Alur people

Alur
Total population
	2,550,000
Regions with significant populations
	Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Uganda	878,453 (2014)
Languages
	Alur, French, English
Religion
	Christianity and Islam
Related ethnic groups
	Other Luo peoples, especially Adhola and Luos

Last updated April 27, 2024

Alur necklace

Alur lyre

Alur are a Nilotic ethnic group who live in northwestern Uganda and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They are part of the larger Luo group.

Language

Most members of the group speak Alur, a language closely related to Acholi, Adhola, and Luo languages. Some Alur speak Lendu or Kebu.^[7] Alur language dialects vary considerably. The highland Alur (Okoro) speak a slightly different dialect from the lowland Alur (Jonam), and it might be difficult to for a native highland Alur person to properly understand his lowland kinsman.^[8]

Chiefdoms

The Alur Kingdom is probably the only one that was unaffected by the Ugandan ban on traditional monarchies in 1966.^[9] All Alur Kings are referred to as "Rwoth", just like all Luo Chiefs and Kings. The current Alur King is Rwoth Phillip Rauni Olarker, whose coronation was in 2010.^[10]

When the Europeans arrived, the Alur people were organized in ten chiefdoms, namely: Angal, Juganda, Jukoth, Mukambu, War Palara, Panduru, Ukuru, Paidha, Padeo and Panyikano. Based on the royal spear head bearing tradition, the Ubimu of Alur tribe H.M Philip Olarker Rauni III is the supreme ruler of the entire Alur tribe, with his capital at Kaal Atyak Winam, Zombo district, Uganda.^[11]

In Angal, the current king is Rwoth Djalore Serge II. He took over from his late father Kamanda who died in 1998. All these sub-tribes of the Alur descended directly from King Nyipir's lineage.^[8]

History, politics and tribe life

The largest Alur tribe was the Ukuru clan, who counted 10,000 adult men among their ranks in 1914, although Alur counted boys as young as 14 years as men.

The Ukuru tribe was founded in 1630 when Ngira, a member of the Aryak family, migrated with a number of young men, including his younger brother, Ijira. They took over the territory from the indigenous Bantu inhabitants. The region was quickly Alur-ized.^[11]

The descendants of the original Bantu men now form the Abira family. Bantu maternal ancestry is very common in Ukuru. The Ukuru tribes grew in competition with other tribes. Some other clans were completely taken over providing the Ukuru clan with more food resources, women, and men to defend their territory.^[11]

Other clans were dominated from afar. In 1789 the Ukuru clan defeated the Panduru clan to become the most powerful Alur clan. For years the Ukuru clan was the most powerful, populous, and largest Alur clan.^[11]^[12]

Meanwhile, in the Ukuru clan, the Atyak family was losing its importance. For generations the Atyak family provided for the Chief. Alur society was strictly hierarchical. There were multiple social ranks within each gender.^[11]

Social rank depended on a lot of things – assertiveness, number of friends and family (allies), performance on male prestige tasks (war, patrols, hunting, and fishing). Rank is, in theory, not inheritable. However a man with a high-ranking father had, as a rule, more brothers, cousins, and family and was better able to attract allies. But overall, every man had the opportunity to reach a high status with the right mix of qualities.^[11]

Every Alur men from 16 years old could vote which man was to become the chief. Only a man who was already high-ranking could become a chief.^[11]

Usually, the chiefs are chosen from a young age, and they can remain as chiefs for life if the community looks favorably upon their job performance. Alur clans are, in fact, a number of patrilineages living together. Most clans have around five patrilineages, but the Ukuru clan has 11 patrilineages.^[11]

These patrilineages can include large numbers of men, all descendants of the same man. The Parombo family (patrilineage) in the Ukuru clan, for example, included 2000 men in 1949. These patrilineages are not strictly fictional. The Alur are very serious about it and maintain a family tree. Of course, a certain level of flexibility has occurred but overall we can trust the picture the Alur paint of their patrilineages. By 1820 the other patrilineages worked together to prevent an Atyak man from becoming Rwoth. This decline in Atyak power resulted in the rapid growth of other patrilineages like the Parombo, Palei and The Aryek. In particular the Aryek family became politically important.^[11]

High rank confers had many advantages in Alur society. Expecting respect and admiration, high-ranking men had first choice in food, especially prestige food like meat and beer. High-ranking men typically had a large number of cattle and since the Alur paid the bride price in cattle high-ranking men had the most wives and thus children. The chief typically had the most children of any man in the clan. High-ranking men had three or more wives, average men two and low-ranking men typically one. As always there was flexibility since low-ranking men could be very successful in tending cattle and thus in acquiring wives but then their rank typically rose.^[11]

