The people are called Madi and they know themselves as Madi. The Madi people inhabit the south western part of Torit district in the Sudan where the Nile River makes a sharp bend out of Uganda . In Uganda , they are found in west Nile districts of Moyo and Adjumani. The porous nature of the borders between Sudan and Uganda has enabled the Madi to move and settle freely on either sides of the border during the civil wars in the two countries. The attempted genocide on the Madi (in Uganda ) during the 80's cost lives and property. As a result at a point the then Madi district was almost un-inhabited. The Madis were scattered in all directions but most took refuge in Southern Sudan and other parts of the region. The other sizable settlement of Madis referred to as “Madi quarters” in Gulu town was obviously demolished and the settlers murdered or dispersed. As a consequence of colonialism, many Madis left the “home land” in pursuit of education and or employment in other parts of Uganda but mostly headed for Gulu in Acholi, Lira in Lango, Jinja in Busoga and Kampala in Buganda to mention just but a few destinations. Jinja particularly because of the many industries was a natural and suitable destination, so many Madis settled with their families and in fact sadly most of them as of now seam to have lost the “umbilical cord” to the motherland for ever. Madi region (Adjumani and Moyo Districts) occupy an area of 5,600 sq km. The population is estimated to be 175,646.(as per National Population Census of 1991) Madi territory is hilly and traversed by rivers and streams. The Madi are a sedentary agrarian community. Their economy is based on subsistence agriculture, in which the main crops are sorghum, maize, cassava, groundnuts and tobacco. In the 1960s, the farming of cotton was introduced as a cash crop but this was disrupted by wars and economic disintegration of the mid 70s.Currently there is some engagement in the growth of cotton, simsim, sunflower, groundnuts and rice as cash crops. The Madi rear small herds of cattle, goats and sheep as well as fowl. Along the river Nile there has always been a thriving occupation of fishing. Beginning from Laropi all the way to Nimule on both sides of the river, families have been depending on fishing both for food and small scale subsistence trade.
| |
