Uganda Arts News: John Okot promises to preserve Acholi culture through art

Ultimate Media

Ugandan artist John Okot has promised to preserve the Acholi people's rich cultural heritage that he says has been eroded by decades of brutal war in northern Uganda.

During the conflict, tens of thousands of people have been killed and over a million and a half have been displaced. They have been forced to move into displacement camps.

The camps are over-crowded places: there is little space and inadequate water and sanitation for their many inhabitants. The movement of many people from their homes, uprooting them from their villages, has also impacted the cultural life of the Acholis.

Okot says that although the 20-year conflict between the rebel Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan government has interrupted the culture of the Acholi culture, he can bring to life the rich cultures through art.

Trained as a graphic artist at Kampala's Makerere University in the 1970s, Okot now mostly works with batiks where he produces a textile design technique using wax and dyes.

The wax repels any dye painted onto the fabric to preserve the colour of the original cloth beneath. Okot says his intention is to record of what Acholi culture is like for future generations.

His picture of three young men drinking alcohol - known as kongo - together is a perfect example of the Acholi culture. The brew, made from fermented sorghum and maize flour, is popular among the Acholi.

The importance of marriage is also reflected in Okot's work and he has produced several paintings depicting the courting process. In one, young men and women dance opposite each other as they decide who to pick as their future husband or wife.

Okot told BBC that an uncle of his once wooed a girl for a very long time, but with little success. While courting, he always wore canvas shoes. Then one day, he came across his beloved while he was wearing sandals.

To hear John Okot narrate an Acholi folktale tune into the BBC's Weekend Network Africa on Saturday 11 November at 0400 GMT and 0600 GMT.