Acholi Part 3 and Acholi People Traditional Religious Beliefs
All you should know about Acholi People, Acholi Part 3 and Traditional Religion of Acholi People in Uganda. The Acholi people believed in a supreme being called jok. The shrine for jok was known as abila. All sacrifices, private and public were offered inside the abila. The spirits of the dead were known to appear near the abila. However, these spirits had no permanent dwellings. There were believed to wander about and there thereafter appear by signs.
They were worshiped so that they could assist the bereaved ones or exercise their power to make hunting successful or scare evil spirits away from the village. They were believed to help the surviving members of the families if they were treated well. Accordingly, they were offered meat, pudding, simsim and beer during the appropriate times of the sacrifices at the abila. It is interesting to note that there was the Christian idea of God among the Acholi as Jok. However, when the missionaries came, they forced the Acholi to adopt the idea of Lubanga to represent God. Formerly, among the Acholi, the term Lubaga or Lubaya was used to mean death or evil. Lubanga was known to cause evil and kill people. Every bad thing was attributed to Lubanga just as every good thing was attributed to Jok. No huts or shrines were built for Lubanga in the villages. Sacrifices, or cooking for Lubanga was done outside the village and the dung of fowls was often added in his food as another step to degrade him. Yet this same Lubanga is now the idea of God which the Christians forced the Acholi to adopt. Learn about Dance of Acholi People The Acholi people have eight different types of dances namely; lalobaloba, otiti, bwola, myel awal (winyela), apiti, ladongo, myel wanga and atira. In the lalobaloba dance, no drums are used. The people dance in a circle. The men form the outer ring. A man may move and hold a girl’s hand above his head. There are no special occasions for this dance. All dancers carry sticks. In the otiti dance, all male dancers carry spears and shields. The dancers encircle drums which are usually attached to a post in the middle of the arena. This dance involves more shouting than singing; in the end, spears and shields are put down and the dance is converted into lalobaloba. The bwola dance is the most important. It is the chief’s dance and is only performed on his orders. The men form a large circle and each of them carries a drum. The movement of the feet matches rhythmically with the beating of the drums. The girls dance separately inside the circle without beating the drums. The dance had a definite leader and he moves by himself within the circle. He sets the time and leads the singing. He is considered an important person and traditionally he was among the few people community allowed to wear a leopard skin. The myel awal dance was a funeral dance. The women wail around the grave when the men armed with spears and shields dance lalobaloba. Apiti was a dance for the girls. Men were not supposed to participate. The girls danced in a line and sang. It was usually held in the middle of the year when the rains were good. Ladongo was danced following a successful hunt when the hunters were still away from their homes. In this dance, men and women faced each other in two lines and jumped up and down clapping their hands. In the myel wanga dance, men sat down and played their nanga (harps) while in front of them the women danced apiti. This dance was usually held after marriages or at beer parties. Then there was atira dance. It is now completely outdated. It was held on the eve of a battle. All the dancers were armed and they went through the motions of spear fighting and thrusting. From Acholi Part 3 Back to Uganda Visit and Travel Guide Home Page
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