Ateker peoples

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Ateker

Regions with significant populations
Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia
Languages
Teso-Turkana languages
Religion
African traditional religion, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Other Nilotic peoples

Ateker, or ŋaTekerin, is a common name for the closely related Jie, Karamojong, Turkana, Toposa, Nyangatom and Teso peoples and their languages.^[1] These ethnic groups inhabit an area across Uganda and Kenya. Itung'a (a vernacular term meaning "people of one language")^[2] and Teso have been used among ethnographers, while the term Teso-Turkana is sometimes used for the languages, which are of Eastern Nilotic stock. Ateker means 'clan' or 'tribe' in the Teso language.

In the Turkana language, Ateker means a distinct group with related customs, laws and lifestyle and who share a common ancestry. Members of one Ateker have a common character of mutual respect in their diversity. Each member group of Ateker occupies its own territory and exercises authority over its own land and people independent of each other.

The word Ateker is a generic term for "related peoples" or "relatives" (the term also refers to clan).^[3] It is derived from the root ker, which has two root meanings: fear and respect. Ateker, in its true sense, is a union of free people with mutual recognition and respect for each other. In the context of ethnic identity and nationhood, the Turkana language classifies different people with common characteristics as belonging to distinct ateker. The Maa people belong to Ateker a Ngi Maasa Maasai and so on. The Turkana and the Karamojong and Lango people belong to one Ateker.