History

History
The Lango live in the Lango sub-region of northern Uganda , north of Lake Kyoga between the longitudes1°30? N and 2°44? N and the latitudes 32°15? E and 33°15? E. Their territory,  approximately covers 14,820 square kilometers, including the 1,300 square kilometers of open water and swamp at an elevation of 900 to 1,200 meters and comprises the current districts of Amolatar, Apac, Dokolo, Kole, Kwania, Lira Otuke, Oyam. The Lango number about 1.5 million people, according to the 2002 Uganda population census. They speak Lango, which is a dialect of the Luo or Lwo language and is mutually intelligible with Acholi and Kumam, and related to the other Luo languages of Uganda and Kenya.

The Langi settled into their present location after first moving southward as part of the southerly migration of Luo-speaking Nilotic people, which probably took place in the fifteenth century. There is evidence that cultural distinctions between the Lango and the Acholi were well established by the early nineteenth century. The relationship between the Lango and their Paranilote-speaking neighbors to the northeast, the Karamojong, is unclear. Many Lango clan names resemble Karamojong clan names, and Lango cultural practices such as totemic observances and age grades, are similar to Karamojong practices and may have been borrowed from them.

The two most salient features of the history of the Lango within the nation of Uganda are that they are not Bantu and that they have had a stateless society. When the British came to Uganda in the mid-nineteenth century, the center of colonial power was established on the shores of Lake Victoria in the kingdom of Buganda, 320 kilometers south of Lango territory. The Ganda and the other Bantu kingdoms in the southern part of Uganda gained the respect of the British in large measure because of their well-organized states. The non-Bantu societies to the north of the “Bantu line” were stateless, and, for most of the colonial period, they were regarded as the poorest, the least tractable, and the most warlike societies of Uganda. By creating most of its important institutions in the south of the country, the colonial administration heightened the differences between the north and the south, and the Lango were effectively left out of colonial development.

Contact between Lango and Ganda during the colonial period was characterized by bitterness and a lack of understanding that persist even now. Antagonism between these two societies was particularly strong during the mid-1960s, the years immediately following Uganda’s independence. A Lango, Milton Obote, led the Uganda People’s Congress and became prime minister; he found himself opposed to the political power of the Ganda Kingdom, the people of which had organized themselves into a political party, the Kabaka Yekka. Ensuing political events—the overthrow of Obote, the divisive reign of Idi Amin during the 1970s, and the long years of civil war—involved the Lango people in a series of opposition movements and guerrilla skirmishes. They have undergone considerable economic hardship and have all but lost any effective political voice in the national government.

Religion
Although many Lango practice Islam or Christianity, the influence of traditional beliefs still plays a significant role in the religious lives of the Lango. In traditional Lango myth, each individual has a guardian spirit and metaphysical soul. Additionally, ancestral cults and belief in the supreme god, Jok, played a large role in the religion.

Land in the pre-colonial era was common land, and any untilled area belonged to the first person or family who tilled it, and it was passed on to the eldest son.[10] “Land which had not been cultivated in the past could be tilled by any family, and, when once it had been tilled, the community regarded it as the property of the family whose ancestor first cultivated it.” Traditional land tenure is still widely used in rural areas

The Lango army was united under one military leader chosen from available men, and all had to agree to be led by him. These military leaders would lead the Lango army against other groups. Their authority ended when the war was over, and they all returned to their clans and resumed their daily occupations and were not entitled to any special benefits. Famous military leaders were Ongora Okubal, who brought the Lango to their present land, Opyen who succeeded Ongora Okubal and was followed by Arim Oroba, and Agoro Abwango. Agoro Abwango led his men to fight the Banyoro and was killed in Bunyoro.The Lango oral literature has it that as the soldiers who went to help Kabalega retreated towards the Nile, they helped Kabalega and Mwanga, the deposed King of Bunyoro and Buganda respectively cross the Nile River. They were moved along the northern corridor of Lake Kwania. At the time, a warrior called Obol Ario who had conquered much of the northern part of the lake was there. It’s believed he helped smuggle the two deposed kings towards Dokolo, where they settled at Kangai. Obol Ario of Apac Okwero Ngec Ayita Clan eventually settled at Amac where he later died and was buried