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.

Origins in Sudan

According to linguistic and archeological evidence, the Luo are part of the Nilotic group of tribes who separated from the East Sudanic family of tribes about 3000 BCE. More than eight centuries ago, the Luo people occupied the area that now lies in eastern Bahr el Ghazal. Legend has it that the Luo migrated from this area. The reason for thier dispersion is not known, but internal contradictions or population explosion could driven them from this region. The religious beliefs of the Dinka suggest that the Luo were in contact with Nubian Christianity sometimes in their past. The Bahr el Ghazal is both a river and a region of southwestern Sudan, the region taking its name from the river. ...

The Luo moved to nearly all the countries neighbouring Sudan, resulting in many separate groups with variation in language and tradition as each group moved further away from their kin.

A branch of the Luo, the Shilluk (or Chollo) nation, comprising more than one hundred clans and sub-tribes, was founded by Nyikango sometime in the middle of the fifteenth century. They evolved a nation with a feudal-style system. Nyikango and his nation moved northward along the Nile (towards Cush and Rip) to re-conquer and settle the land their ancestors had lost to the Arabs and Europeans. The Shilluk are a major Nilotic ethnic group of southern Sudan, living on the west bank of the Nile around the city of Malakal. ... Cush (כּוּשׁ Black, Standard Hebrew Kuš, Tiberian Hebrew Kûš) was the eldest son of Ham, brother of Canaan and the father of Nimrod, mentioned in the table of nations in the Book of Genesis (x. ... The abbreviation or acronym RIP has several different meanings: It can stand for Rest In Peace, a phrase which often appears on tombstones. ... For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ... This article is about the continent. ...

The rest of the Luo groups rejected Nyikangos idea and kept a south and westwards migration.

Uganda

Around 1500, a small group of Luo known as the Biito-Luo led by a Chief called Labongo whose full title became Isingoma Labongo Rukidi (sometimes named as Mpuga Rukidi), encountered Bantu-speaking peoples living in the area of Bunyoro. These Luo settled peacefully with the Bantu and, and through political influence, established the Babiito dynasty. Labongo, the first in the line of the Babiito kings of Bunyoro-Kitara is said to have been the twin brother of Kato Kimera, the first king of Buganda. These Luo were assimilated with the Bantu, and they lost their language and culture. Bunyoro flag Bunyoro is a region of Uganda, and from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century one of the most powerful kingdoms of East Africa. ... Bunyoro is a region of Uganda, and from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century one of the most powerful kingdoms of East Africa. ... Buganda is the kingdom of the 52 clans of the Baganda people, the largest of the four traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda. ...

Later in the 16th century, other Luo-speaking people moved to Nothern Uganda , forming the Alur (who also live in North-Eastern DR Congo) and Acholi. There they encountered the Lango who had been living in the region. Soon conflicts developed, and the Lango were forced to move southwards to Lake Kyoga region. Lango also speak Luo language, however thier origins is somewhat obscure. It is generally held that they are an Eastern Nilotic Ateker people who originated from Abyssinia in Ethiopia around A.D. 1600, adapting the Luo language of their Acholi neighbours - sometimes it is said they are part of the Luo from Bahr el Ghazal who migrated eastwards from Sudan to Anuak in Ethiopia and onwards to Uganda. Kumam also speak Luo, but belong to the Ateker family together with the Teso and Karamojong. Acholiland, Uganda 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 . ... The Lango (aka Langi) people live in the central area of Uganda, north of Lake Kyoga. ... Map showing the location of Lake Kyoga in Uganda. ... The Eastern Nilotic languages are one of the three primary branches of the Nilotic languages, themselves belonging to the Eastern Sudanic subfamily of Nilo-Saharan; they are believed to have begun to diverge about 3,000 years ago, and have spread southwards from an original home in Equatoria in the... This article needs cleanup. ... The Bahr el Ghazal is both a river and a region of southwestern Sudan, the region taking its name from the river. ... The Anuak are a river people whose villages are scattered along the banks and rivers of southeastern Sudan and western Ethiopia, in the region of Gambela. ... The Kumam are a people of about 150,000 living mainly in Kaberamaido district as well as the western areas of Teso sub-region and the south-east of Lango sub-region in Uganda. ... The Iteso (people of Teso) are the second largest ethnic group in Uganda. ... The Karamojong (sometimes called Karimojong), are a tribe of semi-nomadic herders who live in the north-eastern part of Uganda, in the Karamoja region. ...

