind and it was only when the victim made a genuine public apology that the sorcerer would use his charm to restore his sight. A latal on the other hand, is someone who practiced black magic by dancing round peoples houses at night for evil purposes. Using ash and placing charms in a courtyard, a latal can put everyone in the house to sleep by touching the building. He can then roam around freely. Magic can help with success in hunting, legal cases in court, economic production or gain, political favors, healing magic and purification.

Folktales and Proverbs

Folktales- Virtues such as communal unity, hard work, conformity and honesty were reflected in many of the folktales. They dealt with familliar situations or recalled some ancient customs. They were based primarily on day to day happenings. Most of them bore a very close relationship to life. Through folktales, children learned alot about human follies, faults and weaknesses. The usual time for narrating folktales was at night at the courtyard fireplace.

Proverbs:

1. Cowardly fellow returns to his mother’s womb.

2. Shyness makes one eat poison. This proverb is intended to discourage children from developing the habit of accepting something offered to him by a stranger with bad intentions.

3. A poor living man should not become a laughing stock. Who knows if one day through hard work he will someday become a well to do person.

4. A large number of rats does not scoop out a house. The same as Too many cooks spoil the broth.

5. If you rear guinea fowls, rear hens too. Similar to Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

6. The hornbill slept hungry amongst the locusts. Seize your opportunity at once when you have it.

7. The elder does not the skin apron behind him without reason. Follow the advice of the elders.

8. The lion which roars catches no game. Action is better than words.

Cultural Considerations

As an SLP, one should consider the war and the effects on children of Uganda. Betancourt (2009) provided research on the effects of war among displaced children in Northern Uganda. Many local acholi syndromes are similar to western definitions. Those that are described included psychiatric disorders of mood, anxiety and conduct problems. The mood disorders include depressed mood, diminished interest in activities activities, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, inability to concentrate, recurrent thoughts of death and suicide. Anxiety problems include increased arousal and restlessness. Conduct problems include aggressive behavior that causes or threatens physical harm to others such as fighting as well as associated symptoms of deceitfulness, using bad language, drinking alcohol and using drugs.

Culturally specific symptoms also emerged. For example,“sitting kumu”(sitting while holding one’s cheek in their hand) and not greeting people were described as symptoms of the locally derived mood disorder kumu. In the Acholi culture, to not extend a kind greeting to others you encounter is offensive and an important indicator of distress.

Children with language disorders are often respected, partly for the fear that their spirits after their death might come back and into the world to haunt people who had been unkind to them. Vocabulary related to language disorders includes:

latelebe oto: one who has unintelligible speech whose nerves connecting the tongue to the brain was damaged or dead

lagwong: one who lisps

ladwal: a person who stutters.

Original Contributors: Maya Zahm, Ken Hughes, and Janelle Dunn (2011)