Luyia of Kenya

Chapter One examines traditional beliefs, unwavering faith in the cult of the ancestor, Luhya concept of God and widespread practices of witchcraft and sorcery. Early Christian missionaries set out to eradicate aboriginal faith systems and by 1912, a decade after setting up the first mission at Kaimosi, less than ten percent of Luhya had converted to Christianity. The missionaries soon realized that success in Christian evangelism in Buluyia lay in condoning, incorporating or modifying some of these traditional customs. The power of the occult is so deep it permeates all departments of human endeavour playing on the dichotomy of good versus evil, lucky versus unlucky and godly versus satanic. It takes various forms ranging from a diabolical pact with satanic forces to necromantic communication with ancestral spirits. Chapter Two examines how the Luhya combat mystical forces through sacrifices, assorted medicines and other anti-witchcraft measures. Mystical forces wield an indeterminate stronghold on tribal ethos regardless of whether one is a pagan, atheist, a Christian or educated. Consequently, most tribesmen desire to exercise influence over supernatural forces; seeking their intervention when thought beneficial and destroying them when deemed harmful. Widespread belief in witchcraft does not mean the Luhya attribute everything that happens or doesn’t happen in their lives to the occult. However, when it is clear that ritual danger looms or an evil agent is on the prowl, people seek divination and mystical intervention to ward off ritual hazards and protect themselves and their property. Chapter Three discusses procreation, ceremonial rituals associated with a child’s sex, bestowal of ancestral name as well as attitudes towards twins, albinism and unusual births. Birth of a child marks the first of four primary rites of passage in an individual’s life; the others being circumcision, marriage and death. Childbirth in Buluyia is socially significant in two major respects. First it welcomes a new member of a clan community and secondly, a newborn creates a realignment of kinship relations. Birth of a first child carries comparatively more social weight than subsequent siblings because it consummates the marriage and confers a social status to a wife who is now addressed as omukhaye rather than omukhasi. Although both terms mean wife, the former implies respectability acquired strictly through parturition. Secondly, it firmly establishes strong kinship ties between various relatives in law who now have a common affinal denominator to whom they all owe customary duty of care. The desire to beget several offspring among the Luhya and the preference of male over female is informed by established socio-economic and military considerations. Chapter Four analyzes circumcision as the most celebrated rite of passage. Circumcision in Luhyaland consists of elaborate initiation rites and is culturally more significant as a single event in the life of a male individual than other rites of passage. Unlike birth, marriage and death which are primarily individual events, circumcision is organized on a communal scale with various members of the clan community playing specific roles. Besides symbolizing transition to manhood, circumcision implies a greater change in social status of an initiate and is a necessary preparatory requirement for the next phase of his life as an opinion leader and warrior. As a customary rite of passage, circumcision was firmly established in Luhyaland by the time Europeans arrived in late 19th century. Although passionate circumcision festivals have declined since the advent of Christianity, three sub nations have dug in against the general tide to preserve an aspect of Luhya culture they consider sacrosanct. These are the Bukusu, Tachoni and Tiriki and it is to these three groups that much of the analysis is devoted. Chapter 5 is about the important institution of marriage. Marital themes explored in this chapter include spousal choices, dowry, types of marriages and annulment of matrimony. The kinship structure predetermines role and status of individuals in Luhya society. An individual who wields the most social, economic and political influence in the Luhya ethno-cultural troposphere commands utmost respect. The route to power emanates from the number of people under one's command beginning with family, lineage and clan. As a necessary first step in the construction of building blocks to power, a Luhya tribesman marries soon after adolescence to begin amassing numbers (of wives and offspring) that he will need to galvanise authority, preponderance and prestige. Chapter 6 examines death rituals among the Luhya – mourning, corpse treatment, burial of kings and the ritually contaminated and post burial ceremonies. Death marks transition of an individual from a living form into another type of existence as a spirit with defined roles, duties and obligations. Although banished from earth, the dead are thought to live among the living; a belief that is underlain by various sacrificial offerings to appease ancestral spirits and seek their intervention in combating evil mystical forces. The interaction between forces of life and death is of sociocultural importance because besides helping in the re-adjustment process of the bereaved, sacrificial tributes to ancestors are a vital mechanism through which the Luhya preserve cultural resources. Chapter 7 looks at arts and crafts in traditional Luhya society. The Luhya have practiced arts and crafts since millennia; adapting or adopting their artistic creativity to utilitarian needs of a particular historical epoch. From hunter-gatherer caveman through to Iron Age and industrial revolution, available evidence points to a people determined to better their living conditions using available materials and technological processes in hut building, basket weaving, pottery and assorted tools and weaponry. While there is evidence of art predating colonization, by far the most visible art form is that associated with the introduction of Christian and vocational institutions. Chapter 8 examines traditional leisure pursuits before colonization. In pre-European days, the Luhya entertained themselves through various sporting and leisure activities with the exact type depending on physiographic regions, seasons, age, gender and availability of appropriate materials. Some of these pursuits survive today and include bullfighting, cockfighting, wrestling and mancala (ajua). Music was by far the most popular form of entertainment with drum, lyre and horns constituting the main instrumentation.