The Lugbara live in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

, and South Sudan. In Lugbara mythology, Adroa appeared in both good and evil aspects; he was the creator god and appeared on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

as a man who was near death. He was depicted as a very tall white man with only one half of a body, missing one

eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and con ...

, one leg, etc. His children were called the Adroanzi. The Adroanzi were nature gods of specific

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that ar ...

s and other sacred wild areas. At night, they followed people and protected them from

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage ...

s and bandits as long as they did not look over their shoulder to ensure that an Adroanzi was following; if the person did so, the Adroanzi killed them. The people they killed, they ate. They were also sometimes known as water snakes. Some Africans consider them gardeners.

Hero-ancestors

God created Gborogboro (‘the person coming from the sky’) and a woman named Meme (‘the person who came alone’). Meme bore a boy and girl who in turn produced a male and female pair. The names and number of generations vary according to various myths. Some myths say the

siblings A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised separ ...

did not have intercourse but women gave birth after goat's blood was poured on their legs to symbolize

menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of ...

. Lugbara believe conception occurs three to four days after menstruation. However, all versions state that

bridewealth Bride price, bride-dowry ( Mahr in Islam), bride-wealth, or bride token, is money, property, or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the woman or the family of the woman he will be married to or is just about to marry. Bride dow ...

was not given. All this took place at a place called Loloi by Lugbara, somewhere in

Southern Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...

. The last pair of siblings produced the two hero-ancestors, Jaki and Dribidu (‘the hairy one’) who came to the present land of Lugbara and begot many sons (founders of the current clans). Both heroes could perform supernatural and magical feats. Jaki died on Mount Liru while Dribidu died on Mount Eti (Wati) in Terego where he had settled. His other name was Banyale (‘Eater of men’) because he ate his children until he was discovered and driven away from his earlier home in the East bank of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

. He enjoyed the human

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

a lot.

References

* Middleton, J. (1960). ''Lugbara religion; ritual and authority among an East African people''. London: Published for the International African Institute by the Oxford University Press. Reprinted 1999; . {{Africa-myth-stub

Hero-ancestors

See also

References