THE COLONIAL TRANSFORMATION OF
AGRICUL TURE IN SIAYA~£.1894-1945
BY
PIUS OUMA COKUMU
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
I' ARTS IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER
OF ARTS OF KENYA TTA UNIVERSITY
JULY 2001
Cokumu, Pius Ouma
The colonial
transformation of
11111
07/302222
e ;
KE Y TTA UNIVER' ITY LtBRA
DECLARATION
This thesis is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in any
other university.
COKUMU, PIUS OUl\IIA
This thesis has been submitted for examination with our approval as the
Lniversity Supervisors.
~~ A. JALANG'O-NDEDA
DR. SMISON M. Ol\llWOYO
II
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration--------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents----------------------------------------------------
.~bstract------------------------------------------------------------
Dedication---------------------------------------------------------
Acknowledgements------------------------------------------------
List of Abbreviations-----------------------------------------------
Definition of Terms------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER ONE: 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT
OF THE PROBLEl\Il
1.1
1.2
1.3
I.-l
1.5
1.6
17
1.8
Statement of the Problem---------------
Obj ectives of the Study-----------------
Research Assumptions------------------
Geograp hical Setting --------------------
Review of Related Literature----------
Rationale of the Study------------------
Theoreti cal Framework -----------------
Research Methodology and
Limitati ons-------------------------------
Pages
11
111
V
VI..
Vll
V111
IX
..•
J
4
4
5
1 1
19
21
26
CHAPTER TWO: 2.0 THE LUO SOCIETY AND ECONOMY
ON THE EVE OF COLONIAL RULE
2.1
2.2
2.3.0.
2.3 1.
.., ..• ')
_.J .•.•.
.., ..• ..•
_.J.J.
2.34.
2.3.5.
2.3.6.
Migration and Settlement ---------------
Politico-Religious Organisation-------
Socio-Economic Organisation---------
Social Structure-------------------------
Division of Labour ------------------
Agri cu Iture------------------------------
Livestock Keeping----------------------
Hunting and Gathering----------------
Trade and Exchange-------------------
31
..• ...,
JJ
38
38
40
42
47
50
52
CHAPTER THREE: 3.0 THE ESTABLISHM:ENT OF COLONIAL
RULE AND POLICIES
3.1.
..• ..•
J.J.
The Establishment of Colonial Rule----
Colonial Administration and
Imposition of Taxes----------------------
The Development of Migrant Labour
inS iaya ------------------------------------
..I
11\
55
59
66
CHAPTER FOUR: 4.0. THE AGRICULTURAL CHANGE IN EARLY
COLONIAL PERIOD TO c. 1930
4. I. Introduction------------------------------------- 79
4.2. Crop Production-------------------------------- 81
4.3. Changes in Agricultural Technology--------- 100
4.4. The Impact of Colonial Policies on
Agriculture and the Society-------------------- 103
CHAPTER FIVE: 5.0. THE AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION
IN THE PERIOD, c. 1930-1945
5. 1. Introduction-------------------------------------- 117
5.2. Changes in Crop Production and
Techno logy-------------------------------------- 117
5.3. Migrant Labour and the Underdevelopment
of Agriculture in Siaya------------------------- 128
CHAPTER SL'X: 6.0. SUM1\IIARY AND CONCLUSION----- 143
GLOSSARY ---------------------------------------- 153
SAMPLE QUESTI0N5--------------------------------------------------- 157
SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY ------------------------------------------ 161
'"
.-\BSTRACT
This study focuses on agricultural change in Siaya between 1894 and 1945. The
study contends that the people of Siava had an efficient, self-sustaining and dynamic
agricultural system prior to the advent of and establishment of the British colonial rule
and its attendant institutions. It demonstrates that Luo agricultural organisation was sound
and rational and based on Siaya people' s knowledge of their own environment.
It further argues that during the colonial epoch, the colonial state played a major
role in incorporating the agriculture of Siaya into colonial capitalist economy. It did this
through political conquest and the establishment of a repressive regime. This led to the
loss of political independence by the people of Siaya. It also defined the political
parameters within which the colonial capitalist economy was established and influenced
the responses of the local people. The colonial state also established a system of taxation
1\ hich was aimed at the collection of revenue for financing general administration and
also for drawing the local people into the capitalist economy .
.-\ more direct assault on the indigenous agriculture by the colonial regime was the
introduction and development of commodity production, wage labour. and the extension
of market. To achieve these and to serve the needs of capitalism the colonial regime
partially dissolved and restructured the indigenous agriculture. For instance, Luo
I'
households in Siaya suffered from insufficient labour, resulting in food shortages.
Extensive cultivation of crops such as maize for export led to soil degradation and
erosion.
While colonial capitalism provided new opportunities for some people in Siaya to
accumulate wealth and expand agricultural output, it also pauperised part of the
population. [n addition. the new mode of production modified, marginalised and
subordinated the Luo indigenous agriculture. However.' it is contended that Luo
agricultural organisation was not totally destroyed; it kept readjusting. was articulated
and co-existed with the colonial capitalist sector to serve the interest of capitalism. And
the introduction of cash crops severely affected food production.
,.
DEDICATION
To my Mother, Margaret Apondi Okumu
My Wife, Margaret Akoth Cokumu
Our Son, Pius Ouma Cokumu Jr.
\"1
.-\CKt~OWLEDG El\'IENTS
Many people and institutions con ributed to the success of this work, but to only
mentions a few I would like to thank Kenyatta University for admitting me to the
graduate programme and offering me a scholarship and a job
Special thanks to my supervisors Dr. Mildred A. Jalango-Ndeda and Dr. Samson
\1. Omwoyo, who guided me during the course of writing this thesis. They were patient
ill providing detailed and thorough constructive criticisms which helped to make this
work a success. I am equally grateful to Prof. Eric Aseka and Mr. Hannington Ochwada
for their untiring effort in reading through many drafts of this work and offering valuable
suggestions and criticisms. My thanks also go to members of the Department of History
who helped in one way or another during coursework and thesis writing. Their assistance
also contributed to the success of this work.
I am grateful to the staff of Kenya National Archives for their assistance during
mv research at the Archives. They provided most of the sources that I needed. Equally, I
am grateful to my informants who selflessly gave their time for often unscheduled
interviews. Thanks to the staff of the Moi Library of Kenyatta University and Jomo
Kenvatta Memorial Library of the University of Nairobi. for their invaluable assistance.
I thank my parents for their efforts in bringing me up a responsible man and for
denving themselves some basic needs in order to see that I completed my high school
education. I find no suitable words to thank Mr. and Mrs Peter Onyango and Mr and Mrs
Peter Omollo for their invaluable assistance, accommodation, support and encouragement
during my graduate studies Special thanks must go to my wife Margaret Akoth and our
son Pius Ouma Cokumu Jr., who accorded me (at the final stage) conducive family love,
hope, comfort and the encouragement and purpose of working hard.
Over and above, I give glory to my LORD Jesus Christ for this multitude of
bles~ings and spiritual support from the start to the end; I was never alone'
\'11
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ALDEV African Land Development Programme
BEA British East Africa
CK Central Kavirondo
C\lrS Church Missionary Society
C"\i Central Nyanza
C"\iC Chief Native Commissioner
DC District Commissioner
E.-\LB East African Literature Bureau
EAPH East African Publishing House
Ed. Editor
lBEACO Imperial British East African Company
KAR Kenya African Rifles
KLB Kenya Literature Bureau
K)jA Kenya National Archives
KSM
I'
Kisumu
L~C Local Native Council
~ZA vanza
o.i Oral Interview
aLP Oxford University Press
PC Provincial Commissioner
PWD Public Works Department
nil
DEFINITION OF TEAAIS
AGRICULTURE: Refers to both crop and animal husbandry in general. But in certain
instances pastoral farming is distinguished from agriculture which
in its narrow sense now refers to crop cultivation. This study
adopts the latter meaning (Ornwoyo, 2000).
BOlRGEO[SIE: Refers to a capitalist class that owns and controls the means of
production.
C.-\PIT AL: Can be defined at three levels:
(i) As the store of means of production, tools, machines,
houses, factories, mines, productive land, raw materials,
semi-finished and finished goods etc. Capital encompasses
all the various assets that help to further the production of
what the community needs.
(ii) As a substantial sum of money that may be used to buy
tools of production, to pay wages, or to buy raw materials
etc. i.e. all that is necessary to establish business.
(iii) And as state securities. stocks and shares in companies etc.
which mayor may not represent real instruments of
production, or money subscribed as shares or loans.
CAPITALISM: There are four main features to capitalism as an economic system:-
(i) Wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few people (the
capitalist class) who own the means of production, that is
factories. raw materials. estates. machinery. trading
syndicates etc. as well as wealth in money form.
(ii) Wide masses of the people who have no means of getting a
living except by selling their labour power for wages. This
is the class of property less workers that Marx calls the
proletariat.
L\
CHANGE:
CLASS:
(ii)
DEVELOPME~T: =>
(iii) Actually all production is not for the personal use of the
producers. but for exchange i.e. for sale on the market.
Goods proouced for exchange are termed as commodities.
Lnder capitalism. commodity production prevails.
(iv) Under capitalism. labour power itself becomes a
commodity (Eaton. 1981).
Refers to the transitional process of alternation, modification,
transformation and variation from one form, composition or state
to another.
This refers to a categorisation among people according to such
aspects as wealth. power occupation and so on. This can be
conceptualized at two levels:
(i) Objective basis: class in itself: this refers to the position the
class occupies in the production process. for instance
anyone who sells his labour as the only means of earning a
livelihood is a proletarian.
Class of itself This deals with consciousness - the people
forming a class develop consciousness identifying them
with one another This is manifested through various
actions by the members e.g, fighting for better terms of
employment. higher wages and so on.
The realisation of substantial economic growth with a
corresponding increase in the realisation of human needs
and potentials.
F.-UHNE:
:VIODE OF
PRODLCTION:
=> The opposite of which is underdevelopment. that is, an
impoverishing process of a country/community through
external expropriation of its labour. raw materials and
surp Ius value through the mechanisms of unequal
exchange.
=> Lnequal exchange is the unremedying payment for
commodities (trade. goods, labour etc) in terms that do not
reflect their actual values. The underdeveloped country
dialectically becomes dependent on the external income
leading to further exploitation.
=> This state of exploitation is sometimes referred to as
dependent development. which means. a process of
development which is not autonomous as it depends on
foreign capital and technology, the result of which is
distorted economic development. (Bundy. 1966: Frank.
1967: Hindess and Hirst, 1975: Shivji. 1976)
Widespread deaths of people. including adults. from
starvation and associated diseases (Ochieng. 1987).
Can be defined as the economic foundation encompassing
the interaction of the forces of production and their
corresponding social relations of production. It constitutes
the superstructure elements of life in various aspects such
as the social. economic, political and educational structures.
\1
RELA TIONS OF
PRODUCTION: Constitute the relations that producers enter with one
another in the process of production. The relations can be
changed or get changed in the mode of production.
PE'-\SA~T: L sed here to refer to what Shanin ( 1971 ) defines as a group
of people who are small agricultural producers and who,
with the help of simple equipment and labour of their
families produce mainly for their own consumption. They
produce goods for immediate consumption and consume
the proceedings from the sale of their produce. They are
under the control of a wider economic system which they
do not control.
SOCIAL
FOR.I\'(ATION: Taken to mean the determined mode of production and its
specific conditions of existence, which includes also
ideological and political factors (Swainson, (9803). That
is, it is a structured articulation or combination of modes of
production in :vhich one mode of production is dominant.
.\11
CHAPTER,ONE
1.0. [NTRODCCTION AND CONTEXT OF THE PROBLEl\II
Agricultural change. has become a major concern for contemporary
scholarship because Africa has been experiencing a state of agricultural crisis. The
genesis of this crisis in Africa' s agricultural performance can be traced back to the
colonial epoch and is. therefore. a legacv inherited by the continent from the alien
colonial regime (World Bank. 1983: Adedeji, 1985: Zeleza. 1986: Ornwoyo, 1990).
This state of agricultural crisis is. to a large extent, an outcome of processes
and changes imposed on African agriculture by colonial economic policies.
Evidently. the pre-colonial economy of the continent was harshly integrated into the
colonial economic system. This integration led to a process that ushered in the
modification. destruction and marginalisation of agriculture in Africa (Esese, 1990:
Ornwoyo. 19GO) There were of course regional variations in the specific effects of
these colonial policies on the African continent. While some areas were significant
as sources of labour others were outstanding in agricultural production, mineral
extraction or both.
However. even prior to colonial domination. economic change did occur in
the African continent. This was mainly as a result of environmental change and
population movements. A people' s mode of economic survival was transformed as
they adapted themselves and their institutions to the changed environment - both
physical and social. This was because environmental factors such as droughts.
population boom and livestock epidemics did bring about change in mode of
production. A change in mode of production automatically led to economic
transformation. This occurred when new developments in technology took place.
A considerable number of scholars have investigated the economic history of
Africa with a special bias towards agriculture (Harris. 1975: Berry. 1984: Adedeji.
1985: Barker. 1986). These scholars have been influenced by the existing
agricultural decay in Africa and as such their works have focused on the root cause
of this decay. These studies focus on the entire continent and consequently most of
the proposed solutions are general. meant to cover the entire continent. The
assumption of these scholars is that changes in agricultural economy were more or
less uniform in the continent. Consequently. they have come up with holistic titles
such as "The African Husbandman", "The Food Crisis and Agrarian Change in
Africa" and "Economic Crisis in Africa" (Allan. 1965: Berry, 1984: Adedeji. 1985
respectively).
The above mentioned scholars have concentrated on issues crucial for
interpreting and understanding agricultural development specifically on agricultural
change in Africa. These issues revolve around the themes of land use. land policy
and food sufficiencv among others However. the conclusions of the above
mentioned scholars are at most tenable at regional level and hence cannot explain
specificities of Africa (Hopkins. 1973: Brett. 1979: and Cowen, 1982). This
limitation is due to the fact that agricultural systems are regional specific and.
therefore. their analysis needs systematic local examination. This explains why
agricultural change can only be clearly understood in the light of the historical
background of a specific region.
In the light of the foregoing, there are numerous studies undertaken on
agricultural history of different parts of Africa. In Kenya, for example. a number of
studies have been conducted on agricultural capitalism (Kitchings. 1980: Swainson,
1980 etc.) They have tackled the issue from various perspectives. These approaches
have some inherent limitations on the ground that the conclusions of such local level
studies on sections of the countrv should be tested in other parts and even at lower
levels to ascertain their national applicability.
Cognisant of the above discrepancy studies have emerged on the Agikuyu
(Muchok i. 1988), Gusii (Omwoyo. 1990), Wanga (Esese, 1990). Abanyole
(Omasaba, 1997) among others. A survey of available literature on Nyanza Province
indicates that there have been studies on agricultural change in Luo ~yanza during
the colonial period (Fearn. 1965. and Whisson, 1964). There are also specific local
level, historical studies, for example. Hay. (1972); Bookman, (1973): Butterman.
(1979); ~dege, (1987) and Onduru, (1992) However, no specific study has been
done on the transformation of agriculture in Siaya.
1.1. Statement of the Problem
In the light of the lack of any specific study on agricultural change in Siaya
District during the colonial period this study focuses on agricultural change in Siaya
between 1894 and 1945. The study highlights the dynamism and productiveness of
the pre-colonial agriculture of Siaya. It demonstrates how land ownership, methods
of agricultural production. exchange and the division of labour was transformed by
colonial capitalism.
This study addresses the following pertinent questions What system of land
ownership and usage existed in pre-colonial Siaya? What was the impact of colonial
agricultural. land and labour policies on the people of Siaya? How did the people of
Siaya respond to these changes') What was the nature of interaction between pre-
capitalist and capitalist modes of production')
1.2. Objectives of the Studv
The studv .
gives an account of the type of agricultural economy found In Siaya on the
eve of colonial rule:
assesses the impact of colonial agricultural. land and labour policies, and the
introduction of new crops. ideas and technology on crop production in Siaya .
.3 identifies and evaluates the responses of the people of Siaya to colonial
agricultural economy:
-+. evaluates the relationship between the indigenous pre-capitalist economy and
the colonial capitalist economy.
1.3 Research Assumptions
I. The pre-colonial economy of Siaya was dvnamic. diverse. efficient.
productive and largely self-sufficient.
Colonial administration played a primary role in the incorporation of the
indigenous economy into western capitalist system.
3. The people of Siava who embraced the new crops. ideas and technology
brought by the colonizers modified their traditional perceptions and practices
of agricultural production.
-L The colonial capitalist system disturbed. partially destroyed and then
restructured local production to suit its ends by encouraging commodity
production. wage labour and trade.
lA. Geographical Setting
Siaya District is in present Nvanza province of Kenya. The district was part .
of Eastern Province of Lganda between 1894 and 1902. From 1902 to 1921 part of
Siaya was under Kisumu District (Gem. Alego. Lholo and Lgenya). Between 1921
to 1968. Siaya (Gem. Alego. L'holo and Lgenya) was included in Central Nyanza
District (referred to as Central Kavirondo District upto 1968). From 1968 to 1997.
Siava became one of the districts of Nyanza Province. In 1998. part of Siaya (Bonde.
Lsigu. Madiany and Rarieda) was scurved to form Bondo District. However. in this
study. both Siaya and Bondo Districts will be referred to as district (Siaya) for the
,- period 1894 to 1945.
Siaya District (now Siaya and Bondo) covers an area of approximately 3.523
square kilometres and by 1989 had a population of 639A39.-\ccording to District
Development Plan of 1996. it was projected to increase to 81-1-.840: 865.746 and
919.832 in 1997. 1999 and 2001 respectively. assuming a growth rate of 3.1% per
annum. The area is densely populated in the northern and eastern areas and apart
from the Luo clans there are many clans of Bantu origin who have been assimilated
into Luo language and culture. for example. Jo-saka and Wahenye.
The divisions of the area lie in different environmental zones. This has led to
disparity in the amount of rainfall and soil fertility which has direct effect on the
population and hence the relative dependence on agriculture. There exist different
types of soils in the area. In the south there are sandy soils and to the north the soils
are red friable loam easily workable by plough and hand. Rainfall varies from an
average of 1225 mrn. In the south to 1500 mrn. In the North. The wetter high zones
are covered by tropical forests (District Development Plan. 1996:21).
Siaya is a mixed farming area. However. farming IS done mainly for
subsistence. The level and scale of crop production is geared towards meeting the
household requirements. Most of the cultivated land is under food crops such as
maize. sorghum. beans. cassava. finger millet. sweet potatoes. peas. vegetables and a
varietv of fruits. A total area of 62. 122 ha. Of cultivated land was under these crops
in 199 I as compared to 63.061 ha. In 1995. Maize is the main food crop in the area.
Siaya experiences a general deficit in maize production as it is only able to meet
about 65% of its requirement.
The major cash crops in the area are sugarcane. cotton. coffee and
groundnuts. Sugarcane is grown in the high potential zone of Yala Division. eastern
and central parts of Lkwala and Ugunja Divisions. They are mainly grown as raw
materials for the white sugar industry. jaggeries and for production of molasses
vrain, cotton areas include Sakwa, Asernbo. Yimbo. Lsonga and West Alego.
However. cotton production has declined In the recent past because of marketing
problems.
Cotfee production has also greatlv declined due to poor husbandry practices
and lack of processing plant. The area has a potential for robusta coffee, which has
not been fullv exploited. Arabica coffee is zrown in Yala Division (District
Development Plan. 1996) Groundnuts. beans. simsim and soya beans, are dual
purpose crops which serve as cash and food crops. The main ground nut producing
area is Lvorna.
In addition to crop cultivation. the people of this area also keep cattle, sheep
and poultry. However. this practice is declining since land consolidation has either
left some people landless or with very little land (see figure 1.2.3).
Fig: 1 ILOCATION uF THE DISTRICTS
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Fig: 2 TH E ST U D Y ARE A (BONDO AND SIAYA DISTRICTS'
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Fig: 3
SIAYA AND BONDO DISTRICTS AGRO- ECOLOGICAL ZONES
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District boundary
District headquarters
AC)ro- ecoloC)icol zones
Urban centre
Roads
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10
1.5. Review of Related Literature
The state of agricultural crisis in Africa has made the economic history of the
continent a subject of great concern. Savants from different disciplines have studied
different aspects of the continent" s economy from the pre-colonial period to the
present, for instance, Allan (1965), Berg (1965); Berry (1985) and Adedeji (1985).
Similarly, the economic history of Kenya has attracted many studies given the
attention paid to it.
Tempany (1958) and Jones (1984) dismiss any sense of dynamism in the pre-
colonial economy of Africa. Tempany argues that agriculture in Africa prior to
colonialism consisted mainly of primitive forms of' shifting cultivation'. In the same
.
vein, Jones asserts that agricultural systems in Africa were not only 'backward' but
also' static' and showed negligible dynamic qualities.
However. this view has been questioned by numerous studies. Zeleza (1986)
Hopkins ( 1973) and Brett (1973) contend that Africa's pre-colonial agriculture was
indeed dynamic. They argue that there existed a wide range of agricultural systems
in pre-colonial Africa that it would be biased to sum it up under 'shifting
cultivation'. This micro-study takes a similar position and highlights the agricultural
systems that existed in Siaya before colonialism.
Van Zwanenberg and King (1975) argue that, Kenya developed at a higher
pace than Uganda because it encouraged a flow of capital. Kenya also developed
predominantly through settler production and plantation export crops. They contend
II
that as plantation economy took root in Kenya, the colonialists accumulated wealth
while Africans provided labour and other services. They conclude that while the
colonialists accumulated wealth the colonized did not. While this study concurs with
them it further argues that there was also a group of the colonized who managed to
accumulate wealth.
Leys (1974) analyzed the colonial economic transformation in Kenya and
concluded that local capital was fully dependent on foreign capital. The implication
here is that the African capitalist class was just but an agent of foreign capitalists
who remained a conspicuous class. However, after new evidence on the form and
structure of capitalist development in Kenya had been provided by researchers like
Cowen (1982), Leys later admitted that there did exist a group of African capitalists
who were detached from and competing with foreign capitalists (Leys, 1982(a)).
This group was actively involved in various sectors of the economy. for example,
agriculture, banking, commerce and manufacturing. According to Leys (1982(b))
this African capitalist class was heavily concentrated in Kikuyu land and their
immediate neighbours. Similarly. Kitching (1980), Swainson (1980) and Cowen
(1982) have shown that the African did accumulate wealth during colonial rule.
