APCJ_1528_Win2010_00i_122_4 12/30/10 3:22 PM Page 67 Rediscovering Indigenous Peacebuilding Techniques 67 from the vessel simultaneously, after which others partake.31 This is meant to symbolize the bitterness of the past and a promise to never taste such bitterness again. A shared meal follows the drinking ceremony.32 Forgiveness—a necessary aspect of mato oput— allows for moving beyond the crime and for agreement on some sort of compensation, reached during mediation. Mato oput, like many other traditional African reconciliation methods, is highly symbolic. This method used to reconcile and heal may be considered archaic or insufficient by westerners, but it works well among the Acholi. In northern Uganda, everyone, living and deceased, is considered part of the community.33 A person who commits an act of violence is initially expelled from the home clan. Violence tears the fabric of the community, which is why the entire clan of the person involved in violence is held responsible. It is believed that the spirits of ancestors have a particularly strong influence, so they are called upon in peacebuilding and post-conflict situations.34 Today Ugandans, appearing to be suffering from conflict fatigue, are ready to move on with their lives, and their traditional approaches to justice allow for the closure that some people require.35 There is much debate about whether mato oput can handle the magnitude of the crimes committed in the northern war. As with many other traditional conflict resolution mechanisms, mato oput was never meant to be used in such a context and would therefore require adaptation to the new situation. This in turn raises the question of how adaptation should proceed and whether the changes implemented would diminish the effectiveness and trust in the process. Like gacaca, mato oput relies on the willingness of the community, the perpetrator, and the victim to actively participate. Ugandans are taking indigenous methods seriously and have even included them as part of a framework for an agreement on accountability and reconciliation signed in June 2007 by the government and the LRA and an annexure to the agreement, signed in February 2008, detailing its implementation.36 This is possibly one of the strongest signs thus far of how important these traditions are to the local communities. Another ritual, nyono tong gweno (stepping on the egg), which sometimes precedes the mato oput rite, has been used to allow the return and reintegration of more than 12,000 LRA soldiers to their communities and to cleanse unwelcome spirits.37 MOZAMBIQUE Mozambique offers a successful case of employing traditional methods of conflict management in a surprisingly localized and individual fashion. The war between the government led by the Liberation Front of Mozambique (FRELIMO) and the 31. Latigo, ‘Northern Uganda’. 32. Wasonga, ‘Rediscovering mato oput’. 33. Ibid. 34. Ibid. 35. Glenna Gordon, ‘What northern Ugandans really want’, Reuters AlertNet, 13 July 2007. 36. Luc Huyse, ‘Introduction: Tradition-based approaches in peacemaking, transitional justice and reconciliation policies’ in Huyse and Salter, Traditional Justice and Reconciliation after Violent Conflict. A copy of the annexure can be found at www.iccnow.org/documents/Annexure_to_agreement_on_Accountability _signed_today.pdf. 37. Latigo, ‘Northern Uganda’.