Langi

Langi or Lango is an ethnic minority of about 1.5 million people (according to the 2002 population census).

A map of the Langi areas

Many scholars and anthropologists assert that it is part of a group that migrated from Ethiopia around 1600 A.D. and spliedt into two groups, with one group moving to present day Kenya to form the Kalenjin group and Maasai cluster. The other group, called Ateker, migrated westwards and entered Uganda from the north-east. Ateker further splited into four groups to form the Karamojong, Iteso, Kumam and Langi. The Langi migrated further to the west, and there they encountered the Acholi, who they pushed northwards from the northern part of Lake Kyoga. Through prolonged interaction with the Acholi, Langi lost the Ateker language and took up the Luo spoken by their Acholi neighbours. Many Langi identify with the Luo, refuting the theory that they are Ateker.

The Langi were not used to wearing clothes but they were fond of personal adornments. The men went completely naked, and the women used to wear ajoo (a skin). When the Langi came in contact with the Acholi during the Luo migrations, they adopted the Acholi ways of dressing. Hutchinson, who explored the Langi land in 1902, writes: “The Lango are specially noted for the care bestowed on their elaborate and highly fantastic head-dress. The prevailing fashion may be described as a kind of a helmet. Lango women, who amongst the finest and most symmetrical of the Equatorial lake regions, wear little clothing or embellishments beyond west-bands, necklaces, armlets, and anklets”. Physically, they are relatively thin, and do not have the lanky appearance which characterizes their neighbors the Acholi and Dinka. In contrast with the practice of Bantu tribes, the men do all the hard work of cultivation, and this together with the pursuit of hunting and fighting has resulted in a fine appearance of physical capacity.

The Lango symbol is Amuka (Rhino in their local language). According to Langi traditions Amuka is independent, strong, and peaceful unless disturbed.

The Langi lived in villages. A village could contain more than a hundred huts built in a line. In front of the hut, there was a line of granaries belonging to the individual families. Beyond them, at a distance, was the community cattle kraal. When someone needed a new site on which to build a hut, he would take a chicken and some beer to the desired site and leave them there for a day or two. If on his return he found that something had eaten the chicken or drunk the beer, he would abandon the site as it was considered an “ill-omen”. Due to fear of evil spirits, the Langi avoided building near swamps and also avoided building near stony or rocky ground.

The Lango believe in a creator spirit called Jok, who is regarded as an all-powerful deity, and who is often equated with the Judeo-Christian God of the missionaries after thier arrival.

Games, folk stories, myths, proverbs and riddles played a very important role in Langi education. Pre-colonial education was both formal and informal. Children were taught by their mother or siblings morality and how to address their relatives and respect other people. When they got older, boys were taught by their father or male relatives, and girls by their mother or female relatives.