Dancing Queen

On our first full day in Gulu, we visited the Ker Kwaro Acholi Cultural Center, which holds jurisdiction over the whole of Acholiland.  Its objectives include:
    •    preserving the culture of the Acholi people.
    •    promoting peace and reconciliation.
    •    community empowerment through education.
    •    promoting good governance.

We discussed aspects of Acholi culture, including the power structure and social norms, with a few prominent community leaders.
    •    The Acholi tribe consists of 54 chiefdoms, each with a "Lawirwodi," or paramount chief.  Under each chief is a Council of Elders who assist in the chief's duties.  The chiefdoms are hereditary and patriarchal, but the elders are chosen by clan members.
    •    Men and women may not marry within their own clan, as all clan members are considered sisters and brothers.  When women marry, they become part of their husband's clan.
    •    Women are well-represented in the power structure, and wives are extremely influential.
    •    The Acholi are a non-violent people.  They strongly believe in using dialogue to settle disputes, and the chief often acts as a mediator when such incidents arise.
    •    Acholi children belong to the community, and everyone takes responsibility for raising them.  (This is something I have witnessed... everyone scolds my sister.  But more on that in a later post.)

    •    Due to the LRA war, the Acholi were forced into Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps in 1996.  It has only been within the last two years, following the Juba Peace Talks in 2007, that people have begun to return to their homes.  (We're visiting an IDP camp on Friday.  They are mostly populated now by the elderly and orphans.  It promises to be a heartbreaking experience.)
    •    Ker Kwaro cares for formerly abducted children and former combatants who abandoned the LRA.  These returnees undergo ritual cleansing ceremonies and receive the support they need to re-enter the community.
We asked these leaders their opinions on the LRA war, foreign aid, and how the Acholi have transformed over the years.  One of the most interesting discussions we had concerned the International Criminal Court (ICC).  Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, was the first person the ICC ever indicted (along with his top commanders).  In the opinion of the leaders we spoke to at Ker Kwaro, he ICC has jeopardized peace in Uganda.  For Ugandans, the ideal scenario would be to achieve peace, get Kony home, and then focus on arrests.  The popular opinion here is that the ICC did not properly handle the situation, and needs to find an entirely new, victim-centered approach.

If you read all that and educated yourself on Acholi government structure, hats off to you.
Now onto the fun stuff.

There was dancing!

This is the traditional Acholi dance performed for chiefs during their inaugural ceremony.

At the end of over two hours of different dances (including courtship and rain dances) all the girls in our group got to join in a friendship dance!  Everyone just laughed at the muzungus trying to move like the Acholi girls, who had obviously been learning these dances since they were young.  Overall, I think most of us would agree it was one of the best experiences of our trip so far.