Toposa
Encyclopedia
The Toposa are an ethnic group in South Sudan
, living in the Greater Kapoeta
region of Eastern Equatoria state.
They have traditionally lived by herding cattle, sheep and goats, and in the past were involved in the ivory trade
. They have a tradition of constant low-level warfare, usually cattle raids, against their neighbors.
During the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) the Toposa helped the Sudan People's Liberation Army
(SPLA) at times, and at other times helped the Government of Sudan. After the war, sporadic clashes with neighboring tribes still remain a problem. The Toposa way of life is slowly being modernized, at the cost of eroding the traditional social organization.
, besides the Singaita
and Lokalyen rivers, and have a ritual center at Loyooro River. For seasonal grazing they migrate to Moruangipi and sometimes east into the Ilemi Triangle
.
Toposa people also live in the southeast of Jonglei
State.
Their main settlements include Kapoeta
, Riwoto and Narus
.
The land is semi-arid and rugged, with hills and ridges separated by shallow plains and seasonal streams.
Vegetation is limited to shrubs and short grass.
The Toposa mainly rely on cattle, sheep and goats, from which they obtain milk, blood, meat and leather.
During the wet season the animals graze near the villages. When the rains end, the men take the herds to dry season pasturage then slowly bring them back, grazing along the way, to arrive in the village when the next rainy season starts. Some areas of good pasturage cannot be used because of lack of drinking water.
The women also engage in limited agriculture in the river valleys. The main crop is sorghum
, grown on fertile clay soils. Depending on conditions there may be severe shortages or large surpluses. The Toposa country has low, unpredictable rainfall. The streams are torrential, flowing only in the rainy season.
is a Nilotic language.
It belongs to the Turkana group, which also includes Karamojong
of Uganda, Nyangatom
of Ethiopia and Turkana
of Kenya.
The Turkana and Toposa languages are so close that they are mutually intelligible.
Other names for the Toposa language are Akara, Kare, Kumi, Taposa and Topotha.
The Toposa economy and social life revolves around herding livestock, including cattle, camels, donkeys, goats and sheep. The Toposa also pan for gold and other precious minerals in the stream beds.
Boys are first given care of goats and sheep, then graduate to looking after cattle when they come of age.
They may travel considerable distances seeking water and pasturage.
Possession of cattle, along with possession of a loaded gun, are the main measures of status and wealth. Cattle are central to Toposa culture.
The Toposa have always competed for water and pasturage with their neighbors, and have always engaged in cattle rustling.
The traditional Toposa weapon was a long throwing spear, used in raids in conjunction with a shield. The attacker would run forward zigzagging to dodge missiles, hurl his spear and then retreat, ready to ambush a pursuing enemy.
The Toposa share the habit of constant low-level warfare, mainly to capture cattle, with their neighbors. According to P.H. Gulliver, writing in 1952, "Turkana
made war on all their neighbours with the exception of the Jie
, with whom they occasionally allied themselves against the Karamajong and the Dodoth
. Karamajong similarly made war on all their neighbors with the exception of the Dudoth, with whom they occasionally allied themselves against the Jie. Jie claim friendship with the Toposa, but since they have no common boundaries this would have been of little importance. Toposa and Donyiro did not fight each other, and are known to have formed an alliance against the Turkana. Toposa and Jiye
were enemies".
Women are expected to remain at home farming, cooking, raising children and caring for the elderly.
This division of labour can be inefficient. When an NGO introduced ox cultivation, at first they decided it would be easier to have men undertake the ploughing, although cultivation was women's work, than to have women intrude into the men's world of animal husbandry. Later they decided that women should be allowed to plough, but councils of elders rejected the notion. However, Toposa elders have limited power and the NGO went ahead and trained some women in ox ploughing, mostly widows and orphans. The experiment ended in 1985 when rebel forces arrived in the area, a disaster the elders naturally attributed to letting women manage cattle.
There is no clear political organization among the Toposa, although respect is paid to elders, chiefs and wise men.
Most decisions about the clan or community are made in meetings attended only by the men, traditionally held in the dark hours before the dawn.
