The Logo people or Logoa (plural) are an
ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
of
Nilotic origin who live predominantly in the north-east of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
as well as parts of western
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The souther ...
and southern
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 Con ...
. There are believed to be more than 200,000 people who identify as ethnically Logo of whom most live in the Congo's
Faradje Territory
Faradje Territory is an administrative area in the Haut-Uele Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The main town is Faradje, lying on the Dungu River.
In January and February 2011 the Lords Resistance Army attacked people in the te ...
, a remote region in
Haut-Uélé Province, where they form the ethnic majority.
Logo people also live in
Watsa
Watsa is a community in the Haut-Uele Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, administrative center of the Watsa Territory. It is served by Watsa Airport, a grass airstrip south of the town.
Watsa was the location of the VI battalion ...
and
Aba, both also in Haut-Uélé, and in
Yei in South Sudan.
[
The ethnic group is traditionally associated with the Logo language, known as ''Logoti'', from the Nilo-Saharan family. The language has an estimated 210,000 speakers.] A further 100,000 speak the related dialect known as ''Ogambi''.[ Logoti is similar in derivation to the Nilotic Kaliko, ]Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy ...
and Lugbara language
Lugbara, or Lugbarati, is the language of the Lugbara people. It is spoken in the West Nile region in northwestern Uganda, as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Orientale Province.
Classification and dialects
The Aringa language, a ...
s spoken in the same region.[ The word ''logo'' means "human being" in the local language.]
Historically, the Logoa were less powerful than the important Mangbetu and Azande ethnic groups in the same region. Originating in the Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic ...
, the Logoa were progressively pushed southwards into their current territories around Faradje by rival ethnic groups and especially expanding Azande influence in the 19th century. Their remote location within the Congo meant that they were however able to avoid becoming subject peoples.[ The Logoa are divided into a number of tribal units and do not form a single ]polity
A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of ...
.[ According to anthropologist ]Jan Vansina
Jan Vansina (14 September 1929 – 8 February 2017) was a Belgian historian and anthropologist regarded as an authority on the history of Central Africa, especially of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. He was ...
, the territory occupied by the Logoa and the Avukaya ethnic group forms a distinct geographic unit.[
]
Citations
Further reading
*
*
{{authority control
Ethnic groups in Uganda
Ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ethnic groups in South Sudan
Nilotic peoples
Haut-Uélé