Lango People (South Sudan)
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Lango is a community of
Paranilotic languages Paranilotic is a group of languages proposed by Carl Meinhof. Karl Lepsius had established the Nilotic languages as a family, with Western, Eastern, and Southern branches. Meinhof proposed that only Western were truly Nilotic, and that Eastern and ...
-speaking people originating in
South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...
. They are
nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
ic agriculturists and Pastoralists. The Lango live in the Ikwoto County area of
Eastern Equatoria State Eastern Equatoria is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of 73,472 km². The capital is Torit. On October 1, 1972, the state was divided into Imatong and Namorunyang states and was re-established by a peace agreement signed on 22 Februa ...
. This region borders
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
to the South and their inhabitants are sharing ancestral lines with the Lango and Acholi of Uganda.


Composition

The Lango are Lorwama and Lokwa people, who are predominantly found around Lofus and Ikotos. The name of the tribe Lorwama came to an existence in 2010 and was declared by Josephine Akulang Abalang, who is an immigrant from Logir of the Kedus family. The Lorwama are immigrants largely from Lokwa and Otuho tribes. The word Lorwama was coined by the Ketebo during peace conference in 1923. Before the signing of that peace, the Ketebo fought fiercely with pockets of Acholis who were coming to occupy the current Lofus as hunters and coupled with abduction of the Ketebo for slave trade during the Mahdia war (Manatong). However, during the peace ceremony, the Ketebo came with tafa (Ugali/Posho) made from millet and they asked those who were administering the ritual whether it is allowed for them to eat the roasted meat with Ugali, but they were told no but rather to surrender all that ugali to the leadership of the ritual. After words, the Ketebo found that their ugali is being ate by the protagonists (Acholi and Lokwa) and the Ketebo told them you are "Lorwama" because you lied to us that we cannot eat the meat with tafa (ugali). Before 2010, the Ketebo called the Lorwama "Ogire" because they are largely from Lokwa and their clans include Itibok, Lotuho, Igago etc, which can be traced to the Lokwa (Orgire) and Lotuho. The Lorwama as stated by the late chief Abondio, the father of Ingong in 2006, he stated clearly to the Ketebo that, this land belongs to your ancestors like Chief Munyomoi from the Ikai clan. He said they immigrated to Lofus in mid 1920s from Ikotos. The word Lofus is a Ketebo word "Loofus" meaning the "leader". The current language spoken in Lofus or by Lorwama is Oketeboi which has been mixed with Dongotono. Unfortunately, Lokwa is one of the tribe but now claiming to be Lango. The word Lango came from the Acholi or Luo meaning "enemy, alien or foreigner". During the demarcation of Africa in 1914 especially in Uganda by the British Colonial, when the surveyors reach in Madi Opei, they asked the Acholi that what about that mountains pointing to Lonyili and Ingeretenya "Tseretenya" and the Acholi chief said, not the people living in those mountains are Lango, meaning they are not the Acholi but foreigners/aliens/enemy. The Acholi also called the Karamojong "Lango Diang".


Alternative spellings

The name "''Lango''" can also be spelled as ''Langgo'' or ''Langoni'' when referring to a male, or as ''Langoni'' for a female.


External links


Gurtong Peace Project - South Sudanese Communities
Ethnic groups in South Sudan {{SouthSudan-ethno-group-stub