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The Lango (plural Langi) people live in Lango sub-region in the central area of Uganda
Uganda

The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania....
, north of Lake Kyoga
Lake Kyoga

Lake Kyoga is a large shallow lake complex of Uganda, about 1,720 km? in area and at an elevation of 914 m. The Victoria Nile flows through the lake on its way from Lake Victoria to Lake Albert....
. Lango Sub-region comprises the districts of Amolatar
Amolatar District

Amolatar is a Districts of Uganda in the Northern Region of Uganda....
, Apac
Apac District

Apac is a Districts of Uganda in northern Uganda. Like other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town'. It was the location of the infamous Aboke abductions by the Lord's Resistance Army....
, Dokolo, Lira
Lira District

Lira is a Districts of Uganda in Lango sub-region in northern Uganda. Like other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Lira . The majority ethnic group is the Lango....
 and Oyam. The Lango population is about 1.5 million according to the 2002 population census.

Lango language
Lango language (Uganda)

Lango is a Western Nilotic languages language of the Luo languages branch, spoken by the Lango people in Uganda. It is mostly spoken in Lango sub-region, in central Uganda....
, or Luo, is mutually intelligible with Acholi
Acholi language

Acholi is a language primarily spoken by the Acholi people in the districts of Gulu District, Kitgum and Pader District, a region known as Acholiland in northern Uganda....
 and Kumam
Kumam

The Kumam are a Ugandan ethnic group of about 150,000 living mainly in Kaberamaido as well as the western areas of Teso sub-region, and the south-east of Lira District....
, and related to other Luo languages
Luo languages

The Nilo-Saharan languages Luo languages comprise about 15 languages spoken in an area ranging from southern Sudan via Uganda to southern Kenya, with Dholuo language extending into northern Tanzania and Alur language into the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
 of Uganda and Kenya.

o speak a Western Nilotic (Luo
Luo languages

The Nilo-Saharan languages Luo languages comprise about 15 languages spoken in an area ranging from southern Sudan via Uganda to southern Kenya, with Dholuo language extending into northern Tanzania and Alur language into the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
) language like their northern neighbours, but share many cultural characteristics with their Ateker
Ateker

Ateker or Atekerin is a common name for the closely related Jie, Karimojong, Turkana, and Teso peoples and their languages. Itung'a and Teso have been used among ethnographers, while the term Teso-Turkana languages is sometimes used for the languages, which are of Eastern Nilotic languages stock....
 (Eastern Nilotic) neighbours to the east. Some anthropologists assert that they are part of a group that migrated from Ethiopia
Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast....
 around 1600 A.D.






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Lango Subregion
The Lango (plural Langi) people live in Lango sub-region in the central area of Uganda
Uganda

The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania....
, north of Lake Kyoga
Lake Kyoga

Lake Kyoga is a large shallow lake complex of Uganda, about 1,720 km? in area and at an elevation of 914 m. The Victoria Nile flows through the lake on its way from Lake Victoria to Lake Albert....
. Lango Sub-region comprises the districts of Amolatar
Amolatar District

Amolatar is a Districts of Uganda in the Northern Region of Uganda....
, Apac
Apac District

Apac is a Districts of Uganda in northern Uganda. Like other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town'. It was the location of the infamous Aboke abductions by the Lord's Resistance Army....
, Dokolo, Lira
Lira District

Lira is a Districts of Uganda in Lango sub-region in northern Uganda. Like other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Lira . The majority ethnic group is the Lango....
 and Oyam. The Lango population is about 1.5 million according to the 2002 population census.

Lango language
Lango language (Uganda)

Lango is a Western Nilotic languages language of the Luo languages branch, spoken by the Lango people in Uganda. It is mostly spoken in Lango sub-region, in central Uganda....
, or Luo, is mutually intelligible with Acholi
Acholi language

Acholi is a language primarily spoken by the Acholi people in the districts of Gulu District, Kitgum and Pader District, a region known as Acholiland in northern Uganda....
 and Kumam
Kumam

The Kumam are a Ugandan ethnic group of about 150,000 living mainly in Kaberamaido as well as the western areas of Teso sub-region, and the south-east of Lira District....
, and related to other Luo languages
Luo languages

The Nilo-Saharan languages Luo languages comprise about 15 languages spoken in an area ranging from southern Sudan via Uganda to southern Kenya, with Dholuo language extending into northern Tanzania and Alur language into the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
 of Uganda and Kenya.

