This paper examines the phenomenon of ethnicity in Uganda with a view to underscoring the role of staple foods in ethnic identity formation and maintenance. By way of qualitative discourse, predicated on both primary and secondary sources, the paper observes that Uganda's ethnic identities emerged and are maintained by, among others, the staple foods and delicacies of the respective people in question. Although food choices are largely determined by culture, the availability of various foodstuffs is a function of diverse edaphic, topographic, vegetative and humidity conditions across the country. Millet, cooking bananas, cassava and sweet potatoes are the major traditional foodstuffs, and members of different Uganda's ethnic identities are known by the traditional foods and delicacies they consume and how they consume them.
Worldwide, two broad theories have been used to explain the rise of ethnic identities. These are the natural/biological theory of primordialism and the man-made/situational theory of constructivism. Overtime, each of the two theories has been split into several sub-theories. This research sets out to determine the relevance of the theories of constructivism and instrumentalism in the rise and metamorphosis of the Acholi ethnic identity in northern Uganda. Using ethnography and grounded theory, the researcher established that the Acholi ethnic identity, which has occupied a centre stage in the national politics of Uganda since independence in 1962 [Atkinson, R. R. (1994). The roots of ethnicity. The origins of the Acholi of Uganda. Kampala: Fountain Publishers], emerged due to extraneous factors and some teleological choices making the theories of constructivism and instrumentalism quite relevant to its evolution.
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