Gusii people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kisii (also known as Gusii or Kosova[1]) is a community of Bantu speakers who inhabit the Kisii District in Nyanza, western Kenya.
Kisii town is located in Nyanza Province to the south West of Kenya and is home to the Gusii people. According to the 1979 census, Kisii District had a population of 588,000.
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[edit] Origins of the Kisii
The Kisii People along with other Bantu speaking groups are believed to have originated in the Congo (presently known as the Democratic Republic of Congo). The migration is believed to have been due to overpopulation, food scarcity, inter-group conflicts and exhausted soil for farming. As these Bantu speakers migrated from the Congo, they split up into different groups with the Kisii ending up in Nyanza Province near Lake Victoria. (The Kikuyu, Kamba, and other groups in Kenya continued the hunt for richer soil for farming and moved on eastwards across the Rift valley to their current locations. They later settled in the now-called Central and Rift Valley Provinces of Kenya.)
The Kisii ended up in a geographical location unique among Bantu speaking groups in that they were surrounded on all sides by hostile Nilotic communities of the Luo, Kipsigis, Nandi, and Maasai. Constant sieges resulted in the development of a war-like culture to defend against cattle-raiding neighboring communities. To this day, they have a reputation of being tough, emotionally labile, resilient, and very industrious.
[edit] The Kisii People Today
The Kisii are regarded as one of the most economically active communities in Kenya, blessed with rolling tea estates, coffee, and banana groves. However, Kisii district has a very high population density. It is one of the most densely populated areas in Kenya (after the two cities of Nairobi and Mombasa), and the most densely populated rural area. It also has one of the highest fertility and population growth rates in Kenya (as evidenced by successive census and demographic surveys). In fact the fertility rate of Kisii ranks among the highest in the world, (see Kenyan Conundrum: A Regional Analysis of Population Growth and Primary Education (Paperback) by Juha I. Uitto [Author]). These factors have ensured the Kisii to be among the most widely geographically spread communities in East Africa. A proportionately large number of Kisiis have gone abroad in search of education. The Kisii are some of the most heavily represented Kenyans in foreign (usually Indian and American) universities.
Their lands are currently overpopulated despite their rolling fertile hills, spurring immigration to other cities in Kenya and a substantial representation in the United States, especially in major hub cities like Houston, Atlanta, Jersey City, Dallas and Minneapolis-Saint Paul. The hard cash that flows from the diaspora has spawned significant economic prosperity in a locale lacking in politically motivated 'hand-me downs'.
Names like Bogonko, Osebe, Bosire, Moseti, Moraa, Onchiri, Isaboke, Nyaboke, Mogaka and others are common family names just like Smith and Johnson in the Anglo-Saxon cultures.
[edit] Agriculture and Biodiversity in Kisii
In the past, Kisii was a heavily forested area, with old indigenous broadleaf rainforest trees. It was part of the old Congo Basin forests. The only remnant of this old forest in Kenya is the Kakamega Forest, which is the westernmost tip of the Equatorial rainforest. The two ancient forest areas were linked through nandi and kericho, before the Nandi and Kericho areas were cleared for tea farming and settlement. Now most of the tree life in Kisii consists of Eucalyptus saligna (blue gum/eucalyptus) and Cupressus lusitanica (cypress). Other plant life forms are cultivated tea, bananas, maize, coffee and napier grass, with very lettle remaining of indigenous biodiversity.
It has been theorized that in future Kisii will increasingly be 'colonized' by the above few species of plants, as there is little awareness or even desire to re-plant the slow-growing and less economically valuable indigenous plant forms. This is aggravated by land shortage and reduced need for traditional herbal medicine, that has now been surpassed by modern hospitals.
[edit] Language
They speak the language of Kisii or as commonly known as ekegusii among the native speakers. However, some older texts refer to this community as Kosova. This language and other Bantu languages are very similar. Most of their phrases are similar or had been derived or acquired in the same manner. The only difference between these languages is that some words have been altered or differently pronounced and given new meanings. The Meru in Eastern province are closely related to the Kisii or Gusii people in language and culture.
[edit] Culture
The Gusii play a large bass lyre called obokano. Circumscion of boys at around age of 10 as a right of passage without anesthesia. This ritual takes place annually in the months of November and December followed by a period of seclusion during which the boys are led in different activities by older boys. A great time of celebration indeed for families and communities at large. Family, friends and neighbors are invited days in advance by candidates to loin the family.
[edit] List of some famous Kisii people
- Ratemo Michieka
- Andrew Omanga
- Simeon Nyachae
- James Nyamweya
- Justice Samuel Bosire
- George Anyona
- Sam Ongeri
- Dr Zachary Onyonka
- Isabella Ochichi
- Margaret Okayo
