MUSIC
Music is the most important part of the Acholi culture.
All schools in Uganda compete in music. The national music competition is in Kampala. Schools compete in 8 categories such as Western Choral Performance, Instrumental compesition and Traditional Dance.
Citation: http://cynthialongmusic.blogspot.com/2011/08/war-dance-documentary.html
Pictured above is the Bwola dance. It is the traditional folk dance of the Acholi culture. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7JHJBtmfVM This link shows a video clip of the Bwola dance being performed.
Citation: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/wardance.php
Citation: http://www.buninyong.vic.au/filmfestival/archives/2009/wardance.htm
The top picture is one of the many stringed instruments the students played in the music competition. Pictured below it is a xylophone used by one of the students. Other instruments that students used were flutes, blocks along with several types of drums.
“Must have music, music makes life good.”
-War Dance Documentary
RELIGION
Citation:http://seeflick.com/ugpulse-reviews-war-dance/759/movie.aspx
Nancy is the girl pictured above. Her father was killed by the rebels. His grave is marked by a cross made out of dirt.
Citation:http://cynthialongmusic.blogspot.com/2011/08/war-dance-documentary.html
“I want to be a muscian because playing the xylophone is a gift from God.” – War Dance Documentary
God plays an important role in their lives. God keeps them strong during this difficult time during their lives.
HOME LIFE – VALUES
Citation: http://www.guardian.co.uk/katine/2008/feb/19/background
This image is the some of the many huts that the Acholi people live in at a displacement camp in Northern Uganda.
The older girls are expected to get water, wash clothes, clean house, bath younger children and cook.
Music is the hope and happiness in the lifes of these children.
FOOD
The protection camp that these children live in only recieve food once a month from the United Nations. The one day a month that food is delievered the schools close down for the day. They are no longer able to farm in the fields because of the rebels.
War/Dance 
Good job summarizing the culture of the people of the Acholi tribe. The description of the second picture under the music category is a little confusing. It says “The top picture is one of the many stringed instruments the students played in the music competition. Pictured below it is a xylophone used by one of the students.” The picture above it is a picture of the children doing the Bwola traditional dance and there is no string instruments in the picture and in the second picture I can only make out the xylophone. A little clarification would be nice. Under the religion category the first picture has a name attached to it, but the second one does not. I think there was a lot of good accurate information presented on this page. I also think there could have been a little more background leading into why the Acholi tribe has been displaced into these refugee camps. I found it hard to believe that they got food once a month. Can you imagine not being able to work for fear of the rebels and having to rely on an out side source like the UN to provide for you? It was also staggering when they woman in the movie said that land was supposed to house five families and there was more than I think 50,000 or maybe it was 500,000. Maybe adding this information would give people who have not seen the movie more insight and maybe will let them realize the reality their and want to learn more about their lives and help.
Sorry about the confusion. Two pictues above the description is the stringed instrument and one picture above the description is the xylophone. The picture with out the name is a picture of Dominic.
I could not imagine getting food once a week. It is hard to believe that this is their everyday life. I could not imagine living that close to that many people in my everyday life.
Its fine I was just letting you know because on our class website it said leave comments so that the author of the page can make changes, so figured it would help us both out.
I appreciated the information about this culture. It was interesting to see the importance and prevalence of music in their culture especially. You called it their “hope and happiness”, which I thought was really cool. I would say that music plays a role in our lives as well, but the fact that it is the glimmer of hope in these children’s lives gives it significant weight in their culture. I also was surprised to hear them talk about God and His gifts. I guess this is because I would expect a culture like this to have their own gods and spirits and such. The fact that they rely on God like we do was really enlightening. Like Kelli said, I would have liked a little more background regarding the displacement of this people into refugee camps. The information you did share was accurate and helpful, though.
I also would have liked a little more information on their religion. Do they believe in God in the same way that we believe in God? What are the differences between our religion and theirs? What are some unique aspects of their religion. Just some suggestions of things you could address.
