Munu Atim

I have officially been in Gulu for one week now!  I feel like I am finally adjusting to some of the cultural norms and practices in northern Uganda.  The host families that we are staying with have given us Acholi (language spoken in Gulu) names.  My name is Atim which means delivered from the outside.  So now I introduce myself as Atim Leissan.  The kids that live in the houses surrounding mine also call me “munu” which is the word they use to refer to a white person.  So as they run around they say “munu, munu” and are very excited to say hi.

Yesterday we went to the king’s palace in Gulu.  It was very interesting meeting with the rwot (king) and talking to him about some of the roles that the king plays in the community.  It is very traditional.  The king is hereditary and a lot of trust is placed in him.  One example he was giving us deals with immunization initiatives.  The people would look to the rwot to decide whether or not they should have their children be immunized.  Some other roles that the king has involve cultural preservation and development.  We also had a chance to walk around the compound and see some artifacts.  At the end, we enjoyed a ceremony of dancing and singing at the palace.  The dancers also invited us to dance with them, and while we were making our way up to the “stage” you could hear people saying “munu dance, munu dance.”  Definitely was a good time!

Today we visited the Gulu Women Economic Development and Globalization (GWED-G) site.  It was very humbling to hear about their work.  They are involved in women’s rights issues including health, peace building and peace conflict resolution, and economic empowerment, to name a few.  Unfortunately, it rained too much for us to actually go out to a site and see some of the work that they do first-hand, but hopefully we can come back another time. 

It’s very interesting to learn about the role of tradition and also development.  There is a real struggle in the society, especially in regards to women’s rights.  GWED-G, for example, encourages males to accompany women to the doctor and do some chores around the house which are considered to be for “females.”  There has been resistance in the community previously, however more recently it has become more acceptable.  There is still quite a ways to go.