Kumam People
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The Kumam people are part of a
Hamites Hamites is the name formerly used for some Northern and Horn of Africa peoples in the context of a Scientific racism, now-outdated model of dividing humanity into different races; this was developed originally by Europeans in support of coloni ...
ethnic group of about 720,000 census 2024, living mainly Kumam Sub-Region of Kaberamaido, Soroti, Soroti City, Kalaki, parts of Serere, Dokolo and Amolatar respectively in the western areas of
Teso sub-region Teso sub-region (previously known as Teso District) is a sub-region in Eastern Region, Uganda that consists of: * Amuria District * Bukedea District * Kaberamaido District * Kapelebyong District * Katakwi District * Kumi District * Ngora D ...
and the south-east of
Lango sub-region Lango sub-region is a region in Uganda covering an area of 15,570.7km consisting of the districts of: *Alebtong District, Alebtong *Amolatar District, Amolatar *Apac District, Apac *Dokolo District, Dokolo *Kole District, Kole *Lira Distric ...
. The Kumam are an ethnic group of people found in
Kaberamaido Kaberamaido is a town in Eastern Uganda, serving as the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Kaberamaido District. It is also home to the district headquarters. Location Kaberamaido is located approximately by road, northwest ...
,
Soroti Soroti is a city in Eastern Region, Uganda, Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main city, commercial, and administrative center in Soroti District, one of the nine administrative districts in the Teso sub-region. Soroti city was immediately app ...
, Kalaki,
Dokolo Dokolo is a town in the Northern Region, Uganda, Northern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial centre of Dokolo District. Location Dokolo is located approximately , by road, southeast of Lira, Uganda, Lira, t ...
, Amolatar districts and the Lake Kyoga Basin Area in Eastern Uganda. They share Soroti district with the Iteso and some parts of formerly Lira district with the Langi. In the Lango region, they are now found in Dokolo district which was detached from Lira District. They are found at the shores of
Lake Kyoga Lake Kyoga or Lake Kioga (literally 'the place of bathing' in Runyoro language) is a large shallow lake in Uganda, about in area and at an elevation of 1,033 metres. The Victoria Nile flows through the lake on its way from Lake Victoria to Lake ...
(Namasale). In Soroti district, they are found in Serere, Asuret, Kamuda, katine, Soroti city, Arapai as well as the outskirts of Soroti district neighboring Kaberamaido. Refer to the Ugandan Journal Vol II, No 2 of 1947 , "Notes on the KUMAM" by Reverend Father C.I Walshe of the Catholica Mission (Mill Hill Fathers), Lwala in Kalaki. https://original-ufdc.uflib.ufl.edu/UF00080855/00026/49j. Also Refer to "Kumam ikare me Asonya" by I.E Ekadu, 1961 Makerere University They speak
Kumam language Kumam may refer to: * Kumam people, a Nilotic ethnic group of Uganda * Kumam dialect, the variety of Southern Luo The Southern Luo languages are a subgroup of the Luo languages and form a dialect cluster spoken from Uganda and neighboring coun ...
similar to the language spoken by the Lango, with some Ateso vocabulary.