From the documentary I learned that they do pray to God similar to us. The grave of the Father who was murdered was marked by a cross, which is some grave’s in our cemetaries do have crosses on them. I never found anything about them having a day of worship together like we us. The only information that I really found is that they do believe in God and pray to him like us, and use a cross as a symbol.
Okay, cool! Thanks!
~Mary M.
I also thought it was great that you focused on the music portion, because it really was the binding factor in their culture. -Ashley Depew
There is a lot of very good, insightful information in your blog. I think something you could add would be some information about the third child that they centered the movie around. Very good analysis and just a lot of really good information about the culture here.
I like how instead of focusing on one specific aspect of the Acholi culture, you spread out the information among several different areas. It made for a much broader informing of the culture, which I’m sure most people would prefer. For example, instead of learning only about the food, I’m sure many people would prefer learning a little about the food, a little about the home life, etc. Overall, great job! I really enjoyed all the photos you included; it made me want to continue scrolling down instead of yawning! 🙂
Thank you!
This is from Ashley Raber, by the way.
This Comment is from Katlynn Stoll, First off i could not believe how many instruments that they had! there were a lot of string instruments and drums. I really enjoyed the two pictures as a visual aid. The quotes that you included were really helpful and I can tell that you really took time in your section of the blog. It was really informative and I enjoyed reading and watching about the cultural aspect of War Dance
Yeah i never realized how many instruments they had either. It was an interesting fact to learn.
I really enjoyed this page, the pictures kept me intrigued on what you had to share.I also think that it was as smart idea to put the video first because after watching it it made me want to read on and not skip lines. The pictures that went along with each statement or idea you wrote helped me get a better understanding on what you said. Pictures help the reader grasp the emotions and the quotes you used also made it easier to understand what the characters had felt in the movie and in real life. Your page was done with time and lots of research and one can tell. You did an awesome job!
Samantha Soeder
Rachel Keim: In your blog you said, “The protection camp that these children live in only recieve food once a month from the United Nations.” Can we really wrap our heads around that? Once a month is a long time to wait. In America, we’re used to running to the grocery store a couple of times a week. If we’re out of brown sugar and we want to bake cookies, we run to the grocery store. If we’re having a party, we run to the grocery store. I really don’t think we know how good we have it. I was really glad you brought out that fact in your post when addressing the culture in the movie. It made me appreciate what I have. That’s for sure!
I really liked this page! Like a few people said above I like how you focused on the music of the culture. I also feel the same way about Rachel’s comment, most of the movies we have watched in the class have made me feel lucky for the life I have, but War Dance brougth it to a whole new level for me. I am so blessed I don’t have to live in fear for my life all the time or that I can send a message to someone in a few seconds and don’t have to wait months to hear back. This page was great and I learned a lot!
I also really like this page. This movie was very touching for me to watch, and their culture became very apparent throughout the movie. The film gave much insight on the dance in their culture and you did a good job hitting on that subject. I like how you showed the pictures of the main characters and a few things that they said. You used a good amount of research as well on this page! Watching this movie and seeing their hardships makes me want to get out there and help people like them who are in need. 🙂
Nice Job! I really enjoyed this movie and I liked how you touched on various aspects of culture. I loved how the music and instruments brought such big smiles to the kids’ faces.
This was a good summary of the culture. I imagine it was slightly difficult to find information on the culture. I think you gave a little bit about each aspect. The music part of the movie was so amazing to see. These children were truly talented. I loved watching them. Music was like a responsibility to the children. They were so proud of their culture and dancing. Music was an escape. Good job of giving information about the other aspects of the culture that were not exactly expressed directly.
I like the pictures you have on this page. They are very clear and fit in perfectly with what you are describing. I also liked that you incorporated some quotes from the film. Good idea!
Victoria Pavlantos
Rachel Keim:
I found a youtube video that was really informative about the Acholi culture…I learned a lot from it and thought I would share!
I enjoyed the video, and learned a lot about the culture that I didn’t know. I thought adding quotes to the page was a great idea! I liked the pictures as well. It was interesting to read about their home life and values. Good job! -Gina Osborn