Matters of war and peace are decided by the sections councils of the elders, and the elders have sacral power over rain and drought.
Captain King, a soldier of the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium who conquered the Toposa and ruled them for sixteen years, wrote: "There seems no doubt that prior to the advent of the Abyssinians even the idea of 'the Chief' was entirely unknown to the Topotha; the affairs of section and nation were regulated by the leaders of the ruling class, next but one above the warrior class... Gifted individuals such as Tuliabong or Lotukol, himself an elder, might by their force of character or prowess come to exercise unusual sway; but this was purely personal and there was no concept of it passing on his death to his son".
The Toposa believe in a supreme being and in ancestral spirits, who may assist in overcoming problems such as drought or epidemics of disease among their herds.
They believe that men originally lived with "Nakwuge" in the sky, but many slid down a rope to earth. The rope then broke, separating them from heaven.
As of 2000, perhaps 5% of the population could read.
The Toposa culture is orally transmitted through songs, dance, music, poems and folklore.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Torit has been actively proselytizing among the Toposa, with some success.
in south eastern South Sudan and south western Ethiopia, and the Turkana people
of Kenya.
The Toposa say that they originated in the Losolia Mountains in Uganda, moving away during a severe drought that killed both people and animals.
A mortal quarrel between the Lwo and Tap (ancestors of the Taposa) people was thought to have upset the harmony of all life in northern Uganda, causing a great famine in 1587–1623. People were forced to move away for great distances, and those who remained were reduced to cannibalism.
After leaving the heartland of the original group the ancestors of the Toposa settled at Losilang
for a while, then drifted north in search of grazing. At Loyoro
one group, the Nyangatom or Dongiro, went east, while the Mosingo and Kor sections of the Toposa, under pressure from the Turkana, moved west and had settled in Kapoeta by 1830.
The Lotuho have a tradition that their glorious kingdom of Imatari was destroyed by the Toposa some time around the start of the nineteenth century. An exiled king of the Lotuho had taken refuge in Toposaland, alone apart from his dog. He returned with a band of Toposa who encircled the city. When the people took refuge in the king's palace, which had strong walls, the Toposa pushed over the walls. After the battle the Lotuhu dispersed to villages in their current territory.
The Toposa became involved in the ivory trade in the late 19th and early 20th century.
When Muhammad Ahmad
established the Mahdiyya in 1881 the effect was to almost stop trade in ivory through Sudan to the north. Instead, exports began flowing through Ethiopia.
As the British established a presence in Sudan and East Africa in the 1890s, they imposed regulations preventing export through their territory of immature or female ivory. In response, the Toposa turned increasingly to Maji
in Ethiopia as a market for their ivory.
Before the 1914–1918 war, Ethiopian influence stretched westward to the Kidepo River
and beyond, and the ivory trade in this area was unaffected before 1927.
The Toposa developed close relations with Swahili traders, and intermarriage was common.
The Toposa language became a lingua franca to the west of Lake Rudolf and throughout most of Eastern Equatoria. The trade route between Mbale
in what is now Uganda and Maji ran through Toposa territory, not because it was the shortest route, but because it had dependable year-round water and donkeys could be readily obtained to carry ivory.
Another route ran from Maji by way of Obawok, North Lafit, Lafon
and the Badigeru swamp
to the Nile
.
The ivory trade brought arms and ammunition from Ethiopia into Toposa territory, and these were used in joint cattle raids with the Swahili on neighbouring people.
The government of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
"pacified" the Toposa territory in 1926/1927. Around the same time, the British East African government established posts in northern Turkanaland
to the south.
With steadily tightening restrictions, by the early 1930s the Toposa were the main remaining traders in ivory in the southern Sudanese lowlands.
The Toposa country remained part of Sudan
when that country became independent in 1956.
The First Sudanese Civil War
, which lasted from 1955 until 1972, had some impact on the Toposa.
The Second Sudanese Civil War
, breaking out in 1983, had a massive impact.
(SPLA) at times, and at other times helped the Government of Sudan.
The Toposa took a pragmatic approach, ostensibly siding with whoever gave them the most food and weapons.