Kitching's work in particular focuses on the rise of petit-bourgeoisie class in
Kenya during the colonial and post-colonial periods. He draws most of his
illustrations from Central and Western Kenya. The work covers successful retail
traders, civil servants, primary school teachers, clerks and superintendents, mostly
from the low income group. This class saved their income from other sectors to
invest in land, agricultural production and other off-farm enterprises. Since their
savings were limited, this class took long to achieve successful enterprise through
12
accumulation of capital and wealth. This study attempts to show that accumulation of
wealth by Africans did take place in Siaya.
Njonjo (1981) argues that African farmers in Kenya were turned into workers
rather than reproduced as peasants and that majority of them were no longer living in
households that were largely self-sufficient as they were. but had become labourers
with patches of land. He asserts that the transformation of the majority of farmers
into the proletariat class went hand in glove with the emergence of landed
bourgeoisie who owned relatively big portions of land. This was especially the case
with Rift Valley Province where 0Jjonjo concentrated his attention and drew
illustrations from His work offers a great insight to this study.
Alila (1977) lays great emphasis on the formulation of agricultural policy and
the provision of extension services against a background of economic, political,
social and administrative crises. The major points of reference are the two World
Wars. the Mau Mau Uprising and the question of labour extraction from the African
reserves. Alila posits that it was not until the late colonial period that the government
formulated agricultural policy and began providing services for the small holder
agricultural areas of Kenya, espeically the . ative .Reserves. This, he asserts,
emerged largely out of the crises mentioned above. Alila also looks at other aspects
of agricultural production including crop production, transport facilities, land
fragmentation. demonstration plots. agricultural labour and livestock production in
'\iyanza. The work has enriched this study with useful information on some aspects
of African agricultural production in the' Reserves' during the colonial period.
13
Fearn (1961) argues that the slow and gradual development of African
agriculture emanated from the lack of initiative on the part of African farmers and
the socio-economic and cultural characteristics of the African communities.
However, he notes that the discriminative colonial policies in agriculture and
commerce were part of the major factors behind the stunted economic growth of the
African in Nyanza, but the African producer lacked the initiative to break through
the limitations. Thus. the impression he gives is that economic development In
Nyanza should be accredited to non-Africans. i.e. the Asians and Europeans.
Further, Fearn looks at the dynamics of labour and concludes that it is
difficult to obtain any overall picture as to what degree yanza Africans were in
wage labour before the end of World War II (Fearn, 196154). The centrality of
labour in agricultural production is presented against a background of colonial labour
policies and the creation of a labour reserve in Nyanza. In addition, the introduction
of new marketable crops and the factors boosting or hindering increased productivity
of the crops, for instance, cotton are also anal ysed. Though Fearn' s perception of the
African economy is partly misleading by underplaying the importance of colonial
~ policies in hindering expanded African agricultural productivity. his study has a
wealth of factual and quantitative data on agriculture in the Nyanza Province during
the colonial period which is very useful to this study.
Whisson (1964) says that labour migrancy impacted severely on the whole
system of Luo society and especially women. He asserts that the first step in the
establishment of the colonial economy was provided by the imposition of tax, which
became effective by 1900 and forced people either to sell their surplus food and
cattle or produce cash crops or to go out of their localities to seek employment. The
1.+
choice was an economic one. but the response had important social and political
implications for the community Whisson. however. only mentions the significance
of this problem but does not deal with it in any detail..
Butterman (1979) observed that the primary purpose of the colonial state was
to effect a transfer of surplus from the local economies to the metropolitan sector.
She contends that since the transfer occurred through bending the institutions and
roles of the then existing social organization. it led to strain, accommodation, and
contradictions. The British incorporated the pre-colonial economy into the colonial
economy in steps First, they established a strong political monopoly in the colony.
Second. agricultural production for export was established. Third. chiefs were
appointed whose function was to ensure that local people obeyed government orders .
. Finally. infrastructure like transport network and markets were introduced to
facilitate the transfer of produce from the .Reserves' Butterrnan s work gives
insight into the situation in the colonial' Reserves' in Nyanza especially the fate of
women.
Omwoyo (1990) focuses on the organization and transformation of
agriculture among the Gusii of Nyanza province during the colonial period. He
argues that Gusii agricultural organization was sound and rational and based on the
Gusii knowledge of their own environment. Colonial penetration. he contends.
modified. marginalised and subordinated Gusii agriculture. The Gusii were
peasantised and their role as commodity producers enhanced. [n the same vein, Esese
( 1990) argues that the Wanga of Western Kenya had an efficient, self-sufficient and
dynamic agricultural system prior to the establishment of colonial rule. He
concludes that colonial capitalist svstem led to the peasantisation and partial
I:'
proletarianisation of the Wanga producers: capitalist accumulation by a few
individuals in crop production and commerce led to further socio-economic
differentiation among the peasantry. Both works are useful as this study takes a
similar position as regards transformation of agriculture in Siaya.
Omasaba ( 1997) examines economic change in Bunyore during the colonial
period. She argues that colonial rule had a significant revolutionary impact on the
pre-colonial agricultural systems of the Abanyole. The introduction of new crops,
new farming methods. settler domination, new land ownership system, taxation, the
introduction of wage labour. western type of education, new crafts and industry and
the growth of trade and commerce exposed the pre-colonial economy to strong
external influences that led to the modification. marginalisation and subordination of
the Abanyole agricultural economy. Her study has a wealth of information about the
Kavirondo region. which Siaya formed a part during the colonial period.
Ndege (1987) observes that economic changes which occurred in Kasipul and
Kabondo during colonialism were a result of incorporating the constituency into the .J
v
capitalist economy. The colonial government used its political machinery to secure
"
control of the colonial state to ensure that the indigenous people participated in the
colonial economv. He notes that the indigenous economies were now dictated by the
needs of the colonial state. which was in turn dictated from Britain. Consequently.
the inhabitants were involved through coercion in the production of commodities for
export and in wage employment. His study gives an insight into the effects of
commoditv production and wage labour on Nyanza people and particularly the
effects of colonial labour policies on agriculture in Siava.
10
Reed (1975) observes that in the period between 1901-1923. it was clear that
he people of Central Nyanza had not enthusiastically embraced cotton growing and
that it could not emerge as the major cash crop in the area. He argues that both
archival and oral data revealed that the Luo of Central Nyanza were more interested
In maintaining the integrity of their society than responding to the dictates of the
colonial government. He holds. therefore. that the failure to achieve startling results
must rest squarely on the shoulders of the British Government since they lacked a
rational plan for developing the industry and economy among the Luo. This study
attempts to explicate the responses of the people of Siaya to the imposition of
colonial agricultural policies.
Hay (1972) argues that production. innovation and tools were part and parcel
of African agriculture before the establishment of colonial rule. She asserts that
experimentation with new implements and new crops was a regular feature of
African agricultural system. The presence of the colonialists with their conscious
attempts to 'modernize' this agricultural system simply intensified the speed of
change (Hay, 1972: 129-130). She also notes that the British forced the Luo to
produce new crops employing new forms of technology without considering the
,;
productivity and impact of the same on the social, political and economic institutions
of the affected people. Hay contends that by 1945, Jo-Kowe had realized that crop
production was no longer a viable project for getting cash to meet their financial
requirements and obligations. This was due to the low prices of cash crops. Some
inhabitants of Kowe, therefore. sought wage labour outside the location. Hay" s work
is useful as it explains some aspects of economic activities and change in the Nyanza
region.
\7
Onduru ( 1992) analyses economic change in Kano during colonial rule. He
argues that the Jo-Kano agricultural organization was sound and rational and based
on the Jo-Kano knowledge of their own environment. The colonial capitalist system,
disturbed, partially destroyed and then modified and subordinated Jo-Kano
agriculture. This micro-study establishes that similar thing happened to agriculture
in Siaya.
Cohen and Atieno-Odhiambo (1989) in their book Siava have given a very
interesting historical and anthropological analysis of Siaya from the arrival of Luo in
Siaya up to present days. It is the vastness of the information in the book that makes
it inexhaustive. The authors extensively discuss the issue of male labour migration
but some of the conclusions reveal lack of raw data on Siaya labour migration and
its impact on agriculture. If anything this meagre information is obtained from
Liganua, a small sub-location in Siaya. The lack of data is also evident in the effect
that they stress the valuable presence of migration to Liganua, that led to many
people migrating to Lganda because of ~ wealth brought back by them. The truth
should be that with more information perhaps the negative effects of the picture
would have been revealed and not just the wider presence of Luo allover East
"
Africa.
Atieno-Odhiambo (1972) argues that what existed in pre-colonial Kenya
were wealthy, successful and independent farmers who had enough food supply
including surplus to exchange in order to satisfy the basic needs of their households.
According to him, the peasants as an analytical category was the creation of .../
colonialism and that the peasants in Kenya emerged at the same time as the African
worker. Historically, therefore. the creation of the peasantry is synonymous with the
I~
transition from a cultivating and herding non-capitalist. domestic economy to
colonial. racial and capitalist economic system. This studv tests his thesis to prove its
national applicabilitv
Jaiango-Ndeda (1991) presents an analvsis of the position and role of
women in the political economy of the people ofSiaya. The study focuses on the
importance of women in economic and social production and reproduction during
the pre-colonial and colonial periods. Her position is that the role of women in food
and commodity production in the community should not be overlooked. Her study
has crucial information about the political economy of the people of Siaya. However.
it puts more emphasis on highlighting the role of women during this epoch. This
study critically analyses the transformation of agriculture in Siaya during colonial
rule while maintaining as much as is humanly possible a position of gender parity.
In the light of the above literature review. no specific study has been done on
the transformation of agriculture in Siaya.
1.6. Rationale of the Studv
t
Many works on agriculture have been done at the continental. regional and
even national levels where generalizations are allowed. This study narrows down the
unit of focus to Siaya and approaches the subject historically to verify the validity of
some of the generalizations tenable at broader levels. Though the study ends at the
end of World War II. it is hoped that a strong base will have been laid upon which
the study of post-war developments may be done.
1<)
Further. because Kenya' s rural setting VIs-a-VI s agricultural production is
changing at a fast rate. it becomes imperative that a strong foundation be laid upon
which these chances can be carefullv analyzed and documented. Moreover. the- ""
study of the colonial transformation of agriculture among the people of Siaya is
crucial for the understanding of the new patterns of economic organization that did
develop. Indeed. from the review of related literature. it is evident that a lot still need
to be done on the agricultural history of Luoland. This micro-study is certainly an
effort to fill a gap in this area.
Siaya District manifests various features to justify the study. In the first
instance. no such study has been undertaken in the area. Secondly, Siaya served the
colonial government as a labour reservoir and. thirdly. colonial famines had
tremendous impact on the people of Siaya. Finally. it is hoped that this historical
study will help the relevant specialists (agriculturists. economists. ecologists and
other policy planners) in understanding the root causes of agricultural changes and
crises in the district in time perspective.
The study beuins at about 1894 when Sir Colville. the first commissioner of
the newly established government of the Lganda Protectorate. established an
administration station at Mumias with his Valet. Frederick Spire. in charge. From
then on the pre-colonial institutions in Siaya began changing in the face of colonial
rule and the new capitalist production system This year 1894, hence, is an
appropriate date to begin the analysis of agricultural change in the colonial period.
The end ofWorld War II in 1945 marked a watershed in Kenya's agricultural
history and.development. The post-war era was characterized by long-term plans to
20
improve agricultural production in both European and African sectors. For instance,
Besides the reconstitution of this Board to the African land Ltilization and
Settlement Board in 1947, the government also reconstituted the Board's
membership and administrative roles between 1946 and 1954 to the African Land
Development Board (ALOEV) The Swvnerton Plan of 1954 and its successive plans
saw rapid development in African agricultural production (Leys 197-+) It was
obvious, therefore, that bv 1945 Kenya had already been plunged into agricultural
CriSIS. The vear 1945 is thus an appropriate point to end the analvsis of this
agricultural crisis in Siaya.
1.7. Theoretical Framework
Several theoretical perspectives such as the vlodemization. the Dependency
and L nder-development and the Articulation of Modes of Production have been
employed in the study of economic history of Africa.
The modernization theory advances the idea that nothing like development
existed in Africa before the advent of European capitalism. On the arrival of
I'
capitalism. ectors like transport, commerce and industry believed to have been
either 'backward' or absent. received impetus for growth and utilitv Hence
economic development is viewed as coming in the wings of capitalism (Duignan and
Gann. 1978). Basically, this theory assumes that the so-called Third World countries
can only be transformed in the image of developed countries of the western capitalist
world. According to it. it is colonialism that sparked off the process of economic
development in Africa: African societies before the advent of colonialism were,
therefore, 'static', ·unprogressive' and 'underdeveloped'
21
\tlodernization theory has been criticized on the ground that it is hopelessly
racialistic and based on unilinear conception of development. Development in
Africa is viewed as a process of change towards the economic. social and political
institutions that are a feature of the developed capitalist countries of Western Europe.
It"s yardstick of measuring development and its categorization of African economies
as .backward' .. static' and' unprogressive' have long been proved wrong. Africanist
scholars have shown that commodity production together with commerce and
industry had long developed before the arrival of colonial capitalism (Adam. 1965:
Hopkins. 1973).
Dependency and underdevelopment perspective asserts that
underdevelopment is the result of the Third World's subordinate role in the capitalist------ --
system and the contribution it has made and continues to make to the development
of the advanced capitalist societies. The net result has been a diffusion of the badly
needed surplus for development from the underdeveloped to advanced countries.
Thus. the development of the Third world will not take place as a result of the
diffusion of institutions and values. rather. its development can now occur only
independently of these relations of diffusion. In short, development and
underdevelopment are two sides of the same coin (Rodney. 1972: Arrighi and Saul,
IG73 and Shivji. IG76)
In the agricultural realm. dependency and underdevelopment theory holds
that Africa has been made poor by unrealistic prices paid for her agricultural
products as well as the absence of price stabilization facilities for her countries.
Instead of African countries determining the prices of their own agricultural
products. it is the developed countries. which do this. as they are the ones who
~ "" -- - - - ~
control the world markets Further. they set the pnces of the manufactured
agricultural rnachinerv. inputs etc. required by Africa to rnaintam agricultural
production. This exploitation leads to dependence and underdevelopment in Africa.
The foregoing seems to sacrifice production itself on the altar of trade and commerce
and. therefore. disregards classes which emerge from the production process. the
ensuing class struggle and the complex and contradictorv effects of the struggles on
social formations of the so-called peripheral capitalist societies (Zeleza. 1985).
In other words. dependencv and underdevelopment theory concentrates on
the role of external forces. especially colonialism. imperialism and international
terms of trade. in changing and weakening Africa' s indigenous socio-economic and
political institutions. It therefore becomes idealistic: idealistic in the sense that it
overlooks any local forces that could be contributing to the same.
This study employs articulation of modes of production A mode of
production involves two components first, the forces of production. which include
technology. labour and raw materials. It is defined as ·the mode of appropriation of
nature' (Hindess and Hurst. 197~ 10) The second component is relation of
production. the way in which surplus is extracted and distributed (Banaji 1973:
Tavlor 1979). The main argument of this perspective is that. when the capitalist- -- ------.. -- -- ---
mod~ of production is introduced in a non-capi!.alist mode of production o~pre-_
cap~talist --=-o~ial formation. it does not immediately and automatic~y disRlace _the_
existing modes of production lnstea~ the ~italist mode of production will
gradually align with the non-capitalist mode of production and use them for its own
advantage. When the capitalist mode of production has been gradually established, it
begins a process of modification. destruction. marginalization and. finally.
subordinating the non-capitalist modes of production by utilizing them. The
continuous process of subordination culminates in the domination of the capitalist
mode of production over the non-capitalist mode (Berman 1984: Klein. (985).
The articulation of modes of production theory is relevant to the
understanding of the dynamics of change. It is also an effort to grasp the way in
which capitalism preserves and exploits the preceding modes of production
particularly within its reach. The tension in the articulation situation lies in the fact
that while trying to preserve the preceding modes of production. the capitalist sector
cannot help but introduce new relations of production. The articulation of modes of
production raises instructive questions related to varied ways in which different
patterns of production (and their reinforcing political institutions and ideologies)
combine in real setting. In this view. the history of Siaya can be characterized as a
process during which the dominance of the capitalist mode of production did not
bring automatic demolition of the old mode of production.
On the contrarv. the old relations of production were used. as it were. for
further expansion of capitalism. It is precisely due to continuing coercion of the
I'
producing community that specific form of capitalist exploitation was possible.
notablv. the withdrawal of cheap labour which was both desirable and essential.
Migrant labour was cheap as labourer's families in the rural areas enabled the
emplovers to pay inadequate wages that could not sustain the entire family of a
worker (Ndege, 1987: Esese, 1990: Ornwoyo. 1990). Further still, the cost of
maintaining a retired worker rested on the rural economy If the system was to be
entrenched. then the idea of rural homes had to be perpetuated so that families could
proceed with food production (Ndege. lbid.)
2.+
Rev ( 1977) uses the concept of articulation of modes of production dwelling
on the process of transformation of the agricultural sphere. and offers a useful
analvsis of the process of integration of the Third World social formations and
especially their agricultural branches into the capitalist mode of production. Rey
attempts to explain the rise of capitalism both as a world system and within specific
social formations through the articulation of contradictory modes of production. He
contends that pre-capitalist and capitalist modes of production co-existed for a long
time (Rev. 1977 122) Rey gives three sequential steps in the articulation of
capitalist and pre-capitalist modes of production: In the initial stage. local agriculture
and handcrafts production exist side by side with commercial farming and
manufacture. In this stage. the destruction of the former is only partial: non-capitalist
modes remain dominant. with capitalism generating transitional forms
The second stage includes the development of large-scale industry. which
demolishes most of the vestiges of the domestic mode of production while
restructuring the local farmers as full time commodity producers. However. the
I' social relations' of production in the agricultural branch remain essentially non-
capital ist. Both wage labour and technical composition of capital remain
underdeveloped. ~on-capitalist work force is preserved and by the use of coercion
by the elite class. a reserve army of workers is created without significant expenses
tor its reproduction. Political link between the rural elite and the urban bourgeoisie
allow for the establishment of low wages by lowering prices or by direct methods
like taxation. tribute and tariffs.
The final stage entails massive entry of capital into agriculture. Through
economic antagonism. local agriculture IS demolished creating rural proletariat
displaced from ownership of the means of production. Commodity production is the
only remaining form: nothing but capitalism prevails. This approach makes the
concept of Articulation of modes of production approach fairly applicable in this
study given that the initial break in the self-sufficiency of Siaya people' s pre-
capitalist production. like elsewhere in Africa. was achieved. to a considerable
extent. by the impact of colonial capitalism with its demands for labour, taxes. and
marketable crops. Siaya farmers were not totally destroyed; there was a need to
maintain their role in the production process. It should be noted, however, that this
concept is used only as a tool of analysis and never as a b~dy of revealed truth.
1.8. Research :\tlethodology and Limitations
This study employs both pnmary and secondary sources. Primary sources
include archival research and oral interviews. Archival research was conducted at the
Kenya National Archives from July to December. 1997 The main documents which
were scrutinized included Provincial (Nvanza) and District (Central and North
I'
Kavirondo Districts) Annual and Quarterly Reports. Intelligence Reports and
Political Records. Safari Diaries by district officers. vlinutes of the Local Native
Councils and correspondences on matters such as agriculture. labour. transport and
marketing. This source yielded information on native agriculture and the integration
of the colonial agriculture with the local agriculture Information obtained from
archival materials enhanced the later discussion with the respondents during oral
interviews and helped in delineating the chronology of events.
2fl
Oral interviews were conducted between Januarv. 1998 and December. 1998 .
.-\ total of 66 respondents were interviewed. The researcher relied mostly on the
information gotten from each of the people interviewed about who next was an
'expert on what he was researching. In this way he built up list of informants which
included all gender. wage labourers and traders during the colonial period;
agricultural instructors. teachers. church elders. ex-chiefs and respected elders.
Respondents were extensively interviewed on areas in which they commanded
knowledge . A question guideline which embraced information on agriculture from
the pre-colonial to the Post World War IIwas used.
The interviews were. to a large extent, informal as the researcher was not
bound to follow strictly the question guideline neither did he make his respondents
aware that he had a question guideline. The discussions were based on themes uch
as origins. migration and settlement of the people of Siaya. pre-colonial production
and exchange. the establishment of colonial rule. and agricultural production. wage
labour and trade during the colonial period. This approach gave the researcher room
for posing earching questions as the discussions progressed. It also allowed the
I' informants to delve issues which he did not anticipate. but which turned out to be
very important. The researcher occasionally intervened to ensure that the respondents
did not digress from major themes of discussion. The respondents were questioned
about their own activities and experiences in production. wage labour and trade
during the colonial period. Oral interviews were used to counter-check and
corroborate the information gleaned from the archival material.
The interviews were conducted in dho-luo and tape-recorded. but later
translated into English Before the researcher started interviewing a respondent. he
Introduced himself and explained the purpose of the interview and relied on friends
and relatives who knew his respondents to allay their fears that he might be a
'government spy
Secondary sources include books. journals. theses. dissertations: serninar.
conference and symposium papers: government and non-governmental reports,
magazines as well as newspapers. Information contained in the above documents
were scrutinized and relevant items extracted for assimilation in the work. This
marked the end of a major data collection.
Subsequently. the researcher analysed the contents for validity and reliability.
For instance. if a respondent gave information that was odd. several interviews were
requested from him or her for clarification On each occasion. questions raised aimed
at assessing confidence of the respondent. If he or she competently answered
questions. his or her information was taken as valid and reliable. But if on the
second. third or even fourth interviews. the respondent contradicted earlier
information. the information was not automatically considered as valid and reliable.
Where need arose further inquiry was carried out to eliminated any doubts from both
primary and secondary sources.
One major limitation of archival sources was that sometimes the researcher
failed to access certain important materials (for example. some handing over reports
were scanty while others were totally missing) that appear in the catalogue due to
either poor storage or carelessness in filing or documentation procedures. There is
also a major problem of quantitative data. in particular statistics on agricultural
production or population during the pre-colonial period. Further. there are no
statistics covering agricultural production, land sizes. acreage per household,
livestock population or amount of exchange within the district during the colonial
period. However. on a few occasions there are figures of produce sold at Kisumu or a
general reflection of the stock population around Siaya but with no clear-cut
specification as to the real area covered. This has made it difficult to quantify
production and exchange among. the people of Siaya. Where statistical figures are
given for quantities of marketed produce and labour returns. these mostly cover the
former colonial district (for example. Central Kavirondo District). This study.
nevertheless, uses them in the hope that they will give a clue of what happened in
Siaya.