Men always stayed in the clan they were born in, but women married men from other clans and moved to their husband's clan. Very few women married men from their own clan, since the Alur had very strict rules about avoiding incest. Every man in ones patrilineage was un-marriageable no matter how distant the common ancestor was. Only a specific request from a man from her own clan could let an Alur woman remain within her clan.^[11]

Day-to-day life

Traditionally, the Alur live in grass-thatched huts. The homesteads in Alur clans are in the central part of their territory. This helps keeps the territory under their control. The Alur were farmer-herders. The Alur grew (and grow) millet, cassava, maize, sweet potatoes, spinach, and pumpkins. They herded cattle, goats, and chickens. Goat and chicken were important sources of meat. Other important resources were salt, forest and wild animals all who were protected from other clans. In the drought season fishing was important. The large herds of animals the Alur typically hunt as secondary sources of meat so as not to exhaust their own goat and chicken numbers moved away to greener pastures.^[11]

In Alur society, men herded the domestic animals, grew the crops, built the huts, hunted, fished, and dominated political life. The women were responsible for keeping house, rearing the children and cooking. Many of the men's jobs are bound to strict times (they hunted in large groups just once a month for example). The sexes are segregated by the Alur, with husbands and wives having separate huts, with the men sleeping apart from the women and the children. They also eat separately.^[11]

Women and men rarely mix socially. This behavior is not enforced by the men, but it is said that is in the woman's best interest to minimize contact with men. This is done out of fear of aggression and the husband's jealousy. Generally, Alur men are very close and social with men from their own clan. They hunt, farm, fish, go to war, herd, and form coalitions against rivals together. Since Alur men stay in the clan they are born in, and women move to the clan of their husband, the men are typically more social, have more friends, and a wider social network. This is a very important factor in male dominance within the Alur.^[11]

Famous Alur people

Chief Amula (1871–1942)

Amula was born in the Aryek patrilineage as the son of Alworuna and Acoamfa. The fortunes of the Aryek family had been rising before Amula's birth. The first known Aryek patriarch, Abok Ucweda had been an insignificant man in the politics of the Ukuru clan. The same couldn't be said for some of his sons. Ugena had been chief for five years (1845–1850) before being deposed with help from his half-brother Nziri, Amula's paternal grandfather. Amula's father Alworuna had been known to be the best warrior of the Ukuru clan. Three brothers of Alworuna, Amatho, Kubi and Avur also managed to become powerful, respected men. Four Amula brothers, including his full brother Aryem, also became powerful. Amula grew up in the 1878 Ukuru-Panduru war which the Ukuru clan lost and in which around 600 Ukuru men died in a few days of intense fighting. Amula's father Alworuna was burned alive by Panduru forces led by their chief, Ujuru. Amula's uncle Amatho died trying to avenge his brother's death. Amula grew up to be a powerful man who rapidly rose in the social hierarchy from the age of 15. In 1890, at 19 years old, he was elected as the chief of the Ukuru clan. He immediately began a war with the Panduru clan and managed to avenge his father's death. Afterward, he consolidated his hold on the Ukuru clan by entering into allegiances with other powerful patrilineages mainly with the Palei, Parombo and sections of the Patek patrilineage. He also could count on the support of many individual men. Amula proved to be a good chief, strong willed but compassionate. He was skillful in wars partly because of his ability to secure alliances with other clans. He was the voice of reason when the British arrived in 1914, compelling the clan not to fight them. He was exiled by the British in 1917 for not rigidly following their orders but was allowed back in 1922. He died in 1942, still very popular and loved by the clan. As a chief, Amula had many wives and children. His son Jalusiga (1896–1978) succeeded him as chief although this was a British doing and not a choice of the clan. Another son of his, Jalaure (born in 1888), acted as chief in his absence from 1917 to 1922.^[12]^[13]

Related Research Articles

The Adhola people, also known as Jopadhola, are a Nilotic ethnic group of Luo peoples that live in Tororo District of Eastern Uganda and comprise about eight percent of the country's total population. They speak Dhopadhola,, which belongs to the Western Nilotic branch of the Nilotic language family. They are primarily pastoralists. The Jopadhola call their land Padhola which, according to historian Bethwell Ogot, is an elliptic form of "Pa Adhola" meaning the "place of Adhola", the founding father of the Jopadhola people. Officially, land of the Adhola is called Padhola, but the Baganda who misinterpret 'Widoma' – a Dhopadhola word for 'war cry' meaning 'You are in trouble' refer to the Jopadhola as "Badama". The social structure of the Jopadhola can be described as semi centralised because there is no traditional centralized government and its organization is limited to a clan called Nono. There are over 52 clans, each with cultural practices, common ancestry and a distinct lineage.