The SPLA alternated between violence and a more conciliatory approach to the Toposa. In 1985–1986 the SPLA attacked the civilian population of the Toposa, which it deemed "hostile". From 1987 the SPLA began an attempt to improve relations with the civilians. By 1988 some of the SPLA fighters were Toposa.
The Sudan Armed Forces sought to exploit traditional tensions between the Toposa and the Dinka people, to whom many of the SPLA leaders belonged, by supplying arms and ammunition to the Toposa.
The firearms were used both to protect and increase wealth in animals, and became a symbol of wealth in themselves. During the 1990s the government of Sudan issued at least 50,000 small arms to the Toposa.
In 1992 an AK-47
supplied by the government could be traded for ten cows, or the SPLA would provide G3
rifles in exchange for the AK-47s.
Raids by the now well-armed Toposa on their neighbors, such as the Suri people of Ethiopia, increased drastically.
Internally Displaced People (IDPs) moving through Toposa territory were subject to harassment by Toposa militia or bandits.
Kapoeta
, a town in Toposa country, had been captured by the SPLA on 25 February 1988.
The government armed the Toposa so they could fight the SPLA and also fight their traditional rivals the Lotuko people.
In March 1992, Toposa militia staged attacks on relief columns attempting to bring supplies into Kapoeta
.
Refugees escaping from Pochalla, which had fallen to the Sudanese government, were attacked by Toposa militia as they made their way to Kapoeta.
On 28 May 1992, the government regained Kapoeta in a surprise attack. The Toposa militia, with their knowledge of the terrain, played a central role.
The evacuated civilians from Kapeota moved south to Narus, and from there over 20,000 went on to Lokichokio
in Kenya, including 12,500 unaccompanied minors.
According to Amnesty International, the SPLA started a policy of "deliberate and arbitrary killing of civilians of Toposa ethnicity around Kapoeta ... in retaliation for the involvement of Toposa pro-government militia in the capture of Kapoeta and subsequent attacks on refugees fleeing the town".
By the late 1990s, serious efforts were being made to reduce ethnic tensions.
The Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources sponsored harmonization workshops and meetings to resolve and prevent conflicts among pastorialist communities such as the Toposa and their neighbors.
The participants in a Didinga-Turkana-Toposa-Nyangatom
women's workshop in February 2000 undertook responsibility for discouraging further livestock rustling and raiding between the communities.
The role of women, willing to cross the boundaries and unilaterally initiate peace talks, is without precedent and has been crucial.
The Catholic Diocese of Torit was active in resolving conflicts among the Toposa, and conflicts between the Toposa, Didinga and Boya
, and the Toposa Development Authority had been established to promote development and peacebuilding among the Toposa.
. In the dry season the Toposa would drive their cattle to the Didinga Hills
for water and pasture until the rains began in Toposa land. In the past, this practice was carried out by agreement between the two communities, with a gift being made in exchange for the right to access the pasturage. With the proliferation of guns and breakdown of order during the civil war, the traditional protocols were ignored and violence became common.
In May 2007 Toposa tribesmen of Namorunyang raided the Ngauro Payam of Budi County
, attacked a group that were resting after working in a collectively-owned field, and took 300 head of cattle and 400 goats or sheep.
49 women, 4 children and 5 men were killed, while others were wounded.
Nadapal
, just across the border in Kenya
, is a fertile area in which many Toposa took refuge during the civil war.
With the end of the conflict, some Kenyans wanted the Toposa of the Nadapal area to return to South Sudan. The Toposa resisted, perhaps in part because they felt that tribes such as the Dinka and Nuer resented the Toposa backing of the Government of Sudan during the civil war, and they would therefore be treated as an unwelcome minority in Eastern Equatoria.
There were ongoing clashes between the Toposa and Turkana in this area.
A May 2010 report said the fighting between Toposa and Turkana had claimed over 40 lives and about 4,000 livestock had been stolen.It also said that George Echom
, Deputy Governor of Eastern Equatorial State, had claimed that Nadapal belonged to South Sudan.
A 1982 report said there were 105,000 speakers of the Toposa language, including 95000 along both sides of the Zingietta and Lokalyen rivers, and 10,000 in Ethiopia.
