Acholi Part 4 is a page about Acholi Traditional Political Set Up, Acholi Economic Set Up. Learn more about about Acholis political life in Uganda.

Although the colonialists preferred to rank the Acholi among the stateless societies, the Acholi had a system of centralized government.

There were organized under chiefdoms each under a hereditary ruler known as Rwot.

The Rwot was a central figure and he had executive, judicial and legislative powers. In addition he was the link between the living and the dead.

It was his duty to offer sacrifices to the ancestors on behalf of his people.The society possessed chiefly regalia such as drums, spears, and stools. The administrative structures were not well stratified.

The general political organization could be likened to that of the pre-colonial kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro, Nkore, Toro and Buhaya states of Karagwe.

In fact the larger chiefdoms such as Payera and Padibe were bigger and more organized than some of the similar pre-colonial kingdoms of the south.

Tradition Economical set up of Acholi people

The Acholi people practiced mixed farming. They kept cattle, goats, sheep and fowls, in addition to practicing agriculture.

The main food crops included sorghum, millet, simsim and a wide assortment of beans.

They supplemented this with hunting.

The Acholi people practiced various types of hunting. The first of such types of hunting was line.

It took place during the dry season in December.

Another type was dwar arum. This took place in the dry season when there was no grass and this involved a lot of hunters.

The third type was dwar obwo. This was an ordinary type of hunt with spears and nets and it also involved a lot of hunters and dogs.

Another type of hunting of Acholi people was called kirange. It was held during the early rainy season when the rivers would be slightly flooded. The game was driven into the rivers and separated in the water.

Normally, there was little opportunity for hunting during the rainy season because no organized hunting could take place.

During this period, only the okai (trappers could go out after the animals. Their work was quite difficult because they worked alone.

They used different traps according to the type of animal that was to be trapped.

The common traps included okol (running a noose attached to a log of wood); tekke (a circular foot trap; twok (the falling spear trap used to kill an elephant which passed under the tree from which the spear was suspended.

Bur (a pit dug in the game’s path. The majority of the other traps were intended for smaller animals and birds.

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