THE ITESO PEOPLE
Iteso is the name of the people speaking Ateso language. The man originating from the Teso land is known as ‘Etesot’ and a woman on the other hand she is known as ‘Atesot’. Background They are believed to have come from Alexandra in Egypt. They are the descendants of the Biblical Joseph, a Hebrew, who is said to have married a black Egyptian woman. She gave birth to Ateker speaking people who include: Jie, Turkana, Maasai, Karimojong and Iteso. When the Israelites left for the promised land, the black Egyptian woman left with her children towards South West where they claim to have had their promised land as promised by Abraham to Jacob his grandson; the land surrounded by the rivers. When this group reached Ethiopian highlands, they claimed it and looked at the South West, where they saw their promised land and they said ‘Ite so’ meaning, ‘we have seen’ which gave rise to the name ‘Iteso’. Areas Occupied Basing on the 1980 statistics, the tribe is the second largest i...