More recent reports give a much higher population.
In recent times, improvements have been made in health care, water supply and veterinary services.
Many of the Toposa children now attend school in Narus and Natinga
. These changes are profoundly affecting the traditional social organization.
Women are starting to take a more prominent role in resolving disputes.
The Governor of Eastern Equatoria, who took office in May 2010, is former Brigadier General Louis Lobong Lojore. He is a Toposa from Kapoeta East County.
South Sudan
South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
, living in the Greater Kapoeta
Greater Kapoeta
Greater Kapoeta is the name given to the eastern half of Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan, at one time an administrative region with headquarters in the town of Kapoeta....
region of Eastern Equatoria state.
They have traditionally lived by herding cattle, sheep and goats, and in the past were involved in the ivory trade
Ivory trade
The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, Asian and African elephants....
. They have a tradition of constant low-level warfare, usually cattle raids, against their neighbors.
During the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) the Toposa helped the Sudan People's Liberation Army
Sudan People's Liberation Army
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as a rebel political movement with a military wing known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army estimated at 180,000 soldiers. The SPLM fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War against the Sudanese...
(SPLA) at times, and at other times helped the Government of Sudan. After the war, sporadic clashes with neighboring tribes still remain a problem. The Toposa way of life is slowly being modernized, at the cost of eroding the traditional social organization.
Location
The Toposa people live in Greater KapoetaGreater Kapoeta
Greater Kapoeta is the name given to the eastern half of Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan, at one time an administrative region with headquarters in the town of Kapoeta....
, besides the Singaita
Singaita River
The Singaita River is a river in Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan that flows through the town of Kapoeta....
and Lokalyen rivers, and have a ritual center at Loyooro River. For seasonal grazing they migrate to Moruangipi and sometimes east into the Ilemi Triangle
Ilemi Triangle
The Ilemi Triangle is an area of disputed land in East Africa. Arbitrarily defined, it measures between 10,320 and 14,000 square kilometers . Named after Anuak chief Ilemi Akwon, the territory is claimed by South Sudan and Kenya and borders Ethiopia...
.
Toposa people also live in the southeast of Jonglei
Jonglei
Jonglei is one of the 10 states of South Sudan. Jonglei is the largest state in the Republic of South Sudan, with approximately 122,479 km2, as well as the most populous according to the controversial 2008 census conducted during present-day South Sudan's second period of autonomy. Bor is the...
State.
Their main settlements include Kapoeta
Kapoeta
Kapoeta is a town in South Sudan. It is located in Kapoeta South County, in Eastern Equatoria State, in southeastern South Sudan.-Location:The town lies on the east bank of the Singaita River...
, Riwoto and Narus
Narus, South Sudan
Narus is a community in the Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan. It is the principal community of Kapoeta East County.-Location:Narus is north of the Kenyan border on the road from Kapoeta to Lokichoggio in Kenya....
.
The land is semi-arid and rugged, with hills and ridges separated by shallow plains and seasonal streams.
Vegetation is limited to shrubs and short grass.
The Toposa mainly rely on cattle, sheep and goats, from which they obtain milk, blood, meat and leather.
During the wet season the animals graze near the villages. When the rains end, the men take the herds to dry season pasturage then slowly bring them back, grazing along the way, to arrive in the village when the next rainy season starts. Some areas of good pasturage cannot be used because of lack of drinking water.
The women also engage in limited agriculture in the river valleys. The main crop is sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
, grown on fertile clay soils. Depending on conditions there may be severe shortages or large surpluses. The Toposa country has low, unpredictable rainfall. The streams are torrential, flowing only in the rainy season.
Culture
The Toposa languageToposa language
-External links:*...
is a Nilotic language.
It belongs to the Turkana group, which also includes Karamojong
Karamojong language
The Karamojong Language is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken mainly in the Karamoja subregion of north-eastern Uganda....
of Uganda, Nyangatom
Nyangatom language
Nyangatom is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken in Ethiopia by the Nyangatom people. It is an oral language only, having no working orthography at present...
of Ethiopia and Turkana
Turkana language
Turkana is the language of the Turkana people of Kenya, numbering about 340,000.It is one of the Eastern Nilotic languages, and is closely related to Karamojong, Jie and Teso of Uganda, to Toposa spoken in the extreme southeast of Sudan, and to Nyangatom in the Sudan/Ethiopia Omo valley borderland;...
of Kenya.
