Mato Oput

Source: Ethnographica (Link)

Mato Oput is a traditional approach to forgiveness and reconciliation specific to the Acholi people, an ethnic group from Northern Uganda. Acholi traditions centre the principles and practices of reconciliation, healing, forgiveness, and amnesty.

Traditionally, the Acholi people recognize the world of the living-dead and divine spirits, which shapes their approach to justice and reconciliation (Afako, 2002; Liu Institute for Global Issues and Gulu District NGO Forum, 2005). In their approach, Gods, divine spirits, and ancestors guide and inform the moral order in their community. When a wrong is committed, misfortune and/or illness is said to befall the community, and this can be rectified by both, the Elders of the community and the offender, taking appropriate actions (Liu Institute for Global Issues and Gulu District NGO Forum, 2005). Consequently, individuals are invited not to cause any trouble, as the impact of their individual actions can be felt throughout their community.   

Justice for the Acholi people is a means of restoring social relationships. The traditional guiding principles of the Acholi people, if followed, heal wounds of all disruptions to community harmony, such as war (Tom, 2006). The guiding principles include: "Do not be a trouble maker," "Respect," "Sincerity," "Do not steal," "Reconciliation and harmony," "Forgiveness," "Problem solving through discussion," and "Children, women, and the disabled are not to be harmed in war" (Tom, 2006).

The core emphasis of these principles is on the need to live in harmony with others, and to restore social relations. However, the path to doing so is not held to account through punitive means – the community recognizes that individuals do make mistakes, and encourages them to both accept their mistakes and take responsibility for their actions voluntarily. Forgiveness is preferred over revenge – often symbolized through the ritual practice of Mato Oput, or the drinking of the bitter herb.

Mato Oput is aimed at restoring relationships between clans that may have been affected by acts such as murder or accidental killing (Tom, 2006), and brings together the conflicting sides to heal through forgiveness and restoration. The grounding philosophy for Mato Oput is the idea that after the ceremony, the “hearts of the offender and offended will be free from holding any grudge between them” (Tom, 2006). It is important to remember that the ceremony and ritual manifest in different forms across different clans, while the common characteristics of slaughtering a sheep provided by the offender and a goat provided by the victim’s relatives and exchanging the cut halves, as well as drinking the bitter herb to wash away bitterness endure across all forms (Afako, 2002). Usually, a compensation is paid after the ceremony – where the victim’s family is compensated for the harm caused, either in the form of money or livestock.

Mato Oput is considered to bring “true healing in a way that formal justice system cannot” (Afako, 2002). Instead of carceral approaches of determining who is guilty, it seeks to restore marred social harmony in the affected community.

References:

Afako, B. (2002), "Reconciliation and Justice: 'Mato Oput' and the Amnesty Act," Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives, Issue 1.

Liu Institute for Global Issues and Gulu District NGO Forum. (2005). "Roco Wati Acoli: Restoring Relations in Acholi-land Traditional Approaches to Reintegration and Justice", September 2005, available: http://www.ligi.ubc.ca/admin/Information/543/Roco%20Wat%20I%20Acoli-20051.pdf

Tom, P. (2006). The Acholi Traditional Approach to Justice and the War in Northern Uganda https://www.beyondintractability.org/casestudy/tom-acholi