Between the middle of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, some Luo groups proceeded eastwards. One group called Padhola (or Jopadhola - people of Adhola) led by a cheif called Adhola, settled in Budama in Eastern Uganda. They settled in a thickly forested area as a defence against the attacks from Bantu neighbours who had already settled there. This self-imposed isolation helped them to maintain their language and culture amidst Bantu and Ateker communities.

Kenya and Tanzania

Between 1550 and 1800, other Luo groups crossed into Kenya. They inhabited the province of Nyanza on the banks of Lake Victoria, and today some Luo are also settled in Tanzania. Nyanza may refer to: Nyanza, Rwanda Nyanza Province, Kenya Formerly, some lakes in Africa included the Bantu word for lake, e. ... Lake Victoria, as seen from space Lake Victoria or Victoria Nyanza is one of the Great Lakes of Africa. ...

As in Uganda, some non-Luo people in Kenya have adopted Luo language. A majority of the Bantu Suba people speak Luo (albeit mostly as a second language). Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu (dull yellow) vs. ... The Suba are a people in Kenya who speak the Suba language. ...

The Luo in Kenya, who call themselves JoLuo (people of Luo), are the third largest community in Kenya after the Kikuyu and Luhya. They call thier Language Dholuo, which is mutually intelligible with Lango, Acholi and Padhola of Uganda and Alur of Uganda and Congo DRC. The Luo are a people of Kenya, they live on the shores and hinterland of Lake Victoria. ... The Kĩkũyũ (otherwise spelled Gĩkũyũ) ethnic group is Kenyas most populous ethnic group. ... The Luhya (also Luyia, Luhia) are a Bantu people residing in Western Province, Kenya between Lake Victoria, Uganda and Mount Elgon. ...

Luo languages

Some Luo call themselves simply Luo whereas others use different names, but refer to thier language as Luo or Lwo.

Acholiland, Uganda 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 . ... The Luo are a people of Kenya, they live on the shores and hinterland of Lake Victoria. ... Doctor Who character, see Peri Brown. ... The Shilluk are a major Nilotic ethnic group of southern Sudan, living on the west bank of the Nile around the city of Malakal. ... There are two rivers that have the name Thur: In France Thur in Alsace In Switzerland Thur, in East Switzerland This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Acholiland, Uganda 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 . ... There are two rivers that have the name Thur: In France Thur in Alsace In Switzerland Thur, in East Switzerland This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Lango (aka Langi) people live in the central area of Uganda, north of Lake Kyoga. ... The Kumam are a people of about 150,000 living mainly in Kaberamaido district as well as the western areas of Teso sub-region and the south-east of Lango sub-region in Uganda. ... The Luo are a people of Kenya, they live on the shores and hinterland of Lake Victoria. ... The Luo are a people of Kenya, they live on the shores and hinterland of Lake Victoria. ...

References

• Re-introducing the "People Without History"
• Towards a Human Rights Approach to Citizenship and Nationallity Struggles in Africa.
• The making of the Shilluk kingdom, A socio-political synopsis
• About Kenya
• The Luo

• Johnson D., “History and Prophecy among the Nuer of Southern Sudan”, PhD Thesis, UCLA, 1980

• Deng F.M. ‘African of Two Worlds; the Dinka in Afro-Arab Sudan”, Khartoum, 1978