[2] They were introduced after the Biito clan conquered the Empire of Kitara,[1] and are nowadays used as a respectful and endearing way to refer to someone in conversation, separate from individual given names and surnames.
Empaako is included on the UNESCO list of intangible world heritage requiring emergency safeguarding.
Acanga (often spelt Acaanga, however this spelling violates the Runyoro-Rutooro orthography) is an obsolete empaako, allegedly used by chiefs, thus it is not in common use.
[5] Atwoki is an empaako that Gerald Heusing claims comes from the Luo word adok "I go back", although this is disputed.
Okaali is an empaako that is not in common use since it is only used for the Omukama (king) when he is being worshipped in rituals or in special ceremonies.
The choice of name is based on an analysis of the child's traits by his paternal aunts who look for a resemblance with other members of the family.