Patrick Luganda
14 October 2003
Kampala — The blessing by the Emuron, the witchdoctor, is absolutely necessary shortly before Karimojong warriors set out for war or to rustle cattle.
After the Emuron has studied the war map and given the impending battle for cattle a blessing, the women then step into the picture.
As they sing and dance, the women sprinkle water in specially made gourds as they make symbolic first steps into the journey ahead. "The singing is more vigorous when the men come back successfully from a cattle raiding expedition. The men are given pet names depending on their bravery and these are sung out in the victory dance," explains Lanya Ladiya, of Kaabong, Kotido.
It was all very exciting several years ago when the spears were the weapons that dominated the fighting. Cattle rustling was fun and the victors came home filled with glee. If any men died, the women took it just as an accident, a one off incident.
Then, the gun arrived on the scene. First, the warriors enjoyed the new firepower. The women sang in praise of their marksmanship. But, it was not long before the vicious loot and plunder turned from gallantry into misery.
Soon the Dodoth, Jie, Bokora, Matheniko and the other ethnic groupings in Karamoja used their new found asset, the AK47, to loot and counter-loot cattle from one another. The more the cattle raiding, the more the warriors died in the crossfire.
"In the raiding women are raped and at times killed. With more men getting killed, and more women becoming widows with a growing number of orphans. It is really worse for the warriors because they are very polygamous with several wives. This means more orphans," says Grace Loumo, Coordinator of Kaabong Women's Group Organisation (KAWOGO).
Christine Lacun, a member of the group, says that as a result of the vicious cycle of violence, there is an increasing number of widows and orphans.
"Many of the women and children are finding their way out of Karamoja to Mbale and even as far as Jinja and of recent Kampala. Children hide underneath the seats of buses headed for Kampala. Many of them are now street children," says Lacun.
To reverse the violent trend of events in the region, the women have come out to mobilise themselves against the dreadful AK47 and the violence that surrounds it.
Rather than bless the warriors as they have done for centuries, the women are discussing strategies that will save them and their children from extinction. Changing habits can be really hard but changing age-old customs is a daunting challenge.
"We know that it is really going to be hard for the Karimojong to accept change. The women cannot change customary practices just like that. The approach we are taking is to mobilise them through education and initiating development," says Agatha Lasiike, secretary, KAWOGO.
The group has placed peace initiatives as a principal activity in Kotido and wants it to spread throughout the region. However access to the kraals where the warriors live is a problem because of the long distances involved.
"Our peace mission is hinged to development. Our programmes include teaching the women how to prepare safe water, immunising their children, adult literacy campaigns, agro-forestry and sensitising the communities about HIV/AIDS. We are also training traditional birth attendants," says Loumo.
Loumo who founded the organisation in 1989 says that whenever they are able to meet, their activities are boosted by other NGOs with a similar agenda in the region.
Working through grassroots mobilisers, the women's group members are driving home the peace message side by side with the other development issues.
"When we meet for adult literacy lessons or tailoring the importance of peace is emphasised. More and more women are being encouraged to pass on the peace message to their husbands," says Loumo.
Although she hails from Lira district Grace Loumo is married to a Karimojong. Her husband Lt. Col. Loumo is involved in the Karamoja disarmament programme. She strongly believes that the women have a very pivotal role to play in peace building.
"We are concerned about the suffering of our people. There is a lot of domestic violence, cattle rustling and tribal conflict. Children are sent out to look after cows at a tender age. These all affect women and children the most and we have to join hands to end it," says Loumo.
The women do not fire AK 47 rifles. However they have an important cultural role in cattle rustling. The weapon they hold is their tongue.
In Karamoja as in all pastoral communities engaged in conflict, the women fuel the conflicts as they sing war songs in praise of warriors.
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