Jok est-il un dieu unique ou plusieurs esprits ?

Les deux lectures coexistent. Jok peut désigner une puissance spirituelle unique et diffuse, ou une multitude d'esprits particuliers, notamment les esprits des ancêtres et ceux attachés à des lieux et objets remarquables.

Quelle place occupe le jok face au créateur ?

Chez les Alur, au-dessus des jok se tient un être suprême lointain, souvent appelé Nyasi et parfois rapproché d'Adroa. Créateur du monde, il reste en retrait, tandis que les jok gèrent le quotidien spirituel.

La notion est-elle propre aux Alur ?

Non. Le terme jok, sous des formes proches, se retrouve chez plusieurs peuples nilotiques, dont les Acholi, les Lango et les Luo. Les particularités de chaque tradition sont inégalement documentées.

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JOK

ally

God

☥ SpiritAlur →Alur — AlurElder

Gender: MasculineSign: naissance

Among the Alur, a Nilotic people of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, jok designates a spiritual force at the heart of the traditional religion. The term is conceived sometimes as a single, diffuse power, sometimes as a multitude of particular spirits, linked to the ancestors of the lineages as much as to remarkable places and objects, rocks, trees, springs. The jok are solicited with sacrifices and libations to obtain protection, fecundity or the end of a misfortune, and to call the rain in times of drought. Above the jok stands a supreme and distant being, often named Nyasi and sometimes likened to Adroa, a creator who scarcely intervenes in human affairs. This notion of jok is shared, in neighbouring forms, by other Nilotic peoples such as the Acholi, the Lango and the Luo. The traits proper to each group remain unevenly documented in the accessible sources.

Powers & Attributes

birth

Role in the ROHO universe

Voice of its pantheon. JOK carries the memory of its tradition and weaves a thread into the Mabioni. Bound to the Alur pantheon.

Sacred Mask

An ancient ritual mask of sacred wood, old metal and black stone, engraved with symbols of birth, embodiment of the power of Jok

Era

Ancient cycle

Frequently asked questions

Is Jok a single god or several spirits?

Both readings coexist. Jok can designate a single, diffuse spiritual power, or a multitude of particular spirits, notably the spirits of the ancestors and those attached to remarkable places and objects.

What place does the jok hold in relation to the creator?

Among the Alur, above the jok stands a distant supreme being, often called Nyasi and sometimes likened to Adroa. Creator of the world, he remains withdrawn, while the jok manage the spiritual everyday.

Is the notion proper to the Alur?

No. The term jok, in close forms, is found among several Nilotic peoples, including the Acholi, the Lango and the Luo. The particularities of each tradition are unevenly documented.

Related spirits

DJOK EDEKE HIRA IBILISI

Sources and references

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jok_(spirit)
Aidan W. Southall, Alur Society: A Study in Processes and Types of Domination (1956)
Okot p'Bitek, Religion of the Central Luo (1971)