Adhola people

Adhola
Total population
481,816 (2014 census)[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
 Uganda
Languages
Adhola, English
Religion
Christianity, Traditional faith
Related ethnic groups
Other Luo peoples, especially Alur and Luos
Adhola
PersonJapadhola
PeopleJopAdhola
LanguageDhopadhola
CountryPadhola

The Adhola people, also known as Jopadhola, are a Nilotic ethnic group of Luo peoples that live in Tororo District of Eastern Uganda and comprise about eight percent of the country's total population.[3] They speak Dhopadhola, (a Luo language), which belongs to the Western Nilotic branch of the Nilotic language family.[4] They are primarily pastoralists. The Jopadhola call their land Padhola which, according to historian Bethwell Ogot, is an elliptic form of "Pa Adhola" meaning the "place of Adhola", the founding father of the Jopadhola people. Officially, land of the Adhola is called Padhola, but the Baganda who misinterpret 'Widoma' – a Dhopadhola word for 'war cry' meaning 'You are in trouble' refer to the Jopadhola as "Badama".[5] The social structure of the Jopadhola can be described as semi centralised because there is no traditional centralized government and its organization is limited to a clan called Nono.[6] There are over 52 clans, each with cultural practices, common ancestry and a distinct lineage.[7][8]

  1. ^ "Uganda". World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples.
  2. ^ Uganda Bureau of Statistics. "National Population and Housing Census 2014 - Main Report" (PDF).
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  8. ^ admin (2021-06-20). "Who are the Jopadhola? - Red Pepper Digest". redpepper.ug. Retrieved 2024-02-13.