NAKAPELIMORU VILLAGE: The Largest Traditional Settlement in East Africa

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Huts
Clustered grass thatched huts with an outer wall in Nakapelimoru village, Kotido District. Courtesy photo

Nakapelimoru village is found in Kotido district in North Eastern Uganda and home to the Jie-clan of the Karamojong people. It is the largest traditional settlement in Uganda and East Africa at large.

The Karamojong people are a Nilotic ethnic group. They are agro-pastoral herders living mainly in north-east of Uganda.

The Jie people are traditional pastoralists who keep cattle not for sell but mostly for pride and marriage.

They own many herds of cattle but live in semi-permanent huts surrounded by thickets which act as fences.

In Nakapelimoru village, people live in several small villages arranged in clusters comprising of their community and each village is surrounded by an outer wall, then portioned into family neighborhoods called odoks, each surrounded by a wall as well.

The community still holds tight to their traditions of living in grass thatched huts, having multiple wives and often bearing body and facial scarification.

Nakapelimoru is a great example of a rural Africa village setting in the modern world. You should visit it while it is still in existence given that the ongoing development in the region is threatening the nomads’ way of life.

On the tour, you will meet the Jie as they welcome you into their home and learn their traditional customs, tales, and art forms, including body scarification.

The village can be visited by anyone while on a trip to hike Mount Moroto or view wildlife in Kidepo Valley National Park.

Visit Nakapelimoru village today and immerse yourself, and experience culture in its raw form.