The Ethnic Groups...

The Karamojong are part of a large group of African peoples called the Nilo-Hamites, or the Plains Nilotes. In Uganda, this group is represented by the Karamojong Cluster.

The Karamojong Cluster consists of the Dodoth living in the north part of Karamoja, the Jie in the center of the region, and the Karamojong proper from the center to the south. The Karamojong themselves make further ethnic distinction between the three sub-groups of the Matheniko, the Bokora, and the Pian. The Teso and Turkana peoples are part of the cluster, but live outside of the Karamoja region--the Turkana just beyond the border with Kenya, and the Teso virtually on the border. In southern Sudan, the Toposa and Jiye also belong to the Karamojong Cluster.

The Karamojong originally came from a parent group to the northeast in Ethiopia--probably the Kaffa region. Most likely, as they moved southwest from Ethiopia, they settled first in the Karamoja area, and then continued farther south to settle Teso, Lango, and Kumam. Because of the local influence of other people groups in these areas, like the Luo, some of the Karamojong peoples, such as the Langi, lost their original language and some of their customs.

The Karamojong in toto probably number somewhere in the range of a few to several hundred thousand, while the exact number is quite unknown. This represents somewhere around 2 or 3% of the entire population of Uganda, with the bulk of the country's population being of the Bantu people (not closely related to the Karamojong).

A very detailed and comprehensive online bibliography concerning ethnosociological research on the Karamojong has been compiled by Michael Quam, of the University of Illinois.