Thread by @HistoryKE

#HistoryKeThread: The Kavirondo Of The 1890s

This is an undated photo of a Kavirondo/Luo “medicineman” (foreground).

According to 1898 recordings of early colonial administrator Charles William Hobley - the man Luos called Obili, a medicineman was usually summoned to bless the future of a newborn Luo child.

Six days after a boy was born, he wrote on, the mother took the newborn to a spot along a path not far from the homestead and left it there.

Then another woman from the same village approached the spot and picked up the child, for which action the woman automatically became the child’s godmother.

The same was done for girls, only that it happened four days after birth.

There was much dance and celebration when twins were born.

And when the kids grew old enough to speak their mother tongue fluently, some teeth from their lower jaw were removed as part of an initiation. It is likely the community waited until permanent teeth were formed to carry out the excision.

The Luhya from Mumias did this, too, only that they removed four teeth.

Luos principally undertook cattle rearing and cultivation work, although the latter was mostly undertaken by womenfolk. The men were nearly as good at drinking as they were in war.

Hobley noted that they consumed copious amounts of beer made out of wimbi or millet. Their Ketosh (Bukusu) neighbours made wine out of a mixture of bananas and millet.

Beer was consumed by an assembly of men, who sat around a pot, from which they drew the liquid using long tubes. Hobley also noted that the community engaged in smoking of tobacco and what he called “Indian hemp”, which I learnt is an extract of cannabis.

I have found that Luos applied clever ideas on combat matters. For example, their shields were nearly circular and bent to provide a larger surface area protection for its bearer.

Moreover, they had a pair of small-bladed and lighter spears, one for throwing and the other for close quarter combat. The Luo homesteads were also well fortified by a sturdy mesh of strong twigged fences.

The jury may still be out on when the Luos adopted a sword (spot one here?). It may not be unreasonable to infer that they adopted it from their Maasai neighbours. The Luo sword however was a bit different from that of the Maasai, and featured a spatulate (broad, round) finish.

One of the most famous combat victories of the Luo was against their Nandi warriors in 1890. Ordered to war by their Chief Kimnyole, the Nandi did not expect they would suffer the ignominy of a near complete rout.

You may have read that story from my archives.

Finally, here’s a photo from back-in-the-day of a Luo woman pipe- smoking.