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Acholi Belief System
Some of the major disturbing problems of sustainable development in Africa today stems from the desecration of cherished cultural sites, belief systems and practices that had sustained the indigenous people for generations’ pasts.

The people now known as Acholi are an ethnic group found in northern Uganda and South Sudan. Originally they were the Luo-Gang or Jo-Gang – meaning ‘home people’, part of the larger Luo group who legendary originated from the Meroe Kingdom. According to oral tradition, prior to the advent of the colonialist, Luo Gang was a nation of its own governed by their time tested traditional and cultural norms, values and belief system for past generations.

The Pre-Colonial Acholi People Belief System and World View
The Jo-Gang people’s well developed beliefs systems, norms and customs regulated the social and economic activities as well as moral behavior of members of their societies. These beliefs, norms and customs are believed to have been prescribed, or sanctified, by a Supreme Deity called "Nyarubanga", and thus formed the nucleus of their traditional religion which informed an ordered pattern of existence on "Wi Lobo" (on earth).

The Jo-Gang people believed the Universe is divided into two worlds. The first and temporary world is the secular world of mortal man. This world is known in Lwo (Acholi Dialect) as "Wi Lobo", meaning "earth’s surface". The second and permanent world is called "Piny", meaning the "underworld" of deities called "Jogi” (singular: "Jok"), and the ancestral spirits known as "Tipu pa Kwari".

The belief maintained that the souls of human beings born as mortals in "Wi Lobo" or surface of the earth could not die but would continue to live permanently in the Universe. But that they had limited time to live in "Wi Lobo". When the time allotted to them by Nyarubanga for their sojourn in "Wi Lobo" expired, they were bound to shed off their mortal flesh in which they entered the "Wi Lobo" through the wombs of mortal women, and assume a different form of permanent existence as invisible spirits within the "Piny" or permanent underworld.

Categories of the Underworld
According to this belief, the "Piny" or permanent underworld is divided into four zones of exclusive occupation by four categories of inhabitants known as "Jo-Piny"-people of the underworld. These are:-

1.	The vaguely known place which is believed to be the repository of life and spiritual powers concerned with the two worlds, where the Supreme Deity-"Nyarubanga" reside with her helpers. A place considered by the diviners and the elders who guided the societies to be the "kernel" of the Universe, where only selected pure immortal souls live.

2.	The second zone is the residential area of the benevolent intermediary deities known as "Jogi" (singular "Jok"), who were concerned with the welfare of mortal beings. They are believed to be very close to Nyarubanga the Supreme Deity, hence were empowered to manage the affairs of the mortal beings, through chosen diviners known as "Ajwagi" (singular: "Ajwaka"), They have powers to summon the deities and ancestral spirits to commune with mortal elders front of the "Abila" or Ancestral Shrines whenever there is a need to do so in order to guide the mortals on what to do for their own good.

3.	The third segment is the home of good spirits of ancestors who were close to the deities of many ranks and powers, and can influence the fate of members of their mortal families or clans for good or for evil. They are not visible but can speak to their living relatives through the "Ajwagi", and make their wishes known through the same medium. The occasions for their communion with the mortals are often during the rites of "Kwero Kodi" (blessing of seeds before planting) and "Bollo- Jok" (offering of first harvest of the season) performed at the "Abila". These are actually Thanks-giving Ceremonies.

4.	The last portion of the underworld which is dreaded is called "Gang Cen", meaning "home of damned spirits". This is the home of persons who died with bad hearts and their souls are condemned and chased away from the "Abila". The spirits interned there are said to nurture extremely bitter feelings, and occasionally escape and bond with a living mortal. When this happens, the victim is referred to as having been processed with “Cen” and adopts very weird behaviors and characteristics. With the help of “Ajwaka”, Elders perform special rituals to exorcise the “cen” from a possessed person for him/her to resume normalcy.

Source of Information
The above information on the "Piny", or the underworld, was obtained from some leading Diviners known as "Ajwagi" and the Masters of Ceremonies known as "Luted Jok" or “Lutum Piny", who were intimately concerned with the management of relations of the "Wi Lobo" and “Ka-Piny”. The interviewed "Ajwagi" were led by Labongo Lacic of Lukee Clan, and Obala Acaa Wod Bal of Bolo Clan, both Jo-Gang of Puranga. Two teams of Masters of Ceremonies: one led by Daudi Lukako of Lukwor Clan, Kitgum, and the other by Odwar Lungwinya of Parwec Clan, Puranga Chiefdom were equally interviewed.

Essence of Belief System
The existence of rich bodies of African traditional practice is often based on sound theory, which emphasizes maintaining the welfare of the people at all times. According to study carried in both Southern Sudan and Uganda, no living Luo person would like his or her soul to go to "Gang Cen" after he or she passed away. For this reason the elders were duty bound to guide members of their clans well, in order that they may be accepted in the homes of the good spirits of their ancestors who lived in the "Abila". To this end a moral code was developed. These are not just conceptual but cosmological and epistemological as seen from the description of the cultural processes involved. Lessons learnt from here is that there should now be an attempt to reconcile the systems of thought upon which more synthesized and comprehensive approach can be envisioned on a global basis. It may be prudent to acknowledge the positive potential of traditional rituals and beliefs, and not as contradictory or competing approaches with others but as complementary to them. To ignore or discard traditional ways that has been seen to work in the past makes no sense; but neither can they provide the cure to all ills. The challenge is to understand and utilise all different approaches in ways that complement each other with synergy, rather than working against each other. As Professor Kwesi Kwaa Prah asserts:

“There is a sense in which the signification of Africa to knowledge is argumentatively defensible; not only defensible but also evidentially sustainable. That is recognizing that there are distinct traditions, histories, chronologies located in specific societies in which a distinct strand of knowledge production and knowledge articulation as an epistemological fund within specific time frame can be traced”.