Reading the third schedule of our Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (article 10(a)) has me wondering how so little I know about our indigenous communities, my fellow Ugandans. And yet I identify as a cultural anthropologist.
Some of our indigenous communities, like the Aliba, the Batuku, the Gimara, the Mening, the Ngikutio, the Reli and the Vonoma, I have never heard of them being spoken of in popular discourse.
Seriously, do these communities have some of their members in the top echelon of leadership in the national government? If so, who are they? And are their languages? Are those languages still spoken?
And it got me thinking. Before we add on others, like the Bayindi, let us audit the degree to which we are celebrating the existing cultural identities of our nation; or, perhaps, the rate at which we are facilitating their ethnocide.
Anyways, here is the complete list of Uganda’s Indigenous communities as at 1st February, 1926 as published in the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda:
- Acholi
- Aliba
- Alur
- Aringa
- Baamba
- Babukusu
- Babwisi
- Bafumbira
- Baganda
- Bagisu
- Bagungu
- Bagwe
- Bagwere
- Bahehe
- Bahororo
- Bakenyi
- Bakiga
- Bakonzo
- Banyabindi
- Banyabutumbi
- Banyakore
- Banyara
- Banyaruguru
- Banyarwanda
- Banyole
- Banyooro
- Baruli
- Barundi
- Basamia
- Basoga
- Basongora
- Batagwenda
- Batoro
- Batuku
- Batwa
- Chope
- Dodoth
- Ethur
- Gimara
- Ik (Teuso)
- Iteso
- Jie
- Jonam
- Jopadhola
- Kakwa
- Karimojong
- Kebu (Okebu)
- Kuku
- Kumam
- Langi
- Lendu
- Lugbara
- Madi
- Mening
- Mvuba
- Napore
- Ngikutio
- Nubi
- Nyangia
- Pokot
- Reli
- Sabiny
- Shana
- So (Tepeth)
- Vanoma
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6 responses to “Uganda’s Indigenous Communities as at 1st February 1926”
Good to share the indigenous groups in Uganda but for me I can only remember less than 20 tribes.
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