Further. the respondents could not recall nor provide figures on production
during the pre-colonial period, though it is clear that production was high from their
accounts and demonstrations. This makes a quantitative comparison and analysis of
data between pre-colonial and colonial agricultural production very difficult.
The researcher encountered in the field the problem of travelling costs and
the task of transcribing oral information. Money and time were very rare resources .
...\nother limitation. as often happens with researchers of this nature, was the
likelihood of the researcher having overlooked certain issues which may have been
important.
The study lacks detailed ethnological accounts as this is beyond the scope
and purpose of the study. Finally. perhaps it would have been necessary to study in
detail how livestock keeping was transformed but due to lack of time and being that
it is beyond the scope of this study we have left it out. The study looks at the Luo
CHAPTER TWO
2.0. THE LUO SOCIETY '-\~D ECONOMY ON THE EVE OF COLONIAL
RULE
2.1 \'Iigration and Settlement
The people that currently live in Siaya have been referred to as -hybrid population-
(Ogot. 19678). Hybrid because the Luo absorbed and integrated other peoples as they
moved from the north before they settled in the area. Nevertheless. there is a dominant
culture and language. dholuo, which has been acquired and adopted by the diverse people
inhabiting the area. This study gives only a brief account of migration and settlement of the
Luo-speaking peoples.
Sometimes during the sixteenth century. the first Luo settlers moved into the Nyanza
area of Western Kenya. Ogot (1967) divides the Luo migration into Nyanza in four
successive waves the Joka-Jok, the Jok-Owiny. the Jok-Omolo. and a miscellaneous group
clomprismg the Suba, Sakwa, Asernbo. Lvorna. and Kano From an original homeland
somewhere near the eastern sections of Bahr-el-Ghazal and Equitorial provinces m the
Republic of Sudan, the Luo speaking peoples gradually moved Southward to Uganda, parts
of Congo and Ethiopia, and eventually into Western Kenya (Herring, 1974: Cohen and
Atieno-Odhiambo. 1989) Joka-Jok groups comprising Alego. Nyinek and Seje were the first
to arrive and settle in Western Kenya at Ligala in Samia. They later expanded to Got
Ramogi in Yirnbo A.t a later stage because of disagreements Joka-Chuanya sojourned to
South Nyanza while other groups moved to inhabit Gem. Sakwa and Asembo (Ochieng.
ILj7423-35: Jalango-Ndeda, 199151)
The Jok-Owiny groups settled in Busoga for some generations before moving across
Samia, where some of them remained. and finally settling in Alego. They constitute the
founders of present day Kowil, Wanyenjra in Yirnbo. Kadimo. Karuoth. Karapul, Kogelo.
Kanyabol and Agoro in Alego: Kanyakwar in Kisumu and Kamot and Konya in Kano
(Ochieng 1974:61) After settling in Sarnia, Jok-Molo migrated to Yimbo before moving to
West Alego. However. a number of Jok-Omolo groups moved to occupy present day Gem in
Siava and Lyorna due to pressure from other incoming Luo groups. Others crossed the lake
and established new homes in South Nyanza due to over-population (Ochieng 1974: 27-28)
Those who composed Jok-Omolo were Jo-Lgenya. Jo-Lholo, Jo-Gern. Joka-Gan (South
'\;\'anza) and Jo-Unami (Samia) (Jalang ·o-Ndeda. 199152)
When the Luo arrived and settled in Western Kenya their new homesteads. ligala,
\"ere normallv fortified for the purposes of security As soon as ligala became over-
populated. their offsprings were forced to move and build a new home. dala (singular),
I'
which was not as fortified as ligala. The end result of Iigala and mier (plural) is referred to as
g\\eng' Alliances developed among gwenge (gweng'-Singular) for strategic purposes. Long
distance diplomacy were also necessary (for example. Luo-Sarnia relations). This ensured
survival in the hostile world of seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Bv 1900 the settlement of the people of Siaya was almost complete. The different
clans had an economic organisation. the normative system. the political constitution. the
mechanisms and agencies and other derived requirements which affect all societies alike
(Anderson, 1970 101 ).
2.2 Politico-Religious Organisation
By the nineteeth century the Luo of Siaya had already evolved a way of life. a
culture. and. of course. a system of government. The largest political unit to which a Luo
person could belong was oganda (sub-ethnic division) made up of semi-autonomous
political units called gwenge The territory of the oganda was called ~ Each oganda was
a gathering of many clans. It was composed of a powerful clan to which others attached
themselves for security and protection against neighbouring alliances (Whisson, 196422:
Odinga, 196812: Jalango-Ndeda, 199155).
The elders of the oganda. (jodong-piny), were usually the leaders of gwenge. Oganda
(singular) was mandated to arbitrate in internal disputes between gwenge, pronounce war or
negotiate peace with other sub-ethnic divisions and mobilise gwenge for external war. The
~uo were divided into 12 or 13 ooendini (plural) varying in size from about 10.000 to
70,000 persons. Each oganda was an independent economic. political and ritual unit. Each
had its own ruoth (leader). The ruoth was the Jural-political leader of the oganda. The power
of ruoth depended on his ability to settle disputes and to direct his people in war. In some
ogendini he was also a prophet and a medicineman (jabilo) (Ogot. 1963:252; Whisson.
196423-24) Each r:uoth had a council (buch piny), consisting of clan elders (jodong dhoot),
the peace maker (ogaye). and the 'tribal' war leader (osumba mirwavi). The council dealt
with matters affecting the whole 'tribe'. such as famine. rain. war. 'tribal' sacrifices and
prayers, and peace. It also acted as the final court of appeal for the whole oganda.
Within the oganda, a hierarchy of ruodhi (plural) had developed. Each gweng
(country. or what Southall has called 'settlement") had an assistant ruoth appointed by the
ruoth. Such assistant ruodhi had their own councils (doho). and their own peace makers. The
doho dealt with local matters and also acted as local courts. All cases. both civil and
criminal, were brought first before the doho. This included such cases as those of robberv.
homicide. witchcraft. land, arson and adultery. Appeals could then be made to buch pin\:
Doho was composed ofjodong-gweng (country elders) and the local ogaye (Southall. 1952.
Odinga. 196823-2~: Ochieng. 197449)
Although few of the Ogendini were exogamous. most marnages were with Luo
women from ogendini other than one' s own. This was found desirable for strategic reasons
in that one was not allowed to fight relatives or one could seek asylum from relatives. Also a
man who sought political power would first consolidate his position within the oganda bv
marrymg women from as many clans as he could afford (Whisson. 1964:24-25: Jalango-
~deda, 1991 .~6).
Within the oQ;anda there were several gwenge The inhabitants of a gweng' were the
dominant clan which initially annexed the territory It also leased out its territory to stranger
lineages and clans (jodak) - such were usually of Luo origin Thus within each gweng' there
was usually a dominant clan which claimed to possess all the land in the gweng' through
conquest or initial occupation or annexation. All other people who were not members of the
dominant clan were considered as tenants or jodak (jadak - singular). The highest political
organ in a gv,,;eng' was jodong gweng". Membership to this council was open to all heads of
lineages of the dominant clan - elders of the jodak communities who had shown special
talents were incorporated into the council. The .'odono-gweng' was led by the head of the
most senior lineage of the dominant clan.
The above jodong-gweng was the custodian of clan land. They determined the
boundaries of gweng', clan and lineage holdings. They leased out land to all iodak and acted
as the final court of appeal in all land cases within gweng'. The jodong-gweng' was
responsible for internal administration of gweng' and for carrying out ritual ceremonies.
Decision by the people was binding on all subjects Those who broke the regulations of
from chira. Persistent criminals could be expelled by jodongo.
Clan lineages were called libamba C1ibembini-plural), each tracing descent from the
house of a wife of the eponymous founder of the clan Libamba was further sub-divided into
segments called kevo which was made up of compound poligamous families which traced
descent from a common great-grandfather. The point of division being descent from the
house of one of his wives (Jalango-Ndeda. 1991:'8). The members of each of these groups
shared a common grandfather and were therefore referred to as iokakwaro Jokakwaro was
made up of groups each having descended from a hut of one of the wives of kwaro
(grandfather). Jokakwaro was further divided into jokawuoro, people of one father literally
(Wilson, 1952:2) [n the village the entire group was referred to as iokawuoro but within
jokawuoro one siblings of each woman identified themselves as jokamiyo - a group of full
brothers.
Dala, erved as the basic political. productive, reproductive and socialization unit. It
constituted a man, his wife (or wives) and children. vlost political decisions were made and
executed by the lineage segment most immediately affected by whatever problem may be at
hand. On the basic level this was done bv Wllon dala (homestead head) This Wllon dala was
rhe primary authority in his compound and made all the major decisions in the homestead.
These included settlement of disputes. relations between his dala and other mier distribution
of crops and land (Schiller. 1982 64-68)
The political systems of the people of Siaya. were based on the principles of kinship.
senioritv and territoriality These principles were of long standing and did not suddenly
develop in the ninetieth century. They were constantly adjusted to meet new challenges and
\\ ere duplicated at all the levels of socio-political organisation.
The basic level at which the principles operated was the dala. It" members were
bound together by feelings of affection. respect and fear for the father and older brothers and
co-operation in economic activities (Herring, 1977: Ogot, 1984). The respect and fear felt
tt r the father was based on his judicial. distributive and ritual functions. He possessed the
powers to bless an obedient son or daughter and to curse recalcitrant ones. After his death,
his eldest son took over these responsibilities. The familv homestead was demarcated with
;
euphorbia trees.
Jokakwaro was led bv a senior elder. jaduong' zwenz . from the core lineage. He
performed judicial functions. distributed land among the constituent families and
represented them in their relations with other lineages. He also possessed ritual powers.
The need to cope with the problems of gaining adequate economic resources and
exploiting them to the maximum. and also defending these resources from natural disaster- -
and external raids led to the emergence (and political and ritual importance) of at least four
tvpes of leaders (Obudho. Or. 1998) These included healers or seers. magicians. and
rainmakers. jobilo. who were consulted to avert both natural and human calamity: the war
leader. osumba mirwavi, who sanctioned war for offensive and defensive purposes: the
peace maker. ogaye. who was conversant with the laws of the community and was
responsible for dispensation of justice. and the okebe. whose leadership emanated from his
wealth (Mbova, 19839-12).
These leaders discharged their functions in consultation with each other and other
elders in different councils. such as buch Qiny, in which general territorial matters were
discussed: buch Iweny which discussed war matters and buch doho where cases of
indebtedness and other infractions of the law were judged (Mboya, 1983 9-10). There was a
police force. ogulmama, which enforced the law. Throughout the nineteeth century Siaya
remained highly acephalous.
Religion played a very significant role in the day to day life of the Luo. It was
generally practised at the dala level. The Luo belief in life after death gave rise to the idea
that though a man might die physically he would all the same continue to protect and care
for his family. relatives and friends The dead guarded the living as they were invoked to
keep evil forces away and their wrath was held accountable for misfortunes The dead
manifested themselves in dreams and used diviners as their intermediaries. Sacrifices could
be offered to him or his name given to a baby. The dead were buried in shallow graves or in
houses for communication (Olag, 197863: Jalango-i ldeda, 199161)
.;'7
The Luo also recognized the upreme God "ivasave as the only dispenser of life.
health and wealth to them that were obedient to custom God was believed to manifest
himself in all extra-ordinarv things. for example. the moon. the sun. the great serpents. the
huge rocks and all the miracles of nature. These things were nor worshipped at all but were
seen as supreme expressions of the all mightiness and majesty of God. Traditionally all
could worship God at any time and without any form of sacrifices. Daily prayer was offered
to the rising un: a short supplication which wa reinforced by pitting in that direction. Evil
was not his domain. Besides the supreme God the Luo contended that each individual had
his or her own God. ('\ivasache, who in collaboration with the ancestors of the particular
person was re ponsible for his or her well being (Odaga. 198023)
2.3.0 Socio-Economic Organisation
2.3.1 Social Structure
The Luo had an economic system which was inextricable from the social system and.
therefore. cannot be analvsed independentlv from the society as a whole. The Luo lived in
homesteads housing several families who were connected by kinship ties. Each homestead
formed the basic religious. ocial and economic unit. Generallv. a homestead consisted of
father. his wife or wives. unmarried daughters and sons and sometimes servants
(Wasumbini). In most cases wuon dala invited his brothers and cousins to stay with him.
This was for strategic reasons Among the Luo the size of the family depended on the
number of wives a husband had. In certain cases the wealth of an individual had also swelled
the size of his familv It is rare. for example. to find a wealthy man in Luo society with one
wife (Ogutu. 197518. Ondanda, 0.1. 1998)
In a polygamous homestead the husband was the head of many households (udi) In
order to manage these udi effectively he erected his own private hut (abila) at the centre of
the homestead to act as the administrative headquarters. His wives lived in separate huts
located along the homestead fence according to their seniority in terms of marriage order
(Ocholla-Ayayo. 198034)
In a polygamous setting each co-wife was referred to as wuon ot meaning that she
was the head of her household and the leader of domestic and economic activities there-in.
Her sons and daughters were under her and the children of each household, ot, grew up with
the idea of odwa (our house) thus instilling in them the concept of collective ownership
which in turn led to collective responsibility. This led to competition among various udi who
strove for recognition and independence. The co-wives eventually became antagonistic in
the control of property. Moreover. there was competition for the household favour from the
""uon dala. This rivalrv referred to as nyiego was practised as a means of enhancing self-
pride and unity. The children of one wife were united against another (Ochieng. 197429:
Obudho. O.L 1998).
Each ot was in-charge of the activities required to sustain the needs of its members,
for example, production. deployment and application of labour power. Ot also determined
the economic objectives. for example. what to produce. where and how. Whatever co-
operation, for example, lineage co-operative, saga (which involved lineage coming together
to assist in farming and other crucial activities), the basic aims of the household were kept
supreme Saga, for instance. did not set up its own goals but simply carried out the desires of
the household that summoned lts services.
Puoth min (the land of one' mother) was shared by the sons as they married. Wuon
OJ gave her son a part of her land at that time This portion of the land was given to the son's
wife and was henceforth called uoth nvar kuma nvio. meaning the garden of the daughter
of the stranger village (;'\idege. 198754: Onyalo. 0 I. 1998) Lnmarried sons inherited tho e
farms remaining in the event of the death of their mother. The farms given to a wife by her
husband were permanent properties of her sons. It was only they (a mother and sons) who
had the right to exchange them with those agnatic kin or allocate them to iadak (tenants),
kimirwa (born out of wedlock), misumba (servant) or their own wives when they married.
However. the farms of a wife who deserted the husband before bearing him a son were
repossessed by him (Wilson. 1953: 12). If she had a on prior to her departure. then her farms
were the son's future inheritance regardless of how long he remained with his mother
elsewhere (Suda, 0.1. 1998) All land disputes within the dala were the province of \vuon
dala. Each wife had scattered strips of land which helped to prevent the loss of all crops in
the event of a localised crop failure (. idege. 1987 :'6).
2.3.2 Division of Labour
The Luo division of labour was determined by gender and age. Men were required to
build houses. granaries and fences and to guard the homestead in the event of an attack from
enemies. This is why. simba (sleeping house for older bovs) was ituated by the gate. 'vlen
also spent their time in fishing, hunting and gathering, specialised crafts and exchange. For
example. they produced hoe and matchers. clothes. shields and ropes.
Women. on the other hand. were responsible for the housework and child care.
wring and caring for food supply. most of the planting, weeding and harvesting and for
plastering and repairing the walls and surfaces of the house. In the case of planting and
harvesting the eldest wife was always the first as it was considered a bad omen and a breach~, -
of house protocol if she did not do it first. In a community of jopiny (owners) and jodak
jopiny took the lead. followed by jodak because. as tenants. the latter could not signal the
former to begin farm work (Ndege, 1987· 59)
Everv Luo wife basically controlled the crops grown on her land (puothe) so as to
feed the people in her household (ode). She was also allowed to exchange grain for livestock
and other varieties of foods or donate it to needy relatives. Wuon ot also dealt with the
processing of her crops into food. cleaned and dried the beans. pounded and ground
sorghum and millet and in later years cassava and maize. In Luo society. therefore. hard
work in the field was one of the major qualities for a marriageable woman. The training of a
girl was in preparation for the role of a prospective wife and mother in future married life
(Johnson. 1980: 180: Jalanuo-: ideda. 199174)
Generally. the males served as the leaders of homesteads and sometimes households
depending on how many wives one had. [n the realm of decision making some exerted
control over many aspects of household undertakings while others tended to delegate their
authority to wive and sons. For example. in homesteads with few members their head
would take part in most of the household operations. while in homesteads with more
members. delegation was conspicuous. Although women were not supposed to give their
views openly on anv pertinent issue. privately they were consulted. Before a man took an
important decision which could affect the family he had to consult. in most cases. the first
wife. mika i (Odaga. 1980:22). Men had to consult particularly with mikavi because all
41
It tltVITTI lI'II"~ne'''\1 I 1ft •••• _ •••
Important rituals which affected the homestead were performed by her. She was considered
the co-owner of the homestead with the husband (Jalang o-Ndeda. 199175)
The foregoing indicate that women were in control of domestic economy Production
know-how of Luo women covered a plethora of domestic work. agricultural operations and
limited livestock care. Women were also involved in traditional industries such as poetry
and weaving of mats. some kinds of baskets as well as transportation and storage of some of
their wares (Jalang o-Ndeda, 199176) In more recent periods in Luo development, digging
became the most important agricultural task for women. The women had also to know how
ro keep cattle. sheep and goats because in time of war women assumed these responsibilities
t Johnson. 1980: 182).
2.3.3 Agriculture
Before and during the nineteenth century the Luo clans that arrived in Siaya were
'nainlv pastoralists who kept large herds of cattle and small flock of sheep and goats: they
oractised crop cultivation in small scale However. due to climatic changes and the
occurrence of natural calamities affecting their livestock. the Luo had to change the balance
:~etween animal husbandry and crop cultivation. Famines like a amo the great rinderpest
epidemic of about 1890 and 1891. killed and trimmed their large herds of cattle into smaller
size. thus leading to gradual transition from animal rearing to agriculture as the basis of the
'ocal or domestic economy (Ehret 197614). The migration from the lake region to
.elativelv higher areas like Kisurnu, Gem. Lholo and North Lgenya also contributed to the
: ansformation of Luo economy. By the arrival of the British in Kenya crop cultivation was
~'iaying the leading role in the sector of food production.
In agricultural production. the Luo cultivated a variety of crops. The basic crops
were sorghum. a drought resistant crop. pearl millet. finger millet. simsim and vanous
legumes. Sorghum and eleusine appeared to have been the chief and only crops for which
special rituals were performed - an indication of their long association with them. They
adopted some bananas. types of beans and peas. variety of sweet potatoes and yams from
their neighbours. These crops provided starch. minerals. protein and oil. thus providing a
balanced nutritional value.
The implements which were employed in clearing land were matchets - ofuadho or
ojalo - while those for cultivation were wooden hoes (Iihaya or kasir) which were made
from a type of strong wood (ruga or odar) and iron hoes which were imported from either
Yimbo or their Luvia neighbours. and later also made and repaired locally by iron smiths
(Ondanda. 0.1. 1998).
Land was occupied on clan basis. Clan elders divided land among individual
families. Within each farnilv. the familv head allotted land to individual households. The. .
farnilv head had his own land - mondo - which he cultivated with the help of his family" .
members. vlernbers of individual households also cultivated their own land. Wealthy people
also possessed wasumbuni who worked for them. As payment. the wealthy men provided
them with food and also helped them pay dowry to secure wives. A wealthy man possessed
two such servants or more (Othwila, O.I. 1998). Since there was plenty of land. the size of
the fields brought under cultivation depended on the size of labour a family was able to
mobilize and also on its members' subsistence requirements. Acquiring the labour of many
wives, children and servants was the chief means of increasing production. There were also
occasions where wuon dala drew the labour of his extended familv and friends. The
members of iokakwaro or iokawuoro would often pool their labour for certain agricultural
undertakings such as ploughing, sowing, weeding and harvesting. Each person contributed
his or her labour voluntarily being aware that he or she could also call others for assistance
when he or she was in need. Such group work - saga - was also employed in establishing
new homes (especially the building of new houses) and in other large cooperative projects
This arrangement helped various households to fulfill their economic targets and at the same
time helping in cementing socio-political ties. Everyone who was old enough possessed a
hoe and the vouth were not allowed to wonder about without work.
The type of crop cultivation that existed can be described as shifting cultivation and
rotation of crops since land was in plenty. A household shifted their field every few years.
This practice of shifting cultivation allowed used land to regain fertility. It was believed that
every person had a permanent right to a piece of land in order to till and plant crops. It is the
land of one' s grandfather - lop kwaro - and jokakwaro, which were the key units in Luo
societv Land was mainly inherited through patrilineage although in certain circumstances it
(Quid be inherited through persons other than agnatic kin A sole survivor of iokakwaro
would inherit all of the [Qp kwaro. Father's land -lop wuoro - was inherited by the sons. If
there was only one son then he would inherit all the 1m2 wuoro in its entirety (Wilson.
1C)~311).
Although both gender cultivated. men' s duty was to clear the bushes and break the
soil. They went out to the fields first. Women then brought them food and took over. Men
\\ere then free to attend to other duties. such as building of houses. granaries and fences.
fishing, hunting. herding. discussing clan affairs and guarding the homestead in the event of
an attack from enemies. Women also did the harvesting together with young boys and girls.
Since the other tasks. such as being ready for war and discussing clan affairs, were not
performed all the time. it was obvious that women worked longer in the fields. This would
suggest that their labour was exploited.
The elders. In conjunction with medicine men. decided when the tilling of land
should commence and organised ceremonies In which sacrifices were offered to the
ancestors to ensure high yields (Omollo, 0 1. 1998) The oldest man in the clan was the first
to cultivate and sow crops. He was then followed by the rest of the members of the clan.
