Dear All, I find this an interesting debate, but at the same time think it is a red herring in this net at this particular time. I thought we were going to discuss the Status Report of the Interim Executive. And now this Agofe thing seems to be the most important.
I do respect the views expressed herein - either way, but request that we get back to the Status Report, members. Or else I will also introduce the issue of "Okufe" :-) The Lugbara, have been and are an acephalous community. And that is OK by me. Who says every community must have a king or chief? The elders or agofe do play a role in this acephalous community. This a unique practice, isn't it? My view, let's get back to the Status Report of the WNF, and not give fuel to the perception that the WNF is a Lugbara thing by discussing it at this time when we have a larger community issue at hand. (Don't misquote me: I'm not saying smaller community issues may not be discussed in this net.) The agofe issue can be handled at another time. Thank you. Maandera On Sun, Jul 21, 2013 at 8:41 PM, samuel andema <[email protected]>wrote: > Dear all, > > One of the finest works on the people of West Nile, particularly the Madi > is that of Blackings (2011) entitled "Narrating our futures: Customs, > rituals and practices of the Ma'di of South Sudan and Uganda. If you open > the first page of that book you are not likely to put it down until you > finish reading the whole book. The author's narrative techniques is > comparable to that of Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart for those who love > to read exciting novels. I would really encourage every one to find a copy > of that book to read. For more details you can Google his name "Mairi J > Blackings" search the book by its title. Nice reading. > > Thanks. > > Sam Andema > > *From:* Caleb Alaka <[email protected]> > *To:* A Virtual Network for friends of West Nile <[email protected]> > *Cc:* A Virtual Network for friends of West Nile <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Sunday, 21 July 2013, 4:56 > > *Subject:* Re: [WestNileNet] Do the Lugbara need a traditional Chief > > That is beautiful, do we have other natives, (not derivatively used as > seen through the prism of colonialists) who have authored anything about > the rest of the communities of West Nile. > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jul 21, 2013, at 2:51 PM, Charles Male <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Caleb, > > > > I beleive Yosa Wawa's manuscript is on Kakwa proverbs. Wawa is on this > > group and can confirm. It is Juma Yuga Onziga who has authored a book > > and researched extensively about the Kakwa. His work can be viewed via > > his website: > > > > > > http://www.kakwa.org/ > > > > Enjoy, > > > > c > > > > ====================== > > > > On 7/21/13, Caleb Alaka <[email protected]> wrote: > >> David, I think now you are talking, we may as a foundation in future > fund a > >> student to undertake her or his thesis preferable at a Masters level > about > >> the origin, social, political and cultural formation of the West Nile > >> citizens. I know there are books about the origin of people of West > Nile but > >> most of them are whites writing about us. It's high time. I think Yosa > Wawa > >> has some book about the Kakwa, I do not know whether it has been > published > >> > >> Sent from my iPhone > >> > >> On Jul 21, 2013, at 11:35 AM, David Olema <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> > >>> Dear all, this is a healthy discussion. Is it possible to involve the > >>> district Councillors in charge of community development involved? These > >>> representatives may help us put together some useful information to > >>> triangulate the two strong opposing opinions. On Sunday 14/07/2013, a > >>> colleague of mine and I were invited to address St. Joseph's College > >>> Ombaci students cultural group hailing from Terego county on, > embracing a > >>> culture of hard work as the only way out of poverty, at Cilio Primary > >>> school and here we encountered an amazing who narrated to the audience > the > >>> origin of the Terego and many other "groups" in West Nile. I personally > >>> asked the Councillor of Oriama sub-county (Mr. Saka) to organise to > >>> capture this story on vedio. At this point I also recalled my > experience > >>> at the national museum where I noticed that many of our (Lugbara) > >>> artifacts were missing. To cut the long story short, I think we need to > >>> take a deliberate step to piece together our history and origin. This > is > >>> good for us and our children. I now call upon anthropologists, > >>> sociologists and historians among us to take up challenge as a matter > of > >>> urgency. Once again I want to thank all of you on this forum for this > >>> constructive debate. I appeal to all of us to keep it health and remain > >>> open minded. Thank you. > >>> > >>> > >>> From: samuel andema <[email protected]> > >>> To: Caleb Alaka <[email protected]>; A Virtual Network for friends > of > >>> West Nile <[email protected]> > >>> Sent: Sunday, 21 July 2013, 9:40 > >>> Subject: Re: [WestNileNet] Do the Lugbara need a traditional Chief > >>> > >>> Hi Caleb, > >>> > >>> Thanks for appreciating our humble opinions. I would also like to thank > >>> our brothers Mr. Acema and Hon. Okuonzi for initiating this debate. Let > >>> others feel free to give their perspectives to the issues being raised > in > >>> order to enrich our understanding. Such debates are healthy because > they > >>> help us to understand ourselves better. > >>> > >>> Thanks. > >>> > >>> Sam Andema > >>> > >>> From: Caleb Alaka <[email protected]> > >>> To: samuel andema <[email protected]>; A Virtual Network for > friends > >>> of West Nile <[email protected]> > >>> Cc: A Virtual Network for friends of West Nile <[email protected]> > >>> Sent: Saturday, 20 July 2013, 14:29 > >>> Subject: Re: [WestNileNet] Do the Lugbara need a traditional Chief > >>> > >>> Sam and Aggrey, what a treatise, it is not only informative, since > >>> Ambassador Harold is on this forum, I request that he posts his two > >>> articles for further deliberations. We need to understand our past in > >>> order to appreciate the future. I would also appreciate further > >>> alternative views. > >>> > >>> Sent from my iPhone > >>> > >>> On Jul 20, 2013, at 8:21 PM, samuel andema <[email protected]> > wrote: > >>> > >>>> Dear Caleb, > >>>> > >>>> Thank you for inviting us to respond to this very important subject > >>>> regarding the institution of Agofe among the Lugbara. Unfortunately, I > >>>> seem not to have read the articles by my elder brothers Mr. Acema and > >>>> Hon. Dr. Okuonzi or if I did, I never paid much attention to them to > be > >>>> able to respond to the specific arguments they have made. I will > >>>> therefore limit my response to their two claims that you have alluded > to, > >>>> namely: 1) that those seeking Agofe are self seekers, 2) that the > Lugbara > >>>> were egalitarian and believed in equality. > >>>> > >>>> In the first place the claim that those seeking Agofe are self seekers > >>>> without providing sufficient evidence is disrespectful to people like > >>>> Mzee Jason Avutia (Chairman, Lugbara Elders' Association) who played > >>>> crucial role in averting a potentially serious armed conflict between > >>>> National Resistance Army (NRA) and the soldiers who had retreated to > West > >>>> Nile and regrouped to resist the NRA under the leadership of > Brigadier Go > >>>> Wilson Toko. The soldiers were itching to fight but when Toko > convened a > >>>> meeting with the elders from Arua District to seek their approval and > >>>> blessing a war against the advancing NRA, they insisted that war was > not > >>>> the best option. Instead the elders offered to go to the front line > with > >>>> white flags to negotiate a peaceful entry of NRA into West Nile. As a > >>>> result NRA entered West Nile without a single bullet which saved us > from > >>>> bloodshed and destruction of property. Had the elders not intervened > and > >>>> had Toko not listened to their wise counsel, our situation would have > >>>> been worst than the suffering that the people of Gulu have endured for > >>>> decades. > >>>> > >>>> It was against such a background that the need for a more structured > >>>> cultural institution among Lugbara elders arose to facilitate > >>>> coordination and mobilization to respond to common challenges and > >>>> threats. It is important to appreciate the historical context in which > >>>> Agofe evolved to constructively discuss its merits and demerits. This > is > >>>> not to say that there can be no self seekers in such an organization. > >>>> Definitely like any organization there will always be some individuals > >>>> who would want to take advantage of such an institution to advance > their > >>>> selfish interests at the expense of a common good. With time such self > >>>> seekers and their selfish schemes will be exposed. In my view, the > >>>> question should be how we as young people can build on what the elders > >>>> have done but not to tear it down for equally selfish reasons. We > should > >>>> be discussing how we can make the Agofe more democratic, transparent, > and > >>>> all inclusive. The constitution of Uganda recognizes cultural > >>>> institutions as legitimate institutions to play complementary roles in > >>>> promoting unity and service delivery. The Agofe can play an important > >>>> role in resolving conflicts and fostering unity, preserving our > >>>> institution memory through artifacts, promoting our cultural identity, > >>>> promoting tourism, developing language etc. > >>>> > >>>> While I agree with Acema and Okuonzi that the Lugbara were generally > >>>> viewed as an egalitarian society by the dawn of colonialism, I do not > >>>> subscribe to the notion that social formation among the Lugbara > >>>> communities was static and the institutions of leadership would not > have > >>>> grown beyond clans. In fact to the contrary, colonialism came in as a > >>>> disruption to state formation among communities of West Nile as > Ahluwalia > >>>> (1995) and Leopold (2005) accurately describe in their books entitled > >>>> "Plantation and the Politics of Sugar in Uganda" and "Inside West > Nile" > >>>> respectively which I encourage those interested in the history of our > >>>> people to read. Copies of these books can be found in Aristock > Bookshop > >>>> in Kampala. Our challenge is that we have a poor reading culture which > >>>> limits our ability to objectively examine documentary evidence to make > >>>> plausible arguments. > >>>> > >>>> I would like to conclude by suggesting that the executive of this > forum > >>>> should consider organizing an event in form of a workshop or a > conference > >>>> in which people with strong views about the notion of Agofe can be > >>>> invited to present alternative views based on research evidence. I > would > >>>> be willing to offer my own perspective to the discussions. > >>>> > >>>> Thanks. > >>>> > >>>> Sam > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> Subject: [WestNileNet] Do the Lugbara need a traditional Chief > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> Some time ago, Ambassador Achema Harold, opined in one of the dailies > >>>> that those seeking Agofe are self seekers, that the Lugbara were > >>>> egalitarian and believed in equality. Hon Dr. Okuonzi MP Vura rebutted > >>>> the same, and supported the idea, it is not the most pressing issue we > >>>> have, Sam Andema and father Ruffino and others what is your take on > this > >>>> matter. > >>>> > >>>> Sent from my iPhone > >>>> _______________________________________________ > >>>> WestNileNet mailing list > >>>> [email protected] > >>>> http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet > >>>> > >>>> WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > >>>> > >>>> The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them > (including > >>>> attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in > any > >>>> way. > >>>> _______________________________________________ > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> _______________________________________________ > >>>> WestNileNet mailing list > >>>> [email protected] > >>>> http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet > >>>> > >>>> WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > >>>> > >>>> The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them > (including > >>>> attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in > any > >>>> way. > >>>> _______________________________________________ > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> _______________________________________________ > >>> WestNileNet mailing list > >>> [email protected] > >>> http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet > >>> > >>> WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > >>> > >>> The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including > >>> attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any > >>> way. > >>> _______________________________________________ > > _______________________________________________ > > WestNileNet mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet > > > > WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > > > > The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including > attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. > > _______________________________________________ > _______________________________________________ > WestNileNet mailing list > [email protected] > http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet > > WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > > The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including > attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. > _______________________________________________ > > > > _______________________________________________ > WestNileNet mailing list > [email protected] > http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet > > WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > > The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including > attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. > _______________________________________________ > >
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