Alur 2 Page is About Alur People in Uganda and their Traditional Religion. It will show you all you may need to know about religious beliefs of Alur people in North Western Uganda.
The religious rituals of worship among the Alur people were cultivated and protected by the Bandwa, the Jupa Jogi and Jupa Jok.
These were in effect the Alur equivalents of the clergy. The equivalent of God was known as Jok.
The manifestations of jok were more often than not in personal terms. Thus Jok could be male or female, young or old and so on. But sometimes Jok could be conceived of in non personal forms, for instance, as a situation. The ultimate nature of Jok, however, was quite unknown.
Among the Alur, worship was not routine such as every morning, evening or on Sundays and Fridays. It was necessitated by misfortunes of one kind or another which required that Jok should be appeased.
The Alur people believed that misfortunes or disease were not natural consequences. To them misfortunes and disease were caused and the causes took different forms.
Spiritual entities or dead ancestors could demand attention, food, beer, meat and some other forms of comfort by inflicting punishments on the living in terms of deadly diseases, misfortunes or some slight sickness which, if not recognized and appropriately attended to, could become dangerous.
This could take the form of dumbness, paralysis of the body or just part of it, mental breakdown etc.
In the event of misfortune like sickness, the family head together with his brother or two associates would go to a diviner known as Julam bira, jolam wara or Anjoga to have the misfortune diagnosed.
The diviner would employ the various instruments at his disposal to trace the cause of the trouble. He would then advise on the appropriate measures to take to avert the misfortune.
Misfortune was said to be caused by evil spirits or by evil persons who by use of magic, could Harm otherwise health person
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