by admin admin

Meet the warm hearted people sometimes called the “IK” meaning “head of migration”, they are an ethnic group of people living in the mountains of north eastern Uganda near the border with Kenya and South Sudan, next to the more populous Karamajong and Turkana people. They were displaced from their land to create the Kidepo Valley National Park and consequently suffered extreme famine. Also their weaknesses relative to other tribes mean they were regularly raided.

What they do for a living

They were hunters and gatherers however due to cattle raids from other tribes e.g. the Turkana, Pokot of Kenya, the Karamojong of Uganda and the Toposa of South Sudan, they gave up on cattle raring and became subsistence farmers who grind their own grain, goat keepers and honey producers. Their language is a member of the highly divergent Kuliak sub group of the Nilo-Saharan languages.

Their cultural habits

The band age groups include; the junior group which consists of children from 3-8years and the senior groups consist of those between 8 and 13 years.

The IK are polygamous and men can marry as many wives as they want depending on the number of beehives one has. A respectable man is one who owns as many as 50 beehives and can give about 5-10 hives as bride price. The first wife is the only one who gets the husband’s status over other wives and inheritance after divorce or after death of the husband is practiced. To them virginity loss before marriage is not an issue so adolescents tend to fornicate away from community eye. The proximity of boys and girls in the community affords many opportunities. However, sex and marriage with in the same clan is prohibited and if a woman commits adultery is punished by death. Every woman has a hut and men make rounds among their wives in the neighbourhood. Children after the age of 5 years they move out to stay with their grandmothers until they are about 11-13 years. Girls get married and boys team up groups of 5 or 6 and build up one hut to stay in until they get wives and leave. No adults look after children; instead they teach each other the basics of survival.

Education system

A big percentage of this tribe is illiterate with only one young IK woman at Kampala International University and would be the first graduate of this tribe as the other one passed away and now they have their first member of parliament   in the 10th Uganda parliament in 2016, a history making moment. In primary schools, teachers there either completed primary education or just stopped in primary six, there is no secondary education as there are no secondary schools and all those completing their primary education have to move a long distance to neighbouring villages or drop out of school.

 A day with the IK people high up on the Morungole mountains which has some of the stunning scenery In all Uganda is simply an amazing adventure it gives you a rare insight into the endangered tribe in Africa with less than 10.000 people which renders it as endangered for its future existence as they attempt to eke out a living high in the mountains with some of the most fantastic scenery in the whole Uganda.

Getting to the IK village is such a memorable experience since it involves an all-day venture up and down the steep mountains with a guide who speaks the IK language. You will find it simply stunning, breath taking scenery as you climb higher.

 

WRITTEN BY: Rachel N