Abomination: Local belief systems and international justice
Erin Baines, Liu Faculty, UBC
Justice and Reconciliation Project
September 19, 2007
Over the course of two years of research in internally displaced persons camps in Acholi-land, JRP researchers have repeatedly come across the concept of kiir, or abomination: the local belief that certain transgressions of the moral order will lead to grave misfortune. This Field Note analyzes the Acholi concept of abomination to assess what relevance it has for transitional justice in that region. It suggests that processes such as pyscho-social healing, accountability of perpetrators, development and the return of displaced persons to their villages may be shaped by the belief in abomination, and so any intervention might consider its relevance in planning.
Click here to download Field Note 5.
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