The Turkana and Toposa languages are so close that they are mutually intelligible.
Other names for the Toposa language are Akara, Kare, Kumi, Taposa and Topotha.
The Toposa economy and social life revolves around herding livestock, including cattle, camels, donkeys, goats and sheep. The Toposa also pan for gold and other precious minerals in the stream beds.
Boys are first given care of goats and sheep, then graduate to looking after cattle when they come of age.
They may travel considerable distances seeking water and pasturage.
Possession of cattle, along with possession of a loaded gun, are the main measures of status and wealth. Cattle are central to Toposa culture.
The Toposa have always competed for water and pasturage with their neighbors, and have always engaged in cattle rustling.
The traditional Toposa weapon was a long throwing spear, used in raids in conjunction with a shield. The attacker would run forward zigzagging to dodge missiles, hurl his spear and then retreat, ready to ambush a pursuing enemy.
The Toposa share the habit of constant low-level warfare, mainly to capture cattle, with their neighbors. According to P.H. Gulliver, writing in 1952, "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...
made war on all their neighbours with the exception of the 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....
, with whom they occasionally allied themselves against the Karamajong and the 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:...
. Karamajong similarly made war on all their neighbors with the exception of the Dudoth, with whom they occasionally allied themselves against the Jie. Jie claim friendship with the Toposa, but since they have no common boundaries this would have been of little importance. Toposa and Donyiro did not fight each other, and are known to have formed an alliance against the Turkana. Toposa and Jiye
Jiye people
The Jiye are an ethnic group living in the Kathangor Hills in the South Sudanese state of Eastern Equatoria....
were enemies".
Women are expected to remain at home farming, cooking, raising children and caring for the elderly.
This division of labour can be inefficient. When an NGO introduced ox cultivation, at first they decided it would be easier to have men undertake the ploughing, although cultivation was women's work, than to have women intrude into the men's world of animal husbandry. Later they decided that women should be allowed to plough, but councils of elders rejected the notion. However, Toposa elders have limited power and the NGO went ahead and trained some women in ox ploughing, mostly widows and orphans. The experiment ended in 1985 when rebel forces arrived in the area, a disaster the elders naturally attributed to letting women manage cattle.
There is no clear political organization among the Toposa, although respect is paid to elders, chiefs and wise men.
Most decisions about the clan or community are made in meetings attended only by the men, traditionally held in the dark hours before the dawn.
Matters of war and peace are decided by the sections councils of the elders, and the elders have sacral power over rain and drought.
Captain King, a soldier of the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium who conquered the Toposa and ruled them for sixteen years, wrote: "There seems no doubt that prior to the advent of the Abyssinians even the idea of 'the Chief' was entirely unknown to the Topotha; the affairs of section and nation were regulated by the leaders of the ruling class, next but one above the warrior class... Gifted individuals such as Tuliabong or Lotukol, himself an elder, might by their force of character or prowess come to exercise unusual sway; but this was purely personal and there was no concept of it passing on his death to his son".
The Toposa believe in a supreme being and in ancestral spirits, who may assist in overcoming problems such as drought or epidemics of disease among their herds.
They believe that men originally lived with "Nakwuge" in the sky, but many slid down a rope to earth. The rope then broke, separating them from heaven.
As of 2000, perhaps 5% of the population could read.
The Toposa culture is orally transmitted through songs, dance, music, poems and folklore.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Torit has been actively proselytizing among the Toposa, with some success.
Early history
The Toposa belong to what has been called the "Karamojong cluster", which includes the Karamojong people of Uganda, the Dongiro people and Jiye peopleJiye people
The Jiye are an ethnic group living in the Kathangor Hills in the South Sudanese state of Eastern Equatoria....
in south eastern South Sudan and south western Ethiopia, and the Turkana people
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...
of Kenya.
