Lugbara

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The Lugbara are an ethnic group who live mainly in the West Nile region of Uganda and in the adjoining area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They speak the Lugbara language, a Central Sudanic language similar to the language spoken by the Madi, with whom they also share many cultural similarities.

The cultural symbol of the Lugbara is a leopard.

Traditionally, the Lugbara are farmers (cultivators) who rare some livestock and poultry mainly Guinea Fowls locally known as 'ope'. They are the predominant keepers of guinea fowls in Uganda. They occupy the West Nile region of Uganda and Arua, Nyadri, Yumbe and Koboko districts of Uganda to be specific. The Lugbara are divided into many dialects which are easily understandable to each other. These include; Ayivu, Maracha, Terego, Vurra and Aringa. Tribes related to the Lugbara in dialect include Madi and Kakwa.

In the early days, the Lugbara were a mainly chiefdom based community. They did not have kingdoms and kings presiding over them as like other ethnic groups in Uganda. They mainly had chiefs who were their leaders. They formed friendly alliances with neighbouring chiefdoms so as to ensure their security against attacks from other ethnic groups. The earlier Lugbara did not have soldiers or an army in their chiefdoms. Every able bodied man had the duty to protect his village hence all able bodied men were automatically considered a soldier though this was not a permanent duty. The Lugbara were initially believers in the African traditions in their religions. However Christianity is the predominant religion today amongst them with Islam also another major religion of the Lugbara.

They are settled subsistence farmers. Cassava is the traditional staple. They also grow millet, sorghum, legumes, pigeon peas and a variety of root crops. Chicken, goats, and at higher elevations, cattle are also important. Maize is grown for brewing beer, and tobacco is an important cash crop. In the North Eastern side of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a faction of the Lugbara are called "The Naked People", due to their attitude towards clothing. Most women do not wear shirts and many of them do not wear even dresses, but they are covered with grass skirts. Taller than many Congolese, the Lugbara men are great hunters as well, using powerful bows with long arrows that have fishing hooks type tips. This ethnic group straddles the common border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo with the majority of their population in the Congo side of the border. Famous and well known Lugbara include Dorcus Inzikuru, the 3000 steeple chase world champion in Helsinki 2005, Jackson Asiku the previous commonwealth boxing light weight champion

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[edit] Further reading

Middleton, J. (1965). The Lugbara of Uganda. Case studies in cultural anthropology. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 2nd edition published 1992, Fort Worth : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, ISBN 9780155006225.