The Acholi people (also spelled Acoli) are a Luo nation found in Magwi County in South Sudan and Northern Uganda (an area commonly referred to as Acholiland), including the districts of Agago, Amuru, Gulu, Kitgum, Nwoya, Lamwo, and Pader. Approximately 1.47 million Acholi were counted in the Uganda census of 2014, and 45,000 more were living in South Sudan in 2000.

The Acholi dialect is a Western Nilotic language, classified as Luo (or Lwo). It is mutually intelligible with Lango, Alur and other Luo languages. The Luo language and dialect is spoken by the Luo groups who are currently settled in various locations including western Kenya, Eastern Uganda, Acholiland, West Nile in Uganda, and South Sudan.

The Song of Lawino, one of the most successful African literary works, was written by Okot p’Bitek in Acholi, and later translated to English.

Acholiland or “Acoli-land” (also known as the Acholi sub-region) is a necessarily inexact ethnolinguistic taxonomy that refers to the region traditionally inhabited by the Acholi. In the administrative structure of Uganda, Acholi is composed of the districts of:

• Agago
• Amuru
• Gulu
• Kitgum
• Lamwo
• Nwoya
• Pader
• Omoro

It encompasses about 28,500 km2 (11,000 square miles) near the Uganda-Sudan border.

Its current population is estimated to be around 600,000 individuals, or four percent of the total national population.[4] While Acholi also lives north of the South Sudanese border, the Sudanese Acholi are often excluded from the political meaning of the term “Acholiland”.

The word ‘Acholi’ is a misnomer that became adopted for convenience over the years. It refers to people known locally as Luo Gang. That is why the Lango neighbours refer to the Acholi as Ugangi, meaning people of the home.

According to Latigo, prior to colonialism, “the Acholi people maintained a traditional government that was rooted firmly in their religious beliefs, norms, and customs, which demanded peace and stability in Acholiland at all times, based on their philosophy of life. This structure was maintained by the real anointed chiefs of the Acholi, the rwodi moo.” Although they were believed to have supernatural powers, the chiefs ruled through a Council of Clan Elders, so they never ruled singlehandedly. The council’s representatives could mediate issues between clans, and essentially covered both civil and criminal functions, like a Supreme Court. It was a system of governance fully integrated with their religion and cosmology.

It was not until 1995 that a constitutional reform recognized such cultural leaders, but they have not been fully restored to previous powers, as so much of society has changed. In the pre-colonial era, all the Acholi believed in the same superior being, YA Latwer. Killing of a person was prohibited but if it took place, negotiations for blood money were led by the victim’s family, with agreement followed by rituals of a reconciliation ceremony to restore the killer to the community, and to bring peace between clans. In addition, the people have important rituals for cleansing homes and sites, to welcome back people who have been away a long time, to clear spirits from places where killings have occurred, and to welcome people who have been captive.

The system values peace over justice, and has retributive and restorative aspects. Most of the LRA returnees, numbering 12,000, underwent nyono tong gweno (‘stepping on the egg’) after returning to their home villages, to help restore them to home. It is important because it is intended to restore communities to balance, and to bring people back into relation in their home communities, where ideally they would return at the end of the war. Purifications or atonement practices are still performed by Acholi elders in some communities.

The religious leaders have tried to help end the conflict in the country of the last two decades and to reconcile the parties. “In 1997, the Catholic, Anglican, Muslim, and later the Orthodox religious leaders of Acholi formalized their increasing cooperation on peace issues by setting up the Acholi Religious Leaders’ Peace Initiative (ARLPI).” They have continued to work to end the war through negotiation. Kitgum, Pader and Gulu, the three districts of the Acholi sub-region, each established peace forums for continuing discussions. In addition, the peace forums have worked to help establish the Amnesty Commission. They have also “played a vital role in Acholi traditional reconciliation processes and in preparing the community to receive former combatants.” In discussing the peace talks of 2005–2007, Latigo noted leaders who called for a revival of the traditional processes of the indigenous people by which they worked for accountability and justice, namely, mato oput. Ruhakana Rugunda, the Ugandan minister of internal affairs and leader of the government negotiating team, noted the effectiveness of the traditional system. He and others have suggested it could help the nation more than adopting the Western system of the International Criminal Court at The Hague (although some charges had already been filed against LRA leaders in 2005 there.

Acholi Author Prize Winner, 2020