The Toposa say that they originated in the Losolia Mountains in Uganda, moving away during a severe drought that killed both people and animals.
A mortal quarrel between the Lwo and Tap (ancestors of the Taposa) people was thought to have upset the harmony of all life in northern Uganda, causing a great famine in 1587–1623. People were forced to move away for great distances, and those who remained were reduced to cannibalism.
After leaving the heartland of the original group the ancestors of the Toposa settled at Losilang
Losilang
Losilang is a Sub-County in Kotido District of northern Uganda. It lies to the northeast of Kotido town.It has an area of .Estimated population in 2009 was 17,000.Losilang was one of the early centers of the Karamojong cluster of related people...
for a while, then drifted north in search of grazing. At Loyoro
Loyoro, South Sudan
Loyoro is a community in Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan, about as the crow flies to the north east of Narus.It lies on the Loyoro River.Loyoro is part of the Narus parish of the Catholic Diocese of Torit....
one group, the Nyangatom or Dongiro, went east, while the Mosingo and Kor sections of the Toposa, under pressure from the Turkana, moved west and had settled in Kapoeta by 1830.
The Lotuho have a tradition that their glorious kingdom of Imatari was destroyed by the Toposa some time around the start of the nineteenth century. An exiled king of the Lotuho had taken refuge in Toposaland, alone apart from his dog. He returned with a band of Toposa who encircled the city. When the people took refuge in the king's palace, which had strong walls, the Toposa pushed over the walls. After the battle the Lotuhu dispersed to villages in their current territory.
The Toposa became involved in the ivory trade in the late 19th and early 20th century.
When Muhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith...
established the Mahdiyya in 1881 the effect was to almost stop trade in ivory through Sudan to the north. Instead, exports began flowing through Ethiopia.
As the British established a presence in Sudan and East Africa in the 1890s, they imposed regulations preventing export through their territory of immature or female ivory. In response, the Toposa turned increasingly to Maji
Maji
Maji is a town in southern Ethiopia. It is located on the Boma Plateau, lying in the Bench Maji Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, and has a longitude and latitude of with an elevation variously given as 2104, 2258 and 2430 meters above sea level...
in Ethiopia as a market for their ivory.
Before the 1914–1918 war, Ethiopian influence stretched westward to the Kidepo River
Kidepo River
The Kidepo River is a seasonal river along the Kidepo Valley in the Karamoja region of Uganda, and in East Equatoria area of South Sudan.-See also:* List of rivers of Uganda* List of rivers of South Sudan...
and beyond, and the ivory trade in this area was unaffected before 1927.
The Toposa developed close relations with Swahili traders, and intermarriage was common.
The Toposa language became a lingua franca to the west of Lake Rudolf and throughout most of Eastern Equatoria. The trade route between Mbale
Mbale
Mbale is a city in Eastern Uganda. It is the main municiplal, administrative and commercial center of Mbale District and the surrounding sub-region. The district is named after the town.-Location:...
in what is now Uganda and Maji ran through Toposa territory, not because it was the shortest route, but because it had dependable year-round water and donkeys could be readily obtained to carry ivory.
Another route ran from Maji by way of Obawok, North Lafit, Lafon
Lafon
-Places:* Lafon County, an administrative area in South Sudan* Lafon, South Sudan, the headquarters of Lafon County-People:* Barthelemy Lafon, a notable architect, engineer, city planner and surveyor in New Orleans, Louisiana* Jacky Lafon, an actress...
and the Badigeru swamp
Badigeru Swamp
The Badigeru swamp swamp lies in South Sudan, in the Central Equatoria and Eastern Equatoria states between Terekeka and Lafon....
to the Nile
White Nile
The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile from Egypt, the other being the Blue Nile. In the strict meaning, "White Nile" refers to the river formed at Lake No at the confluence of the Bahr al Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal rivers...
.
The ivory trade brought arms and ammunition from Ethiopia into Toposa territory, and these were used in joint cattle raids with the Swahili on neighbouring people.
The government of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan referred to the manner by which Sudan was administered between 1899 and 1956, when it was a condominium of Egypt and the United Kingdom.-Union with Egypt:...
