World Tourism Day 2021: The beauty and mystery on Mt. Moroto

TOURISM

As Uganda today joins the rest of the world to celebrate World Tourism Day 2021, let us take you up the beguiling Mt. Moroto to experience part of the Pearl of Africa's beauty. Gerald Tenywa writes:

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His name is Peter Ichumar, a youthful tourist guide but his fitting title should be “Prince Charming of Mountain Moroto”.  

Ichumar is deeply in love with his culture and takes you through a journey of discovery on how the Karimojong settled in north-eastern Uganda. He will also literally take you to Mountain Moroto, where the Tepeth - the first settlers on the plains - were pushed to as they lost the early turf wars. 

And after an expedition that gives away some of Moroto’s best-kept secrets, hats off to Ichumar.

Tourist guide Peter Ichumar

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“My name is Pira (an accented twist for Peter), I will be your guide today,” Ichumar declares at the premises of Kara Tunga, which sits on the edge of Moroto town near the foothills of Mt. Moroto in Karamoja sub-region in Uganda's northeast.

“We are going to start walking from here for the next four to five hours. During the hike, expect to see a tribe living in the mountains, expect to see birds. 

"There is a minority tribe similar to Batwa living on the mountain called the Tepeth. The trails are easy because they are used by the community members. It is not a thicket where you expect to cut your way through with a machete," he promises.

Mt. Moroto is a transboundary mountain shared between Uganda and Kenya. But much of it, according to Ichumar, lies in Uganda. Some of the birds on the mountain are unique to Karamoja as their home stretches from as far as Somalia, Kenya and extends into Uganda. We also learn that some of them have homes in South Sudan and Ethiopia.

One of the birds that is unique to parts of Karamoja and Teso is the Karamoja Aparis, according to Jonathan Onongo of Nature Uganda, a partner of BirdLife International. He says they monitor birds in order to establish how well or badly the ecological system is doing. 

The beguiling Mt. Moroto right ahead

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As we start ascending the slopes of Mt. Moroto, Moroto is in a giving mood. 

The first encounter is Moroto’s ranges, which appear to hug the clouds. As we move closer to the clouds, we get a better view of the plains of Karamoja that are now below our feet. The rocks in Napak district that separate Teso from Karamoja also come to view. Below the foothills are the recent buildings constructed in Moroto town.

Ichumar leads the pack through prickly plants as we move closer to the homeland of the Tepeth.

I am panting already but the “rewards” ahead of us keep me going. The winding trails on the rugged slopes of the mountain promise to give us more. So, I keep on my feet.

 

An encounter with Tepeth

The air is pregnant with expectation. Who are the Tepeth? My mind keeps on racing. What do they look like? Ichumar describes them as a small tribe or a minority. Are they as short as the Batwa?  Will they remain comfortable with intrusion into their homeland?

Then suddenly, in the distance, calls from children echo. This is an alert to other boys about our advance into their territory. They are looking after goats and many others are watching over their gardens, acting as human scare crows. Gardens of maize and sorghum hanging on the slopes of the beguiling mountain.

The trail that the team has followed has led us to a tiny hut. The residents are not at home. This, according to Ichumar, is a typical home to the Tepeth. They build small huts near their gardens.

Across the maize garden, there is another winding path that leads us to the neighbouring home. This is where we meet Mary Napua, an 80-year-old Tepeth tribal elder. She looks frail. Her minders have gone down to Moroto town to sell firewood and charcoal in return for essentials that are not available in their environs.   

Eighty-year-old Mary Napua of the Tepeth tribe

Mt. Moroto is a source of food, honey, herbal medicine, energy and spiritual values for the Tepeth, according to Napua.

The encounter with the octogenarian provides an insight into the plight of the people and the environment on Mt. Moroto. She says that they have been sheltered by the mountain, but that they are losing their language. Tthe youthful Tepeth prefer speaking the Karamojong language (ŋaKaramojoŋ).

“It is only a few elders who can speak Tepeth,” she says.

It will be a sad ending for the Tepeth who have weathered many storms on the landscape. As a tribe, they are estimated at about 25,000 and occupy Mt. Moroto. But erosion of their culture could be the proverbial straw that will break the camel’s back.

The Tepeth are still holding on to their culture using gourds to store water and alcohol. They also rely on medicine extracted from trees to treat most of the diseases afflicting them.

For the engagement with the Tepeth, Ichumar had asked me to carry along sh5,000 as a token to them, with the Tepeth elder the recipient. I feel it is far less than the experience in this encounter. But I reserve something for other encounters of her kind.  

The way back down

The nimbus clouds are in the mood of playing hide and seek. It is, therefore, unsurprising that Ichumar suggests we get down the mountain because it is not going to be nice for the rain to catch us on the mountain. 

We are immediately reminded that going down a mountain is, strangely, most times harder than going up. In some cases, according to Ichumar, patrons have to go down the mountain on using their backside. But this will not be the case with our group.

The group gather for a photoshoot and individual selfies to celebrate the conquest of Mt. Moroto before the descend starts. 

Nearby, we spot a beehive placed on a tree, and Ichumar informs us that the Tepeth harvest and sell the best honey in the region. The bees themselves look calm, far from the aggressive reputation they have, but we are wise enough to approach them with the respect they deserve as we take photos of their home in the hive.

The winding path from the land of the Tepeth leads us to the road to Moroto town where our expedition started. 

As always, Ichumar leads the way and carefully our team of four, follow in his footsteps. We do not want to miss any of his foot prints on the rugged parts of this mysteriously beautiful terrain. 

Four hours on Moroto and well spent.