THE HIGHLAND NILOTICS

This group of people is mainly concentrated in Kenya with the Kalenjin as the largest group. It extends to central Tanzania to include the Dasog and Oriek. In Uganda, only the Sebei belong to this group.

THE SEBEI

The Sebei inhabit the present Kapchorwa district. The land stretches from the cold heights of Mt Elgon to the hot plains of Karamoja. Along these plains, the Sebei have been subjected to the influx of the Kitosh from Kenya.

Origins.

The exact origins of the Sebei are still difficult to trace. Their original homeland could have been in the Ethiopian direction. They might have settled in the neighborhood of Suk hills before finally occupying their present area. They were so much removed from the rest of Uganda such that during the colonial days, they were governed under the outlying Districts’ Ordinance.

Social set-up

The Sebei are very proud of their individuality and customs. One of the unique customs that distinguishes them from the rest of their neighbors is female circumcision. The Sebei circumcise both boys and girls. Male circumcision is also practiced by their Bagishu neighbors but with marked differences in the arrangements and actual ceremony.

Female circumcision.

While male circumcision was very well organized and carried out every two years, female circumcision was an annual event requiring not so much organization except the availability of sufficient wambi (maize) to make sufficient beer for the occasion. This was usually in December but no fixed dates were laid down.
The girls to be circumcised were usually between the ages of thirteen and sixteen years, and they had to be virgins. If a girl became pregnant before circumcision, it was usual to circumcise her immediately after her condition became known without the formal ceremonies. Circumcision was a way of initiation into womanhood and no girl could be allowed to enjoy her full rights including sexual intercourse, before she had been circumcised.

The beginning of the ceremony was announced by a small group of girls who would start dancing from home to home. They were led by a young woman of between twenty and thirty years who would be chosen on the basis of the prestige she had attained when she endured circumcision without complaint during her own turn.

The initiates were decently dressed. In the recent past, they could wear cotton blouses and skirts held up by crossed straps over their shoulders. Before the actual ceremony, they would sing and dance for almost two days. However, they could be allowed to drink milk and take short rests if they became particularly distressed.

Later, in the afternoon of the day of the ceremony, their faces were decorated in the form of squares with coalin in order it increase their beauty. After sunset, a large group of people would gather and form a circle around the initiates. Old women would step into the circle and sing songs in praise of circumcision and to urge the girls to endure all the pain of circumcision without fear or complaint. The initiates would then join hands in pairs and extend to the edges of the circle where they would slightly touch the onlookers with the cows’ tails or tree branches to show that they had no fear of anybody or anything. The men would be in the neighborhood, drinking beer. While drinking beer, they used long tubes with filters at the bottom. Merrymaking would go on throughout the night.

The act of circumcision

The girls were circumcised just after dawn. The girls and their female relatives would assemble at the place of operation. Customarily, no man could attend but any woman or girl could. The initiates were made to lie down with their arms above their heads and their legs spread. They were not supposed to be tied or held during the operation.

Just before circumcision, the intestines of a sheep which had been slaughtered for the occasion were laid on the face of the girls to keep their eyes open during the operation. Then the circumciser would perform the act by making three separate incisions into each girl. Thereafter, the girls were laid into a fenced boma across the entrance of which the entrails of the slaughtered sheep were laid. On each side of the entrance were placed two spears pointing outwards form the boma, only leaving sufficient space for one person to enter. The slaughtered sheep and the spears were to scare away evil spirits. Legend has it that in the olden days these stab were used by parents to spear girls who refused to be circumcised.

Once the girls were inside the boma, people were allowed to visit them. About an hour after the ceremony, the initiates were led away to the huts and put in the care of old women until they would recover in one or two months’ time. It was urine that was used to treat the wounds. After recovery the girls were regarded s ripe and eligible for marriage and able to enjoy other privileges accorded to women.

Economy

The Sebei were pastoralists by nature and even today, the Basiboro (Konjek) section of them are still pastoral. On the Greek river plain, the influence of the Kitosh brought about the practice of maize-growing. Now, they also grow coffee which was introduced into their land from Bagishu.

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