Within individual families, the senior wives were the first to cultivate, to be followed by the
younger wives. This arrangement was also observed during harvests (Ndege, 1987:52:
Otweyo. 0 L 1998) The nature of farm work was determined by the different seasons of
the Luo calendar vear. There were basically four seasons in a cultivation year
Chwiri, the long rains which occurred from March to June
when the planting and weeding was done: oro, the dry
season which fell in part of July and August when
harvesting took place: opon the short rains in October and
November: oro again from December to February
(Jalango-Ndeda, 199170)
Both Gem and Alego planted In the two rainy seasons since the eighteenth century
(Schiller. 1982:34. Ogutu, 197516). These activities were also determined by the period
the various crops took to get ready for weeding and to get ripe.
Production was primarily for subsistence This was partly due to the limitations of
technology which made farm work laborious. and partly. because people produced mainly
to satisfy their food requirements. The harvesting of finger millet, for example. required
between 50 and 75 man-days per acre since it was done manually (Dunbar, 1969:6). Then it
had to be threshed and winnowed before being ground by hand. Each woman in the
homestead possessed her own granaries in which produce was stored. She was required to
guard against wastage of produce under her care. She did not exchange or use it in any
other way without the knowledge ofwuon dala (Ondanda, 0.1. 1998).
Problems in crop cultivation included drought pests and diseases .. -\s rainfall was
not completely reliable. drought sometimes hit Siaya resulting in very small amounts of
harvested crops and therefore famine The people still remember the famines of ongonga
and abwao which were caused by droughts which occurred in 1875 and 1888 respectively
(Orweyo. 0 I. 1998) A number of famines also occurred in the course of the twentieth
century occasioned by drought and worsened by colonial economic policies. Pests like
arrnv worms. grasshoppers and locusts were a menace to crops. Stalk borers and shoot flies
were common sorghum and maize pests. Diseases like rust. tar spot and blast attacked
finger millet (Dunbar. 1969:8-9). Birds and wild game also destroyed crops .. Although
charms were used to protect crops from pests and diseases (Odawa, 0 I. 1998). the surest
measures against such menace were crop rotation, shifting cultivation and burning as a way
of clearing land. Shelters were erected near the fields for use in guarding crops against the
depredations of birds and wild game (Mangongo, 0.1. 1998). The growing of root crops
like sweet potatoes and yams was another measure against attacks by locusts and droughts
(:-idege, 1987·54).
However. it should be emphasized that famines in pre-colonial Luo society were not
as frequent as they were during the colonial period. This was because of a number of
factors. First their mixed economy of seed culture and pastoral activities shielded them
from the whims of nature. When crops failed they fell back on animal and tish products. It
was seldom that animal and crop diseases struck at the same time. Second, land and human
power were there in plenty. During. for example. digging, planting and harvesting
evervbodv was involved. In those davs there were no people participating in wage
employment outside ancestral land. Third. apart from cultivating drought resistant millets,
such as ochut, andiwo and kal and a drought resistant traditional maize. the Luo also relied
a lot on wild vegetables such as susa and odielo, which thev fell back onto when food
~ ----- J
shortages persisted. The Luo also ate a variety of wild fruits such as sangla and ochuoga .
.Apart from livestock, fish and birds. wild animals meat also constituted a regular source of
protein for the Luo. Fourth, seldom were livestock and crop surpluses sold. Every married
man was required to have his mondo which was only used when the general family stores -
dere - were depleted. Finally. the elastic kinship system of the extended family guaranteed
redistribution of food during periods of midenyo (starvation). Thus. unless there was a
terrible natural calamity the Luo economy and social institutions guaranteed sufficient food
for evervbodv.
2.3A Livestock Keeping
Although agriculture gradually gained importance among the Luo of Siaya after
their settlement at the present homeland. livestock keeping continued to play an important
role in their economy. People kept cattle. goats and sheep. They also kept chicken.
Livestock was acquired in at least six ways. One was through bride wealth payment.
This was the easiest means of possessing many cattle. One who had many daughters
received manv cattle when his daughters were married. Another way was by raiding
enemies cattle. One did not raid cattle which belonged to members of his own clan but
those of rival clans and other ethnic groups. Livestock was also captured through victory in
war against other clans and ethnic groups (Ocholla-Ayayo, 198038-39)
Further. the system of stock-lending (\I[oso or riembo) also enabled those who did
not have cattle to build their own stock. One who was loaned cattle by a wealthy friend
later permanently retained a bull and a cow from which he started to build his own stock
(Othwila, O.L 1998) What he retained was a form of payment by the lender for having
looked after his cattle well. For the stock-lender. the system was a safeguard against the
disappearance of his cattle in the event of disease or raids (Ndege. 1987· 55). Exchange of
surplus grain was yet another way of having livestock. One started by producing surplus
grain that he bartered for goats or sheep which reproduced and were exchanged for cattle. If
one had large quantities of grain one would also exchange these directly for a cow which
one would carefully look after until it reproduced (Onduru. 1992·37) It took one many
\ ears to get cattle by this method. Those who were blessed inherited their parents' cattle.
In the Luo ocietv. livestock keeping was of subsistence value as it was a ource of
milk. meat and blood which supplemented the Luo vegetable diet. It was also a way of
I'
accumulating and conserving wealth (Herring, 1978: 12). Cattle also provided other
products like manure. for fertilizing land. urine for adding a sour taste to and preserving
milk. and hides and skins used for bedding, for making shields. sandals and clothing, all of
\\ hich were useful in the domestic economy (Hay. 1972:92: Schiller. 1982:36). Livestock
was both a use-value determining material and social conditions of production and
reproduction. and a religious value. Livestock was a source of prestige and power and
people who kept large herds of cattle commanded a lot of respect in the ociety and often
married manv wives. Cattle were indispensable in marriage transactions. as consideration
for wealth. in ties between owners and tenants. in kinship relations and in payments for
homicide (Schiller. 198239: Jalang 'o-;"-Jdeda, 19917'2)
Livestock played a significant role in the sacrificial life of the traditional Luo. Cattle
being part and parcel of social life were given names of people with respect in the
community by the herdsbovs: names. for example. of reknown wrestlers of fame. Small
animals were important destined mainly for sacrifice (Ogutu, 1978: 13). A man's cattle were
sometimes taken a long when he went to war. The sight of his most precious possession
was thought to give him additional courage. Cattle also accompanied mourners to funerals
because as part of the community they had to pay their last respects to the dead (Jalango-
"ideda, 1991: 7'2).
All the livestock in the homestead belonged to wuon dala. He distributed them to
the different households, those of his wives and his sons' wives. He decided the use to
which the livestock in the homestead were put. This was either for the payment of dowry
for any of his sons' wives. exchange for grain and agricultural implements, or for slaughter
(Ochiel. 0 I. 1998) Wuon dala also organised a ceremony - dolo - once in every year. In
I'
this ceremony. a cow was slaughtered and plenty of beer brewed. Lineage members were
invited and came together to feast. After the great rinderpest epidemic of about 1890-189 l ,
the custom changed and it was goats or sheep that were slaughtered rather than a cows.
This was due to shortage of cattle. Religiously. the Luo believed that dolo safeguarded their
livestock against raids and diseases. Socio-politically. it strengthened relations among
lineage members since it brought people together. It bound them together and cemented
kinship relations (Ndege. 198757). More practically. the ceremony was a redistributive
system. Both the fortunate and the unfortunate members of the community feasted together.
VtlIV'" • 11Il •••• ----
The ceremony was a result of the uncertainty which characterised cattle keeping.
Diseases such as rinderpest. anthrase and Bovin pleuropneumonia occasionally broke out in
epidemic proportions and killed large number of stock as did happen in the 1880s and a
number of times in the twentieth century. Cattle raids were also frequent. Wild animals
such as hyenas (otoyo) and leopards (kwach) were another menace. Among different clans
in Siaya there were veterinarians who prepared herbs for the treatment of diseases which
attacked livestock. These experts were paid in kind for their services (Okelo, OJ. 1998)
Livestock, particularly cattle, were herded by young men on communal grazing
land. Younger boys looked after sheep and goats. Herding was done on a rotational basis by
members of the family or communally by members of the minimal lineage (Onduru.
100240).
2.3.5 Hunting and Gathering
Hunting and gathering were supplementary economic activities done on a part time
basis in Luo society Kokwaro s (1972) studies among the Luo reveal that several years of
experience with plants of various species in the area, has made the Luo to know and
appreciate the herbal. nutritional and technological values of these plants. Among the food
gathered, usually by women and girls, were different types of vegetables such as
Gynandropis gynandra (locally known as dek), Solanum nigrum (osuga), Asystasia
schimperi (Atipa) and others locally known as rnboga. apoth, onyulo, muto and akeyo. The
Luo also ate a variety of wild fruits, such as sangla, budho. ochuoga, olago, ochok and onjak
(\Iusewe, Ongira, Abonyo. O.I. 1998) Apart from fruits there existed edible mashrooms
(obuolo) like obuoch oruka (Termitomyces microcarpas) and obuoch alando (Termitomvces. .
:i()
rabuori). The Luo medicine men gathered medicine inform of herbs (stems, roots and
leaves) for treating both human and livestock diseases. The forests also supplied most of the
raw-materials needed for building granaries and houses and for making implements such as
knife and hoe handles. stools and mortars, not to mention the production of traps for both
fishing and ensnaring small animals. This great occupation of gathering continued as late as
the mid twentieth century in Luoland. However. obuolo collection continues even today
especially among the people of Alego. Sakwa, Gem and Lholo (Ondanda, OJ, 1998).
Hunting was mainly done by young energetic men and boys. The wet climate with
forests and savanna vegetations in Siaya which acted as a splendid shelter and grazing land
for many species of game encouraged the occupation of hunting. Some of the game
included. antelopes. ant bears. rabbits. warthogs. buffaloes, porcupines - among others.
Small animals like rabbits were ensnared. Bigger animals were hunted by men with clubs,
matchets. spears. bows and arrows and with the assistance of well-trained dogs.
Generallv. hunting was most prevalent during the dry season. oro, when there was
~ttle or no crop cultivation. especially after harvest. Jatend dwar (leader of the hunting
group) was the think-tank and the chief organizer of hunting expeditions. He was an expert
hunter and organised a hunting team ranging from 60 to 80 people. A team constituted
people from various clans. Young boys and older men trailed behind the hunters. to carry
meat. a lot of which was obtained in a single expedition.
There was large-scale hunting, dwar and a small-scale one, apedha. Most animals
were hunted for meat since livestock such as cattle were only butchered during important
occassions. Meat was stored in form of aliva (smoked meat) for future use. Buffalo skin was
highly valued for making shields which could also be bartered for grains to the neighbouring
Luvia. Ferocious animals like lion and leopard were not hunted but could be killed due to
self-defence. Their skins were used for making ceremonial attire. Everyone had a share of
rhe spoils of the hunt: those who struck the animal dead received their hind legs. Hunting as
a sport had social functions of linking groups beyond the minimal lineage. thus creating a
sense of affi Iiation to a large group like the clan (Ogowo, Ong or. Arum, 0 I. 1998)
Birds were either killed with sling shots (ambururu) or trapped. Young boys trapped
smaller birds such as aluru and ~ while bigger birds like ogungo and awendo were
trapped by men. Birds were important as a source of meat as well as for ritual purposes. The
vouth were prohibited from eating birds like akuru (dove) and it was only grandmothers who
ate them. It was a taboo for a married woman to eat chicken which was a reserve for men.
The feathers of certain birds formed part of ceremonial attire especially during traditional
dance (:"idege. 1987-+8).
2.3.6. Trade and Exchange
Trade and exchange catered for important goods that could not be obtained in an
area. For instance chieno (tassel for married women) came from Sakwa where it could be
purchased for a goat. or iron goods (hoes. bangles, marchers. etc.). Iron goods came mainly
from Samia and Yimbo. In the nineteenth century there was an increase in this trade with
almost set market places. The people from near the lake (Asernbo. Yimbo. etc.) brought
various types of fish. reed mats and salts in exchange for sorghum and finger millet. There
\\ ere periodic market places situated along the borders. Iarkets were highly respected
:'2
places and mostly active during famine Since wives came from different clans and lineages.
they became the common trade links between these groups (Butterman. 1975: 74).
Within a communitv there were individuals who specialised in varIOUS skills and
regularly exchanged their goods with other members of the community. These skills were
often inherited and were secrets of the family members. The chief specialists were
blacksmiths, leather workers, harpists. singers, basket makers, potters and teeth extractors.
vlost of these services were exchanged locally often in response to a request.
Trade established links between communities beyond their clans and ethnicity This
gave rise to acculturation due to intermarriages between the people of Siaya and their
neighbours. It provided an impetus for mass production of grains and industrial products as
well as transfer of technological know-how It led to socio-economic differentiation since it
provided an impetus for the process of accumulation of wealth. Accumulation of wealth was
in turn an important stepping stone to political influence and leadership .. -\ wealthy man had
the means to feast with elders. host meetings and in the final analysis attracted supporters
and clients (Onyalo, 0 1. 1998)
I'
Conclusion
It is clear that the social. political and economic organization of the people of Siaya
evolved over many years as a result of the people' s interactions with different environments
and other groups of people. The result of these was the emergence of economic and social
systems. which operated at the household. family and lineage levels. We have argued that
the principal change, which occurred in the late nineteenth century. was the shift from
pastoralism to active crop production. This was brought about by the great rinderpest
epidemic together with a chain of other epidemics from around 1889 to 1894. There was
also ecological change. which led to lack of enough pasture for livestock.
Production was mainlv for subsistence because it was constrained by simple
technology. low population and limited market. Surplus produce that did occur was
exchanged for industrial products such as iron hoes and also cattle. ft was at the level of
exchange that people accumulated wealth in the form of wives. stores of grain and cattle.
The basis of agricultural organization was the kinship system. which, together with the
principles of seniority and territoriality operated at the level of domestic units within
individual families. and at the level of minimal and maximal lineage. This determined the
allocation and ownership of land. division of labour. and the distribution of products. This
local mode of production that had evolved on the eve of colonialism was dynamic. diverse,
sound and rational.
5.•
CHAPTER THREE
3.0. THE ESTABLISHlVlENT OF COLONIAL RULE AND POLICIES
3.1. The Establishment of Colonial Rule
In about 1894 Colonel Henry Colville, the first Commissioner of the new
government of the L'ganda protectorate established an administrative sub-station at Mumias.
and Sir Frederick Spire was the first officer to be posted there (Dealing. 1974:308). The
Europeans believed then that Kenya was not as important to their interests as Lganda (Ogot,
1963249: vlungearn. 1966:7: Ochieng. 198:'88). Consequently, Mumias served merely as
a calling station for the Europeans as they travelled between the coast and Lganda.
In 1883. Joseph Thomson made a momentous journey across Maasailand
(PC'iZA.1/4:1908-9. KNA: Mungearn. 19662). He reached Mumias in December 1883
and stayed for only two days despite the extravagant reception he was accorded by Mumia
to win his comradeship (Thomson. 1962: 160: Osogo. 1962 77). Two years later. in 1885.
Bishop James Hannington passed bv vlurnias to take charge of the Church Missionary
Societv ration that had been established in Lzanda cizht vears earlier (OSO\2:o. 1975 II). He. - - ~ -
hurriedly left for Lganda despite entreaties from vlumia that he would be killed if he entered
Buganda from the east. The Bishop ubsequently met his death for defying rules that
governed entry into Buganda.
The two journeys, nevertheless. encouraged more European ventures across Kenya
into l.ganda as they coincided with the period when European Scramble for Africa was in its
most earnest and critical phase In accordance with the "sphere of influence" doctrine of the
Berlin agreement of 1884-85. the British government was forced to increase and concretize
its presence in the region before it was too late (Hobley. 1970:68: Salim, 1973 :54: Van
Zwanenberg, 19761.24).
The situation saw a change of British official opinion and the granting of a royal
charter to William Mackinnon s company. the British East Africa Association (Van
Zwanenberg, 1976.115) The British government had only one year earlier, in 1887. refused
to grant the charter. Mackinnon s company henceforth became the Imperial British East
Africa Company (IBEACo).
The company. essentially commercial in its orientation. was expected to administer
and preserve the British presence in the interland of East Africa (Ochieng, 1985:85: Owino,
1993 144). It began its mission by sending two officials. Fredrick Jackson and Ernest
Gedge, to plan the safest and most economically viable route that could be used between the
Coast and Lganda (Dealing, 197430 I) The duo's assignment included the identification
and establishment of cheap and secure stations on the route. In 1889. they arrived in Mumias
and found that it met their requirements (Were. 1967a: 161-162)
It was, through Mumias that the influence of the British-hitherto confined largely to
Lganda - slowly began to radiate into western Kenya. This influence amplified with the
signing in 1890 of the Heligoland Treaty when the Germans formally recognized Lganda
and Kenya as part of the British "sphere of influence" Thus. it was from Uganda that the
British occupation spread into Kenya. As a result of the treaty. the people of Siaya
unknowingly came under British jurisdiction.
But the treaty notwithstanding, the British government did not assume immediate
control of their "sphere of influence" from the [BEACo. Yet the company was experiencing
dire financial. management. transport and military problems (Mungeam, 1966: 9-10: Salim.
1973 :69: Ochieng. 1974 72 and 198586); In short, the company lacked the ability to
administer the territory (PC/;\iZA 1/4. 1908-9. K0iA). In 1894 it went bankrupt and
withdrew (Salim. 1973:72: arap Ngeny. 1970:112: Low. 1982:5: Nangulu, 1986:143), and
the British government assumed control of the region (Salim. 1973: 72). In June of that year
the British declared a protectorate over Uganda whose Eastern Province also included the
present day Nyanza and Western Provinces of Kenya. Subsequently they began to increase
their presence and tighten control over Uganda and Kenya.
In the beginning. however. even the govern: ent was no better prepared for the task of
administration than had been the [BEACo since it lacked its own administrators (Mungeam,
196620: Low. 1982:5). This is what compelled Colonel Colville. to send his Valet, Fredrick
Spire. to represent him and establish a British administration post in Murnias (Lonsdale.
196498: Ogot, 1967·232: Dealing, 1974308; Esese. 1990: 191: Owino, 1993: 147). Though
qnlv a Valet. his presence began the consolidation of British rule in Western Kenya with
vlumias as its official administrative station.
Spire's administration lasted for only half a year within which he had not established
any meaningful contact with the Luo except for Kitoto of Kano (Schiller. 1983 :270-271:
Jalango-Ndeda, 199184). In Februarv 1895. he was replaced by C.W Hobley who
remained there until 1903. Hobleys arrival 10 Mumias considerably increased the
administrative presence of the British 10 the area. It was only a matter of time before
effective colonial control was imposed on the Luo of Siaya.
57
It should be noted, however, that the British efforts in Nyanza up to about 1897 were
largely limited to protecting communication links. The actual labour demands were light.
Even the political aims were limited by the military resources. But with the mutiny of
Sudanese troops in 1897. and rebellion in Uganda. the British position was first threatened
and then strongly reinforced. New troops and supplies were rushed to the scene and this
marked the beginning of a period of active domination of Nyanza. The result was increased
need for porters (to supply the increased military establishment in Lganda) from a
population that was unwilling to provide such labour. Indeed, the expedition against Alego
(Siaya) in September. 1898 was one of the first ones to be carried out by Hobleys
administration in specific response to a refusal to provide labour (Jalang o-Ndeda, 199187) .
.And on this and most ubsequent expeditions Hobley began to demand labour as a proof of
submission (Sticrcher. 198512; Jalango-Ndeda, 199187).
The view that the Luo of Central Kavirondo. offered no armed resistance to the
European intruders (Ogot, 1964) is accurate only if applied to figures such as Odera Llalo
and Adhola of Asernbo. Other Luo south of Lake Victoria and the vicinity, could have
welcomed them because of the threat of the Nandi, Kipsigis and Gusii who raided them
constantlv. But Luo to the north of Lake Victoria who were strategically placed like Lyorna
took to attacking all the European boats passing between Kisumu and Lganda in 1899.
Further. the demand for labour (porters) from these groups met with forcible rejection.
Between 1898 and 1903 military expeditions were organised by Hobley together
with his allies- Wanga. Maasai. Gem and Asernbo - against a number of Luo peoples, such
as. L'genva. Sakwa. Lyorna, Seme. Yimbo and Alego Peace was ultimately concluded and
the groups paid heavily in terms of livestock. They were also commanded to allow traders
and travellers free passage through their territories and generally to obey the orders of the
administration. Their (colonialists) allies were rewarded with some of the captured livestock.
For example. Odera Llalo was a beneficiary and used some of the spoils to strengthen his
ties with Adhola of Asernbo (Jalanuo-Ndeda. 199189). In short, the entry of colonial rule
into Central Kavirondo. and Kenya in general. was achieved through military conquest and
numerous 'pacification' expeditions that were directed against resisting groups. It was force
in the main that persuaded the Luo to submit to colonial rule.
The building of Uganda Railway also took place during Hobleys administration in
Nvanza. It started in Mornbasa in 1895 and reached Kisumu in December 190 I. And in the
same year Murnias was already declining in importance. It remained an official station but
the administrative headquarters was moved to the lake side railway centre at Port Lgowe,
shortly renamed Kisurnu. whose influence was rapidly increasing. In 1902 Kisumu and
Naivasha provinces were transferred from Lganda to the East African Protectorate. as Kenya
was then called.
As the British colonialists were extending their tentacles into the Kavirondo another
group of Europeans. the Christian missionaries were also expanding into the area. They built
"
chools and began to convert people to Christianity Thus Siaya had become a part of a large
world. a colonial world based on political and economic system entirely different from that
to which the local people were accustomed.
3.2 Colonial Administration and Imposition of Taxes
In 1910. the new Governor. Sir Percv Girouard issued an official memorandum
outlining his own directions of policy. based on Lugardian theory of indirect rule. The
memorandum. which was sent to all provincial and District Commissioners In Kenya.
contained the following statements
The fundamental principle and the only humane policy to be
followed in dealing with peoples who have not reached a high
stage of civilization is to develop on their own lines and in
accordance with their own ideas and customs, purified in so far
as IS necessary.
Not only is it my wish. but it is the direct order of the
secretary for the colonies. that we should support the authority
of the chiefs. council of elders and Headmen in Native
Reserves. and the prestige and influence of the chiefs can be
held by letting the peasantry see that the Government itself
treats them as an integral part of the machinery of
administration.
By upholding the authority of Chiefs and Elders. I do not wish
to imply that officers are to sit and enforce blindly all orders
issued by these men who. after all. are only savages. The main
object of administering the people through their chiefs is to
prevent disintegration amongst the tribe; but active interests.
supervision and guidance on the part of the officers of the
administration are all necessary for the prevention of abuses ..
(KNA DC/CN/5/5).
