Langi People

Langi People

Lango people live in the Lango sub-region (politically Northern Region, but geographically central Uganda), north of Lake Kyoga.The Lango sub-region includes the districts of Amolatar, Alebtong, Apac, Dokolo, Kole, Lira, Oyam, and Otuke. The population is about 1.5 million people according to the 2002 population census.

The term "Langi" is not the plural of Lango, but is used by Lango and non-Lango. Lango leaders (scholars and Lango Cultural Foundation) have not questioned and/or challenged the use of "Langi" as plural of Lango. The term "Langi" is recent (Tosh, 1978), and not found in earlier written records of the Lango people (Hutchinson, 1902; Driberg, 1923; Kihangire, 1957). Kihangire (1957) in “The marriage customs of the Lango tribe (Uganda) in relation to canon Law”, interviewed Lango elders for his dissertation, and "Langi" is not mentioned in the text, but Lango or Lango people. In addition, anthropologists and explorers who traveled the Lango country (Uganda) used "Lango nation", "Lango country", and "Lango people" to refer to Lango of Uganda.

Person (Lango), Country (Lango), People (Lango or JoLango), and Language (Leb-Lango).

The history of Lango is complex, and by using "Langi", you are limiting "Lango race" to an ethnic group. Odwe (2011) states “Lango people exist under many categories of ethnic names of identity. There was at least a root name or the etymology that eventually recognizes that all these varying ethnic groups are of Lango origin…” He adds “when the British colonialists arrived in 1862, it was only Lango of Uganda and a smaller group in Agoro of Southern Sudan who retain the name Lango as their ethnic name.”