Background to the people of Kenya
The earliest
inhabitants of Kenya are believed to be the Khoisan i.e. the San and Khoikho
(Bushmen) of southern African.
The remnants of these groups are the: /Earliest inhabitants of Kenya Included:
- Nguye,
Okuro of western Kenya,
- Dorobo/Athi/Ogiek of Kenya
- Hadza and Sandawe of
Tanzania.
Evidences that
proved to have been inhabited by humankind as far back as two million years ago
or earlier
§ Tools
attributed to Homo habilis were found in Koobi Fora near Lake Turkana.
§ Hand
axes, cleavers and other tools attributed to Homoerectus have been found at Olorgesailie
near Lake Magadi, Mtongwe near Mombasa, around lakes Victoria and Turkana and
at Kariandusi.
§ Tools
associated with the late Stone age such as the Crescent, arrowheads, pottery,
bone harpoons and ornamental egg shells have been found near lake Naivasha,
lake Nakuru, Lukenya hills and Athi river.
§ Microlith
tools, axe heads, polished stones, stone bowels, platters and grinding stones
have been discovered all over Kenya.
§ Iron
was used as far back as 270AD. Evidence of iron use have been found at Urewe
near Ng’iya in Siaya and in Kwale at the coast.
§ Animals
such as cattle, sheep and goats were domesticated in Kenya during the late
stone age.
Lifestyle of the earliest
inhabitants of Kenya
§ Their
language resembled that of the Khoisan.
§ They
originally were nomadic peoples.
§ They
gathered fruits and dug up tubers and roots to supplement their diet.
§ They
used stone tools, bows and arrows.
§ They
fished in rivers and lakes, using harpoons.
§ They
lived in rock shelters and caves.
§ They
made and used pottery.
§ They
buried or cremated their dead.
§ Because
of their nomadic lifestyle, they lived in seasonal camps and had no permanent
homes.
§ Being
hunter-gatherers, they were very few, with very few belongings i.e. a variety
of stone tools, bows and arrows.
§ By
the 7th century BC, they had learnt and practised fishing. They
started living in semi permanent homes of rock shelters and caves.
§ After
acquiring the skill of food production, they settled down in more permanent
homes and owned more materials such as grinding stones, pestles and stone
bowels, pots and calabashes.
§ They
kept humpless long-horned cattle and grew food-crops like sorghum and millet.
§ They
passed on many customs such as circumcision, age-set organization, the taboo
against eating fish, etc. There was a lot of cultural exchange between them and
the new comers.
NB:These early
inhabitants of Kenya may have been subdued by other stronger peoples,
particularly the Bantu and the Nilotes through intermarriage, assimilation and
war.
Some
remnants of these early inhabitants speak the languages of the groups near or
with whom they live. E.g. some speak
Kikuyu while others speak Olmaa: the language of the Maasai. A majority of them
speak Kalenjin dialects. The Kalenjin refer to them as Okiek while the Maasai
call them Dorobo. In western Kenya, the Nguye and Okuro were totally assimilated
by the Luo and Bantu groups.
QUIZ: Name three linguistic groups in Kenya. (3 marks)
Linguistic groups in Kenya
- The Bantu
- The Nilotes
- The Cushites
NB:-BANTU is the largest linguistic group in Kenya.
CUSHITESis the smallest language group in kenya.
QUIZ: Give three ways in which Kenyan communities interacted. (3 marks)
- Trade
- Warfare
- Intermarriage
- Sports
Origin of the people of Kenya
The Bantu -Their original homeland was somewhere between eastern Nigeria and the Cameroon (Congo Basin).. They first settled on the
Congo forest.
The Nilotes originated in the Sudan.
The Cushites originated from Horn of
Africa.
MIGRATION AND SETTLEMENT OF THE PEOPLE OF KENYA
The Bantu
They had a similar sound of the root word for people
has a ‘ntu’, ‘ndu’, ‘tu’ and the names of livestock are alike.
The Bantu are
the largest group in Kenya and are divided into two groups viz:
Western Bantu and Eastern Bantu based on how they
entered Kenya.
NB: The Bantu-speaking groups include the Luhyia, Kisii, Kuria, Kikuyu, Akamba, Meru, Aembu, Taita, Agiryama, Digo in Kenya and Pokomo, as well as many other smaller groups.
QUIZ: Name two classifications/ groups of the Bantu.
- Western Bantu- Luhyia, Kisii, Kuria and abasuba and settled in western part of kenya thus their name.
- Eastern Bantu
FACTORS/REASONS FOR MIGRATION OF THE BANTU
2004 18. (a) Why did the
Bantu migrate from their original homeland? (5 mks)
i.
