Uganda's mato oput ritual: forgiveness for brutal 20-year war

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

GULU, Uganda (AFP) — Two eggs, a large stick and an alcohol-filled gourd are what some believe it will take to heal the rift between the rebel Lord's Resistance Army and thousands of their victims in northern Uganda.

Along with two lambs, the items are the ingredients for a local forgiveness ritual known as "mato oput". The tradition is native to the Acholi ethnic group, who have suffered the brunt of the rebels' 20-year war with the Ugandan government.

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) murdered, raped and mutilated thousands of civilians, abducted children to work as soldiers and sex slaves, and forced the displacement of two million others during the vicious, drawn-out conflict before a ceasefire was called in July 2006.

Acholi villagers accused of being...