THE ORIGIN OF TRIBES

PHOTO MOUNT ELGON

Gusii migration from Mount Elgon region began around 1600 A.D. They moved accompanied by their
close cousins – the Suba, Kuria and Logoli. They moved to Goye in Yimbo-Kadimo and settled here for
two generations (Ochieng 1974: 41). Their settlement extended to Got Ramogi. After several decades of
settlement, the Gusii and Logoli decided to move from here (Nyauma Mosicho, 0.1: 2016); Gesora
Masaki, (0.I: 2016). This followed the Luo migration –the Joka jok group. There was also overcrowding in
the area

RIVER YALA

The Gusii are said to have crossed river Yala into Alego next to Lake Gangu where the marauding Luo
warriors who raided them for cattle soon invaded them again. The Yala River is a river of western
Kenya, a tributary of Lake Victoria. It generally flows fast over a rocky bed through a wide valley before
joining the Nzoia River to form the Yala Swamp on the border of Lake Victoria.
Photo RIVER YALA

Due to constant raids by the Luo, the Gusii decided to move eastwards and eventually settled in an area
called Kisumo, along the shores of Lake Victoria. Their close relatives, the Abaragoli, accompanied them.
“Nyakomogendi”, the mother of Mogusii is said to have died at Kisumo. Mogusii also died here because
the leaders who led the Gusii to Kano plains this time were different. They are mentioned as Oibabe,
Mochorwa, Mobasi and Mogusero

Photo of Lake Victoria (Kisumo)

The Gusii movement from Kisumo to Kano plains was caused by many factors, which included
famine, drought and diseases (Ochieng, 1974: 45). Separation between the Logoli and Gusii took
place here. The famine is said to have been so severe leading to the death of many people and
animals. According to Gesora (0.1: 2016), there was neither food nor crops. Water was also in
short supply. The food shortage was so severe to the extent that individuals or small groups just
woke-up and moved with whatever they were be able to carry, a clear sign of resilience and
rationality in decision-making. People knew that if they did not make the decision to vacate the
region, they would all die to a man. Moreover, the marauding Luo could still come and drive
them out when they had been weakened. This would have been a disaster for them. Kisumo
location, as is known in contemporary times, is an area, which is famine-prone almost all the
year round. People depend on charity or the grains supplied by the neighboring Gusii, Luhyia
and Kalenjin communities. The name Kisumo is derived from the Luo word “Jokisumu” which
when translated literally means “people who depend on charity” (Ochieng 1974: 46).

From the Kisumo settlements, the Abaragoli are said to have moved in a northerly direction to
Maseno and eventually into present Buluhyia country
Photo of floods in Kano plains

Photo of floods in Kano plains

The Gusii lived in the Kano plains extending to the Kipsigis hills in the North, Nyakach in the
West and Kabondo areas in the East. Their stay at Kano lasted about 150 years (1600- 1750,
Akama & Maxon 1995: 28). The Gusii were mixed farmers who grew crops like millet,
sorghum, finger millet, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and kept livestock. They had a symbiotic
relationship with their Luo neighbours with whom they exchanged their wares for iron tools,
pots, mats and fish. It is at the Kano plains that the distinct Gusii sub-tribes as we know them
today emerged. This had resulted from the way they migrated from the Kisumo settlement as
families or small groups under different leaders. Hither to the Kisumo settlement, the Gusii had
travelled together as a huge family or clan under a common leader.

The migration from Kisumo was sudden and unceremonial where each family or group
left under recognized leaders and hurried forth by pangs of hunger, the small units began
to look to themselves as the people of Mobasi, the people of Mosweta, the people of
Mochorwa, the people of Omugusero, among others. Thus the following were the clans that
emerged at the Kano plains: ABASWETA, ABABASI, ABAGIRANGO, ABAMACHOGE,
ABANCHARI AND ABAGUSERO.