From the foregoing. it is explicit that the colonial state was essentially concerned
\\ ith security. for the maintenance of which. the administration would bank on colonial
"
chiefs whose powers were to be subordinated to those of British administrative officers. It
was certainly politically expedient and financially affordable for the colonial state to rely on
African chiefs for the maintenance of order. collection of taxes. mobilisation of labour and
enforcing commodity production than importing "chiefs" from Britain to perform these
duties. Inherent in Girouards policy was the ideology of paternalism since the colonial
chiefs had to carry out their duties under the direction of British officers. It should also be
III red that there would soon be disjunctions between the new and the old vsterns. For both
territorially and qualitatively the positions and functions of the established local authorities
were ultimatelv radicallv transformed (Tosh, 1973 :479).
J J
Even prior to Girouard' s memorandum of 1910, the pre-colonial political structures
were already subjected to transformation by the legal promulgations of the colonial state. In
1902 the East African Protectorate Village Headman Ordinance which sought to help in the
appointment of administrative headmen (Ogot, 1963:253: Low. 1965479) in every part of
the protectorate and to grant such headmen powers to collect taxes and recruit labourers was
enacted (Ogot, 1963: Low. 1965:479: Ndege. 1987:93) These headmen (later called chiefs)
were charged with the duty of keeping law and order, collecting taxes and supplying labour
for public works. It should be emphasized that unlike the ruodhi who were custodians of
"tribal" laws and customs. the chiefs were civil servants. appointed by the Provincial
Commissioners. and paid by the Central Government. Freed from the traditional beliefs on
which traditional authority rested. and ruling in a society within which the Luo belief in
Fate - a belief which had restrained the old rulers from any excesses - was gradually being
undermined by Christianity. the new chiefs were prone to abuse power (Ogot, 1963:253).
Between 1907 and 1912 the powers of colonial chiefs were increased by further legal
promulgations. The 1907 Courts Ordinance created Native Courts and recognized tribunals
under the direct authority of the chief (Ogot, 1963 :254: Middleton. 1968:351). Later. In
Iq II. the Native Tribunal Rules recognized the constitution of the council of elders In
accordance with traditional custom (Middleton, 1968:352). The Native Authority Ordinance
enlarged the formerly relatively minor powers of chiefs and laid down that they were to be
appointed over specific areas (later to be called locations) whose boundaries were supposed
111
to coincide with pre-existing clan boundaries. In Siaya. chiefs were empowered to
administer justice with the help of their council of elders
Together. all these ordinances transformed the pre-colonial political structures. The
Government. in introducing an indirect system of ruling. decided somewhat unwittingly to
base it on indigenous institutions. A social and political set-up that had suited a migrating.
semi-pastoral. community had now to be converted into an administrative machine for a
settled. agricultural population. A centralized system had to be superimposed on a
segmentary system with all the weaknesses inherent in the latter. Consequently. problems
such as clan jealousies and rivalries. perpetual sub-divisions of lineages and therefore of
land (all of which were soon intensified by a new struggle for political and economic
power). which the Luo were accustomed to solving through secession or migration. had now
to be tackled within fixed political and administrative entities (Ogot, 1963253). It is not
surprising. therefore. that these problems. endemic in acephalous society. have for decades
bedevilled the administration of Siaya .. -\s Mr. T.A. Watts. a former District Commissioner
ofCentral Kavirondo (Siaya and Kisumu) has said:
The administration has had a long experience of Luo segmentary
units within the ative Authority.. successive generations of
Administrative Officers from the earliest days have complained
bitterly of the .clan-jealousies' of the tribe and their disruptive
effects on the social life (Ogot, 1963:254).
One of the ways in which the people of Siaya immediately experienced the
oppressiveness of colonialism was through taxation by which the colonial chiefs were
instrumental in the appropriation of surplus for capitalisation of the settler sector. The
earliest legislation imposing a tax on huts in Kenya was contained in the Hut Tax
Regulations of 190 I which empowered the Native Commissioner to impose a tax on all huts
()2
used as dwelling places. to be paid by all occupants (l(."\iA DC/CN/3/S). These Regulations
were repealed by the East African Hut Tax Ordinance of 1903 which specified that the Hut
Tax should not exceed three Rupees per annum for each hut. This ordinance remained in
force until 1910 when it was replaced by the Native Hut Tax and Poll Tax Ordinance. The
Hut Tax remained at three Rupees but an additional Poll Tax of six shillings was imposed.
The ordinance mandated the Governor to increase the tax to twenty shillings. Except
for a short period in 1921 when the tax was raised to sixteen shillings. most communities in
Kenya, including those in Siaya paid twelve shillings. Section 10 of the Ordinance allowed
District Officers "to remit taxes for those without sufficient means to pay the whole amount
of such tax and those unable to obtain employment by reason of age or infirmity and to issue
certificate to this effect" (Memo DC/CN/3/5-K\iA) Section 12 empowered the Governor to
grant exemptions from the tax to those who were completely unable to pay. These
exemptions were in practice very seldomly and grudgingly granted.
The intention of the 1910 Ordinance was to tax a man in proportion to his wealth
which was estimated by the number of wives he had. The argument was that although a man
would be less well off after paying cattle for his wives. he was a potential producer of
wealth in terms of the number of acreage he was able to put under cultivation and in the
number of daughters. who in their turn. would be married off (K.XA - Memo.
DCICN.l3/S) Even widows were compelled to pay tax for the huts they resided in.
Taxation imposed a very heavy financial burden on the people. Although the Hut
Tax first stood at three Rupees. absence of money in Siaya in the years before 1914 meant
that tax payments were made in kind. Shortly before the First World War. the Hut Tax had
been increased to SIX shillings and to ten shillings at the beginning of the war. The
depression of 1920s led to its reduction to 12 shillings. Later, when the Poll Tax was
introduced to be followed by the Local Native Council and Locational rates in 1926 and
1946. respectively. the tax burden became heavier. The Poll Tax and the rates were paid
equally by the rich and the poor. The table below represents the number of huts paid for in
the locations as they existed in December 1915. starting with the financial year 1908-09.
Before that year it is difficult to divide the money collected between the various locations.
Table 1: Hut Tax Collection in Five Locations in Siaya as at December, 1915
Huts Huts Huts Huts Huts Huts Huts Huts1908--09 19119-10 19\0-11 1911-12 1912-13 1913-1~ 191+.15 1915-16
Alego ~.~ol ').1" J(U29 12.0R2 1"",2'""5 17.932 18.'28 19.411
EastGem 4.7l).' 5.447 6.133 ().'(-w With W Gem With W. Gem 4.800 -+.S06
WestGem 4.604 5.')34 (>.274 (0.291 ').61' 9.858 5.880 0.240
'orth Lzenva I.')49 2.012 2.518 3.2""9 ~.872 R.OSt) ~.545 ~.6()6
South Lgenya 1.:168 1.')88 "') ....., .'.112 4.523 4.807 5.250 5A6:5,,-..'.".L
Source Ki'JA DC/N. K./l 13/5 - 1915
The unfeeling manner in which the taxes were collected was notable as defaulters were dealt
with brutally. Colonial administrative officials accompanied by their tax and revenue clerks
and Tribal Police made frequent safaris to the locations of Siaya to take taxes already
collected by chiefs. or to oversee such collections. Prior to the District Officers safaris to the
tax collection centres. within the locations. Chiefs and Headmen, also accompanied by their
clerks and askaris hurried their sub-locations for tax. often taking away for sale livestock
belonging to those who were unable to raise tax money. This exercise sometimes took place
at night when the majority of tax-payers were at home. as they often hid in the bush during
the day (Ondanda, O. L 1998)
The District Officers did not hesitate to deploy the Tribal Police for purposes of tax
collection. On 221ld of June 1928, for example, H.R. Montgomery. D.C. -Central l yanza,
dispatched ten such policemen to North Lgerr 1, which according to him was notoriously
bad in tax payment. He recorded in his diary that the policemen did a good job since over
1200 shillings were collected during the week. On this occasion seventeen defaulters were
imprisoned and a few cattle sold. (Safari Diary 1925-28 PCINZAl311 /233). On their safaris
the District Officers kept records of those exempted from tax payments, those who had died,
those working outside their locations, those in prison and taxes that were due. The table
below show such records for two sub-locations in Uholo and is fairly representative of what
is obtained elsewhere.
Table 2: Record of Taxation in Two Sub-locations in Siaya nz" Mav, 1930)
Sub-location Exempted Deceased At work Prison Paid Outstanding Ta.\ Due
outside
Magoya 1-+ 7 50 0 Sh.6-+ 1 Sh.12 Sh.'+9-+
Rambula 22 2 30 X Sh ..13-+ Sh.1 o Sh ..110
Source K);A Safari Diary 1925-29 PC/NZAI3/I/233.
On the whole, taxation transformed the pre-capitalist social formations of Siaya in a
number of ways. First. it changed the pre-colonial political system into a colonial
institutional infrastructure, the Local Native Authority System headed by chiefs, which
rechannelled surplus produce from the people for the purposes of accumulation by the
colonial state mainly for the capitalization of the settler sector of the economy (Butterman,
1979: 140). Second, it made wage labour. commodity production, and sale of livestock
necessary thereby influencing the monetization of the pre-capitalist economy (Central
Kavirondo Annual Reports 1908-1913: Hay, 1972:161: Ndege 19877). It also led to socio-
economic differentiation since it was a means by which colonial chiefs and headmen
appropriated their subjects' surplus to accumulate wealth. Furthermore, it led to a greater
burdens for women and young men (Butterrnan, 1979: 124). Women were the heads of
households (ot) on which tax was levied. They were the people who indirectly paid taxes
rhrough production and sale of crops although in the event of default. their husbands who
\\ere the heads of the homestead. -dala- were held responsible by the colonial
administration. Widows. however. paid their own taxes and were held responsible in case of
default. Young men, on the other hand, were forced to go out and work to pay their own
taxes and those of their helpless fathers or their widowed mothers (Ondanda, 0.1.. 1998).
3.3. The Development of Migrant Labour in Siava
The study of labour during the colonial and post-colonial epochs in Kenya's history
has attracted a lot of attention (Clayton and Savage. 1974: Van Zwanenberg, 1975: Van
Zwanenberg and King, 1975: Swainson, 1980: Kitching, 1980: Stichter. 1982; Ochieng,
"I ')89: Jalang o-Ndeda, 1991 and many more). It is, therefore, important to discuss the labour
pattern in Siaya with its attendant effects on the local economy.
[t is argued in this section that the colonial labour policies served to impoverish the
rural community The Luo farmers were not dispossessed of land (save for administrative
and missionary purposes), and migrant labourer's families continued to feed themselves and
often the migrant's relatives, who were paid little wages, thus reducing the socially
00
necessary wage in the capitalist accumulation. The withdrawal of migrant workers' labour
from local production was compensated for by the self-exploitation of their relatives who
stayed at home (See Berry. 1984 77: Berg, 1965). The increasingly low wages that were
paid necessitated the migrant workers' maintaining constant relations with the rural home. In
short the people of Siaya were forced by the need to earn tax money and by colonial laws to
offer their labour. In trying to justify the colonial government' s demand for compulsory
labour. the Governor Belfield. had this to say:
It follows also that Africans must and should be forced to work if
necessary. but solely for the benefit of the settlers. of course, but
for their own good as well, since it would teach them the virtues
of honest toil and the superiority of the European methods
(Berman and Lonsdale. 1980:63).
Thus the extraction of labour from the .reserves . was to develop the European sector.
By 1908 compulsory labour was made legal only for government purposes: porterage
of government provisions. construction and maintenance of roads. bridges. harbours and
communications. Conscription under these conditions were allowed where voluntary labour
was not forthcoming. Before 1908 the government officers recruited labour both for the
government and for private enterprise. Usually the chiefs were simply informed that a
certain number of labourers was needed and that they were required to produce them. As a
result, a chief was viewed as effective and efficient if he could turn up labour and inept if the
record of turning up labour was poor (Jalango-Ndeda, 1991:99) In 1908 the policy of
official recruiting led to the rise of professional labour recruiting, a service for which settlers
had to pay. These individuals were freelancers who went into the rural areas to obtain
recruits or charged a commission on each man engaged by an employer. This system soon
07
led to abuses. Some of the recruiters bullied chiefs and others posed as government officials
(Huxley. 1935213). Sometimes they paid chiefs and headmen to recruit and so labour
recruitment became a source of economic income for these people.
Africans reacted by avoiding to be recruited. desertion from employment or
inefficiency in work. The government organised transport facilities, provided rest camps
along the routes of the migrants. Coercion was necessary because of the presence of viable
alternatives to wage labour In Gem. for example. Headman Odera Akango reasoned that
factors which made men go to work were either individual or coercion because if they
wished to raise the money with which to pay taxes. they could do so by working on their
farms in the locality. There was ample land in Gem and individuals cultivated simsim,
sorghum and millet which were largely sold to the Indians, and large beans and sweet
potatoes for home consumption. We are suggesting that capitalism was not able to compete
with local production in its early stage and therefore depended on the state and coercive
measures. However. as it developed these became less necessary.
In 1909 it was estimated that the number of able-bodied men available for unskilled
work in Nyanza was about 25.000 who were not coming out as voluntarily as was expected
(Political Record Book. 1909 - KNA). Labour problems were already evident and the
Provincial Commissioner. John Ainsworth. recommended that private individuals could
engage their own men either personally or through labour agencies. Indeed, 1910 was a
crucial year for Central Kavirondo District because while economic products were grown in
increasing quantities throughout the area (simsim and groundnuts exclusively), the demand
for labour was also on the increase. In Gem and Sakwa, for example, simsim was very
largely grown. ~onetheless.· mounting anxiety continued over possible decrease in the
AS
production of imsim. particularly from Gem. in the same year because of the withdrawal of
dependable labour force from this locality. An attempt was made to make labour recruiters
get their labour from other areas. Me Ainsworth lamented that all the best of the youthful
cultivators hould be drawn away from the work in the district particularly at a time when
cultivation and agriculture showed such promise (Political Record Book. December. 1910).
By 1912 the Native Authority Ordinance coerced people to avail themselves for
work. It stated that all Africans were liable for upto 60 days per annum forced paid labour
for public purposes. The legislation empowered district officers and chiefs to recruit labour
from the 'reserves' both for public purposes and settler agriculture. They worked on roads.
as porters of administrative officials and missionaries and as servants of Indian traders.
Some workers were sent out to work in the Public Works Departments, in Water Works at
the Coast and Mombasa harbour. the construction of the railway branch to Magadi and in
isal plantations.
The Kavirondo region did not experience systematic land alienation and instead it
emerged as' the largest labour reservoir in Kenya. Land could not be alienated due to
malaria. sleeping sickness and the climate which did not favour European settlement.
Central Kavirondo District is reported as one of the areas that supplied most labour in the
years before the war and the most conspicuous areas included Gem. Ugenya and Alego (all
in Siaya) which submitted to the colonialists at an early stage (Nyanza Annual Report, 1906-
1907). By September. 1912, there was a steady increase in the number of Luo men going for
wage labour (PC ~ZA/I/7. 1911-1912. K:\iA). In Kisumu alone there was a rise in the
number of Luo employees in marine departments and other sections as shown in table 3.
Table 3: Labour Returns for the Quarter Ending, 30th Julv 1912
(Luo, Kisumu District)
vlagadi
Fuel Contract
airobi
\Iuhoroni
Conservancy
vlarine
B E.A. Corporation
l.ganda Railway
PW.D.
vlisc.
Estimated Number who left the District then registered
Kibos unregistered
941
-+3
94
602
25
181
-+6
157
147
350
1.500
TOTAL 4.086
Source: Nyanza Provincial Annual Report. 1912.
In September 1912, H. R Partington reported a steady increase in the number of Luo
men leaving their localitie for work. the number being most certainly double that of the
preceding quarter (PC NZAJI/7. 1911-12) In Kisumu alone there was an increase in the
number of Luo employed by Marine Department, the RE.A. Corporation and other
employers. It is likely that the increase was due to the fact that this was the most favourable
time!for recruiting labour.
Table 4 overleaf shows the number of Luo men who were registered and Table 5
hews the estimated number of those who left unregistered and where they went.
Table 4: A Statement of Luo Labour Registered at the Estat~
1912-13
April-June June-Sept. Sept..-Dec. Jan.-March Total
Kisumu 204 2,452 3,756 1,702 8,414
Mumias 801 i.u s 2,431 2,092 6,439
Kisii 118 67 953 1,569 2,707
Kericho 416
Nandi 17
Plus permanent employees 370
TOTAL 18,517
Source Provincial Annual Report, 1913 - KNA, PCINZA. 1/18.
Table 5: The Unregistered Luo Labouren at the Estates - 1912-13
Lasin Gishu 3,500
5,000
2,000
1,200
2,500
7,439
Mumias, Yala and Kisumu Transport
Kisii, Homa Bay and Kendu Bay Transport
I'Trade Centres
Men who went Down Country Registration
Men Employed by PWD. not Registered
TOTAL 21,639
Source: Nyanza Provincial Annual Report 1913, PC/NZAlI/8, KNA
71
By the end of March 1914 there was a remarkable population decrease in Siaya and
voung men from Lholo. Gem and Lgenya had been recruited in police force and Kenya
African Rifles and were more permanently settled outside their home areas.
The advent of World War r in 1914 led to increased demand for labour. More people
were forced to join carrier corps and to work in settler farms. The colonial government
vested more powers of conscription and punishment for evasion of work in District Officers
and Chiefs by the 1915 Native Registration Ordinance and the Native Followers Ordinance.
The nature and extent of state coercion between 1914 and 1917 can only be compared with
the dark period of slave trade and slavery. Table 6 below is a table reflecting labour
recruitment in Nyanza between 1914 and 1917.
Table 6: Labour Recruitment in ~vanza Between 1914 and 1917
Carrier Corps Other Lab r
1914-191 ~ 18,169 26.245
1915-1916 24,184 17.138
1916-1917 21. 900 18.577
Source: iyanza Provincial Report, 1917
72
Table 7: Shows the labour registered in Kisumu between 1914 and 1915 and Table 8 shows
labour recruitment from specific areas in Siaya in the same period.
Table 7: Labour Registered Between 1914-1915 in Kisumu
Carrier Corps
Public Works Department
Forestry
Other Government Department
Private Individual
-t572
1.292
263
3.237
4.883
TOT,o\L 14,247
Source: Kisumu District Annual Report, 1915.
Table 8: Labour From Specific Areas in Siava Between
March 1914-March 1915
1914 1915
\pnl vlav June Julv \ug Sept Oct ,,)\, D~~ .Ian F~h \Iar TOT. \1.
vscmbo ' , 12 .:'R I) XI 2(, 11)11 21 I)L) (,S 50-1
Sakwa 2-1 13 ~, -If> ~I 2-1 Ill.:' ~~ (,8 -I~tl,
I;voma XX 2 77 1112 ,~ ~~ IS 383
,.,
Kadimo () h .~6 21) 1)1) ~I -I 35 16 30-1
Gem ~I) XS 11l(' .;.; 31).:' 13() 2'""1t) I.~R 21-1 18 162 21l() 1.841
Source: Kisumu District Annual Report, 1915
By 1916 the methods of recruitment were so brutal that the Luo living in proximity to the
Lganda protectorate (such as Jo-Ugenya and Jo-Alego) crossed the boundary to reside in
l.ganda territory (Nyanza Provincial Annual Report, 1916. K.'\iA).
The introduction of kip an de in 1920 strictly controlled the labour system (Ongor, Okwaro,
Adogo. Okecha. O. I.. 1998). The kipande system aimed at achieving three main objectives:
it was designed as an instrument to keep track of labour supply from the African locations: it
was also aimed at tracing those who deserted work. Finally. it restricted workers' freedom
to change employment. This was because the salary one earned was recorded on his
kipande,1 the same salary was to be offered by the next employer. The kipande system put
an African worker at a disadvantage because he was not in a position to bargain for a higher
wage at his next place of employment. The system was exploitative since it promoted the
standardization of low wages to be earned by the Africans (Onduru.1992: 132). The
disappearance of the ki ande and any escape from work was met with severe punishment.
The influx of labour into European farms and government sector was. therefore. to a large
extent regulated and controlled, not by the Northey Circulars (1919), but by this coercive
system of labour appropriation. However. the African population had continued to rise until
bv the mid-1920s it became less and less necessary to use force to bring them out to work.
From then on population pressure plus taxation. assured that enough Africans would be
available on European farms.
[n Siaya, for example. young men increasingly left the reserves in search of
employment. By the 1920s they were aware of different working conditions.
accommodation arrangements and amount of wages paid. and in most cases. they chose the
relatively most 'Iucrative' contracts within their reach. Because of the general prosperity of
1-)20s there arose competition for labourers which in turn led to these differences in working
conditions since each private employer tried his or her level best to out-do others. In this
In (Ius kipande each emplover was (0 record (he nrne a worker offered labour power. the kind of work done.
wages earned and recommendations.
process. there developed a system of labour recruitment by European owned private
recruiting firms. For instance, in Kisurnu. labour agents calling themselves 'forwarding
agents' appeared who recruited workers and made the required transport arrangements for
these workers. Two of the most famous of these agencies were Beadoch and Riddoch
companies. They were both stationed in Kisumu and having representatives in most districts
in Kavirondo region. The Riddoch company. for example, by 1930s was the sole forwarding
agent for Sisal Growers Association, Magadi Soda company and the Railway both in Kenya
and Lganda.
Migration of workers was so great that in Siaya alone about 10,000 people left
between 1918 and 1921 and this rose in the subsequent years (Kisumu District Annual
Reports. 1918-1921). For Labour flow in Siaya see Table 9. See also the amount of labour
appropriation from the three Kavirondo districts in 1922. (Table 10).