Buganda is a Bantu kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Baganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of Uganda's Central Region, including the Ugandan capital Kampala. The 14 million Baganda make up the largest Ugandan region, representing approximately 16% of Uganda's population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luo peoples</span> Ethnolinguistic Nilotic groups inhabit to central and Northeastern Africa

The Luo, are several ethnically and linguistically related Nilotic ethnic groups that inhabit an area ranging from Egypt and Sudan to South Sudan and Ethiopia, through Northern Uganda and eastern Congo (DRC), into western Kenya, and the Mara Region of Tanzania. Their Luo languages belong to the western branch of the Nilotic language family.

The Abagusii are a Bantu ethnic group and nation indigenous to Kisii and Nyamira counties of former Nyanza, as well as parts of Kericho and Bomet counties of the former Rift Valley province of Kenya.

The Luhya are a Bantu people and the second largest ethnic group in Kenya. The Luhya belong to the larger linguistic stock known as the Bantu. The Luhya are located in western Kenya and Uganda. They are divided into 20 culturally and linguistically united clans. Once known as the Kavirondo, multiple small tribes in North Nyanza came together under the new name Baluhya between 1950 and 1960. The Bukusu are the largest Luhya subtribe and account for almost 50% of the entire Luhya population, dominating other Luhya subtribes. They live in both Bungoma and Trans-Nzoia counties.

The Bukusu people are one of the 17 Kenyan tribes of the Luhya Bantu people of East Africa residing mainly in the counties of Bungoma and Trans Nzoia. They are the largest tribe of the Luhya nation, with 1,188,963 identifying as Bukusu in the 2019 Kenyan census. They speak the Bukusu dialect.

The Nyamwezi, or Wanyamwezi, are one of the Bantu groups of East Africa. They are the second-largest ethnic group in Tanzania. The Nyamwezi people's ancestral homeland is in parts of Tabora Region, Singida Region, Shinyanga Region and Katavi Region. The term Nyamwezi is of Swahili origin, and translates as "people of the moon" or "people of the west", the latter being more meaningful to the context.

Nama are an African ethnic group of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. They traditionally speak the Nama language of the Khoe-Kwadi language family, although many Nama also speak Afrikaans. The Nama People are the largest group of the Khoikhoi people, most of whom have disappeared as a group, except for the Namas. Many of the Nama clans live in Central Namibia and the other smaller groups live in Namaqualand, which today straddles the Namibian border with South Africa.

The Masaba people, or Bamasaaba, are a Bantu people inhabiting the eastern Ugandan districts of Sironko, Manafwa, Bududa, Mbale, Namisindwa and Bulambuli. They are closely related to the Bukusu and Luhya of Western Kenya. They are mainly agricultural people, farming coffee, millet, bananas and sorghum on small-holder plots. Maize became popular with the coming of Europeans in the late 1890s.

The Nyoro people, also known as Banyoro are a Bantu ethnic group native to the kingdom of Bunyoro in Uganda. They live in settlements on a well-watered and fertile plateau. Banyoro are closely related to other Bantu peoples of the region, namely the Batooro, Banyankole, Bakiga and the Bahema peoples.

The Nyakyusa are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group who live in the fertile mountains of southern Mbeya Region of Tanzania and the Northern Region of Malawi. They speak the Nyakyusa language, a member of the Bantu language family. In 1993 the Nyakyusa population was estimated to number 1,050,000, with 750,000 living in Tanzania. Nyakyusa are marked as highly educated and eager agriculturists. The Nyakyusa are colonising people where success and survival depended on individual effort. Nyakyusa have managed to collect vast wealth from trade and agriculture than any tribe in Tanzania..

The Digo are a Bantu ethnic and linguistic group based near the Indian Ocean coast between Mombasa in southern Kenya and northern Tanga in Tanzania. In 1994 the Digo population was estimated to total 305,000, with 217,000 ethnic Digo living in Kenya and 88,000 in Tanzania. Digo people, nearly all Muslims, speak the Digo language, called Chidigo by speakers, a Bantu language.

Kavirondo is the former name of the region surrounding Kavirondo Gulf as well as of two native peoples living there under the regime of British East Africa. Broadly, this was defined as those who dwelt in the valley of the Nzoia River, on the western slopes of Mount Elgon, and along the northeast coast of Victoria Nyanza.

The Rwa or Meru sometimes Rwo are a Bantu ethnic and linguistic group based on the south and eastern slopes of Mount Meru in Meru District of the Arusha Region of Tanzania, the Rwa population is estimated to number 198,000.

The Turu are an ethnic and linguistic group based in the Singida Region of north-central Tanzania who speak Bantu language Kinyaturu. In 1993, the Turu population was estimated to number 556,000. The current population of the Turu is now over 1,000,000. They speak the Turu language.

