Karamojong
Encyclopedia
The Karamojong or Karimojong, are an ethnic group of agro-pastoral herders living mainly in the north-east of Uganda
. Their language is also known as Karamojong
or Karimojong, and is part of the Nilo-Saharan language group.
region in the north-east of Uganda
, occupying an area equivalent to one tenth of the country. According to anthropologists, the Karamojong are part of a group that migrated from present-day Ethiopia
around 1600 A.D. and split into two branches, with one branch moving to present day Kenya
to form the Kalenjin group and Maasai cluster. The other branch, called Ateker, migrated westwards. Ateker further split into several groups, including Turkana
in present day Kenya, Iteso
, Dodoth
, Jie
, Karamojong, and Kumam in present day Uganda, also Jiye
and Toposa in southern Sudan all of them together now known as the "Teso Cluster" or "Karamojong Cluster".
It is said that the Karamojong were originally known as the Jie. The name Karamojong derived from phrase "ekar ngimojong", meaning "the old men can walk no farther". According to tradition, the peoples now known as the Karamojong Cluster or Teso Cluster are said to have migrated from Abyssinia between the 1600 and 1700 AD as a single group. When they reached the area around the modern Kenyan-Ethiopian border, they are said to have fragmented into several groups including those that became Turkana, Toposa, and the Dodoth. The group that became known as the Toposa continued to present day southern Sudan; the Dodoth, settled in Apule in the northern part of present day Karamoja. The Turkana settled in Kenya where they are now and today's Jie of Uganda are thought to have split from them, moving up the escarpment into today's Kotido District. The main body continued southwards, reportedly consisting of seven groups or clans who settled in today's southern Karamoja, eventually merging to become the three clans now existing: the Matheniko in the east around Moroto mountain, the Pian in the south and the Bokora in the west. However, a significant sized group went west and formed the Iteso, the Kumam, and the Langi. It was this group who were said to have used the phrase "the old men can walk no farther".
, the people and the language have the convenient prefixes ŋi- and ŋa- respectively. Lack of a prefix indicates the land where they live. All the above mentioned branches from Ateker speak languages that are mutually intelligible. (The Lango
in Uganda are also ethnically and genetically close to the ŋiKarimojong, evidenced by similar names among other things, though they adopted a dialect of the Luo language).
activity of the Karamojong is herding
livestock
, which has social and cultural importance. Crop cultivation is a secondary activity, undertaken only in areas where it is practicable.
Due to the arid
climate
of the region, the Karamojong have always practiced a sort of pastoral transhumance
, where for 3-4 months in a year, they move their livestock to the neighboring districts in search of water and pasture for their animals.
The availability of food and water is always a concern and has an impact on the Karamojong's interaction with other ethnic groups.
Spencer, Paul (1998), The Pastoral Continuum: The Marginalization of Tradition in East Africa, Clarendon Press, Oxford (pp. 99-119).]
The Karamojong are in constant conflict with their neighbors in Uganda, Sudan
and Kenya
due to frequent cattle raids. This could be partly due to a traditional belief that the Karamojong own all the cattle by a divine right, but also because cattle are also an important element in the negotiations for a bride and young men use the raids as a rite of passage and way of increasing their herds to gain status. In recent years the nature and the outcome of the raids have become increasingly violent with the acquisition of AK47s by the Karamojong.
The Ugandan government have attempted to broker deals for weapons amnesties, but the number of cattle the Karamojong have wanted per gun has proved too steep for any meaningful agreement to be made.
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. Their language is also known as Karamojong
Karamojong language
The Karamojong Language is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken mainly in the Karamoja subregion of north-eastern Uganda....
or Karimojong, and is part of the Nilo-Saharan language group.
History
The Karamojong live in the southern part of KaramojaKaramoja
Karamoja sub-region, commonly known as Karamoja, is a region in Northern Uganda.-Location:The subregion, is located in northeastern Uganda and comprises the following seven districts:* Abim District* Amudat District* Kaabong District...
region in the north-east of Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, occupying an area equivalent to one tenth of the country. According to anthropologists, the Karamojong are part of a group that migrated from present-day Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
around 1600 A.D. and split into two branches, with one branch moving to present day Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
to form the Kalenjin group and Maasai cluster. The other branch, called Ateker, migrated westwards. Ateker further split into several groups, including Turkana
Turkana people
The Turkana are a Nilotic people native to the Turkana District in northwest Kenya, a dry and hot region bordering Lake Turkana in the east, Pokot, Rendille and Samburuto the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan and Ethiopia to the north...
in present day Kenya, Iteso
Iteso
The Teso are an ethnic group in eastern Uganda and western Kenya. Teso refers to the traditional homeland of the Iteso, and Ateso is their language.-Uganda:...