Tahle 9: I.ahuur Registered 10 the Yea r Ending 31 ~I March 1921
A - Labour Out of Kisumu District
B - Labour Inside Kisumu District
;"Iulllh, ;"1 S () :-.. Il F i\1
~~) out and 1\ II 1\ 1\ 1\ 1\ 1\ II II II II II nIT \1
II'
,""urlh 2.1 2() gg 51 (,<J .lO 7-1 -1 77 -15 gl (,-1 2!, gO 7-1 I
(j~nll
\h:gtl 15 2!, J(, 27 .1') 2') -15 71 71 01 c» 20 10 (,0 'J2 12 51 71l'(
Suulh li~1I1 17 -1~ 0(, 52 15 I') -1 l~ 10 12 22 05 02 1-1 10 II 20 II 07 -1') -127
\:-'~lIlho 10 12 0(, I~ I') IX 02 2-1 01 (d 01< 12 25 I' 0') 22 17 II')
NUll" II 05 0(, 12 10 2 I 10 2(, 21 20 17 III III -II< III 2 II
l Jg~lI~a
Sak vv« 02 52 10 .j.j 21 15 05 -1~ 15 20 07 12 0(, 5-1 05 .l~ 0') .1(,-1
[')ulI.a 01 0-1 0(, -1(, 21 05 (Ll 01 O~7
South 02 01 05 O~ 0.1 01 02(J
[ g~II)"
I-,.adill." 01 I') 17 I ux 15 1- Il(, (J(, 01 III 117 07 1-1 III II-I
The number that Ictl uurcgixtcrcd I.OO(J
TO'J'. \ I. (..r).~(J
Sou rce: Kisumu District Annual Report, 1<)21
7f.
Table 10: Labour from ~yanza Province, 1922
January 38.152
Februarv 39.546
March 41,166
April 45.409
May 43.475
June 43.322
July 44,687
August 46,871
September 45.596
October 49.807
November 52.588
December 45.730
Source: Nyanza Provincial Annual Report, 1922.
The majority of these workers migrated from Central Kavirondo District some
leaving privately without being registered (PC/NZA.I/I7. 1922. K);A). They disliked
written contracts (PC/NZA.11I8. 1922. K);A) And by 1925 about 3.000 Luo men were
I'
permanently employed outside the province. By 1928 more than half of the able-bodied men
in the two largest African nationalities (the Kikuyu and the Luo) were estimated to be
working for Europeans. However. the labour migration increase in the subsequent years was
interrupted in 1929 by the depression, which caused a decrease in the prices of farm
produce. The decline of export crops forced the settlers to disemploy labour since they were
not able to pay labourers The on set of the depression caused serious economic constraints to
the Africans who had become dependent on wage labour. The number of Africans in
77
employment declined drastically from 160,435 in 1927 to 132,000 in 1932. (Clayton, and
Savage, 1974:175).
Conclusion
In this chapter we discussed how the people of Siaya were placed under colonial
rule, an event which presaged loss of freedom and the incorporation of the people into a
capitalist system administratively and economically different from what they were accustomed
to in the pre-colonial era. This brought about new form of stress to which the people had to
adapt themselves. We have demonstrated that the colonial administration and the systems of
taxation and expropriation of labour were together crucial in the incorporation of the people of
Siava into the colonial capitalist system. Colonial administration was an institution of control
which also defined the levels of people's political and economic participation, both locally and
in the whole country. The system of taxation provided sufficient ideological justification for
work. Apart from being a source of capital accumulation by the colonial regime for the
running of its day-to-day business, it was an important factor in forcing the people to
participate in the colonial economy as migrant workers.
7X
Uf"'lIW +~ ••IlIII ••• ~;.,.._ •• --~
CHAPTER FOUR
~.o. THE AGRICUTURAL CHANGE IN THE EARLY COLONIAL
PERIOD TO c. 1930
4.1. lntroduction
After the establishment of colonial rule in Kenya. the immediate concern of the
colonial state was to create a productive capacity in all parts of the country which would
be sufficient to maintain the minimal administration and military presence required to
sustain foreign control. However. by 1909. the economic situation in Kenya was never
attractive. Revenue fell short of expenditure by £ 16.000 while the greater part of exports
which mounted to a meagre of £157.000 still consisted of 'natural" products like ivory.
beeswax. hides and skins (Wrigley. 1965221) Sir Humphrey who had been sent to
Kenva in 1GO:; to investigate economic prospects of the protectorate had felt that in order
to overcome the financial crisis. a highly capitalised plantation agriculture. on the one
ho/ld. and African small-scale farming. on the other were to be encouraged (Wrigley.
1G65221-22)
The British foreign office allowed settler agricultural production in Kenya in
order to make both the protectorate and the railway to generate their own funds. By the
turn of the century. the foreign office. then in charge of the protectorate. was already
complaining about the financial burdens in the form of grant-in-aid being sent to Kenya
for maintaining the government (Huxley. 1G75 7). The foreign office. therefore,
recommended that the protectorate should be self-sufficient financially without
depending on the foreign office. It was in this line that the foreign office supported Sir
Charles Elliot' s policy of encouraging settler immigration to boost agricultural
production. The policy aimed at attracting private capital for development and investment
in the protectorate. The colonial state encouraged settler agricultural production in
various ways: for example, the colonial state alienated lands for settlers. The land
alienated was mainly carved out of the most productive areas and located within the reach
of the railway. This was because the colonial state wanted to boost settler agriculture by
providing it with good network of infrastructure.
When Girouard took over as the governor. it is not surprising that he also saw the
future economic development of the country chiefly in terms of European agricultural
production (Mungeam. 1966220). He expected the settler population to contribute 20 per
cent of the £680.000 and the local African population 4 per cent of £273.000 of the total
revenue estimated for the financial year 1910-191 I (Mungeam, 1966-220). The 'dual
policy' which was to characterise Kenya' s agricultural development throughout the
I'
colonial period had thus been initiated. What was significant about this policy was the
greater attention. which the colonial state gave to the settler sector than to the African
production.
To achieve the foregoing, the African population had to be made to work for the
settlers. for any solution would create insuperable problems by making white men work
much harder than they were accustomed to do in other parts of Africa which were equally
open to settlers. For the new style to succeed ..the African had to be made to enter the
80
world of money as migrant worker rather than independent producer: for as long as the
African farmer had an independent control over the means of production through his
control over his own land the African farmer would not be forced to work for the settler
but would continue to produce on his own account" (Brett. 1973: 169). The need to
resolve this contradiction led to the imposition of taxes and compulsory labour in Kenya
as a whole.
4.2. Crop Production
The early decades of colonial rule in Siaya was a period of experimentation with
new crops and implements. In fact. the years between 1900 and 1930 were. to a large
extent. concerned with integrating the new crops and practices which had recently been
adopted. During the first decade. for example. agricultural production included
encouragement in the cultivation of traditional crops such as sorghum and millet.
purchase and distribution of new seeds of simsirn, groundnuts. maize and cotton and the
introduction and sale of iron hoes and ox-ploughs. All this was done without an adequate
,,-
knowledge of the climatic and soil conditions of the area. It should be noted. however.
that the intensified experimentation of this early period involved mostly small additions
to crop varieties - the changes were additive rather than substitutive.
Apart from the compulsion and paternalism which characterised colonial
initiatives. there were factors which influenced the people of Siaya s responses to the
growing of both traditional and new crops in quantities. over and above. their subsistence
needs. The people. for example. considered whether the crops possessed high exchange
RI
value. that is. whether they could be used to accumulate cattle or whether they fetched a
good price for purposes of paying tax and buying domestic needs such as clothes. This
consideration was made against cash returns from wage labour which was increasingly
becoming an alternative occupation. With regard to the growing of new crops, two
further considerations were made. namely. whether they fitted in the people' s diet and
whether they could be easily integrated into the agricultural cycle and the domestic
labour process to which they were traditionally accustomed. Further. the influence of
local pioneers. the first to grow the new crops. was another important factor in the spread
of the crops. Finally. population increase determined the quantity of crop production. It
thus took time before new crops were widely grown. 'We mondo ong'e kore mondi' (let
us first see its nature), was the people' s characteristic attitude towards colonial innovation
(Taifa, Orawo. Oluoch, O. I., 1998).
While colonial administrators played an important role in introducing
crops and tools which were often completely new to the area. their influence was often
marginal in the actual decision-making process of either acceptance or rejection. This
,-
was due to the limited resources in funds and personnel available to them. Their general
lack of knowledge about the area itself - the climate, types of soil and patterns of rainfall,
for instance, or the requirements of indigenous crops - limited their ability to recommend
better methods of agriculture. The District Commissioner of Central Kavirondo, D.R.
Crampton. confessed in 1910:
We are still in the experimental stage. and the problem of
the rain is still puzzling us. Even now. owing to the
difficulty in sparing officers to travel. we do not know
X2
much.. about the soil and climate of various locations (Central Nyanza
Annual Report, 19\ 0, KNA).
Indeed, it was not until 1933 that agricultural offices were able to draw up a
general program of development which identified geographical zones and took into
account the differences of environment (Onduru. 1992:80). Ignorance of the region was
compounded by the problems of insufficient staff and funds. Lntil 1923 there was no
agricultural officer as such in the district: the District Commissioner had to handle
problems of agricultural and veterinary development in addition to his regular
administration duties. And as late as 1926, the Department of Agriculture allocated only
£9.209 for all 'Native Agriculture' in Kenya out of the total budget of £109.\56 (Kenya
Department of Agriculture, Annual Report, 1926 1).
By 1904 there was a marked increase in cultivation among the people of Siaya.
Crops that were considered traditional like millet and sorghum constituted the largest crop
produce in the area (Kisumu District Annual Report, 1905-6). Perhaps this was due to Hut
Tax Regulations of 1901 which empowered the Native Commissioner to impose a tax on
aU huts used as dwelling places. to be paid by all occupants (DC/CN/3/S - KNA). The
tendency for individuals seeking wage labour to acquire food or money to pay taxes
(which were paid in kind) was still in the main. foreign to the people of Siaya. Even after
the 190 I tax regulations were repealed by the East African Hut Tax Ordinance of 1903
(which specified that the Hut Tax should not exceed three Rupees per annum for each hut)
most of the people continued producing a surplus for exchange. Indeed, the economic
pressure which increased with efficient collection of taxes. was resulting in the stimulation
of trade. the expansion of land under cultivation and the introduction of production for
export (Kisurnu District Annual Report, 1905-6).
By 1905 sorghum continued to be the leading product in Kisumu District. It
commanded a ready sale in the local market, and there was a growing demand along the
Railway line as far as Naivasha. There was also an immense acreage of milliet though
much below that of sorghum (Kisumu District Annual Report, 1905-6). Simsim had just
been introduced and there was a great excess in the production over that of 1904. Both
European and Indian merchants. it was reported. were in a position to pay a better price
for simsim and as a result the people ofKisumu District were quick to grasp the advantage
and extended the area of cultivation verv considerablv. And it was estimated that theJ _
monthly export by 1905 amounted to some 70.000 pounds. This was being supplemented
by a good business in hides and skins which had dropped to some extent due to the good
conditions of the livestock. This was due to the fact that the bulk of skins brought for sale
were those of dead animals as the people seldornly killed animals for their own needs
(Kisumu District Annual Report. 1905-6).
The people of Siaya were forced by the colonial regime to start growing crops for
sale. over and above. the level of pre-colonial production. They were gradually introduced
into money economy and found themselves producing for subsistence and, increasingly.
for sale (Ogot, 1963254). Consequently. the pre-colonial practice of selling the surplus
(that could be stored) was superseded by conscious production of surplus, not for storage,
but for sale both in the local and international markets.
The administration, however. intended to discredit such indigenous crops as
sorghum and encourage the people of Siaya to grow exportable crops such as maize
According to Wolff (1974: 71) one of the imperial goals in the protectorate included:
Producing those commodities whose availability for import
into Britain would lessen or remove
businessmen and authorities deemed
dependence on foreign sources of supply:
what British
a dangerous
Sorghum or millet was not such a commodity. and there was an element of administrative
propaganda against the crops as is conveyed by the Kisumu District Commissioner. who
in 1907 asserted that sorghum and millet were "poor and unsatisfactory crops" which it
was hoped to replace with "a good hybrid of maize." (DC/CN/l12 - KN A)
By 1905 a lot of livestock in Siava had been sold to pay taxes while others had
been confiscated during punitive expeditions. Rural agricultural production was also
affected by the outbreak of the sleeping sickness early in the century (in many parts of
Siaya: Yimbo. Alego, Ugenya and Lholo) which had killed many folk. Further. the
number of those going to work outside Luoland was considerably increasing.
In 1906 the acting Nyanza Provincial Commissioner, H.B. Partington, reported
that there was a scarcity of food due to failure of the November rains (Nyanza Province
Annual Reports. 1906-7) By the time Partington was writing his annual report the whole
of the immediate lakeland was alreadv in the grip of a terrible famine. known as
nvamgori2 which killed hundreds of people. The Provincial Commissioner reported that
the roads between Kisumu and Mumias were being extensively used by the Luo "as they
afford an easy access to Kakamega for the purpose of buying food" ()iyanza Province
Annual Report, 1906-7). The Nyanza Indian traders took advantage of the famine and
bought all the food surplus they could lay their hands on and, in turn, sold it expensively.
Very many people in Siaya (especially in Sakwa, Asernbo and Yimbo) died because of
famine. People travelled far and wide to search for food. (Jalango-Ndeda. 199(120).
The foregoing famine was a big embarrassment to the colonial government. With
the appointment of John Ainsworth as Provincial Commissioner of Nyanza in 1907, he
was able to begin agricultural innovation among African farmers on a significant scale.
Little had been done prior to this time either by the administration or the agricultural
department to encourage the production of new cash crops by Africans. Almost no
agricultural produce was exported from Nyanza Province before Ainsworth arrival
(\iyanza Province Annual Report, 1908-09). He set out to change all that through the
introduction of crops that could be produced by local farmers and sold for cash. Ainsworth
recognized the considerable agricultural potential of the province and he held strongly to
the view that it should be developed. "If this was done", he wrote in his first annual report
as Provincial Commissioner, ""this country will become by far the richest part of the
protectorate" (Nyanza Province Annual Report, 1907-08). There was great potential for
agriculture here which had to be tapped if the economic future of Kenya was to be at all
rosy (Maxon, 1973: 157). In the following year he wrote:
: TIle Luo called it so because many were reduced to eating nYamgori, a millet-looking wild weed which
X6
This part of the protectorate is, I consider. by far the most
promising portion of it, and under normal conditions must
contribute very largely to the future success of the country
(Nvanza Province Annual Report, 1908-09).
In encouraging African agriculture, Ainsworth had the support of Governor Sadler.
Sadler was, like Ainsworth. in favour of spurring African agriculture in Nyanza. Sadler
had pushed the introduction of cotton when he was Commissioner of Uganda. and he was
especially interested in seeing the crop taken up by African growers in Nyanza. In 1906.
for example. he had visited the province and held a large meeting with chiefs and elders in
Kisumu at which he urged them to undertake. with administrative guidance, cotton
cultivation (Maxon. 1980: 187). Little came of this initial effort as the poor rains of late
1906 and early 1907 spelled failure for most of the cotton planted.
John Ainsworth. took advantage of the above to launch a campaign of agricultural
innovation almost as soon as he arrived in Nyanza Province. He concentrated his effort in
two main areas. Central Kavirondo and. to a lesser extent. North Kavirondo. He threw the
support of the administration directly behind attempts to introduce crops of economic
value. This was done largely by the distribution of seeds to servants of the administration,
mainly chiefs and herdrnen.:' Most successful of these were simsim, groundnuts, and
improved varieties of maize. He encouraged with less success. cotton-growing among the
Luo and Luyia of the province. Indeed, when it is realised that money for seed purchase
came from administrative funds that Ainsworth was able to earmark for development, not
from the agricultural department, the influence of Ainsworth in fostering agricultural
grew widely along the lakeside.
, In I()07-0S and 1905-t)l). ch.iefs were paid half their commission on hut tax collected in their locations in
seeds of what Ainsworth regarded as crops of economic value (Nvanza Provincial Special Report.
December. I()()!)).
R7
innovation among Africans stands in marked contrast to most of his contemporaries in
the service of the East Africa protectorate.
In Siaya. by 1906, some farmers had already started planting sirnsirn, for example,
tradition has it that chief Ndeda of Gem South location --had established a simsim farm
by 1905. (Orawo, Omollo. Ofenya, 0 I. 1998). This is probably due to his connection with
the C.M.S. Church at Maseno or other sources. However. it was during Ainsworth's
tenure as Pc. that the cultivation of simsim spread in the area far and wide. This was
through seed distribution and demonstrations. Seeds for simsim and groundnuts were
distributed "under a system which necessitates the different chiefs and headmen paying
for most of the seed out of the Hut Tax Commission (Central Kavirondo District Annual
Report, 1907-08) Ainsworth also located "small colonies of agricultural Swahilis and
Indians at different points where small areas of land were available", for example, at
Luanda and Sigomere (Maxon, 1980: 188). They would plant the cash crops which the
administration sought to encourage. Retaining his faith in the power of example,
Ainsworth hoped that their demonstration would prove an object lesson for Africans living
,-
in the vicinity.
Though introduced in 1908 groundnuts did not immediately become popular in
Siaya. Groundnuts were first planted in communal plots under the orders of the chiefs and
headmen - it was coercion that made them unpopular. Serious attempts to encourage
groundnuts cultivation in Siaya began in 1910 to 1914. was dropped during the war. and
began again in the mid 1920s (Okeyo, 1983143). It was slowly accepted as a food crop
after those who grew and ate it failed to die (Ogowo, Obudho, O.I., 1998). It was also
X8
•rrnt'!.
realised that in comparison with other crops. groundnuts fetched higher pnce The
popularity of groundnuts was further enhanced by the fact that. as a root crop. it survived
the locust infestation of 1930-32. Throughout the rest of the colonial period the crop was
grown in increasingly larger quantities - both as a food and cash crop. Uyorna emerged as
the main groundnut producing area in Siaya.
The introduction of cotton growmg In Nyanza was closely linked to the
introduction of the Hut Tax Regulations of 190 I. and the completion of the Uganda
Railway line in the same year The British colonial administration in Nyanza wanted to
promote the cultivation of cotton as a cash crop in Nyanza to enable the local people pay
taxes in cash rather than in kind. In addition. the colonial administrators wanted some cash
revenue to maintain roads. and to pay the administrative costs of government. These
factors. therefore. influenced John Ainsworth to introduce cotton cultivation in the areas
bordering Kisumu in 1907 and 1908 (DC/CN3/2. 1909: I).
The British East African Corporation built a cotton gin at Kisumu in 1908.
although for several years most of the seed cotton continued to be supplied from Cganda.
Between 1909 and 1913. the District Commissioner and his staff attempted to introduce
cotton growing in the lakeside areas of Samia, Serne, Kisumu. Kano and Nyakach
locations (Hay. 1972135: Onduru 1992:78). Their effort met with a limited success only
in Kano and Samia, and elsewhere the project was abandoned until the early 1920s The
fact that cotton prices dropped by 50 per cent between 1.910 and 1914 in itself is probably
a reason for the lack of Luo enthusiasm (Central Nyanza Annual Report. 1914-15). In
Siaya, it was only in Alego and Asembo that Ainsworth' s efforts in eed distribution and
pressure to plant were rewarded in late 191 1 with the first small production of cotton
(Maxon. 1980:216)
Before the introduction of yellow flint maize in 1910. and shortly later another
variety. Hickory King, the Luo of Siaya grew a traditional type of speckled maize,
odumb-nyamula, though in very small quantities. The new varieties of maize were harder
and. therefore. difficult to grind. Like the traditional type, very little quantities were
initially grown in Siaya. mainly to be roasted and eaten on the cob, or mixed with beans
and baked.
Maize was domesticated in the semi-tropical uplands of Central and North
America. It is possible that it was introduced to East Africa by the Portuguese. From
Coastal settlements. it seems to have spread along trading routes. It was common in
Tanganyika and had reached Buganda in the mid-nineteeth century, for it was observed by
Europeans who followed established trade routes. According to Miracle (1966:99), it was
much less common in Central Kenya. for example among the Kikuyu, before the colonial
period. It was cultivated in the South-Eastern area of the country and around the shores of
lake Victoria; these were on or near trade routes. In Kowe (in present-day Kisumu
District). for example. maize was planted in small amounts to ripen during the period of
famine. Lugards visit in 1890 testifies to this (Hay. 1972: 139). In parts of Siaya
particularly Ugenya. Lholo and Gem. there is a strong tradition that what they now
consider traditional maize diffused from Wanga Kingdom and their Luyia neighbours
(Orawo. Omollo, Ondanda, I lgoha, 0.1. 1998). It seems a reasonable deduction, therefore,
that maize diffused to other parts of Siaya from these areas
l)(l
It was not until 1915 that most people for the first time ate ugali or kuon made
from maize flour (Onduru, 1992 81: Nvainda, 0.1.. 1998). This was also influenced bv
• J
the 1915 famine -ke-opande- which claimed human lives in Asembo (Seme and Kisumo)
Thereafter white maize became popular in Siaya locations. According to a report by the
then District Commissioner of Central Nyanza, S.H. La Fontaine. the local people were
initially reluctant to accept it because they were used to the native variety. One informant
recalls that when white maize flour was being given out for relief during the famine of
ke-opande, people did not like its taste when cooked as kuon (Ofisa, 0.1., 1998).
However. by 1917 individuals often returned from school at Maseno or from outside
employment with an acquired taste for kuon prepared from white maize flour rather than
sorghum flour. They would often encourage their mothers or wives to begin planting the
new maize and to use it for flour (Miracle, 1967222-223: Ofisa, O.I.. 1998).
By 1918 the people of Siava had developed interest in cultivating white maize for
various reasons; foremost. among the reasons was that it is edible. ft could also be used as
a -cash crop. Maize was also valued as a quick-maturing crop, which could break the
hunger period preceding the sorghum harvest. This meant that it supplemented domestic
food provision before bel (sorghum) was ready for harvesting. For this reason, it was
usually maize which was planted in orundu, the small field or dawn garden just next to
the homestead. The orundu was planted first, before the main sorghum fields, and the
maize on it was eaten before it was fully ripe, either roasted on the cob or cut and boiled
with beans in nyoyo (Ngoha, O. L. 1998).
<JI
Women found it more difficult to grind maize unlike sorghum, and the
widespread use of maize as flour in daily diets depended on another technological
innovation - that of the hand grinding mill introduced in the late 1920s. Before the small
hand mill had made its way into rural areas, early devotees carried their maize for a long
distance to have it ground. Informants recall walking to Aluor. Yala, Maseno, Ngiya,
Butere or Luanda - from five to ten miles away from their homes (Oyolo Odwa,
Ondanda, Okurnu. Oluoch, Ofisa, O. L, 1998).
Flat white maize had begun to replace local. coloured varieties In Siaya and
elsewhere in Nyanza Province by 1930 (Department of Agriculture, Annual Report,
1930, p. 240) The new seed had several obvious advantages over the old. The most
important factor was its potential for increased yields, possibly as high as 40 per cent.
