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 in the country, Uganda. It has a
population of about 3.2M people. The population occupy several districts
namely: Pallisa, Bukedea, Kumi, Ngora, Soroti, Serere, Kaberamaido, Amuria,
Katakwi, Bugiri, Tororo, Busia and many others. They are found mainly in the
Teso Sub-Region in the Eastern Uganda. On the other side of Kenya, in Busia
County, they have a population to approximately 578,000.
Political Organization
The Iteso are a
decentralised society organized mainly into seven clans each with a council of
elders for both administrative and moral undertaking. Each clan had a role to
play and a totem. For example, the Inomu clan were the doctors; the Ikaruok
clan were the warriors. But it is unfortunate that the state has advised the
Iteso people to have a king as well as other tribes in the pearl of Africa. In
the year 1995, the Iteso people got their king ‘Emorimor’ known as Emorimor
papa Iteso Augustine Lemukol Osuban.
Economic Organization
Iteso are the plain
Nilotes. They are nomadic pastoralists who bear hundreds of herds of cattle.
The one referred to be rich in the society; one has to be with several herds of
cattle, land (which was allotted by the clan elders) and food. The staple foods
for the Iteso people include: millet, sorghum, cow peas, sweet potatoes,
cassava, groundnuts and many others.
Social Organization
The Iteso people believed
in a god called ‘Akuj’, who is said to reside in the firmament. There were also
other gods ‘idekesio’ such as: Imusimun who were said to be the spirits of the
dead that were roaming around and could possess an individual, especially if
the deceased had ‘a bad death’.
Marriage was done across
the different clans, this mean that, the marriage between the same clan members
was highly prohibited. The marriage was partly organized by the parents of two
families who will determine all the possible requirements for the marriage to
be celebrated. After finishing their part, they will then hand over to the
council of elders who were to discuss the matters of dowry.
In immoral actions in the
society such as incest, a purifying ritual had to be done whereby at the end a
Billy goat had to be slaughtered and the rumen had to be smeared on the two
naked individuals to be cleansed. The meat was then consumed alongside ‘ajon’,
the local brew.
The ‘ajon’ is commonly
referred by the Iteso people as ‘acowa Iteso’, which means ‘the wisdom of
Iteso’, was drunk by the elders during the different ceremonies.
Critique
The culture of the Iteso,
despite being rich and diverse with the variety of organic and supra organic
items, it has been subjected to constant evolution. Over the past few
centuries, there have been many changes in some aspects like in the aspect of
marriage; many alien traditions have been injected into the original culture.
However, most of the tradition has concretely been observed taking an example
the issue about the dowry payment. It is still maintained to include the use of
cattle and the ‘ajon’ MUST not miss. Believe me, Teso is a right place to be.
You will not regret being with hospitable people of Teso.
‘Emuria koliai’
Odong' Jude