Conceptualising Nrunga: An Indigenous Moral Framework for Understanding Dehumanisation and Guiding Reconciliation in Djugu, Ituri, DR Congo

Abstract

Indigenous African moral concepts are often invoked in peacebuilding scholarship but rarely defined with precision. This study conceptualises Nrunga, a concept of relational humanness shared by the Hema and Lendu communities of Djugu Territory, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. It asks how community members define Nrunga, how the conflict has affected it, and what this means for reconciliation. The study used an indigenous-led qualitative design based on sensory ethnography. Between December 2024 and December 2025, data were collected through 20 storytelling interviews with elders, religious leaders, women leaders, youth and displaced persons, and five talking circles (n = 38) for women, youth, elders, religious leaders and a mixed group. Ten institutional documents, including the 2020 Ituri peace agreement, policy briefs, non-governmental reports and community statements, were purposively selected for their relevance to peacebuilding in Ituri. Data were analysed thematically. Participants defined Nrunga through four related dimensions: moral interiority, relational ontology, theological-cosmological grounding and embodied institutional practice. They also distinguished an active from a corrupted form of Nrunga. We define ‘Nrunga crisis’ as the cascading but incomplete erosion of these dimensions under violence. The construct explains why the conflict persists and why reconciliation is difficult, rather than why it began. We show how it differs from structural violence, dehumanisation and Ubuntu/Utu frameworks. Reconciliation initiatives in Djugu should restore the four dimensions together, give women and youth formal roles, and rebuild cross-community institutions.