Moroto, Uganda: Mentioning the word ‘Karimojong’ to anyone from a different tribe, the immediate imagination that person will have is always negative towards the Karimojong, based on previous bad activities that portrayed the Karimojong as a violent community.
Others even bet, saying that even if God comes down and directs them to marry a Karimojong woman or man, they will turn down God’s call because their perception towards the Karimojong still lingers in their minds as bad people.
Over decades, the Karimojong are known to be a community that still retains its culture, but the retention of this culture is slowly fading away, looking at the current generation that has embraced a new modern way of living.
Matthew Lomokol, a 78-year-old Mzee, a resident of Pupu village in Rupa Sub County in Moroto district, recalled how the Karimojong culture used to be very strong during the colonial times.
He said before a girl gets married, she must have reached 30 to 40 years, and she has to date a man who will eventually become her husband, not less than five years. A man should also be between 35 to 42 years.
According to Mzee Lomokol, the girl who’s being dated has to inform her parents, likewise, the boy also. Then the parents of the two children will now meet and discuss to know what clan each of them comes from in case they may be related.
He said the culture doesn’t allow them to sleep together when they are still dating until the traditional marriage is done. In case they mess up during that process, like having sex, a boy will be charged highly by giving elders a bull so that both of them can be cleansed not to get curses.
Paul Pedo, another elder, explained that the girl dating somebody is given a special bead as a signal to other boys who might wish to date her again.
“That bead, she will wear it around her neck and the bangle on her hand so that no man will disturb her again, because those things will speak on her behalf,” he said.
Mr. Pedo added that after the two go through a successful traditional marriage, a girl will be added to wear additional beads and three metallic bangles of different types to show that she’s fully married. A boy will also be given a thread of a skin around his neck to show that he’s married.
Ms. Mary Nakiru, a mother who went through five years of dating her husband, told URN that during their youth in the early 60’s, there were no Karimojong girls going to the streets as prostitutes. Girls were sleeping with their parents in one house but different rooms.
However, Ms. Nakiru noted that the new modern life that girls and boys of the current generation have borrowed from their schools has undermined the powers of the Karimojong culture.
She observed that girls nowadays get married at a teenage age because of the new modern life, and they no longer listen to the advice of the parents.
“That’s why you find that HIV/AIDS is now rampant in the region because of the modern way of living that our children have adopted. Girls and boys date for just two days; the following day, they are already married,” she said.
She noted that the rampant breaking of families in the region is a result of the modern way of living for those who got married in the current generation because they are poorly brought up.
“If you do your survey on families in Karamoja, you will realize that those families that have remained strong are those who got married under the guidance of traditional culture,” she said.
Grace Atyang, a 67-year-old mother, recalled that during their days, a girl was married with the tune of 200 and 300 heads of cattle. But nowadays, with the new modern way of living, it’s rare to get a girl being married for 20 cows, however much she’s well educated.
“When I hear of marriage nowadays, I don’t even admire to go because what’s happening there is not a real marriage that represents the Karimojong culture,” she said.
Joyce Akolong, another mother, said that in their early 70’s, married women were all wearing the marriage bangle and beads because it was a cultural dictate, and there was no cheating because of those two items. Unlike nowadays, where girls are not even interested in wearing traditional clothes because they feel the beads and bangles are inconveniencing them.
“You see, with our culture, wearing beads and other accessories is a traditional philosophy of elegance and beauty. The more layers of beads you wear, the more respect and attention you get from rich men, and the greater the bride wealth. But nowadays, girls don’t want to wear them,” she said.