History

Rhinoceros Male 2003
Lango speak a Western Nilotic (Luo
Luo languages

The Nilo-Saharan languages Luo languages comprise about 15 languages spoken in an area ranging from southern Sudan via Uganda to southern Kenya, with Dholuo language extending into northern Tanzania and Alur language into the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
) language like their northern neighbours, but share many cultural characteristics with their Ateker
Ateker

Ateker or Atekerin is a common name for the closely related Jie, Karimojong, Turkana, and Teso peoples and their languages. Itung'a and Teso have been used among ethnographers, while the term Teso-Turkana languages is sometimes used for the languages, which are of Eastern Nilotic languages stock....
 (Eastern Nilotic) neighbours to the east. Some anthropologists assert that they are part of a group that migrated from Ethiopia
Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast....
 around 1600 A.D. and split into two branches, with one branch moving to present day Kenya
Kenya

The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the northeast, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan to the northwest, with the Indian Ocean running along the southeast border....
 to form the Kalenjin group
Kalenjin

Kalenjin is an ethnic group of Nilotic origin living in the Great Rift Valley in western Kenya. The Kalenjin population is estimated at roughly 3 million....
 and Maasai cluster
Maasai

The Maasai are an Indigenous peoples African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. Due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa, they are among the most well-known African ethnic groups internationally....
. The other branch, called Ateker, migrated westwards and entered Uganda from the north-east. Ateker further split into four groups to form the Karamojong
Karamojong

The Karamojong or Karimojong, are an ethnic group of agro-pastoral herders. They live in the southern part of Karamoja region in the north-east of Uganda, occupying an area equivalent to tenth of the country....
, Iteso
Iteso

The Iteso, plural are an ethnic group in Uganda and Kenya . They are the second largest ethnic group in Uganda, living mainly in Teso sub-region, i.e., the districts of Amuria District, Soroti District, Kumi District, Katakwi, Pallisa, Bukedea, Kaberamaido and Tororo....
, Kumam
Kumam

The Kumam are a Ugandan ethnic group of about 150,000 living mainly in Kaberamaido as well as the western areas of Teso sub-region, and the south-east of Lira District....
 and Lango. The Lango migrated further to the west, and there they encountered the Acholi
Acholi

Acholi is an ethnic group from the districts of Gulu District, Kitgum District and Pader District in northern Uganda , and Magwe County in southern Sudan....
, who they pushed northwards from the northern part of Lake Kyoga
Lake Kyoga

Lake Kyoga is a large shallow lake complex of Uganda, about 1,720 km? in area and at an elevation of 914 m. The Victoria Nile flows through the lake on its way from Lake Victoria to Lake Albert....
. Through prolonged interaction with the Acholi, Lango lost Ateker language and took up Luo spoken by their Acholi neighbours. Many Lango identify with the Luo, refuting the theory that they are Ateker.

Ugandan Districts Affected By Lords Resistance Army

Politics and violence

Lango have often been victims of the volatile politics of Uganda. The first Ugandan prime minister and two time president, Milton Obote
Milton Obote

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-76054-0003, Leipzig, Kenia-Tag, Gerald G?tting.jpgApolo Milton Obote , Prime Minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and President of Uganda from 1966 to 1971 and from 1980 to 1985, was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda to independence from the United Kingdom colonialism administration in 1962....
, was a Lango.

Idi Amin

During the 1970s, state inspired violence by the Government of Idi Amin
Idi Amin

Idi Amin Dada , commonly known as Idi Amin, was a Ugandan Military dictatorship and the President of Uganda of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colony regiment, the King's African Rifles, in 1946, and advanced to the rank of Major General and Commander of the Ugandan Army....
 was used to decimate the elite of the Lango and their neighbours the Acholi
Acholi

Acholi is an ethnic group from the districts of Gulu District, Kitgum District and Pader District in northern Uganda , and Magwe County in southern Sudan....
.

Karamojong cattle raids

Together with the Teso and Acholi, the Lango have often been victims of attacks by Karamojong
Karamojong

The Karamojong or Karimojong, are an ethnic group of agro-pastoral herders. They live in the southern part of Karamoja region in the north-east of Uganda, occupying an area equivalent to tenth of the country....
 cattle-rustlers.

Lord's Resistance Army

The 19-year rebellion against the government of Uganda by the Lord's Resistance Army
Lord's Resistance Army

The Lord's Resistance Army insurgency is a guerilla campaign waged since 1987 by the sectarian Lord's Resistance Army rebel group, operating mainly in northern Uganda, but also in South Sudan and eastern DR Congo....
 (LRA) is behind a massive population displacement in the region. Rebels continue to attack camps for displaced people, burn homes, loot, abduct children, rape and kill, in a brutal campaign of violence.


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