SHOW ME YOUR CULTURE

Taking full pride in his culture, Adson had dressed in a checked green nakatukok, a sheet wrapped around his waist, upwards he was in a yellow eplan that can be called a vest his neck and wrists surrounded by multicolored ngachilo(beads). His feet were comfortable in the ngatangai (scandals made from car tires). In one hand he held an ebela (the herdsman's stick) and in the other an ekicholong (stool). He was the true definition of a nomad. It was cultural day at school and all pupils were dressed in a way that pleased their ancestors.

The celebrations were going well till a war broke up between two boys Otenyo and Okello, Otenyo dressed as the Luo while Okello was clad in an Alur attire. The fight between these two boys could not be good at all. As Otenyo pushed the other boy down and was about to fall on the ground, Adson threw his ekicholong systematically and Okello landed on it spinning him a few rounds before he could land on the ground and probably shatter all his teeth. Still raging with anger, Otenyo raised his fist to hit Otenyo who was just gaining his balance, Adson threw the ebela at his feet and the force the stick came with threw Otenyo to the extreme corner of room. “A fight between the Luo and Alur always never ended till one of them was dead, the hatred of these two dated way back that you cannot believe that they came from the same blood.” Mr Mubiru explained to the onlookers as he intervened to stop the two boys from harming one another.

“Not a few centuries ago, an old man with two sons migrated from the sub-Sahara looking for a place with water, fertile land and pasture for their cattle. As they had reached that land, the old man continued to grow older and called upon his son Labong and gave him a golden spear that had the old man had bravely used to get his family to this desired land. The spear holder was the leader of the family that had now grown into a clan. He was entrusted to protect the clan from all danger that the clan would face.

One day as Labong was in the wilderness hunting and exploring the land, an elephant attacked the village and started knocking down the crops and huts that were in its way. The villagers started running around in fear and confusion crying for help from every angle. Gipir the young brother of Labong heard the confusion and ran out of his hut to see what the commotion was about. When he saw the elephant, he ran to the room where they kept the fighting equipment, picked a spear and threw it at the elephant, wounded, the elephant ran off to the forest. By the time Labong came back from the forest to find a celebrations and jubilations. When he heard about his brother’s brave and heroic move, he was filled with rage and jealousy and wished to do away with him, he wanted all the victory to himself as the older brother. He did not even join others in the celebrations. A few days later, Labong wanted to go binge hunting with his fellow strong men but on entering the thingira (the hunting equipment room) he could not find his golden spear. On asking his young brother, Gipir admitted that in the rush to scare off the elephant, he must have used his brother’s golden spear. Labong was so furious and demanded that he wanted his spear back.

Left with no choice, Gipir had to leave his family behind, wander into the forest and find the spear. He wandered around the forest for many days hungry and thirsty but with no sign of the elephant or the spear. In the nights he would light a fire to scare off the leopards and lions. Months later after the wild goose chase, he was so bitter, tired exhausted and fed up, his brother had promised to kill him if he ever showed up at the village without his golden spear. Gipir laid in the savannah grass awaiting which ever wild animal could come and eat him up. The sun shone brightly that day that he was blinded by the sunlight. In his half sleep waiting for his death, an old man that resembled his grandfather came and picked him up and took him to his hut. He was an herbalist who survived on the wild animals and wild fruits.

The old man tendered to Gipir till he was back on his feet, he hunted for the spear while helping the old man find herbs and food, and they became good friends who explored the forest together. One day Gipir and the old man were moving in the forest when they came across a huge pile of bones and in the middle was a spear, when Gipir leaned in to have a better look, it was indeed the golden spear. He was more excited to have found his brother’s heirloom. The old man was sad to see Gipir leave as he had grown fond of the young man and used to having his company around, the old man gave Gipir a set of beautiful beads as a take home gift.

When Gipir reached the village, everyone was very happy to see him, his brother was the first one to run and embrace him. He had missed him so dearly and no longer cared about the spear, many years had passed now. Gipir handed the spear to his brother and rejoined with his wives and children. Years later Gipir was making a necklace with his beads that his old friend had gifted him when Labong’s last born swallowed one of Gipir’s beads. Gipir treasured each of his beads that he went to his brother and demanded that he wanted his bead. Labong pleaded with him and told him that he could have any bead in his family but Gipir reminded him about the spear incident. Labong’s pleas fell on stone as Gipir wanted his bead or nothing less, left with no other choice, Labong had to kill his child till and retrieve the bead from the body.

After that incident, the relationship between the brothers became so bitter that they could not even live together, as a result they buried an axe at a place called Wang Lei and separated. Gipir led the Alur clan and settled west of Wang Lei, as Labong led the Luo clan east. Till now the descendants of Gipir and Labong have never been at peace with each other.” Mr. Mubiru finished narrating to the pupils.

“How about changing history for once and making peace with these two rivalry tribes” Adson inquired from his teacher. It was clear that the two tribes were filled with so much feud that they needed reconciliation, “how about they make a blood vow!” An older kid from the audience dressed as a clan head suggested, and before they knew it, the whole school started chanting Blood vow! Blood vow!

A blood vow in ancient times was a way of making peace where two rivals each cut their wrists poured blood into a gourd and all drank or they joined their wrists together for each to pick up the blood of the other as a peace offering. But as times advanced and diseases like AIDS emerged, blood vows were abolished. “That’s unheard of, blood vows are dangerous, and the kids could transmit diseases” the headmaster protested when the news got to him. “What if there was a safe way to do the blood vow?” Miss Anatalie intervened, all eyes in the hall turned to her. She went ahead to elaborate that in their culture they still practiced blood vows where those that wished to make peace pricked their pointing finger smeared the blood on the coffee bean and the gave the other person to swallow and the other party did the same.

With the aim to end this feud for once and for all, the parents of the two boys were called to school immediately and with their consent, videos were recorded, dry coffee beans were brought and the two boys made a blood vow in the name of their tribes to never attack each other but be at peace, they urged each of their tribe mates to follow suit. The two boys Otenyo Solomon and Okello Blair were named heroes of cultural day and the event ended musically with pupils from different cultures showcasing their dances and music.