Bwola dance: an icon of peace-building in the post-war Acholi society, as inspiration for textile design

Abstract

The arts, especially drama, dance and music, have been one outlet for grassroots people to culturally express the deep-rooted conflicts in their society and to reach out to communities for justice and reconciliation. This study therefore focused on the arts as an alternative framework to communicate and deliver transitional justice and sustainable peace in Greater Northern Uganda. The study specifically addressed the importance of Bwola Dance and cited Bwola Music as inspiration to generate textile design concepts drawn from the story of the LRA war period, the impact of bwola during these years, and how dance and music contributed to the notion of peace, justice and reconciliation among the Acholi Community. Bwola is a rich dance that in many ways represents the Acholi people and culture. This study thus sought to examine and visually explore its elements of; movement, rhythm and formation of the dance, using the tools of textile design, and addressed the question why bwola plays an iconic role in promoting peace and unity in the post-war (2008 to 2019) Acholi society.