"pacified" the Toposa territory in 1926/1927. Around the same time, the British East African government established posts in northern Turkanaland
Turkanaland
The land of the Turkana people. Turkanaland lies on the north- west corner of Kenya...
to the south.
With steadily tightening restrictions, by the early 1930s the Toposa were the main remaining traders in ivory in the southern Sudanese lowlands.
The Toposa country remained part of 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...
when that country became independent in 1956.
The First Sudanese Civil War
First Sudanese Civil War
The First Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1955 to 1972 between the northern part of Sudan and the southern Sudan region that demanded representation and more regional autonomy...
, which lasted from 1955 until 1972, had some impact on the Toposa.
The Second Sudanese Civil War
Second Sudanese Civil War
The Second Sudanese Civil War started in 1983, although it was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originated in southern Sudan, the civil war spread to the Nuba mountains and Blue Nile by the end of the 1980s....
, breaking out in 1983, had a massive impact.
Civil war
During the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) the Toposa helped the Sudan People's Liberation ArmySudan People's Liberation Army
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as a rebel political movement with a military wing known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army estimated at 180,000 soldiers. The SPLM fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War against the Sudanese...
(SPLA) at times, and at other times helped the Government of Sudan.
The Toposa took a pragmatic approach, ostensibly siding with whoever gave them the most food and weapons.
The SPLA alternated between violence and a more conciliatory approach to the Toposa. In 1985–1986 the SPLA attacked the civilian population of the Toposa, which it deemed "hostile". From 1987 the SPLA began an attempt to improve relations with the civilians. By 1988 some of the SPLA fighters were Toposa.
The Sudan Armed Forces sought to exploit traditional tensions between the Toposa and the Dinka people, to whom many of the SPLA leaders belonged, by supplying arms and ammunition to the Toposa.
The firearms were used both to protect and increase wealth in animals, and became a symbol of wealth in themselves. During the 1990s the government of Sudan issued at least 50,000 small arms to the Toposa.
In 1992 an AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
supplied by the government could be traded for ten cows, or the SPLA would provide G3
Heckler & Koch G3
The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....
rifles in exchange for the AK-47s.
Raids by the now well-armed Toposa on their neighbors, such as the Suri people of Ethiopia, increased drastically.
Internally Displaced People (IDPs) moving through Toposa territory were subject to harassment by Toposa militia or bandits.
Kapoeta
Kapoeta
Kapoeta is a town in South Sudan. It is located in Kapoeta South County, in Eastern Equatoria State, in southeastern South Sudan.-Location:The town lies on the east bank of the Singaita River...
, a town in Toposa country, had been captured by the SPLA on 25 February 1988.
The government armed the Toposa so they could fight the SPLA and also fight their traditional rivals the Lotuko people.
In March 1992, Toposa militia staged attacks on relief columns attempting to bring supplies into Kapoeta
Kapoeta
Kapoeta is a town in South Sudan. It is located in Kapoeta South County, in Eastern Equatoria State, in southeastern South Sudan.-Location:The town lies on the east bank of the Singaita River...
.
Refugees escaping from Pochalla, which had fallen to the Sudanese government, were attacked by Toposa militia as they made their way to Kapoeta.
On 28 May 1992, the government regained Kapoeta in a surprise attack. The Toposa militia, with their knowledge of the terrain, played a central role.
The evacuated civilians from Kapeota moved south to Narus, and from there over 20,000 went on to Lokichokio
Lokichokio
Lokichogio, also Lokichoggio or Lokichokio, is a town in the Turkana District, northwest of Kenya . It is often called Loki. The town lies on the A1 road, and is served by the Lokichogio Airport....
in Kenya, including 12,500 unaccompanied minors.
According to Amnesty International, the SPLA started a policy of "deliberate and arbitrary killing of civilians of Toposa ethnicity around Kapoeta ... in retaliation for the involvement of Toposa pro-government militia in the capture of Kapoeta and subsequent attacks on refugees fleeing the town".
By the late 1990s, serious efforts were being made to reduce ethnic tensions.
The Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources sponsored harmonization workshops and meetings to resolve and prevent conflicts among pastorialist communities such as the Toposa and their neighbors.
