Karo people (East Africa)

Karo is a group of Nilotic tribes that straddles the Nile in the Republic of South Sudan and is predominately found in Central Equatoria State, and as far South as Uganda and South-West as Democratic Republic of the Congo. Karo comprises Nyangwara, Bari, Pojulu, Kuku (or BaKuku in Uganda), Mundari and Kakwa. They have been erroneously called Bari-speakers by C. G. Seligman, a British ethnologist, whose first contact with Karo was likely with the Bari during British colonial rule in Sudan.

The term "Bari-speakers" is not considered representative of the group, and it has alienated people in the Nyangwara, Pojulu, Kuku, Kakwa and Mundari communities. This has led Dr. Luka Monoja, a prominent South Sudanese politician, to advocate for the all inclusive Karo. "Karo" means "relative" and it appeals to the relatedness of the Karo people. Indeed, there is a broad base movement within Karo to redefine the whole tribal affiliation and groups as Woti Karo or Karo people. Woti Karo share a common culture in addition to language, which has been called Kutuk na Karo ('mother tongue').

Reference

*Seligman, C. G., and Seligman, B. Z., ‘Pagan Tribes of the Nilotic Sudan.’ George Routledge & Sons Ltd., London, 1932.
*Collins, Robert O., ‘Land beyond the Rivers, the Southern Sudan, 1898–1918.’ Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1971.
*Regib Yunis, ‘Notes on the Kuku and other minor tribes inhabiting Kajo-Keji District, Mongalla province.’ SNR VII (1) 1936 pp 1– 41.