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Rediscovering Mato Oput: The Acholi Justice System and the Conflict in Northern Uganda 33Cleansing ceremonies serve to reconcile two families or clans that have been separatedby an act of killing and to appease the spirit of the dead in order to prevent beinghaunted by the dead person’s spirit. 45 In addition, the traditional healing process isperformed so the bereaved can see or feel that justice has been done. The Acholi basedthis cleansing process on certain fundamental values that hold together the fabric oftheir society. These include reconciliation and acceptance of responsibility, repentance,forgiveness, and compensation for the restoration of the social fabric. 46These Acholi principles are embodied in the practice of mato oput. 47 In the Acholilanguage, the word mato means ‘drinking’, and oput is a type of tree with bitter herbs.Hence, mato oput literally means ‘drinking of bitter herb’, made from the leaves of theoput tree. The drinking of the bitter herbs symbolically means that the two conflictingparties accept the bitterness of the past and promise never to taste such bitternessagain. In conflict resolution, mato oput is a traditional approach to justice and thereintegration of offenders involving mediation of truth, accountability, and reconciliationthrough symbolic acts and spiritual appeasement. 48 Most of these principlesemphasise the need to live in harmony with others and restore social relations. As apractice, mato oput is a process requiring the participation not only of the victims andthe perpetrators, but also the victim’s and the perpetrator’s communities, in restoringa broken relationship caused by an intentional murder or accidental killing. 49The ritual of mato oput is normally only carried out after a typically long processof mediation between the two parties and only when the offender is willing to take responsibility.Charles Villa-Vicencio sees such processes as a form of co-operation todiscern the best way to achieve peace. 50 From a psychological perspective, the ritual isa practical exercise in building friendly relationships through mock fights and thesymbolic and actual sharing of food and drink inside the home, thereby making eachof the formerly hostile parties hosts of each other. These procedures skillfully exploitcultural symbolism to illustrate that relationships between two parties can effectivelyimprove by involving them in joined rituals. Symbolism is a serious element in theAcholi community that punctuates various social activities in Acholi life. 51The actual undertaking of mato oput follows particular steps aimed at reconciliation.The first step is acceptance of responsibility. Since there continue to be no lawcourts, truth and acceptance of responsibility for one’s actions remain highly important.Elders play a vital role as mediators in this process. Initially, the elders engageboth sides of the conflict to ascertain the relevant facts of the crime. This sets the stagefor the administration of justice. Confession must be of an individual’s own volition;the commitment to do so is not merely a legal necessity, but a binding moral impera-45. Ibid.46. Interview, Callisto Otim, Gula, 10 January 2008.47. Afako, ‘Reconciliation and justice’.48. Ibid.49. Liu Institute for Global Issues, Gulu District NGO Forum, and Ker Kwaro Acholi, ‘Roco Wati Acoli’.Interview, Abel Ojara, Kitgum, 16 May 2008.50. C. Villa-Vicencio, ‘Restorative justice’, in C. Villa-Vicencio and E. Doxtader (eds.), Pieces of thePuzzle: Keywords on Reconciliation and Transitional Justice (Cape Town, Institute for Justice andReconciliation, 2004), 35.51. Interview, seven community workers, Gula, 12 January 2008.