Luyia Nation

Chapter one deals with geography; giving a detailed account of the physiography, hydrology, climatology, geology, ecology and economy of Luyialand. Numbering about six million, Luyia is the second largest tribe in Kenya constituting 14 percent of total population. Administratively, Luyia territory is divided into five counties – Kakamega, Vihiga, Busia, Bungoma and Trans Nzoia with Kakamega as the territorial headquarters. Dubbed the bread basket of Kenya, Western is ironically a basket case characterized by a high dependency index of as much as 60 percent relative to average national poverty index of 53 percent. The majority of Luyia tribesmen are subsistence farmers. Sugar is the most important cash crop in the economy of Western underlain by Mumias Sugar Company and supplemented by three other small millers. Besides sugar, Western is also home to Pan African Paper Mills, the only pulp paper manufacturing plant in Kenya which ran into financial straitjacket in 2009. Fishing accounts for 40 percent of gross domestic output of Busia while in Vihiga, reputedly the world’s most crowded rural locality, the principal economic activity is petty trade on several market centres. Western has 2,059 and 602 primary and secondary schools, respectively with one national university, one national polytechnic and two national teacher training colleges. The region’s main referral health institution is Kakamega Provincial Hospital. Long before rail and all-weather roads were constructed, an old caravan route opened the interior of Kenya and Uganda to Arab and Swahili traders and eventually to colonial conquest. It was thanks to this route that the first Whiteman to traverse Luyialand on foot arrived at the court of Nabongo Mumia in 1883. Chapter Two examines how the Luyia measured time in pre-European days providing a timeline of major events that impacted developments in Luyialand. For the old generation, the timeline is a walk down memory lane while the youthful generation gets a glimpse of major historical, social and political events that have shaped the destiny of Luyialand. The Luyia used the sun to record time on an hourly basis; its movement influencing daily activities and behavior of animals. Because agriculture was the mainstay of tribal economy, agricultural seasons were the major yardstick for measuring time on a yearly basis. Although some sub nations used festivals like circumcisions and annual harvest thanksgiving sacrifices to record time, major catastrophes like famines, wars, epidemics, droughts, and floods left a lasting imprint in the memory of tribesmen. Other occurrences that left a lasting memory include coming of the Whiteman, arrival of the railway and first car, establishment of formal education, appointment of paid milango (headmen) and conscription into the two world wars. Chapter Three tackles the controversial question of origin of Abaluyia and analyses various clans that populate the polity. Although early anthropologists and scholars concluded that Abaluyia originated from the forests of west and central Africa, new anthropological evidence points to Misri as the land of their ancestors. If the name and place of origin is confusing, scholars are divided over the exact number of Luyia sub nations and whether all Luyia are in fact Bantu. Disregarding Luyia tribes in Uganda and Tanzania, it is now generally accepted that the Kenyan Luyia number between 17-18 groups. In this chapter we get a sense of the characteristics of a Luyia – his love of chicken, isikuti dance and cross tribal identification with leopard as a tribal totem. A meeting between Joseph Thomson, the first European to traverse Luyialand on foot, and the Wanga king, Nabongo Mumia in 1883 planted the seeds of British imperialism in western Kenya. The British used Mumia’s agents to extend imperial conquest across western and Luo Nyanza. Before the Europeans, the Wanga had established contacts with Swahili and Arab traders. The institution of obunabongo (kingship) is therefore an important element in the historicization of the Luyia. Despite the numbers, Luyia unity as a political force has eluded tribesmen since formation of the super tribal entity more than 70 years ago. Chapter 4 explores elements of a Luyia family, clan and kinship. Traditional Luyia families were largely polygamous with the elder wife occupying a lofty position in the marriage hierarchy. The commanding pillars of a polygamous family are the large number of offspring desired to enhance a man’s social status while clandom is characterized by solidarity of members, observance of exogamy and dwelling on common ancestral land. Every clansman must know his relatives and observe appropriate rules of conduct in social interaction with different sets of clan relations. Big ceremonies like weddings, funerals, births and circumcision where attendance by kinsmen is mandatory offer ample opportunities for enhancement of kinship ties. The establishment of an independent household starts soon after birth of the first child when the young couple cooks a ritual meal to which relatives from both sides of the marital divide are invited. This meal provides an opportunity for the interaction between in laws who hitherto had avoided each other for ritual reasons and seals the wife’s place in her new environment. All clans have certain taboos and totems which they consider sacrosanct. The office of a clan elder was bestowed upon someone with a strong personality whose opinion was respected among his contemporaries by virtue of his knowledge of clan history, traditions and customs. Except in a few situations, clan genealogy is largely patrilineal. Chapter 5 outlines major clans in Luyialand indicating in brackets clans found in more than one territorial polity. Although there are at least four to five tribes in Uganda which qualify to be called Luyia, the scope of this book is limited to Kenyan Luyia. Besides, most Luyia sub nations passed through Bunyoro, Buganda and Busoga in Uganda before settling in their current locales. As a result, you will find clans in these locations that are duplicitous in Buluyia. What the reader ought to bear in mind is that clans existing in parallel polities assume the nomenclature of a particular sub nation where they live. The total number of known clans in Luyialand stands at 863 (discounting Songa).