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Concept
Adhola people
Summary
The Adhola people, also known as Jopadhola, are a Nilotic ethnic group of Luo peoples that live in Tororo District of Eastern Uganda and comprise about eight percent of the country's total population. They speak Dhopadhola, (a Luo language), which belongs to the Western Nilotic branch of the Nilotic language family. They are primarily pastoralists. The Jopadhola call their land Padhola which, according to historian Bethwell Ogot, is an elliptic form of “Pa Adhola” meaning the "place of Adhola", the founding father of the Jopadhola people. Officially, land of the Adhola is called Padhola, but the Baganda who misinterpret 'Widoma' – a Dhopadhola word for 'war cry' meaning 'You are in trouble' refer to the Jopadhola as "Badama". The social structure of the Jopadhola can be described as semi centralised because there is no traditional centralized government and its organization is limited to a clan called Nono. There are over 52 clans, each with cultural practices, common ancestry and a distinct lineage.
Clans reproduce their notion of an independent court called 'koti' using an abridged legal doctrine of separation of powers, and partially mimicking lower level government(local councils) and judicial features. The koti conflates executive and judicial functions, furthermore, legal qualifications are largely irrelevant. The composition of the koti aims to achieve age and gender parity through the appointment of youth and women representatives. The election of office bearers is based on fulfilling social obligations to kin through meritocracy, and to protecting of the clan from evil through ritual (chowiroki). Dr. Maureen Owor argues that given the fact that the court and litigants are personally acquainted as kin, Jopadhola clans appear to have created an "expanded" notion of "judicial" independence – one that is culturally appropriate for their local African context.
Luo peoples
The Jopadhola arrived in southeastern Uganda in the 16th century during the long journey Luo migration from Egypt.
Official source
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