Looking back: insights into northern Uganda with OA (#3)

By Erin Hunt

So we’ve been talking about northern Uganda and the differences I observed between when I first visited in mid-2006 and when I went back with OA this spring. The parts of northern Uganda where OA works is home to the Acholi people who are one of the many ethnic groups in Uganda. The Acholi make up about 5% of the Ugandan population and speak a language that sounds very different from the Bantu languages of the southern part of the country. Many of my Acholi friends have told me that some other groups in Uganda are suspicious of them because there is a stereotype that Acholi are warriors who like to fight – I don’t know how accurate or prevalent those views are but I do know that many people in Kampala had never been up north and thought I was a little crazy for going up there all the time. I recently found a blog (linked here) that hasn’t been updated in a few years but it provides some insider views about Acholi culture that you might find interesting.

In 2006 many of my colleagues and friends talked about the breakdown of Acholi culture due to the conflict. This makes sense – think about what makes up your culture, and your community. Would things stay the same when everyone is forced out of their homes and into crowded camps? No one is able to work or even leave the camp because of the conflict and all authority is skewed.

This was one impact of the war that I couldn’t see because I had no reference of what Acholi communities and families should look like, but I quickly learned that neither did my Acholi peers. People my age had to ask their elders for guidance on what was ‘normal’ for their society.

This year when OA was in Gulu, I was able to see some aspects of Acholi culture re-emerging. As I’ve mentioned before there were signs that families were returning to more traditional living arrangements in homesteads or small farms instead of internally displaced persons camps. In the soccer camps for peace, the Youth Coalition for Peace (OA’s partner in Gulu) was working to support the re-building of Acholi culture. The daily peace talks often included traditional teachings and, as you may have seen in this video blog, Acholi dance was incorporated into the daily warm-up activities. The Youth Coalition for Peace (YCFP) also supports local dance and drama groups across the region who use those mediums to promote cultural resurrection. As we are planning future projects in northern Uganda we are working with the YCFP to find even more ways to tailor the coaching curriculum and the soccer camps for peace to Acholi culture.