Tag Archives: traditional beliefs

Grassroots Perspectives on Return and Reconciliation: Report of a dialogue in Kitgum Matidi [2]

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In this community dialogue report, respondents discuss some of the many problems faced by those living in areas affected by the conflict in northern Uganda. The issues mentioned include the reintegration of formerly-abducted youth, disputes over land amongst those returning from captivity and from displaced persons camps and the collapse of traditional family structures through family breakdown, the phenomenon of child-headed households and a loss of respect for parents and elders.

 Traditional spiritual understandings, particularly those related to the burial of people killed in the conflict, are used by many of the respondents to explain the hardships faced by their communities and to formulate possible solutions.

 To access the report, click here.

Grassroots Perspectives on Return and Reconciliation: Report of a dialogue in Padibe

Reports, , , , , , , ,

In this community dialogue, respondents voice their views on the challenges affecting their communities in the wake of decades of violent conflict in northern Uganda. The issues discussed include the unexploded ordinance scattered throughout the region, disputes over land ownership amongst those returning from conflict or from displaced persons camps, the negative effects of humanitarian aid and the issues that arise as former LRA attempt to return to civilian society.

 The comments of many of the respondents reveal a deep distrust of the Ugandan government as well as a strong faith in traditional spiritual beliefs, often used as a means of making sense of and developing solutions to many of the problems faced by war-affected communities.

 To access the report, click here.

Abomination: Local belief systems and international justice, FN V

Field Notes, ,

Local contexts must begin to better inform Western-based approaches to transitional justice; without them, external interventions often fail to resonate with the values, norms and beliefs of victims. To illustrate this point, this edition of Field Notes focuses on the Acholi concept of kiir, or abomination. Kiir is a transgression of the moral order which is believed to cause serious misfortune, including disease, spiritual haunting and death. Not only has the conflict in northern Uganda created the conditions that have allowed these transgressions to occur; the conflict has also been called an abomination in and of itself. A curse on the people of Acholi and consequent mass displacement are thought to have multiplied acts of abomination as well as reduced the capacity to deal with them: a cleansing ceremony must be performed in order to rectify the impact of kiir.

This Field Note attempts to bring the reader closer to an understanding of local belief systems. Gaining insight into these beliefs can aid international justice systems to better reflect the lived realities of the victim population.

To access the report, click here.

Alice’s Story: Cultural and Spiritual Dimensions of Reconciliation, FN I

Field Notes, , ,

This inaugural issue of Field Notes focuses on the process of reconciliation at the grass-roots level in northern Uganda through the story of Alice, a 24 year-old Acholi woman living in Anaka camp. Abducted by a group of the LRA rebels in 1996 when she was fourteen, Alice was forced to kill her sister in order to save her own life. She has been haunted by the experience ever since, and believes that her sister will not let her or her family rest until she reconciles with her past.

Alice’s story provides insight into the spiritual dimensions of Acholi culture, unearthing the possibilities of reconciliation through traditional approaches at the grass-roots level. Many of the Acholi people pursue justice and reconciliation based on an intimate relationship to the spirit worlds. Children and youth returning from the ‘bush’ are often stigmatized and considered to be ‘unclean’ until they reconcile with what they have done or experienced. The institution of cultural leaders representing the majority ethnic group in the north (the Acholi), Ker Kwaro Acholi, have begun to lay the foundation for reviving and adapting traditional approaches, holding symbolic cultural ceremonies to foster social trust and build legitimacy in the process.

Yet as Alice’s story illustrates, the impact of the conflict on social relations – including the legitimacy of the traditional leaders – and the requirements of traditional bylaws and customs are difficult to realize in the current setting of extreme poverty and insecurity in displacement camps. This Issue of Field Notes, then, provides an important preliminary insight into the possibilities of Acholi cultural approaches at the grass-roots level, but also highlights the many challenges and paradoxes to this approach, concluding with a set of recommendations to different stakeholders wishing to support the process.

To access the report, click here.