Miracle has argued that a general preference for lighter-coloured food-stuffs was
important in the spread of maize in East Africa (Miracle, 1967140-206). This was
possibly a factor in Siaya as well. although no evidence exists to support this before the
World War Il period. Yet by 1930 maize remained a subsidiary crop and had not yet
begun to challenge sorghum' s position as the major starchy staple (Okeyo, 1983: 142;
Hay. 1972: 144). Thus the use of white maize in kuon tended to become a prestigious
food, suggesting education, Christianity, wage employment - in general. experience and
familiarity with the outside world.
By the middle of 1909. Ainsworth was beginning to see some positive results
from his efforts to press forward simsim and groundnuts while cotton encountered
difficulty in getting off the ground. Simsim was most successful. By this time. large
amounts were planted in what was then Central and South Kavirondo and soon after
exports had begun. vleanwhile Ainsworth described groundnuts as having "only done
fairlv well" Cotton showed little results in 1908. and the Provincial Commissioner
recognized that it was at a disadvantage compared to simsim and groundnuts. These two
crops could be consumed whereas cotton was not edible. and its cultivation was different
from other crops grown by African farmers. They would have to be encouraged to grow
cotton. as left to themselves. they would probably opt for simsim and groundnuts.
Simsim and groundnuts" soon became crops of considerable economic value.
Acreage and production expanded yearly from 1908 until the beginning of World War L
The amount of agricultural produce leaving the province which was grown by Africans
grew by leaps and bounds as did the value of those exports. For example. in 1908-09.
such exports were valued at 287,460 rupees. in 1909- 10, 667.000 rupees. and in 19 I0-1 L
987.623 (Nyanza Province Annual Report, 1908-09: 1909- I0: 19 I0- I I). By 19 I3 Nyanza
Province was the railway's best customer (Nyanza Province Annual Report, 1912- I3:
Ogot, 1963255). In particular. simsim from Nyanza Province advanced very rapidly to
become an important factor in the exports of the entire protectorate by 1911 (Nyanza
Province Annual Report. 19 I0-1 I: 191 I- I2).
Though not of such immediate importance in the province s exports. the
introduction of improved varieties of maize seed during Ainsworth' s administration was
to prove of even greater significance The wide distribution of such varieties as Hickory
I Ainsworth had in previous years tried to interest European settlers in this crop without much success.
"One must remember". he wrote with reference to groundnuts in 190.•... that there is always an assured
market for them and that 100 acres means. on the basis of this experiment. £ 200 profit which surely is not
King (Nyanza Province Annual Report, 191 1-12) which produced higher yields with
less effort. led directly to maize supplanting other grain crops as the major subsistence
crop in most parts of Nyanza in the first decades of the twentieth century. Professor Ogot
has rightly pointed out that this "revolutionized not only the people' s food habits, but to a
large extent their way of life as well" (Ogot, 1963255)
Ainsworth did not stop at the introduction of maize. simsim and groundnuts, crops
which could be consumed as well as exported: early in his tenure as Provincial
Commissioner. he pushed for the beginning of cotton-growing by African farmers.
Despite an initial lack of success (Nyanza Province Annual Report, 1908-09; 1909-10),
Ainsworth's attempts to start cotton-growing were indicative of his belief that Africans
should playa productive part in the economy of the country by other means than the mere
provision of labour for European enterprise.'
Canon-growing did not in fact, become an important factor in the Nyanza economy
during Ainsworth' s tenure of office there. Nevertheless. experiments were made and
lessons learned, and some success was achieved in at least one part of the province where
cotton-growing later became a significant economic activity (Nyanza province annual
Report, 191 1-12) Yet the kind of programs that Ainsworth was undertaking in Nyanza
did not receive support in other parts of the protectorate.
to be despised by any planter. etc." Comment by John Ainsworth on George W. Evans. "Groundnuts." TIle
East African Quarterly (April-June. I!)O'+). p. .:'8.
, Ainsworth stood up strongly for this view while he was Provincial Commissioner of Nyanza in the face of
violent attacks from European settlers. See Native Labour Commission 1<)12-1.i Evidence and Report. pp.
l.in and 1.+l.
')'+
A more serious attempt to develop cotton production was made between 1923
and 1926. at the same time agricultural officials first assumed their duties in the district.
British agricultural officials began to travel in rural areas and engage in actual field work
and to return to their earlier roles of advising African growers and inspecting their crops
(PC. 'ZA 3/3/1 O. K:0iA - correspondence between Director of Agriculture and the
Nyanza Senior Commissioner). The cotton policy of the late 1920's was focused
primarily on the Uganda boarder region and on North Kavirondo, though half-hearted
attempts were made to encourage cotton in Central Nyanza as well (Hay. 1972: 136).
These efforts were frustrated by a steady fall in cotton prices to the grower. from -
130 a pound in 1923 to -112 a pound in 1927 (Central Nyanza Annual Report, 1923. 1924-
27. DC/C).i 1/5/2, DC/eN 1/6/1 r The Commissioner, Nyanza Province. expected
instructions to drop cotton cultivation in his province: on the contrary. he learned that an
intensive propaganda campaign was to be waged in 1927 and 28. In his own words:
[ was under the impression that owing to the enormous world
overproduction and the consequent drop in prices. cotton
cultivation was going to be. dropped in this province, but
the Deputy Director of Agriculture recently informed me that
this was not the case and that on the contrary it was going to
be definitely encouraged. (PC/NZA3/3/12 - Dobbs to Chief
Native Commissioner 281h March 1927).
A failure of the American crop caused a temporary rise in prices. which in turn
led to greater confidence and increased cultivation in 1928 and 1929. In 1928 the crop
showed a record increase of 60 per cent over the pervious year's acreage in Central
Kavirondo (DC/CN 1/6/1 - District Annual Report, 1929:34). However. this
development ended abruptly when world prices fell again in 1930 and Nvanza farmers
were offered -/12 a pound or less for their 1929 crop (picked in early 1930) Many
refused to pick their cotton at all and greatly reduced their acreages for the 1930 crop.
Agricultural and administrative officers alike predicted that it would be extremely
difficult to maintain output in the near future (PC/NZA 3/3/1 1 - correspondence from
Commissioner. Nvanza, to colonial secretarv. u" Januarv. 1930).• J J
Agricultural officers first brought cotton seed in Siaya (especially: Asernbo,
Yimbo. Lyorna, Alego and Sakwa) during the second phase of cotton development
described above, probably between 1923 and 1924. During the initial years when cotton
cultivation was being introduced in Siaya. it was planted in communal plots along the
roads. This was to allow easy inspection by the colonial administrators as they toured the
locations. The communal cotton fields served as demonstration farms from which the
local people were shown how to cultivate cotton. Each sub-location had its own
communal cotton field and it was the responsibility of each respective mlango (headman)
t6 make sure that his people worked on their cotton fields as was required by the
government.
In an article, . Peasants and Rural Social protest in Africa', Isaacman has observed
that the imposition of cotton production in British colonies produced a similar set of
grievances and widespread covert opposition (Isaacrnan, 1990:35-36). Apart from its low
prices. delay in payment and the intensive labour it required, the Luo of Siaya were
., The Kenya shilling equals one hundred cents. thus -112 is twelve cents. not twelve pence.
lJfi
opposed to cotton cultivation because its planting season often coincided with the
principal food crops. They realised that if they actively engaged in cotton cultivation.
then it would be at the detriment of their principal food supplies In an attempt to deceive
the colonial administrators that the land was not suitable for cotton cultivation, the local
people often planted less than the required amounts. planted after the designated dates,
weeded fewer times and illegally intercropped cotton with food crops (Okello, 0.1.,
1998). Although most people in Siaya were reluctant to cultivate cotton, some of them
continued cultivating it (though not in large scale). Those who cultivated it normally
earned income from it irrespective of the delay in payment (Okello, Ojwang, Ornollo,
Sudhe, Ojwando. O.L 1998)
Cotton was also not popular in Siaya because of its price which was generally low
compared to that of maize. Yet the men who shaped agricultural policy had little
sympathy for the argument that low prices were a sufficient reason for not planting
cotton. Apparently they viewed continued cotton cultivation in the face of any odds as a
- sign of virtue and civilized economic behaviour. In 1930. for instance. the Director of
Agriculture noted critically that the fall in prices and 'the failure of the natives to
accustom themselves to market fluctuations' had retarded production (Kenya Department
of Agriculture. Annual Report. 1929. p. 34, DCIC 1/6/1). The agricultural files of the
Kenya National Archives are full of evidence that the steadily falling price was the major
reason for the general reluctance to plant cotton (Central Kavirondo Annual Report,
1925. DCIC;\) 61/6/1: PC'NZ.-\ 3/3/10 - D.C to Senior Commissioner. 3 November 1925
and ze'" January 1926).
<)7
Administrative efforts to impose economic innovations were frustrated not only
by shortage of staff and resources, but also by a lack of knowledge about the very system
which they were attempting to change. The officials who staffed the district and
provincial offices in Kisumu knew surprisingly little about Luo agriculture. Before the
first African agricultural census in 1950/51, officials would have been hard pressed even
to estimate the average needs of a Luo household in terms of land and cattle holdings,
grain production and so on (Hay, 1972: 140: Ndege, 1987: 170: Onduru, 1992: 79).
Even with thorough understanding of local agricultural practices and a foolproof
program for cotton cultivation, based on extensive crop-trials, the provincial agricultural
office could not have provided the advice and supervision necessary for all of yanza
province - an area of some. 9.000 square miles and a population of nearly 3 million in
1928 - with a staff of 3 Agricultural officers and 12 Native Agricultural Instructors
(Department Annual Report. 1929, p. 83).
Sugar cane growing was introduced in Central Nyanza by the colonial
administration as cash crop in the 1920 (DC/C~/1110.1955, p. 12). By 1930, two
factories had been established in Nyanza, one at Miwani (the Victoria Sugar Company)
and another at Muhoroni (the Muhoroni Sugar Company). Both factories were outside
Siaya. When sugar cane growing was initially being introduced, it was not popular with
Siaya people because they contended that it required a large acreage (DC/CN.I/4/2, 1929,
p. 47). The local people argued that if large acreage was put under sugar cane, there
would be no land for other food crops and livestock. Further. sugar cane growing needed
too much labour and it took more than a year to be ready for harvest. In spite of all these,
98
by 1930. sugar cane had become one of the most important cash crops in Siaya
(DC/C~ 1/6/3. 1937. p. 49) Its cash value motivated the people of Siaya (especially in
Gem. Lgenya and Lholo) to increase its production. In contrast with cotton. sugar cane
had a comparatively higher price and regular payment.
Omwogo (cassava) was introduced in Siaya by the government sometime around
the famine of Kanga and chwe kode in 1918-1919. Apart from this first introduction, the
district agricultural officials seem to have been little interested in spreading cassava
cultivation before 1930. Archival references to cassava are few before that date.
suggesting it was not a critical part of district policy. One is a letter from Senior
Commissioner of Nvanza, Dobbs, to all rrussionanes m the area, asking them to
encourage their converts to cultivate small amounts of cassava, sweet potatoes, and
buckwheat to have on land in case of famine (PC/NZA 3/3/17 - zo" April 1927). A 1938
list of the various food crops which the Department of Agriculture had tried to introduce
in Nyanza, both successful and unsuccessful, did not include cassava in either category
(Agricultural Officer Maseno to Senior Agricultural Officers. is" March 1938, in Ag.
I'
KSM 1/351)
Cassava's special advantage as a locust and drought resistant crop did not really
become apparent until the locust attacks and famines of 1931-32. Much like maize during
its early days. cassava was generally used as a snack during the 1920s. and not a starchy
staple. People ate it as they did potatoes - either roasted over coals, or boiled with milk.
Some tried to grind it and use it as flour. but did not like the taste. Many objected to the
crop at first because it required a lot of labour. with three or four weedings recommended
Jll=lIYIlTTil IIUI\'CD~ITV' Hlnlln"
during its growth (Okello, Ajuoga, and Osunga. O.I.. 1998). Once sweet potatoes,
introduced by missionaries in 1906, had become popular among the Luo of Siaya . it
became much easier to incorporate omwogo. for much of the planting, harvesting, and
food preparation techniques were similar. Agricultural agents capitalized on that
similarity in their propaganda appeals.
Hoping to improve local diets and to protect hillsides from erosion, the
Department of Agriculture began to distribute a variety of beans, cabbage, onion, and
tomato seeds in the late 1920s. They also made available seedling for various fruit,
wattle, and wood trees from their seed farm at Maseno. The trees were especially popular
because, for a number of years, they were given out free.
4.3. Changes in Agricultural Technology
The introduction of new agricultural implements In Siaya by the colonial
government brought about increased crop production. The most significant feature of
I'
technological change before 1930 was the rapid and widespread adoption of a succession
of new hoe-types. As opposed to the cautious acceptance of new crops. which usually
involved new tastes and years of experimentation to tit them into the system of land use.
crop rotation. and the allocation of labour. the advantages of the new tools were easily
demonstrated and quickly appreciated. The hoe with a fixed iron blade. for example,
allowed one person to cultivate a much larger area of land than he could with the wooden
hoe. It thus helped to offset the decline in soil fertility and in yields (Hay. 1972: 149).
100
Around 1900 most people in Siaya were still using the traditional wooden hoe
(rahava) and a fired clay blade hoe (nyar-imbo). Hay has noted that nvar-imbo was
mainly a preserve of the few rich cattle keepers who were able to purchase them (Hay.
197'2: 149) This is because they could break easily. a fact that made it not to spread far
and wide (Ngoha, 0.1.. 1998) ln the early 1900' s the people of Siaya began to import
iron blades from Uganda. This importation started with Jo-Lgenya and then later spread
to other parts of Siaya. These iron blades were tied onto the wooden "blade" of rahaya. It
was called nyar-ite (because the top of the blade protruded on each side like "ears") or
kasiri (Hay. 1972: 150) These first iron blades usually cost a goat or a sheep (Odhong,
O.L 1998)
The jembe, an improved version of the hoe, were introduced in the 1920s. They
could be obtained from Indian traders at Kisurnu, Luanda, Butere, Mumias. Ugunja, Sio t
Port, Lkwala, Siaya. Ngiya and Yala trading centres. Although jembe is the standard
Swahili word for hoe, in dholuo it is used only to refer to hoes with fixed iron blades
(usually a stake driven through the circular head of the blade) At the same time opanga
(rnatchet) had also appeared. The Luo used opanga (a longer iron blade with a wooden
handle at one end) for clearing the field while the jembe for digging or ploughing.
Opanga was also available in Indian shops. The early purchases of the new hoes are
generally attributed to jokapango (workers returning from Kisurnu. Nairobi and
elsewhere), to Christian converts from mission centres, to itinerant traders, and to
teachers who travelled outside Siaya in the service of the Anglican Church.
I()I
Ox-drawn ploughs were introduced in Nyanza Province around 1911. When
initially introduced. some influential people in the community such as chiefs were invited
to a government farm in Kibos to be shown how the ploughs were used (Onduru,
1992:82). And the first three ox-drawn ploughs to be used in Central Kavirondo District
were given to Chief Owili of Kano. Rading of Gem and Ondiek of Sakwa
(DC/eNIl /6/3). However. it was only until around 1930s that the influence of both the
ox-plough and hand mill began to be felt. They were too expensive for the great majority
of the farmers in Siaya. In most cases a group of people or clan could purchase one
collectively (Ragarna, Osino, Abungu. 0 L. 1998). It was only a few rich cattle owners,
chiefs. traders and wage earners who could afford them. (Taifa, 0.1. 1998). They were
purchased from Indian traders who settled at various towns and trading centres such as
Luanda. Ngiya, Butere, Asembo Bay. Murnias, Kisumu and Busia.
When the jembe was introduced in 1920s. some people in Siaya showed
preference to jembe because it was more effective for turning the soil and for cultivating
than the rahaya, nyar-imbo, and kasiri or nyar-ite (Ondanda, 0 L 1998). Further more, a
majority of the people of Siaya preferred jembe to the ox-drawn plough because the price
of jembe was affordable. However. the jembe and the traditional iron hoes were used
concurrently for a long time to come.
The introduction of new agricultural implements boosted agricultural production.
At the same time. their introduction had some negative effects. For example, the few
people in Siaya 'who afforded ploughs had the bad habit of encroaching on the neighbours
in extending the area under cultivation (Okurnu, OJ., 1998). The blacksmiths who used
102
to produce traditional hoes were gradually transformed. They continued to produce
traditional hoes as well as repairing both the jembe and the traditional hoes. The
introduction of ox-drawn ploughs also brought about economic differentiation as
Butterman (1979: 179) contends that those who owned ploughs were able to cultivate
larger acres. This enabled them to accumulate wealth. thus creating economic
differentiation. The fact that some people were able to obtain ploughs while some others
were not is in itself an indication of economic differentiation even before the effect of the
plough could be felt.
In pre-colonial Siaya. economic differentiation was already in existence. Wealth
was mainly determined by the livestock. agricultural products and wives one had. The
introduction of new agricultural implements by the colonial government not only created
economic differentiation among the people of Siaya. but also accentuated it. The
agricultural system of the people of Siaya was somewhat diversified but not substantially
changed by the end of 1930.
~.¥. The lmpact of Colonial Policies on Agriculture and the Societv
It is important to point out that colonial econormc policy was very largely
determined by the need to maintain the viability of white settler agriculture. This led to the
establishment of a new production system based on colonial capitalism and the
commoditization of production which began to demolish the various strategies used by the
people of Siaya to prevent food shortages and famines. The colonial administration set the
pace for this process in 1901 by emptying granaries in Siaya through the extraction of taxes
103
in kind. Later. tax payment in kind was halted and now grain had to be sold for money
which was paid as tax. Indeed, in 1909 Ainsworth wrote that the economic pressure which
increased with efficient collection of taxes was resulting in the stimulation of trade, the
expansion of land under cultivation and the introduction of production for export
(Ainsworth Special Report. Kisumu District Annual Reports 1905-6, and 1909). By 1930
instead of the people of Siaya storing huge grain surpluses. most of them were selling it for
money. This was one of the major drawbacks to the prevention of food shortages in Siaya.
Money was not synonymous with the availability of food. Given the fluctuation in the
market prices of food. the money obtained from the sale of crops could not always purchase
an equivalent of the food storage and famine prevention strategies in Siaya.
Apart from the need to pay taxes, the people of Siaya required money to purchase
the new agricultural implements and consumer items including clothes. bicycles, sugar.
salt. radios, jembe and soap. It was increasingly becoming fashionable, for example, to put
on the new cotton textile clothes (Apondi, Okwiri, Aboch. O. L 1998). This made the
storage of the grain for future use less effective. The commoditization of livestock and
grain also helped to accelerate the disappearance of the food security system.
Consequently. some households were left in a more vulnerable state to food shortages than
in the previous period.
On the other hand. Nyanza also became the largest labour reserve in Kenya. When
voluntary labour was slow in coming forward, ordinances were promulgated to empower
the colonial government to exact labour compulsorily for settler and public works.
Oginga Odinga has written of this:
IO-l
The District Commissioner issued labour quotas to chiefs
and headmen. and the chiefs were turned into labour
recruiters. Chiefs were subject to pressure and bribery to
exact more and more labour from their areas. and recruiting
methods became a major grievance among the people.
Chiefs or sub-chiefs. issued with an order for labour.
arbitrarily picked batches of forty men at a time from a
location. and had them signed up for six months work
contract under which it was a penal offence to decamp
(Odinga, 196723).
As early as 1906 the effect of this labour migration and taxation had begun to tell in
Luoland. The grain surpluses, mondo, which the men used to store in the past were no
more. A lot of livestock were sold to pay taxes while others had been confiscated during
punitive expeditions. It followed that should there be any crop failure there would be
trouble. as there would be no surpluses to fall back-on.
In 1906. when the November rains failed. the whole of the immediate Lakeland
was in the grip of a terrible famine, known as nyamgori, which killed hundreds of people.
By early 1907 the rains had not returned and native crops seemed to be much stunted in
growth (Nyanza province Annual Report. 1906-7). Meanwhile, the Nyanza Indian traders
had taken advantage of the famine to make money. They bought all the food surpluses
they could lay hands on and sold it very expensively. They succeeded to a certain extent
and this increased the scarcity of the grain (Nyanza Province Annual Report, 1906-7).
Very many people in Yimbo, Sakwa, Asembo, (Seme and Kisumu) died from this
famine. People travelled far and wide, to look for food. Indeed a meeting of Europeans in
Nyanza was called by the Acting Sub-Commissioner (P C.) to deal with the questions of
famine camps and relief works. In a neighbouring Luyia location of Bunyore, the scarcity
I():,
of food brought about a riot, "the inhabitants of which were attacked by the Maragoli
people. who believed that it was owing to Bunyore rain-makers that their banana had
failed" (Ochieng 1987 7). In Bukusuland it was reported that "the crops are in a helpless
condition owing to want of rain. The last crop of millet failed and the continuance of the
drought spoiled the wimbi crops "There is practically no food in the District" (Nyanza
Province Annual Report, 1906-07) Crop failure was also reported in the Kericho and
South Nyanza Districts, which had experienced prolonged drought and scarcity of food. It
is instructive that the Government had failed to monitor the deteriorating food situation in
the province in time. until it was too late And when they attempted to sell food to the
people they could not reach the majority due to lack of access roads. But despite the fact
that they had precipitated the 1906-1907 famine, through their policies and neglect of
African agriculture, the Government still blamed the Nyanza people for cultivating in the
usual superficial manner.
The nyamgori famine embarrassed the colonial government. From then on they
encouraged the people to grow cotton. simsim and maize as cash crops. The Government
established market centres at Yala, in 1908. at Homa Bay, Kibos, Kibigori and Karungu
in 1909. In 1910 other trading centres were established at Rangwe, Kaptumo and
Kericho. In these centres the people of Siaya, and other Nyanza people, sold their surplus
produce, mainly beans, simsim. ghee. eggs. millets, sorghum, hides and skins, groundnuts
and fish to Indian and European traders who exported them out of the Province. In
particular. sirnsirn. which was grown wholly in Nyanza, added more to Kenya's export
trade than any other single produce between 191 1 and 1913 (Ochieng 1987 7).
In6
After the 1907 famine there continued to be sporadic. localised food shortages in
various parts of Luoland. Indeed not a year went by without at least one location
reporting a food shortage. Although most such shortages remained minor. sometimes the
specter of hunger claimed lives. One such localized famines that claimed human lives in
Asernbo. (Serne and Kisumo) was the ke-opande of 1915 (the opande famine named after
kipande, the Native Registration Ordinance of 19(5). However. the next major famine in
Luoland was the kanga famine of 1917-1919 (named after the returning soldiers of the
World War I).
