Lango people
Lango sub-region | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2,131,495 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Uganda | |
| Languages | |
| Lango dialect, English | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Nilotic peoples especially Ateker peoples. The Lango people are not ethnicly nor linguistically related to Luo peoples. Many sources state that Lango are related to a group called Ateker peoples. | |
Current Paramount Chief is Michael Moses Odongo Okune who succeeded Yosam Odur Ebii |
The Lango are primarily Ateker ethnic group also known as Nilo-Hamites. They live in north-central Uganda, in a region that covers the area formerly known as the Lango District until 1974, when it was split into the districts of Apac and Lira, and subsequently into several additional districts. The current Lango Region now includes the districts of Amolatar, Alebtong, Apac, Dokolo, Kole, Lira, Oyam, Otuke, and Kwania. The total population of Lango District is currently about 2,884,000.
The Lango people speak the Lango language, described in Britanica as an Eastern Sudanic language.
Lango language is not a Western Nilotic language of the Southern Luo group. Luo language is a distinct language for Luo peoples. Several sources show that the Lango language is not originally Luo but Ateker, also known as the Hamites language group. They learned Luo dialect after migration to the current areas in Uganda. They currently speak broken dialects of Lwo mixed with hamitic vocabularies of their original language.
On 27th to 29th November 2024, Lango people reunited back to the Ateker peoples. Uganda government hosted this historical event. The Lango people are not ethnically nor linguistically related to Luo peoples.