The Luo tribe is the third largest
community in Kenya and makes up close to 13% of the entire population. History
suggests that the Luo travelled along the River Nile from Sudan. They made
entry into Kenya around 500 years ago and established settlements in the lands
surrounding Lake Victoria- Africa’s biggest fresh water lake. Their arrival
took place in phases. The first groups to arrive were: The Joka-jok who were
closely followed by Jo-k'Owiny. Jok’ Omolo came in third and the Luo Abasuba
made the final arrival. According to the last
national population census conducted in 1989, the Luo number over 3 million
people, or about 13 percent of Kenya's total population. Along with the Luhya,
the Luo are the second largest ethnic group in the country, behind the Gikuyu.
Most Luo live in western Kenya in Western province or in the adjacent Nyanza
province, two of the eight provinces in Kenya. Some Luo live to the south of
Kenya in Tanzania. Many Luo also live in Nairobi. Most Luo maintain strong
economic, cultural, and social links to western Kenya, which they consider
home. Over the past 500 years, the Luo have migrated slowly from the Sudan to
their present location around the eastern shore of Lake Victoria. This area
changes from low, dry landscape around the lake to lusher, hilly areas to the
east. The provincial capital of Kisumu is the
third-largest city in Kenya and is a major cultural center for the Luo.
An example of
Luo culture is the naming process of the Luo people. Luo names refer to forces
or spirits that exist beyond the immediate presence of life on earth. When
individuals are deceased, they are referred to as the spirits of the ancestors.
The means by which children receive spirit names is tied directly to the
position of the sun in relation to the earth when they are born. Different
names carry different personality characteristics. So, when meeting a stranger
on a dusty crossroad, one gains insight into the character of that person
simply by learning the individual’s name
Customary Luo religion featured a central deity,
Nyasaye (translation for God), who is the creator of humanity and the universe.
Today, approximately 90 percent of the Luo are Christians, but many still
engage in customary rituals. Luo funerals are still extravagant affairs,
reflecting the time-honored role of ancestor worship in unifying lineages. In
addition, Luo have founded a number of independent Christian churches.
Traditionally,
Luo people lived in homestead compounds in large, extended families. However,
this tradition has been disappearing since the 1950’s, and is only rarely seen
in communities.
Traditional
Luo culture allowed for polygamous marriages, and the size of a compound was
generally relative to the number of wives a man could afford. It was easy to
determine how many wives and children a man had by counting the number of huts
in his homestead.
Traditional
homestead compounds were circular and represented the center of being. A
natural vegetative fence of Euphorbia trees bound the homestead, with a formal
gate facing west, or toward the nearest body of water. The husband built a home
for his first wife directly opposite the main gate. The home of the second wife
was located to her left, the home of the third to her right, and so on. The
first-born son of each wife built a home in the northwest corner of the
homestead. The location of these homes was intended to provide security from
intruders or marauding animals. The second-born sons built in the southwest corner,
and aided in the defense of the compound. All of the female children were
married out of the homestead by dowry. The youngest son inherited his father’s
homestead and his brothers eventually moved out and established their own.
This
homestead design embodied a social pattern devised to eliminate friction, to
assign every member of the family his or her rightful place, and to ensure an
orderly inheritance when the patriarch died. The system of the Luo homestead
was formed in recognition of elemental conflicts between wives, their ambitions
for their sons, and potential jealousies within polygamous households. Anthropologically,
this settlement pattern allowed one to peer into the homestead and garner a
great deal about the family composition. Upon arriving at an unfamiliar
homestead, a villager knew instinctively which house to seek.
Traditionally,
when a person died, the body was buried in his or her hut.
Although
this is no longer practiced, the body of the deceased is still buried within
the homestead and the individual’s hut remains unoccupied to erode over time.
If
Someone
dies away from home (in a different town or city), large sums of money,
Often entire life savings, are spent in order to
return their body to their homestead for burial. It is taboo to bury one away
from his or her homestead, even if he or she did not live there at the time of
death.