, Dodoth
Dodoth people
The Dodoth are an ethnic group in north eastern Uganda. They belong to the Karamojong Cluster, which also includes the Karamojong and Jie people.Their language is a dialect of the Karamojong language.-Location:...
, Jie
Jie (Uganda)
The Jie are an ethnic group of Uganda. They belong to the Karamojong Cluster, which also includes the Karamojong and Dodoth people.Their country in northeast Uganda lies between the Dodoth to the north and the Karamojong to the south....
, Karamojong, and Kumam in present day Uganda, also Jiye
Jiye people
The Jiye are an ethnic group living in the Kathangor Hills in the South Sudanese state of Eastern Equatoria....
and Toposa in southern Sudan all of them together now known as the "Teso Cluster" or "Karamojong Cluster".
It is said that the Karamojong were originally known as the Jie. The name Karamojong derived from phrase "ekar ngimojong", meaning "the old men can walk no farther". According to tradition, the peoples now known as the Karamojong Cluster or Teso Cluster are said to have migrated from Abyssinia between the 1600 and 1700 AD as a single group. When they reached the area around the modern Kenyan-Ethiopian border, they are said to have fragmented into several groups including those that became Turkana, Toposa, and the Dodoth. The group that became known as the Toposa continued to present day southern Sudan; the Dodoth, settled in Apule in the northern part of present day Karamoja. The Turkana settled in Kenya where they are now and today's Jie of Uganda are thought to have split from them, moving up the escarpment into today's Kotido District. The main body continued southwards, reportedly consisting of seven groups or clans who settled in today's southern Karamoja, eventually merging to become the three clans now existing: the Matheniko in the east around Moroto mountain, the Pian in the south and the Bokora in the west. However, a significant sized group went west and formed the Iteso, the Kumam, and the Langi. It was this group who were said to have used the phrase "the old men can walk no farther".
Language
Related to Turkana: in the Karamojong languageKaramojong language
The Karamojong Language is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken mainly in the Karamoja subregion of north-eastern Uganda....
, the people and the language have the convenient prefixes ŋi- and ŋa- respectively. Lack of a prefix indicates the land where they live. All the above mentioned branches from Ateker speak languages that are mutually intelligible. (The Lango
Lango
-Lango of Uganda:The Lango or Jo Lango live in the Lango sub-region , north of Lake Kyoga. Lango sub-region comprises the districts of Amolatar, Alebtong, Apac, Dokolo, Kole, Lira, Oyam, and Otuke...
in Uganda are also ethnically and genetically close to the ŋiKarimojong, evidenced by similar names among other things, though they adopted a dialect of the Luo language).
Culture
The main livelihoodLivelihood
A person's livelihood referers to "means of securing the necessities of life". For instance a fisherman's livelihood depends on the availability and accessibility of fish.- In social sciences :...
activity of the Karamojong is herding
Herding
Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group , maintaining the group and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. While the layperson uses the term "herding", most individuals involved in the process term it mustering, "working stock" or...
livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
, which has social and cultural importance. Crop cultivation is a secondary activity, undertaken only in areas where it is practicable.
Due to the arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
of the region, the Karamojong have always practiced a sort of pastoral transhumance
Transhumance
Transhumance is the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and to lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Only the herds travel, with...
, where for 3-4 months in a year, they move their livestock to the neighboring districts in search of water and pasture for their animals.
The availability of food and water is always a concern and has an impact on the Karamojong's interaction with other ethnic groups.
Social organization
The dominant feature of Karamojong society is their age system, which is strictly based on generation. As successive generations have an increasing overlap in age, this leads logically to a breakdown of the system, which appears to have occurred after rules were relaxed in the nineteenth century among their close neighbours, the Jie. However, the Karamojong system is flexible enough to contain a build-up of tension between generations over a cycle of 50 years or so. When this can no longer be resolved peacefully, the breakdown in order leads to a switch in power from the ruling generation to their successors and a new status quo. The next changeover is expected around 2013. [Dyson-Hudson, Neville (1966), Karimojong Politics, Clarendon Press, Oxford.Spencer, Paul (1998), The Pastoral Continuum: The Marginalization of Tradition in East Africa, Clarendon Press, Oxford (pp. 99-119).]
Conflicts
The Karamojong have been involved in various conflicts centered on the practice of cattle raids.The Karamojong are in constant conflict with their neighbors in Uganda, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
due to frequent cattle raids. This could be partly due to a traditional belief that the Karamojong own all the cattle by a divine right, but also because cattle are also an important element in the negotiations for a bride and young men use the raids as a rite of passage and way of increasing their herds to gain status. In recent years the nature and the outcome of the raids have become increasingly violent with the acquisition of AK47s by the Karamojong.
The Ugandan government have attempted to broker deals for weapons amnesties, but the number of cattle the Karamojong have wanted per gun has proved too steep for any meaningful agreement to be made.