Interethnic relations in Toro: Some issues

Abstract

This paper was written in Norwegian in 1967 for the symposium, organized by Fredrik Barth, that led to the publication of Ethnic Groups and Boundaries in 1969. My paper was never submitted for publication, however, and the present text is a direct translation of the original manuscript. It explores ethnic processes in Uganda before independence, from the point of view of a group under domination, and strategies adopted by the ethnic Konzo minority vis a vis the Toro in the Bwamba area. In accordance with the doctrine of indirect rule, the British administration had given the Toro extensive freedoms to legally and politically control the entire Kingdom of Toro, including the minority Konzo and Amba groups. Early attempts among Konzo of assimilation into Toro society in order to access economic and political resources failed, largely due to Toro exclusiveness. I argue that this failure led to a further accentuation of ethnic boundaries. These processes precede the later rebellions against Toro rule, which flared up in Ruwenzori after independence. My paper brings attention to the ways in which political subordination shapes ethnic dynamics.