At least 20 ceremonies and rituals practiced by the Acholi tribe as part of their cultural beliefs have been documented in the last one year alone.
The cultural practices include mato oput (the Acholi justice system), dances, customary marriage, dressing and rituals among others.
In the process, artifacts such as pots, shield, bangles and other art works were also collected with support from UN agency, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which has injected millions of shillings in an attempt to revive the dying intangible cultural heritage among tribes in Uganda.
Mr Quinto Okello, the Director for Gulu Theatre Artists, the cultural group which carried out the documentation noted that up to 68 Acholi traditional practices that were practiced from time immemorial are under threat.
Okello warned that with time, if such beliefs are not written down, they are likely to disappear completely.
Okello cited funeral rite ceremony as one of the practices that have its meaning changed.
He explained that unlike in the past where Acholi used drum to celebrate the life of an elderly person who has passed on to join the ancestors in their resting place, currently; the modern music system is being used.
Mr Daniel Kaweesi, the Programme Officer at Uganda National Commission for UNESCO, says the documentation will help to preserve and safeguard the rituals and ceremonies among the cultures which are facing a lot of threat.
Kaweesi noted that if nothing is done, such practices may die completely in the future without a trace.
He explained that values and culture govern and shape the behavior of a society and if it disappears, it is likely to lead to loss of identity of a particular tribe.
“Such knowledge helps in innovation, peaceful coexistence and solution to problems an example is Mato Oput which is widely practiced among the Acholi tribe is a restorative justice system,” Kaweesi said.
He explained that Mato Oput as a traditional justice mechanism has been tested by fore parents of Acholi as the best way of resolving disputes and if dies, that can lead to danger for the future generation to come.
Kaweesi described the intangible cultural practices as software which suppresses bad behaviors in a society.
The rituals are reported to be under threat following the long insurgency as well as threat from the western culture.
Mr Alfred Ongaya Acellam, an elder at Ker Kwaro Acholi, the Acholi cultural institution admitted that it is not only the intangible cultural heritage of the Acholi community which is at danger of extinction but the language as well.
Acellam blamed the problem on the youth saying, “Many children don’t learn their mother-tongues, so languages need to be protected and more widely taught in order to survive.”
But Mr Okello P’ Layeng, a literature and history teacher in Gulu says, “Language is dynamic and will keep on evolving as people come into contact with outsiders.”
The Principal Cultural Officer at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Ms Cecilia Ajom who was in Gulu on Tuesday asked parents to keep teaching their children the good cultural values so that they can treasure the spirit of peaceful coexistence with other cultures.
There is growing fear among Acholi elders that the local Lwo (Luo) language spoken by majorly the Acholi tribe is under threat because of neglect and outside influences.
With Uganda being one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world with 60 spoken languages, Luo or Acholi is the fourth widely spoken language.
UNESCO warned that half the world’s 6,000 languages could disappear by the end of the century unless steps are taken to preserve and encourage their use.
2 Comments
Excellent article, really important issue. We have to preserve our culture
ho my greatness, it’s by chance that am here to say some thing pertaining our diminishing culture and beauty. this is real and it really needs some great thinking on how we can rebuild our culture, it understandable that as the world zeros to a Globe certain things will be dropped but we need to preserve those that are relevant to the current trends such as the Acholi justice systems among others.