The Karamojong The Karamojong settled in northeast Uganda, having migrated south from present-day Ethiopia in 1600 AD. As nomadic agro-pastoral herders, the migration was mainly driven by the search for pasture and water. The Kotido and Moroto districts they live in today are a high plateau characterised by steep hills and mountains on a savannah. The livelihoods and socio-cultural systems of participation in a Karamojong community revolve heavily around the herding of livestock. In dry months, the men move the livestock to search for other water sources nearby while the women stay in the homesteads to prepare for the next agriculture growing season. Communal living is set as the centre of Karamojong activity. Extended families live together in large compounds known as manyatta or ere (enclosed area). These manyattas are circled by a fence for defence, made from the thorny dry plants and bushes in the savannah. The different openings are designed as a set of small entrances for people and a larger entrance for cattle. The cattle enclosure set the centre of the compound and surrounding it, different size dwellings constructed of locally sourced materials such as timber, reeds, grasses, mud and clay soil. The wide conical roof is made of a multi-layered thatch, it covers a timber construction plastered with clay soil or animal dung, which is continually maintained by applying new layers. Some of the dwellings are positioned on an earth-made flat facet, and to answer geographical conditions, some are raised from the ground over timber columns. The architecture of the Karamojong upholds complex social and cultural practices of duty and hierarchy, preserving a lifestyle long-established through time. #eastafricanarchitecture #africanknowledgesystems #adjayeresearch #adjayeafricaarchitecture #africantypology #africanurbanism #africa