From the Kano plains, the Gusii moved eastwards and southwards into the Manga Hills as well
as the Kabianga region of the present Kericho County. Their movements into these areas was
caused by the depletion of resources, competition with the Luo clans, attacks by the Luo and
Maasai for Gusii cattle and the need for self-preservation of the Gusii culture (Akama & Maxon,
1995: 32). Life at the Kano plains where the Gusii‟s five to seven generations stayed was
luxuriously awash with plenty of food, fish, wildlife, cattle, yams and cereals. The Gusii
preferred plains to upland areas. At the Kabianga region where some Gusii moved to, life was
not comfortable. The area was cooler than the Kano plains. Both animals and human beings were
attacked by diseases such as pneumonia, and respiratory complications. Many people died here.
Even their livestock died. Crops could not do well either. The word “Kabianga” is a Kisii name
meaning/ or literally translated to mean, “Things have refused”. Because of all these challenges
and attacks by the Maasai and Kipsigis who stole their cattle and sheep, the Gusii decided to
move in a south-easterly direction. The only rational thing in the face of adversity and
vulnerability was to move out of the risk area. They moved through Sotik, Ngelegele and as far
as the Ngorongoro areas bordering the Maasai. The Gusii settled at Nyaigarora, present Trans-
Mara subcounty. Due to ferocious Maasai raids, the Gusii moved northwards to Manga-Nyagoe-
Isecha-Rangenyo triangle (Akama and Maxon, 1995: 36).

There were those who moved to Gusii Highlands through Nyakach by crossing River Miriu
(sondu) and entered North Mugirango. These became the Abagirango of North Mugirango. Some
clans also remained at the Kano plains as well as at Kabianga areas and were absorbed by
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the Luo and Kipsigis respectively. There were also those who missed track and settled in South
Nyanza as the Kuria (Akama and Maxon, (1995: 33).

Once in the highlands, the Gusii consolidated themselves and got more united than ever before.
They got ready to defend themselves against their enemies – the Kipsigis and Maasai. This they
did in 1896 when the Osaosao battle took place and where all the Kipsigisi warriors were
vanquished (Ochieng, 1974: 131). The Gusii warriors followed the remnants of the Kipsigis
warriors to the borders of Belgut and Sotik-Kabianga areas. It became a defining moment for the
Gusii as a community. After the Gusii had defeated the enemy, the Gusii people began a
systematic movement and settlement in frontier territories in north and west Mugirango,
approaching the Sondu-Sotik region (Akama and Maxon, 1995: 40). It can thus be said that by
1900, Gusiiland had been settled by its present inhabitants. This was due to the determination of
the people and the resolve to be independent, dignified and resilient as a community.

In this section, we have seen the migratory route, movements and settlement of the Gusii people.
We have seen that the Gusii moved together with their kinsmen, the Logoli & Kuria till their
separation at Kisumo. We have also seen how the Gusii settled in the highlands and the wars
they resiliently fought with their foes – the Maasai and Kipsigis. Disease is one of the factors that
kept the Gusii moving out of the settlements. And in many instances, they found the rationale to
relocate. In the next section we shall see how the Gusii people dealt with the diseases, the herbs
and medicines they used, how they procured the medicine and the general therapeutic systems of
the Gusii people.

Settlements
Before the colonial period, the extended polygynous family was spatially divided into two
components: the homestead (omochie), where the married men and women and their unmarried
daughters and uncircumcised sons lived, and the cattle camps (ebisarate), located in the grazing
areas, where most of the cattle were protected by resident male warriors. The British abolished
the cattle camps in 1913. In the late nineteenth century most Gusii were settled in dispersed
farmsteads, although the North Mugirango built fortified villages for protection against Kipsigis
raids. A homestead consisted of the wives' houses. The compound had several elevated granaries
for finger millet. The traditional Gusii house (enyomba) was a round, windowless structure with
a framework of thin branches, walls of dried mull, and a conical, thatched roof. Today the Gusii
continue to live in dispersed homesteads sited in the middle of the farm holdings. Modern houses
are rectangular, with thatched or corrugated-iron roofs, and cooking has been moved from the
house to a separate kitchen structure.