Origin

The Kumam descend from the early fishing, agricultural, and herding communities of Ethiopia in 1560 AD or there about. Who migrated southwards towards Uganda because of land pressure around the 17th century. Today, they live on the shores of
Lake Kyoga Lake Kyoga or Lake Kioga (literally 'the place of bathing' in Runyoro language) is a large shallow lake in Uganda, about in area and at an elevation of 1,033 metres. The Victoria Nile flows through the lake on its way from Lake Victoria to Lake ...
in the districts of
Serere Serere is a town in Eastern Uganda. It is the chief political, administrative and commercial town in Serere District, and the district headquarters are located there. The district is named after the town. Location Serere lies in Serere Distri ...
,
Soroti Soroti is a city in Eastern Region, Uganda, Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main city, commercial, and administrative center in Soroti District, one of the nine administrative districts in the Teso sub-region. Soroti city was immediately app ...
and
Kaberamaido Kaberamaido is a town in Eastern Uganda, serving as the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Kaberamaido District. It is also home to the district headquarters. Location Kaberamaido is located approximately by road, northwest ...
Kumam traditions say are part of the Iteso people. They probably lost part of their original Leno Dialect similar Dialect from Ethiopian Oromo region
Ateker Ateker, or ŋaTekerin, is a common name for the closely related Jie, Karamojong, Turkana, Toposa, Nyangatom, Teso and Lango peoples and their languages. These ethnic groups inhabit an area across Uganda and Kenya. ''Itung'a'' (a vernacular te ...
language and adopted some words from the
Western Nilotic The Western Nilotic languages are one of the three primary branches of the Nilotic languages, along with the Eastern Nilotic languages and Southern Nilotic languages; Themselves belonging to the Eastern Sudanic subfamily of Nilo-Saharan. The ab ...
Luo Luo or LUO may refer to: Luo peoples and languages *Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa **Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania. *** Luol ...
spoken by their Lango neighbours who are also Hamaties, Hamatic People although the speak a lanaguage almost understandable by the
Acholi Acholi may refer to: * Acholi people, a Luo nation of Uganda, in the Northern part of the country. * Acholi language, a Nilotic language * Acholi Inn, a building in Gulu, Uganda * Acholi nationalism, a political ideology of Acholi people {{dab ...
neighbours – due to prolonged contact and intermarriages. The Kumam must have preceded the ITeso in migration and settled in Soroti later hence, the Karimojong people from whom Iteso came know Soroti by the name 'Solot' and not teso.This points to the possibility of a later migration after iteso from Karamoja.


Culture and customs


Political set-up

The Kumam had political structure under clan leaders known as ''wegi Atekerin''. Other people of importance in the society were ''wegi ikodeta Cel ''(leaders of dancing groups), and leaders of ''Asonya''(ancient) homes, ''wegi Cel''. The ''wegi Cel'' were in most cases ''Dogolan'' or ''Odonge ikekoros'' (heads of part of a clan descending form one man). These clan leaders were responsible for the maintenance of law and order as well as general administration. They arbitrated in matters of politics and social affairs. However currently the Kumam have transformed into a cultural chiefdom under the keadership of His Royal Highness HRH "Won Ateker" Papa Kumam who is the supreme cultural leader of the Kumam people. He is elected from among the "Wegi Ibukui" or Clan Leaders of the different clans. The Wegi Ibukui together with the council of Elders Wegi Etok Me Kumam constitute the powerful Kumam cultural heritage or Etok me Kumam. The Kumam also have a cabinet appointed by HRH won Ateker Papa Kumam to oversee and manage the activities of the Cultural Institution - Etok Me Kumam on his behalf with a number of ministers, deputy prime ministers and prime minister.


Social set-up

Music, dance and story telling played a big part in kumam lifestyle. At any time music would be made, at various functions, such as ceremonial, religious and political functions. In the evening, the old people would narrate stories to the younger generation as part of the oral traditions.


Marriage

Previously, the parents would arrange marriages for their children. Girls would be betrothed to boys at an early age. In effect, the young girl would become wife to a respective boy but she would wait to be officially handed over when she came of age. In some cases, the young girls so betrothed would be taken to the boy's home to grow up there. When she came of age, a ceremony would be organized to formalize the relationship. With time however the system changed. Today, the boy goes looking for a girl and without the consent of the parents and sneak with her to his home at night. After a week or so, the girl's relatives would begin to look for her. Obviously they had some prior knowledge of her whereabouts. On discovery, a fine would be exacted from the boy. Arrangements would be made to settle the bride wealth and the marriage would be formalized.


See also

* Karamojong *
Teso Teso or TESO may refer to: Places * Têso, a Portuguese hamlet * Teso District, Kenya, a defunct administrative district in the former Western Province of Kenya * Teso District, Uganda, a district in Uganda now known as Teso sub-region Language ...
*
Acholi Acholi may refer to: * Acholi people, a Luo nation of Uganda, in the Northern part of the country. * Acholi language, a Nilotic language * Acholi Inn, a building in Gulu, Uganda * Acholi nationalism, a political ideology of Acholi people {{dab ...
*
Gisu The Gisu people, or ''Bamasaba'' people of Elgon, are a Bantu tribe and Bantu-speaking ethnic group of the Masaba people in eastern Uganda, closely related to the Bukusu people of Kenya. Bamasaba live mainly in the Mbale District of Uganda on the ...


References


External links


A Cultural Profile of the Kumam People of UgandaJoshua ProjectNew UgandaUgandese
{{Ethnic groups in Uganda Ethnic groups in Uganda