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Uganda Eastern Nilotic Language Groups
Historians believe that Uganda's northeastern districts
were
inhabited by herders migrating from the east over a period
of
several centuries. Their twentieth-century descendants
live in
Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda, where the largest groups are the
Karamojong (people of Karamoja) ethnic groups. These
include the
Karamojong proper, as well as Jie, Dodoth, and several
small
related groups, constituting about 12 percent of the
population.
All Karamojong peoples speak almost the same language
(Akaramojong), with different pronunciations. The Iteso
(people
of Teso) south of Karamoja also speak an Eastern Nilotic
language
(Ateso) and are historically related to the Karamojong,
but the
Iteso are sometimes classified separately, based on
cultural
differences (many of which are recently acquired). The
small
Teuso (Ik), Tepeth, and Labwor populations in the
northeast also
speak Eastern Nilotic languages but maintain separate
cultural
identities. In northwestern Uganda, the Kakwa are also
classified
as Eastern Nilotic, based on linguistic similarities to
the
Karamojong, despite the fact that Kakwa society is
surrounded by
Western Nilotic and Central Sudanic language speakers.
Data as of December 1990
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