There was an increase in population thus the need for land for settlement
ii.
They were looking
for land for cultivation
iii.
They needed land for grazing/ pasture
iv.
Internal conflicts forced them to migrate
v.
They were attacked by neighbouring communities/ external attacks
vi.
Outbreak of diseases led to migration/
outbreak of epidemics
vii.
They migrated due to drought and famine
viii.
Some people migrated for the sake of adventure
ix. Group influence: Some moved because they had seen their relatives and friends move.
x. Need for water and pasture for their animals forced them to move.
xi. The Bantu migrated in order to export their iron-working culture. ( 5 x 1 = 5 mks)
WESTERN BANTU
1999 5. Name two Bantu
communities in Kenya whose ancestors
settled in the Mount Elgon area before migrating to their present homeland. (2 mks)
iii.
Abaluyia/ any Abaluyia speaking group
2012 3. Name two Bantu
groups in Kenya which settled in Mount Elgon area before
migrating to their present homeland. (2 marks)
*
Luhyia oral tradition
traces their origin to an area called Misiri. Historical evidence shows that
Abaluhyia resulted from intermarriage between various ethnic groups in the
course of their migration into Kenya. Buluhyia is an area in which Nilotes,
Bantu and some Cushites interacted.
*
Luhyia migration and
settlement into Kenya started around 300AD. Their most recent ancestors spread
from Eastern Uganda from around 1300AD. Most of them may have originated from
the mount Elgon region and then settled in Bukhayo, Marama, Tiriki, Bunyore,
Wanga, Maragoli, Marachi, Kisa, Samia, Idakho, Isukha, Bungoma and other Bukusu
areas, Bunyala, Busonga, etc.
*
As they migrated, they
assimilated other groups, such as the southern and Eastern Cushites as well as
Southern Nilotes.
*
Between 1550-1750AD,
Luhyia society began to take shape. By 1883, Abaluhyia had fully emerged as a
community.
*
Abaluhyia interacted
with Nilotic speakers such as the Maasai, Kalenjin and Luo, which led to a lot
of cultural exchange.
*
The interaction of
Abaluhyia with several other communities perhaps explains why there exists so
many clans and dialects among Abaluhyia. In fact, the term Luhyia means Family.
Abaluhyia means People Of the Family or Family-people.
Eighteen
major dialects constitute Abaluhyia.
Each of these
dialects consists of several clans and tended to exist independently, through
remotely connected ties to the rest of Abaluhyia. In fact, Abaluhyia were
constituted as a community in 1947, when the British colonial government
administered all these Luhyia dialects as a single entity.
*
Abagusii may have
originated from a place known to them as Misiri, under their ruler and ancestor
called Kwitu.
*
From Misiri, Abagusii
and some Abaluhyia groups migrated to the Mount Elgon region where they lived
for several generations.
*
Around 1500AD,
Abagusii, Abakuria and a section of Abalogoli migrated down Nzoyia river valley
and settled at Goye in Yimbo and near Ramogi hill and other areas on the Eastern
shores of lake Victoria.
*
Due to arrival of Luo
Ancestors In the lake region around 1550AD, Abagusii were pushed to Alego,
Kisumu, and Sakwa and Asembo areas.
*
Shortly after 1600AD,
drought forced Abagusii to migrate and settle in the Kano plains. Their farther
migration Eastwards brought them into conflicts with the Kipsigis. Because of
this, they moved to the fertile Kisii highlands and other parts of their
present homeland, such as Kitutu, South Mugirango and others.
*
In spite of conflicts
with the Luo, Maasai and Kipsigis, Abagusii exhibited and practised good
interaction, due to which they intermarried, traded and had other forms of
exchange with these communities.
*
Abakuria live in south
Nyanza. Their traditions indicate that they are related to the Abalogoli of
Abaluhyia and Abagusii too.
*
They also trace their
origin to the Mount Elgon region and maintain that they came from a place
called Misiri.
*
They moved through
chepalungu, Lolgorien and settled in kurialand
between 1580 and 1660 A.C.E.
*
Abakuria may have
migrated alongside Abagusii up to 1500AD when they took their separate
direction.
*
Abakuria settled
briefly around the shores of Lake Victoria, where they interacted with the Luo
and the Southern Cushites. Abakuria may have picked up the practice of
circumcision and Age-set organization from the Southern Cushites.
*
Some of the Kuria clans
may have come from northern Tanzania. e.g. abairegi from musoma.
*
By 1800AD, Abakuria had
all settled in south Nyanza, where they again met and continued interacting
with Abagusii. Indeed, some clans of Abagusii originally settled in Kuria
territory in the second half of the 18th century.
