Iboni

Just two days after returning to Torit after the departure of Monsignor Tofani I had the unexpected opportunity to visit another community in the diocese I had not yet seen. Even though there was a lot to catch up on from my time away in Kenya and trip around the diocese, I took advantage of the occasion since one can never be sure when such possibilities will arise. I accompanied Ydo Jacobs, a Dutch layman who has worked in Sudan for more than 20 years and is currently assistant administrator of the diocese, to help install a small solar electric system in the priest’s residence in Iboni. We didn’t do a bad job, and I learned a little about wiring and electrical circuits.


Iboni is the parish that serves several villages of the Lopit tribe, located northeast of Torit. The villages are all located on the hillsides of mountains in the Lopit range. The people settled in these locations for reasons of security, both during the war and due to conflicts with other tribes and the threat of cattle rustling. At the entrance to one of the villages on the rough road to Iboni, I was surprised to see this sign with the name of Bill and Melinda Gates.


Fr. Lucius Izama is the pastor of the newly established quasi-parish of Iboni. He was inspired by the words of Jesus quoted by St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” (Acts 20:35) and the self-giving example of a former seminarian to enter the process of formation for priesthood. He lives in a newly constructed parish house with some of his orphaned nieces and grandnephew.




Among his other duties, he oversees a parish school and runs a small medical dispensary.


Here he is shown providing medication for this grandmother (shown with her granddaughter) who is suffering from leprosy.





The parish has no church, and like many other church communities and schools in Africa, gathers under a large tree. Here you can see the log benches and interesting roots that reach down from branches into the ground, forming columns in the living chapel.




Iboni has produced two priestly vocations. Fr. Akile, who died prematurely and is buried in the village, and Fr. Luis, a Comboni missionary whose parents – Anthony and Angela – still live in Iboni.



Like the other Lopit villages, Iboni sits on a mountainside. Although it is remote and primitive, it’s also very charming and inviting. It is very attractively structured in different tiers and laid out in individual courtyards surrounded with fences with paths in between, giving it a kind of medieval European – African flavor.




It has several “plazas’ or town squares where people gather, including the ones pictured below with a pillar to mark the center of the village and another through which a local herd of cattle are being driven.




The homes are round tukuls with tightly packed palm-leaf thatching that reaches down almost to the ground, making it necessary to bend very low to get in. Between the roof and wall of the home is a space that can be used for storage. Although they can be constructed in less than a day with the help of friends, these houses can last up to 50 years. This kind of close-knit living and interdependence makes getting along with your neighbors essential for survival.





The village also has three “lodges” for young men of different age groupings who govern the community for a period of 22 years after initiation into adulthood. They are also responsible for guarding the village and protecting its inhabitants and herds.


In addition to herding cattle and goats, the Lopit also farm, and our visit happened to coincide with the sorghum harvest, which was a cause of rejoicing and celebrating when we visited.


The evening we toured the village ended with a visit to the head teachers house, where his wife and a friend sang and danced for us. She had composed a special song for Fr. Izama in which she repeated over and over again “the abuna (priest) has come; he is near.”