A ''mudoko dako'' (also known as ''mudoko daka'' or ''dano mulokere'') is an

effeminate Effeminacy is the embodiment of traits and/or expressions in those who are not of the female sex (e.g. boys and men) that are often associated with what is generally perceived to be feminine behaviours, mannerisms, styles, or gender roles, rath ...

male who is considered by Langi society to be a different gender, though were mostly treated as woman among the Langi in

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 sou ...

. also could be found among the Teso and the Karamojan people. Recognition of the ''mudoko dako'' can be traced back prior to

colonialism in Africa The history of external colonisation of Africa can be dated back from ancient, medieval, or modern history, depending on how the term colonisation is defined. Ancient Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Malays all established colonies on the African con ...

. ''Mudoko dako'' was considered an "alternative gender status" and were able to marry men with no social sanctions. The word, , in the

Lango language Lango (also called Leb-Lango) is not exclusively a Luo language although past linguists have wrongly grouped it under Luo languages. It is a mixture of Ateker languages, and broken Luo dialects. The word "Lango" is used to describe both the lang ...

means "woman". In his work, ''The Lango: A Nilotic Tribe of Uganda'' (1923), anthropologist Jack Herbert Driberg describes the ''mudoko dako'' people among the Langi. Driberg describes how men, known as ''Jo Apele'' or ''Jo Aboich'', go on to become ''mudoko dako'', dressing in the manner of women and taking on women's traditional roles. Driberg even observed ''mudoko dako'' simulating menstruation.

References

{{Authority control LGBT in Uganda Same-sex sexuality Transgender identities