Observing the daily routines of different segments
of Luo society is a window into the mechanics of the culture. There is a clear
discrepancy in workload based on gender. The Luo female is responsible for
virtually every aspect of daily life, from gardening and harvesting to cooking,
cleaning, and childcare. Male duties include building the home and plowing the
fields.
Traditionally
the Luos don't practice circumcision and instead have some teeth removed,
though the practice has fallen largely out of use as more males opt for
circumcision. People are discouraged from noting when someone is pregnant for
fear that problems might result from jealous ancestors or neighbors. Older
women and midwives assist the woman throughout her pregnancy and in childbirth.
The birth of twins, which is believed to be the result of evil spirits, is
treated with special attention and requires taboos (prohibitions) on the part
of the parents. Only if neighbors engage in obscene dancing and use foul
language will the burden of giving birth to twins be lifted. The Luo, however,
did not adopt circumcision for men, as practiced in some neighboring Bantu
groups.
Adolescence is a time of
preparation for marriage and family life. Traditionally, girls obtained tattoos
on their backs and had their ears pierced. Girls spent time in peer groups
where conversation centered on boys and their personal attributes. Sex
education was in the hands of older women who gave advice in a communal
sleeping hut used by teenage girls. Lovers sometimes made secret arrangements
to meet near these huts, although premarital pregnancy was strictly forbidden.
Nowadays, neighborhood and boarding schools have replaced communal sleeping
huts and elders, although sex education is not taught in these schools.
Since there are no
initiation ceremonies in earlier stages of the life cycle, the funeral serves
as the most important symbol for family and community identity. Burials must
take place in Luo land, regardless of where a person may have lived during his
or her adult years.
Traditionally, the Luo
wore minimal clothing. Animal hides were used to cover private parts, but there
was no stigma (shame) associated with nudity. Nowadays, clothing styles are
largely Western in origin. They vary according to a person's social class and
lifestyle preferences. It is not uncommon to see people in remote rural areas
fashionably dressed according to some of the latest tastes. Luo living in
Nairobi tend to wear clothing that is cosmopolitan by rural standards and
similar to the clothing worn in New York or Paris.
In rural areas, most
people dress according to their work routines. For example, women wear
loose-fitting dresses made of solid or printed cotton fabric while farming or
attending market. Wearing sandals or going barefoot are typical while working.
Men wear jeans as work pants while farming. During the rainy season, the roads
can become very muddy; consequently, boots and umbrellas are especially prized
by both men and women. These days, there is a strong market in second-hand
clothing, making slacks, dresses, coats, undergarments, sweaters, shoes,
handbags, belts, and other items available to even poorer families. Luo enjoy
dressing up for funerals and weddings and are considered throughout Kenya to be
very fashionable.
The staple
food is kwon, commonly known in Swahili as ugali, a type of bread made
with maize flour. Ugali is usually served with vegetables, meat, fish,
or stew. Maize is the main source of carbohydrates for the Luo, but rice is
also common. It is inexpensive and grown in the Ahero, in the Nyando division
area, which is close to Lake Victoria in the Western region of Kenya.
Another
popular dish is nyoyo, which is a mixture of boiled maize and beans.
Typically consumed after a hard day of work in the fields, nyoyo is
often eaten with stir fried vegetables, tea, or porridge.
In Kenya,
the Luo are known as the lovers of fish. Fish is plentiful in the region
located around the second largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Victoria,
and can be purchased inexpensively from the right fishmonger.
Meat
can also be purchased from a butcher at any local town market. Traditionally,
the Luo were fishermen, but they have had to rear animals and work the land in
order to produce an adequate food supply. There are two main planting seasons
in a year, where everything from millet to maize and beans are grown.
REFERENCES:
1.
Jump up ^ Gordon, Jr., Raymond G. (editor)
(2005). Ethnologue:
Languages of the World, Fifteenth Edition. Dallas, Texas, USA: SIL
International. ISBN 978-1-55671-159-6.
2.
Jump up ^ Ogot,
Bethwell A. (1967). History of the Southern Luo: Volume I, Migration and
Settlement, (Series: Peoples of East Africa). East African
Publishing House, Nairobi. p. assim
Comments
Post a Comment