The Pedi or Bapedi, also known as the Sotho, Basotho, Northern Sotho, Basotho ba Lebowa, Transvaal Sotho, Marota, or Bamaroteng are a Sotho-Tswana ethnic group native to South Africa and Botswana that speak Pedi or Sepedi, which is one of the 12 official languages in South Africa. They are primarily situated in Limpopo, Gauteng and northern Mpumalanga.

The Sultanate of the Geledi also known as the Gobroon dynasty, was a Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the late-17th century to the early 20th century. The Sultanate was governed by the Gobroon dynasty. It was established by the Geledi soldier Ibrahim Adeer, who had defeated various vassals of the Ajuran Sultanate and elevated the Gobroon to wield significant political power. Following Mahamud Ibrahim's consolidation, the dynasty reached its apex under Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim, who successfully modernized the Geledi economy and eliminated regional threats with the Conquest of Bardera in 1843, and would go on to receive tribute from Said bin Sultan, the ruler of the Omani Empire. Geledi Sultans had strong regional ties and built alliances with the Pate and Witu Sultanates on the Swahili coast. Trade and Geledi power would continue to remain strong until the death of the well known Sultan Ahmed Yusuf in 1878. The sultanate was eventually incorporated into Italian Somaliland in 1911.

The Baganda also called Waganda, are a Bantu ethnic group native to Buganda, a subnational kingdom within Uganda. Traditionally composed of 52 clans, the Baganda are the largest people of the Bantu ethnic group in Uganda, comprising 16.5 percent of the population at the time of the 2014 census.

The Somali slave trade existed as a part of the East African slave trade. To meet the demand for menial labor, Bantus from southeastern Africa slaves were exported from Zanzibar and were sold in cumulatively large numbers over the centuries to customers in East Africa and other areas in Northeast Africa and Asia by the somalis. Ethiopians, especially Amharas and Tigrayans were also captured and sold to traders from Arabia, India, Greece, and beyond.

Detailed anthropological and sociological studies have been made about customs of patrilineal inheritance, where only male children can inherit. Some cultures also employ matrilineal succession, where property can only pass along the female line, most commonly going to the sister's sons of the decedent; but also, in some societies, from the mother to her daughters. Some ancient societies and most modern states employ egalitarian inheritance, without discrimination based on gender and/or birth order.

References

↑ "Alur". Ethnologue . Retrieved 9 April 2019.
↑ "Alur people group in all countries | Joshua Project".
↑ "Uganda - World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples". 19 June 2015.
↑ Uganda Bureau of Statistics. "National Population and Housing Census 2014 - Main Report" (PDF).
↑ "Population Composition" (PDF). ubos.org. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
↑ "Alur People and their Culture" . Retrieved 2021-05-27.
↑ "alur language - Nonya Google". www.google.com. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
1 2 "Uganda - Western Nilotic Language Groups". countrystudies.us. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
↑ "Kama jaluo rade gi joluo wadgi".
↑ Daily Monitor (23 October 2019). "Excitement as OPM hands over house to Alur king". Nation Media Group. Daily Monitor. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Aidan 1953: The Alur Society; a Study in Processes and Types of Domination
1 2 Administration, Kampala (Uganda) Institute of Public. Papers.
↑ Gilbert, W (2020). "Integrating the intangible traditional forms of farming knowledge and practices of the Alur people of North-Western Uganda into the IP laws of Uganda". Journal of Physics. 482 (1): 012006. Bibcode:2020E&ES..482a2006G. doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/482/1/012006 .

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Alur". Ethnologue . Retrieved 9 April 2019.

[2] "Alur people group in all countries | Joshua Project".

[3] "Uganda - World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples". 19 June 2015.

[4] Uganda Bureau of Statistics. "National Population and Housing Census 2014 - Main Report" (PDF).

[5] "Population Composition" (PDF). ubos.org. Retrieved 7 August 2023.

[6] "Alur People and their Culture" . Retrieved 2021-05-27.

[7] "alur language - Nonya Google". www.google.com. Retrieved 2021-05-27.

[countrystudies.us-8] 1 2 "Uganda - Western Nilotic Language Groups". countrystudies.us. Retrieved 2021-05-27.

[jaluo-9] "Kama jaluo rade gi joluo wadgi".

[10] Daily Monitor (23 October 2019). "Excitement as OPM hands over house to Alur king". Nation Media Group. Daily Monitor. Retrieved 4 June 2021.

[Aidan-11] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Aidan 1953: The Alur Society; a Study in Processes and Types of Domination

[Administration-12] 1 2 Administration, Kampala (Uganda) Institute of Public. Papers.

[13] Gilbert, W (2020). "Integrating the intangible traditional forms of farming knowledge and practices of the Alur people of North-Western Uganda into the IP laws of Uganda". Journal of Physics. 482 (1): 012006. Bibcode:2020E&ES..482a2006G. doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/482/1/012006 .

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

Authority control databases
National	France BnF data Israel United States
Other	IdRef