Palabek Cultural Landscapes

Palabek Cultural Landscapes are located in Lamwo District of Northern Uganda. Lamwo is the northernmost district that constitutes Acholi sub-region that comprises the present districts of Agago, Amuru, Gulu, Kitgum, Lamwo, Nwoya, Omoro and Pader. Lamwo is located approximately 66 kilometers, northwest of Kitgum which is the nearest large town and sits approximately 468 kilometers north of Kampala - the Capital city of Uganda. The district of Lamwo is bordered by South Sudan to the north, Kitgum District to the east and southeast, Pader District to the south, Gulu District to the southwest, and Amuru District to the west. According to the 2024 Population census, Lamwo District has a population of 213156. Palabek County is divided into Palabek Kal, Palabek Gem and Palabek Ogili Sub-Counties.

Palabek Cultural Landscapes are composed of rich archaeological remains and cultural heritage artefacts ranging from lithics, pottery, metallurgy, stonewalls, cairns and natural heritage such as bark cloth and shea butter trees. Four dry stonewall structures were recorded in Katunguru Pa Wod Ating village, Pamwa village, Orom West in Palabek Kal Sub-County, and Gega hill in Palabek Gem Sub-County. The general masonry of the stonewall structures are dry quartzite stones piled on one another without any mortar. There are striking similarities between the different stonewall structures, however that of Orom West is more elaborate and well preserved. Of most importance is the fact that all these stonewall features are located at least on a rock hill where raw materials for construction were readily available.

The cultural landscapes consist of numerous house platforms / foundations of different dimensions recorded in Palabek Kal and Palabek Ogili. A total of 29 of the platforms were recorded, distributed in the four villages of Pandwong, Pamwa, Orom hill and Amurukuk hill. The house platforms are majorly distributed in flat surfaces much as some in Orom West and Katungulu Pa Wod Ating were on top of the hill, inside the confine of the stonewall structures. They are circular and rectangular in shape with others standing vertically, while others laid horizontally round. The rectangular-shaped ones are relatively narrow and probably granary platforms, with the circular ones probably of house foundations.

Palabek Cultural Landscapes are important evidences of ancient settlement that have stood the taste of time. The structures are of great heritage significance to the local and wider community of Palabek historically, socially, spiritually and economically. Believed to be enclosures for the King, the cultural landscapes provide knowledge on the history of Palabek Chiefdom and cultures of the people. Palabek Chiefdom was one of the powerful chiefdoms in Acholiland, something attributed to its landscape that guaranteed security from its enemies. The people’s strong cultural attachment engulfed in their settlement patterns enhanced security and unity among the people of Palabek. These cultural landscapes are what is left of the link between the Acholi community and their glorious ancient ancestral history. The community holds onto this history of peaceful living and triumphant defeat of their enemies long before the bad memory of civil conflicts of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) ravaged the region and only formally ended in 2006.

Palabek Cultural Landscape is a source of social realization right from the pre-colonial times to this day evidenced by the oral history of the place passed on through stories, songs and dance performances of the community of Palabek. The landscape offers a diversity of cultural aspects that promote interaction among different Acholi clans and the neighboring communities. Spiritually, Palabek Cultural Landscape has revered shrines and social places of worship, symbolizing clan and cultural identity of the Palabek people. It is home to the departed and living spirits of the Palabek clans and continue to play vital religious roles and several sacred activities continue to be held at the different landscapes.

Economically, the magnificent stonewalls attract both local and foreign visitors as well as researchers that are evidence of a potential boost of tourism in the region. Similarly, the culturally important shea butter trees in the area are raw material for shea oil which has a lot of health benefits and is used for beauty products. In addition, the unique bark cloth tree (olwa) is of much interest to the wider public as it differs from the known bark cloth tree (mutuba) from which material is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Palabek Cultural Landscape stand as an exceptional testimony of the Palabek cultural tradition which has now disappeared as the construction of stonewall structures are no longer being done by the community. The structures are an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement that physically survived the destructive LRA insurgency and have been used as a social recovery enhancement by the community of Palabek.

Palabek Cultural Landscapes located in Lamwo District of Northern Uganda are an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement and land-use which is representative of a culture of the people of Palabek and Acholiland. The unique stonewalls that range between 1805-1935 cal AD/ 1682-1736 cal AD were built from undressed stones with a thickness of 0.8 meters and a height of 1.9 meters, 48 meters in diameter. Palabek Cultural Landscapes are outstanding from other stonewall structures in the World as it has unique small window-like openings (opiding) at the bottom of the walls that are suggested to have been used to view the outside and fire the gun (cupoi) during defense of Palabek community against their enemies.

Moreso, Palabek Cultural Landscape is representative of human interaction with the environment not only from the use of undressed stones from the rock hills in Palabek to build the stonewall structures but also the traditional rituals performed by the locals and their attachment to the stonewall structures with the history embedded. Having survived the destructive effects of instability and civil wars in Northern Uganda, Palabek Cultural Landscapes are importantly standing evidences of the once mighty Palabek Chiefdom settlements from which the community of Palabek draw healing and recovery evidenced in the oral tradition passed from generation to generation through songs about the cultural landscapes and the attachment that the community has to their culture and history which is embedded in Palabek Cultural Landscapes. This is not something associated with other stonewall sites elsewhere in the world. Palabek Cultural Landscapes stand out as a significant monumental site with objects that can help in understanding the migratory history of the Luo people from the alleged origin in South Sudan to other parts of Africa.

Criterion (iii): Palabek Cultural Landscapes are unique standing evidences and a testimony to a cultural tradition where dry quartzite undressed stones where piled on one another without any mortar for construction of structures of a once powerful Chiefdom in Acholiland that has stood the taste of time. The stonewall Importantly, the Palabek Cultural Landscapes survived the destructive effects of the LRA insurgency and the April 1971 Lokung massacre, in which the then President Idi Amin was reported to have massacred 417 people at the village known as Ogwech corner in Lokung, Lamwo District. Historically, the structures significantly contributed to the strength of Palabek Chiefdom as it enhanced their security and solidified their culture and social cohesion. The attachement of the palabek community to Palabek Cultural Landscapes boosted the recovery of the Palabek community from the pyschological effects of instability and civil wars in Northern Uganda. Although the construction method has disapeard and is nolonger being practiced among the communities in Acholiland, the history of the once powerful Chiefdom is kept and transmitted from one generation to another through songs about Palabek Cultural Lanscape and dances.

Criterion (v): Palabek Cultural Landscapes are an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement and land-use which is representative of a culture of the people of Palabek and Acholiland in general.  The cultural landscape is representative of human interaction with the environment as material for building the stonewall structures were sourced from the rock hills in Palabek. And also the Palabek Chiefdom enclosures were on top of the rock hills for security purposes. This Land-use has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change of development where the rock hills are under threat of being quarried for road construction and other constructions other than the use of the unique past traditional technology of construction. The construction technique was abandoned as the local communities shifted to modern constructions.

The Palabek Cultural Landscapes are still largely well-preserved due to their remote location. Some of the cultural landscapes have been affected by environmental factors and human activity like grazing that has led to weakening and crumbling of some parts of the stonewall structures and seasonal fires that have burnt the vegetation. Most of the original lay-out and form is however still intact. Although the unique ancient masonry technique of construction is no longer practiced by the people of Palabek, the authenticity of the cultural landscapes is maintained through traditional rituals that are still being practiced in respect and attachment to their culture that is a source of their identity as the people of the once mighty Palabek Chiefdom. Oral tradition about the Palabek Cultural Landscapes are passed on from one generation to the other through songs and dances about the history of the place.