The Jopadhola or Badama are an ethnic group of Uganda. They live Tororo District in southeastern Uganda and comprise about two percent of the country's total population. They speak Dhopadhola language (a Luo language), which belongs to the Western Nilotic branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family. They are primarily pastoralists. Badama is a synonym for Jopadhola used by their Bantu neighbours, because Jopadhola occupy an area in Tororo district commonly known as Budama. Tororo is a district in eastern Uganda. ... Dhopadhola is the language of the Jopadhola (aka Badama) ethnic group in Uganda. ... The Luo languages comprise about 15 languages spoken in an area ranging from Southern Sudan via Uganda to Southern Kenya, with Dholuo extending into Northern Tanzania and Alur into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... The Western Nilotic languages are one of the three primary branches of the Nilotic languages, themselves belonging to the Eastern Sudanic subfamily of Nilo-Saharan. ... Map showing the distribution of the Nilo-Saharan languages. ... Pastoralists are people whose main source of livelihood is livestock with which they move seasonally in search of fresh pasture and water. ... Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu (dull yellow) vs. ...

History

Main article: Luo history

The Jopadhola arrived in southeastern Uganda in the 16th century during the Luo migration from southern Sudan. They first settled in central Uganda, but gradually moved southwards and eastwards. Their kin who settled northern and central Uganda are Acholi and Alur populations, who speak languages similar to Dhopadhola. They settled in a forested area as a defence against attacks from Bantu neighbours who had already settled there. Unlike some other small Luo tribes, this self-imposed isolation helped them to maintain their language and culture amidst Bantu and Ateker communities. The Luo (also Lwo) live in an area that stretches from the south of Sudan, through Northern Uganda and Eastern Congo (DRC), into Western Kenya, and ending in the upper tip of Tanzania. ... Acholiland, Uganda Children in an IDP camp in Kitgum The Acholi are an ethnolinguistic group of the upper Nile valley dwelling on the east bank of the White Nile, about a hundred miles north of Lake Albert. ... Alur (Lur, Luri, Lurem), are a people of the Nile Valley in Africa, living on the north-west coast of Albert Nyanza. ... Ateker or Atekerin is a common name for the closely related Jie, Karimojong, Turkana, and Teso peoples and their languages. ...

Those Luo who proceeded their migration eastwards into present day Kenya and Tanzania are the JoLuo (commonly referred to only as Luo). The Lwo (also Lwoo or Luo) are a family of linguistically-related ethnic groups (tribes) which live in an area that stretches from the south of Sudan, through Northern Uganda and Eastern Congo (DRC), into Western Kenya, and ending in the upper tip of Tanzania. ...

Language

Main article: Dhopadhola

Jopadhola speak a language which is mutually intelligible with Acholi language, Lango language, Alur language of Uganda and Dholuo language of Kenya. They call their language Dhopadhola. The prefix dho means "language of" and jo means "people of". The infix pa means possessive 'of' - hence Jopadhola means people of Adhola, and Dhopadhola the language of the Jopadhola. Dhopadhola is the language of the Jopadhola (aka Badama) ethnic group in Uganda. ... A pair of languages is said to be mutually intelligible if speakers of one language can readily understand the other language. ... Acholi (also Acoli, Shuli, Gang, Lwo) is a language primarily spoken by the Acholi people in the districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, a region known as Acholiland in northern Uganda. ... Alur is spoken in East Africa. ... Dholuo (also known as Luo) is a Western Nilotic language spoken by the Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania, numbering about 3 million. ...