The participants in a Didinga-Turkana-Toposa-Nyangatom
Nyangatom people
The Nyangatom are a Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting southwestern Ethiopia and southeastern South Sudan...
women's workshop in February 2000 undertook responsibility for discouraging further livestock rustling and raiding between the communities.
The role of women, willing to cross the boundaries and unilaterally initiate peace talks, is without precedent and has been crucial.
The Catholic Diocese of Torit was active in resolving conflicts among the Toposa, and conflicts between the Toposa, Didinga and Boya
Boya people
The Boya are an ethnic group numbering 20,000 to 25,000 people living in Budi County, part of the Greater Kapoeta region of the South Sudanese state of Eastern Equatoria....
, and the Toposa Development Authority had been established to promote development and peacebuilding among the Toposa.
Recent events
There has been a long history of conflict between the Toposa of Namorunyang and the Didinga of Budi CountyBudi County
Budi County is an administrative area of Eastern Equatoria state in South Sudan, with headquarters in Chukudum.-Location:Budi county is located in the south of Eastern Equatoria state, bordered by Uganda to the south, Ikotos County to the south west, Lafon County to the north west, and Kapoeta to...
. In the dry season the Toposa would drive their cattle to the Didinga Hills
Didinga Hills
The Didinga Hills are an upland area in Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan, lying mainly within Budi County. They are named for the Didinga people who live in the region....
for water and pasture until the rains began in Toposa land. In the past, this practice was carried out by agreement between the two communities, with a gift being made in exchange for the right to access the pasturage. With the proliferation of guns and breakdown of order during the civil war, the traditional protocols were ignored and violence became common.
In May 2007 Toposa tribesmen of Namorunyang raided the Ngauro Payam of Budi County
Budi County
Budi County is an administrative area of Eastern Equatoria state in South Sudan, with headquarters in Chukudum.-Location:Budi county is located in the south of Eastern Equatoria state, bordered by Uganda to the south, Ikotos County to the south west, Lafon County to the north west, and Kapoeta to...
, attacked a group that were resting after working in a collectively-owned field, and took 300 head of cattle and 400 goats or sheep.
49 women, 4 children and 5 men were killed, while others were wounded.
Nadapal
Nadapal
Nadapal is a community in the north of the Turkana District of Kenya near the border with the Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan. The Nadapal belt is an area stretching southward from the border with South Sudan to Lokichogio in Kenya....
, just across the border in 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...
, is a fertile area in which many Toposa took refuge during the civil war.
With the end of the conflict, some Kenyans wanted the Toposa of the Nadapal area to return to South Sudan. The Toposa resisted, perhaps in part because they felt that tribes such as the Dinka and Nuer resented the Toposa backing of the Government of Sudan during the civil war, and they would therefore be treated as an unwelcome minority in Eastern Equatoria.
There were ongoing clashes between the Toposa and Turkana in this area.
A May 2010 report said the fighting between Toposa and Turkana had claimed over 40 lives and about 4,000 livestock had been stolen.It also said that George Echom
George Echom
George Echom Ekeno is a politician who was deputy governor of Eastern Equatoria state in South Sudan, and was later appointed state minister for Environment, Wildlife Conservation & Tourism....
, Deputy Governor of Eastern Equatorial State, had claimed that Nadapal belonged to South Sudan.
A 1982 report said there were 105,000 speakers of the Toposa language, including 95000 along both sides of the Zingietta and Lokalyen rivers, and 10,000 in Ethiopia.
More recent reports give a much higher population.
In recent times, improvements have been made in health care, water supply and veterinary services.
Many of the Toposa children now attend school in Narus and Natinga
Natinga
Natinga is a refugee camp and a school that was established in 1993 in South Sudan for boys forced from their homes by the Second Sudanese Civil War.It is the center of a payam in Kapoeta East County of Eastern Equatoria.-Location:...
. These changes are profoundly affecting the traditional social organization.
Women are starting to take a more prominent role in resolving disputes.
The Governor of Eastern Equatoria, who took office in May 2010, is former Brigadier General Louis Lobong Lojore. He is a Toposa from Kapoeta East County.