- ·
Abairegi
- ·
Abagumbe
- ·
Abahirichacha
- ·
Wasimbete
- ·
Abanyabasi
- ·
Watobori
- ·
Abakira
-
- THE ABASUBA
*
Abasuba occupy Mfangano
and Rusinga islands on lake Victoria, where they settled from 1750AD, after
arriving as refugees fleeing from Buganda. Other Suba people were displaced by
the incoming Luo.
*
Suba migration was
mainly triggered by fighting in Buganda and Busoga, following the assassination
of Kyabbagu by some of his children. Kyabbagu was King of Buganda. As a result
of the assassination, there was a struggle for succession to the throne, which
made some of the groups around Lake Victoria to flee.
*
In their migration from
Busoga and Buganda, most of the Suba spoke either Luganda or lusoga.
*
The Suba later
interacted with the Luo as they entered Kenya, although they at first saw the
Luo as a threat to them. They traded and intermarried with the Luo among other
practices.
*
Some Abasuba settled at
Gwasi and Kaksingiri in later years. They adopted the social customs of the
Luo. Today, most Abasuba have adopted Luo culture and language.
*
Because of Luo
influence, Abasuba have almost lost their original language and way of life.
QUIZ: Name the main social aspect that the Abasuba aquired from the Luo as a result of assimilation by the Luo. (1 mark)
-The Luo language
EASTER BANTU
They are divided into two ie
- Coastal Bantu
- Highland Bantu.
Coastal Bantu
They include the following:
·
Mijikenda, ·
Pokomo, ·
Taita
From the west Victoria dispersal point their first movement was upto Taita hills, where the Taita remained. The Mijikenda and Pokomo proceeded northwards to the coast upto Shungwaya (another dispersal point). The main reason for the Shungwaya dispersal was the Oromo attack In AD 1600.
QUIZ: Name two dispersal points of the Coastal Bantu. (2 marks)
Mijikenda
is a Kiswahili word that means nine clans. The Mijikenda comprise the nine
communities that originally inhabited the nine settlements called Kaya in the
immediate coastal hinterland.
By the 19th, the Mijikenda were established as middlemen during the long distance trade between the Akamba and the coastal Waswahili.
The 9 Communities
the constitute the Mijikenda
QUIZ: Give reason why the Mijikenda lived in KAYAs/ Fortified villages (1 mark)
Migration and settlement of the Mijikenda
* The
Mijikenda by the 15th century had settled around Mt. Kilimanjaro and
Taita Hills due to conflicts they migrated northwards to Shungwaya, which in
Bantu means “To be driven away”. Somewhere between rivers Juba and Tana.
* From
Shungwaya, the Bantu were forced to move southwards by the Oromo, who also stopped their northward
migration around the 16th century AD. The Somali also joined the
Oromo in forcing the Mijikenda out of Shungwaya, from where the Mijikenda moved
in small groups, which explains why they
settled in different places and why today the Mijikenda exist and are
identified by their small groups or clans.
* The
Mijikenda settled in fortified villages,
just inland from the coast. Each of the nine groups settled in their own
separate ridges, which are commonly referred to as Kaya, a word that means ‘towns’. The term Mijikenda itself expresses
that the community consists of nine related groups.
* Each
Kaya was fortified with tree trunks. Even after settling in their present
homeland, their main enemies were the Oromo and the Somali.
* By
the 19th century, the Mijikenda had interacted and established
themselves as middlemen in the Long Distance trade between the Akamba and the
Waswahili at the coast.
2013 18 (b) Explain five social effects of the
migration and settlement of the Mijikenda in their present homeland. (10 marks)
-
i.
They intermarried with
other groups thereby strengthening relationships.
-
ii.
There was cultural
exchange due to their interaction with other people/ assimilation/absorption.
-
iii.
There was an increase
in population in the areas where they settled.
-
iv.
There were
inter-community conflicts/wars in the areas they settled.
-
v.
It caused
redistribution of people in the areas they settled leading to further
migration/displacement.
-
vi.
Some were converted to
Islam due to their interaction with Arabs.
- vii.
It led to the
establishment of Kaya/villages which were fortified in order to protect
themselves against external attacks.
Ancestors of the Pokomo lived with
those of the Mijikenda at Shungwaya, but the Pokomo moved southwards and
settled along river Tana, where they interacted with Cushitic communities.
Population pressure and Oromo attacks were the main reasons for Pokomo movement
from Shungwaya.
QUIZ: Give the main reason why the Pokomo moved from Shungwaya. (1mark)