In Kenya droughts have always acted as catalytical precipitants of famines. while
the real causes of famines lie hidden in mistaken human policies and environmental
deterioration. British economic policies did not change in Luoland after the 1907 famine.
The British kept pressurizing the Luo to produce more cotton and simsim for export
while at the same time they stepped up recruitment of energetic men for public works and
settler farms. In fact it has been argued that John Ainsworth (the then Provincial
C6mmissioner) was to experience the emphasis on European agriculture in Nyanza not
through pressure for more land for settlement, but through settler demands for labour
(Maxon, 1980:218). Shortly after his arrival in Kisurnu, one of the periodic labour crises
that was to mark the rest of his career in East Africa occurred. At the root of controversy
over the labour question which developed in early 1908, as later. were the questions of
the extent to which the East African Protectorate' s administration should go in attempting
to safeguard the interests of those Africans who left their homes to work for settlers and
\07
the government, and in helping to provide such labour (memorandum by A.C. Hollis. ih
April 19808, encloser in Sadler to Elgin. Confidential, 8th April 1908).
In the period of World War L large numbers of Luos were recruited both for
Carrier Corps and Settler farms. In April 1916 there was also an increase in Hut Tax
(Nvanza Province Annual Report, 1916). To feed the soldiers in the war. Africans were
coaxed. or bullied, to sell their food surpluses to the government, and a lot of oxen were
bought out of native reserves for military transport and food. Livestock in form of goats,
sheep and cattle were continuously drawn from the province for the troops. With so many
young men living outside Nyanza province, and an increasing number of young people
now attending missionary-aided schools, rural agricultural labour was depleted. Women
and old men constituted the majority in the villages. The food situation in the rural areas
now needed only a little disturbance to turn into a calamity.
In 1916 the District Commissioner of Kisumu complained that extremely large
numbers of able-bodied young men were migrating from their localities. The District
C?ommissioner warned the government that this could easily lead to disastrous effects in
future development of local agriculture and on the developments in rural areas. Even
though his plea was not taken seriously by 1917 there was a big drop in crop cultivation
in the district (KNA: Kisumu District Annual Report. 1917-18). Early in 1918 some
27.784 more carriers were recruited from yanza for the military and a further 19,544
"voluntary labourer" were recruited for Government departments and private employers.
The Nyanza Provincial Commissioner. c.R.W. Lane was forced to admit in 1917-18
annual report that "agricultural efforts during the year were greatly hampered by the
109
withdrawal of large numbers of men for carrier corps" (K..'\iA:Nyanza Province Annual
Report 1918).
Earlier in August and September of 1917. 'excessive rainfall' had destroyed most
crops in the field. At the end of the same year the short rains failed to come. Maize,
millet simsim and beans - all suffered from adverse climatic conditions. It is no wonder
that by the end of 1917 most of Luoland was already in the grip of the kanga famine. To
worsen the already bad situation, mbeka (dysentery) also struck the land at the end of
1917. These two disasters raged onto 1918 'as rainfall continued to be below average"
(K:"JA: Nyanza Province Annual Report, 1918). This resulted into deaths of a large
number of people. especially those who could not be reached by government relief
agencies. One of the most seriously affected Luo locations was Yirnbo, in Siaya. At this
juncture Yimbo had not yet been connected by road to Kisumu town. People often
walked beyond sixty miles, to places like Samia. Luanda (Kamangongo), Kakamega,
Kisii and Nandi. to buy millet, maize and beans. Some jumped into their canoes and
crossed Lake Victoria to Uganda, in search of food and sometimes people died as they
I'
travelled looking for food (Arum, 0 L 1998) Most lakeside locations - Sakwa, Uyorna,
Asembo (Karungu, Serne. Rusinga, Kadern. Karachuonvo . Nyakach and Kisumo) were
badly affected. When food was not forthcoming people slaughtered their remaining
livestock for meat, which they ate with wild vegetables. Often fish was eaten without
kuon. The very poor perished.
Yimbo. however. experienced a quick recovery from the kanga, famine, when
thev resorted to cultivating sweet potatoes and cassava which they imported from
IO!)
Uganda. By mid 1918 people from Alego, Sakwa, Asembo (and Seme) were heading for
Yimbo to buy food But by 1919 most of Luoland was still experiencing famine. Very
little native produce was sold in 1919 due to food shortage throughout the year. The only
principal article of export was hides because rinderpest and East Coast Fever had taken a
steady toll of the cattle throughout the year. In the same year deaths from a number of
epidemics. including small pox, cerebro spinal menengitis, chicken pox and influenza,
were recorded in Luoland (K)IA: Nyanza Province Annual Report, 1919). By early 1920
famine had not abated. "more especially in the locations bordering the lake" (Kl\fA:
Nyanza Province Annual Report, 1920). By now the Luo had given the persistent famine
a new name chwe kode.
The colonial government responded to this famine by encouraging trade. Indian
and European traders were allowed to import food into the province and to sell it to the
people. More Indian-dominated trading centres like Asernbo Bay. dere, Kadimo Bay
(and Rangwe) were established. Luo farmers were encouraged by the government and the
missionaries to cultivate famine crops, such as cassava and sweet potatoes. A
considerable amount of hybrid seed was introduced and distributed during this period.
For example, in Central Kavirondo "700 loads of maize seed, 750 loads of beans seed,
and 60 loads of rice seed were sold to the Luo (KNA: Nyanza Province Annual Report,
1919). By the end of 1920 Nyanza had ridden out of the famine, as the Provincial
Commissioner. H.R. Tate. reported "magnificent crops in Native Reserves" (KNA:
Nyanza Province Annual Report, 1920). However. the British labour and economic
policies remained. Settler agriculture was still considered the backbone of the Kenyan
.economy. while the Africans remained mere suppliers of labour. Meanwhile, it should be
110
noted that between 1915 and 1919 Nyanza Province supplied about 200.000 workers for
civil work and war and over 5.000 herds of cattle (Hay. 1972: 125). According to B.A.
Ogot ( 1963: 258) about 1/3 of all the recruits for carrier corps died in the war field - and
returnees were disabled as they were weakened by diseases. Indeed. the District
Commissioner of Kisumu asserted that at least "one half would not be fit for hard work
again for a long time" (DC/CN 1/5/! 1916-17: 17).
Bv 1928 more than half of the able-bodied men in Luoland were estimated to be
working for Europeans. Even though some innovations in Luo agriculture did take place,
including the buying of ox-ploughs. water-powered flour mills. harrows and maize
hulling machines by certain wealthy individuals, such as Sijeny Otenga in Gem-Uranga,
agriculture in most parts of Siaya remained marginalized to wage labour. In so far as they
wanted to. or were obliged to earn a money income at all, the people of Siaya, and
Central Nyanza in general. found it on balance more lucrative, or congenial. to work for
hire than to exert themselves in cultivation. in particular cultivation of unfamiliar and
inedible crops such as cotton. Most farmers in Luoland remained subsistence farmers.
growing only enough surpluses to meet their immediate household needs. Indeed,
throughout the 1920s. the amount of maize. for example, railed from Kisumu for export
remained steady at around 10.000 tons per year.
However, Luoland also suffered from natural calamities. In the autumn of 1928
the desert locusts came from the north and ravaged the land, to repeat the process with
still greater efficiency the following year. The government was forced to set up a famine
Relief and Food Control Board with an initial capital of £200,000 to import maize to the
famine-stricken areas of the country. This famine killed a few people around the lake,
III
"but by now major market centres, such as igiya. Ndori. Kadimu Bay and. ldere were
able to supply those with money" (Swan, Ogalo. Omieno.O.I., 1998).
The general hardships of the period before 1920. famines of 1907, 1915 and 1918
and 1919, the rinderpest of 191 I and the widespread epidemics and other dislocations of
the war period, all made market activity and trade outside the market place a necessity.
There were trade links between the lakeshore areas such as Asernbo, Sakwa, Uyoma,
Yimbo and mainland areas such as Lholo. Alego. Ugenya and Gem. The commodities
exchanged were essentially the ones exchanged in pre-colonial times - Southern lake
fish, red meats, chicken, livestock in exchange for northern maize, sorghum, millet,
beans, bananas and sweet potatoes. Barter remained the principal means of exchange in
local markets. This trade involved mostly women. A group of men became full-time
traders between 1910 and 1920. Their trade was mainly in cattle. They travelled to South
Nvanza where herds were large and prices low to sell in Central Nyanza. Long distance
cattle trade was a new phenomenon among the Luo and many reknown cattle markets
later developed (for example. Akala in gem - Seme border and Kabungu in Uholo -
I'
Wanga border). There were also other traders who bought soap and salt from the Indians
and sold to the people or fish from the lake and then walked with the goods to the local
markets like Lwanda. L'gunja, Kamito and Siaya. This group of traders consisted of men
and women. This trade was done on foot and in groups (Jalang o-Ndeda, 1991: 130).
As we have mentioned, market centres were also established in places like
Sigornere in 1906. Yala 1908 and Asernbo Bay 1910. In the centres the Luo sold their
surplus produce mainly beans, simsim. ghee, eggs. millet; sorghum. hides and skins,
112
groundnuts, cotton and fish to the Indian and European traders who exported them out of
the province. Aladdin Visrarn. for example. started motor wagons in Gem. Yala because
of increase in simsim trade (~yanza Provincial Annual Report. 1907-1908). In return for
what they sold in the shop trade they got cloth, wire. blankets. knives. cups, umbrellas,
beads. pipes and secondhand clothes. They sold their items for cash and bought imported
goods for cash.
By 191 1 trade was on the increase as the economic requirements of the people
were gradually but surely increasing particularly those living near the market centres.
Indeed. as early as 1906-07 there was an increased demand for such goods as jaggery.
Lganda hoes. salt, Mwanza rice. Mwanza and Kampala ghee (Kisumu District Annual
Report. 1906-07. KNA). The introduction of markets meant that surplus value was
obtained through unequal exchange. The agricultural economy of Siaya was gradually
becoming surbodinate to the new economy
Migrant labour led to changes in the relations between men and women and
young men and elders. Absence of men meant that women now became more responsible
for the reproduction and the day-to-day running of the family Apart from cultivating land
and performing other necessary domestic chores women engaged in petty trade to
maintain their families (Cliff. 1978:339-342). Young men who were able to save their
wages to buy cattle and ox-ploughs now accumulated productive capital and marry wives
independent of the patriarchal control of the elders. 'Where once the old man was able to
control the economy of the home'. observes Whisson, .now the senior person relies
considerably upon the Charity of his children to maintain himself in clothes, and often
food if he has not got a young wife to cultivate for him' (Whisson. 1964: I 19-120).
Statistics are not available for Siaya, but it suffices to note that migratory wage
labour caused the spread of venereal diseases in the African communities by Africans
who had gone out on migratory wage labour. According to the Hon. AC Hollis, CM.S.
Secretary for Native Affairs. he noted:
a large number of Kavirondo had contracted syphilis and
other veneral diseases when at work, and the chiefs are averse
to the young men leaving their reserves and inflicting the
women also on their return (Native Labour Commission,
1912-1913. p. I)
The poor working conditions which the African labourers were subjected to,
caused poor health and death among the African labourers. In 191 1 and 1912, among
plantation workers at Mombasa, 140 per 1000 were seriously ill and had never been
treated (Van Zwanenberg. 1975106). Many of the workers were surviving on a poor
diet, under poor housing and sanitary conditions. The death of Africans at their places of
work. coupled with the large number of Africans killed during World War I, caused a
remarkable population decline of Africans (Wolff, 1974: 106). The first 30 years of the
British colonial rule in Kenya witnessed a significant population decline of Africans.
Between 1902 and 1903. the total population of the colony (population of Africans) was
estimated at 4 million. but by 1912, the population had fallen to below 2.5 million. It was
not until 1923-1924 that population increase started taking place. This was attributed to
the relative social stability of the post-war period, (Wolff, 1974: 106).
II .•
Although economic differentiation existed among the people of Siaya before
colonial rule. wealth was assessed by the large number of cattle and other livestock one
had. good harvest and many wives (0100. Omwombo, Odwesa, Oduor, 0.1.. 1998). But
the development of migratory wage labour introduced cash as a new factor for
determining wealth. Those who went out on wage labour were now being seen as a
special group of people. They were being referred to as Jopango or Jonanga. Some of
these people were generally respected because they were living a better life compared to
those who were only involved in crop production and livestock keeping at home. Many
of them managed to put up decent homes and also to educate their children. On the
whole. the colonial policies led to the underdevelopment of local agricultural production
in Siaya.
CONCLUSION
ln this chapter we have discussed colonial initiatives on crop production and the
responses of the people of Siaya. We have argued that in commodity production the
colonial policy was influenced by the need by the colonial state to get revenue and the
interests of local European settlers. The responses of the local people were, on the other
hand, influenced by pre-existing forms of production and the new obligations and needs
created by the colonial situation. The subordination of the colonial economy to the
capitalist requirements and also of local producers to European settlers. precluded any
positive economic development. Forces of production in Siaya were only partially
transformed by the introduction of new crops. iron hoes and ox-ploughs. This led to
quantitative increase in the surplus of crops and crop products. However, the persistence
of pre-capitalist forms of crop production meant that production was not qualitatively
115
changed. At the level of relations of production. the people of Siaya were marginalised
both internationally and within the colony. Among themselves there occurred economic
and social differentiation.
Finally. we have contended that the colonial policies were very largely
determined by the need to maintain the viability of white settler agriculture. This led to
the establishment of a new production system based on colonial capitalism and the
commoditization of production which began to demolish the various strategies used by
the people of Siaya to prevent food shortages and famines. This led to frequent colonial
famines in Luoland. Among the consequences of colonial policies were the
underdevelopment of local agricultural production. changes in position of women and in
relations between young men and elders. and exposure to new values and acquisition of
new goods. Participatory wage labour also led to socio-economic differentiation as it
offered some people opportunities for investment in commodity production and trade.
These changes however nascent they were in this early colonial period, were further
amplified in the later years of colonialism as are discussed in chapter five.
)
110
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0. THE AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORl\'IATION IN THE
PERIOD, c. 1930-1945
5.1. Introduction
This period is characterized by the intensive transformation of agricultural
economy of the Luo of Siaya. The famines of the 1930s and 1940s. the depression of the
1930s. the failure of the government's cotton policy in the 1930s, the discovery of gold in
Nyanza in 1931 and the emergence of World War II in 1939 are some of the major events
that impacted on the agricultural activities of the people of Siaya. This period was
marked by gradual decline in cash crop production; agricultural activity was relegated to
subsistence sphere. Local trade as well as migrant labour were increasingly becoming the
predominant means of acquiring a cash income.
5.2. Changes in Crop Production and Technology
By 1930 the state of local agriculture was already heading for a crisis. In 1931.
the Department of Agriculture declared the beginning of 'a long-range development
programme for native agriculture'. This declaration had two major components: a
comprehensive survey of potential economic resources in each area, and the formulation
of individual development programmes for specific zones. taking soil and climatic
variations into account and specifying the food and cash crops to be encouraged in each
zone (Department of Agriculture. Annual Report. 1932:20).
This new approach led to the replacement of technically "unqualified" agricultural
officers with trained men recruited under the Colonial Agricultural Scholarship Scheme
and the decentralization of the Department itself. Decentralization was accomplished by
putting a Senior Agricultural Officer in charge of all agricultural work at the provincial
level (Department of Agriculture, Annual Report 1933:82). Thus the Nyanza Senior
Agricultural Officer divided the province into ecological zones and drew up a program of
work which was put into effect in early 1933 (PCINZA 2/480, p. I - Ki'IA ). This program
of work was revised annually, but remained the basis for agricultural policy in the ,..
province throughout the 1930' s.
The general objectives of Central Nyanza program of work during the decade
inciuded the extension of cotton and groundnuts as the major cash crops and various
regulations to improve the quality of marketed crops. Officials also hoped to stop the
depletion of soil fertility in Central Nyanza by gradually persuading farmers to
consolidate their land and to implement programs of mixed farming (Agriculture: KSM
1/502, 1935 and 1937 - KNA). Agricultural officials were to encourage individual
,;
farmers to adopt the following measures: stone terracing, contour lines of grass. live
hedges on boundary ditches, reducing cultivation on steep slopes, better conception of
land ownership, windbreaks. contour ploughing and planting, stall feeding of livestock.
use of manure and compost as fertilizers. control of grass burning, increased tree
planting, and the mulching of crops (Hay. 1972: 197).
It should be noted however that the foregoing program demanded a large resource
base yet the Provincial Office lacked the resources and personnel to implement this
llR
program. In a 1939 memorandum on soil control in Nyanza, the Senior Agriculture
Officer noted that the program was still in its genesis. (Ag. KSM 1/502, Thompson
Memorandum, 1939:4-5). In practice, officials did too little too late until after World War
II.
In Siaya, the major expression of the government's new concern for agricultural
development in the 1930s was the intensified cotton campaign. Agricultural officials
accordingly launched a new, energetic cotton campaign urging increased production and
introducing the crop to a number of areas where it had not earlier been grown, pushing
the upper limits of the cotton area to 4600ft above see level. This expansion was signalled
by the appearance of new government cotton-buying stations at Ndere, Ngiya, Sega,
Sigomere and Yala (DC/CN 1/613, District Annual Report, 1935:6 and Agriculture: KSM
1/502, 1935). This policy eventually paid off for the district as a whole, as cotton
production gradually increased after 193 I. Prices for cotton also increased between 1933
and 1935. By 1936, Central Nyanza had become the chief cotton-producing district in
Kenya, surpassing even North Nyanza in acreage (Ag. KSM 1/370: Memorandum,
I'
1937:37 in DCINYl 4/1, KNA).
The return of cotton-growing in Siaya in the mid-1930's, at the height of the new
cotton campaign, focused once again on group cultivation. Group cultivation was chosen
because it allowed for easier inspection of rebellious farmers. Officials felt that such
control would be necessary until the people of Siaya accepted the fact that cotton was a
necessary adjunct to their livelihood (Agriculture:. KSM 11370, p. 12, Ki'iA).
119
The initial harvests were relatively good and opposition to the crop lessened
somewhat as the earnings were divided among those who had worked on the farms
demarcated by Agricultural officials in each location. A few individual farmers. even
began to experiment with cotton on their own farms. with the blessings of the officials
who were glad to provide them with seed. Later. however. harvests failed altogether or
were of inferior quality. or were damaged by excessive rainfall, hail, and pests. and
brought little or no money. Those pioneer farmers argued that the land was not suitable
for cotton. and they either abandoned their experiments or arranged for the use of land in
a more suitable location (Okwiri, Osir. 0.1. 1998).
While the introduction of cotton as a cash crop was a distinct failure in most parts
of Siaya during the 1930·s. crucial transformation was taking place with regard to food-
crop cultivation. Maize. both per capita consumption and acreages increased steadily at
the expense of sorghum because of a number of different influences. Maize proved to be
slightly superior to sorghum in terms of resistance to locust attacks, a characteristic which
increased its popularity following the locust invasions and resulting famines of the early
I'
1930·s. A larger number of people began to incorporate maize flour into their diets.
Individuals. particularly those who travelled to towns. began to purchase the small hand
mills which were available in Kisumu and other towns. and they allowed others to use
them for a fee. This was because women generally found maize to be more difficult to
grind than sorghum. Hand-mills were later followed by water-powered mills later in the
1930s. the first one having been introduced in the district in 1935.
120
The outbreak of World War II in 1939 created high demand for foodstuff '
particularly to supply provisions to the Allied troops in the Middle East and Ethiopia. As
a result. the colonial government encouraged greater production of food crops,
particularly maize and sorghum. It threw the entire staff of the Department of Agriculture
behind this effort. In January 1940 and. August and October 1942, the Nyanza Provincial
Commissioner and Agricultural Officer accompanied by the Central Nyanza District
Commissioner. toured all Siaya locations in the district. They held barazas in which they
exhorted local people to trebble the cultivation and sale of food crops without delay
(Monthly Intelligence Reports 1939-1945 PC ZA/31l/439). A requisition order for the
buying of maize and sorghum was made and those who failed to comply and refused to
sell their produce were threatened with legal sanction (Central Nyanza Annual Report
1941 DC/CN/1). The Kenya Farmers Association (KFA) was the sole buyer of all surplus
produce. In theory. both African and European farmers received the same. fixed price for
their maize. but in practice. African farmers received considerably less than their
European counterparts through a series of deductions from the price paid (Fearn
1961157-162).
I'
Even with these discriminatory practices. prices to the growers increased steadily
during the war and were fixed in advance for each season by the Maize and Produce
Control Board established in 1942 The volume of maize exports from Nyanza Province
increased from 22, 387 metric tons in 1937 to 58, 110 metric tons in 1945. Maize
production itself accounted for almost the total increase in export earnings during the
same period (Hay. 1972:205: Onduru. 1992: 103). Maize continued to increase in
121
popularity after World War II. to the dismay of agricultural officials who began to worry
about diversification.
As a food crop. maize possessed the great advantage of maturing in a shorter
period of time than sorghum. It could be grown in both the long and short rains' cycles;
and thus offered greater security against crop failures in anyone season. In the long run,
increased maize cultivation spread the burden of agricultural labour in peak periods.
Furthermore. it could either be kept for food or readily sold in local markets or trading
centres. depending on whether the demand for food or for cash was more pressing. The
maize market has always been much more certain than that for sorghum because of the
ever-increasing demand for maize in towns and other rural areas in Kenya (Fearn,
1961: 165). Except for local trade in times of famines and the government purchases
during World Wars [ and II. sorghum was used "solely as food or for the preparation of
beer for internal consumption" (Senior Agricultural officer. Nyanza, to seed specialist,
Turi. 25 August 1945. in A.g. KSM 1/676. K.N.A.).
Inspite of its prestigious status as a food crop and its clear advantages as a cash
crop. however. maize had not supplanted sorghum in local diets by 1945. Thus while
most people expressed a preference for maize flour they continued to plant both. The
reasons for this include considerations of economic security. a desire for a variety in the
diet and the influence of traditional values.
The 11)60/0I acreages were Maize. 210.800 and sorghum. loO.SOO. African Sample Census. 1960/61. [I.
pp. :':'.
122
Il~MV4TTlllNl\1ERSITY lt8RARY
Sorghum requires less rainfall than maize and thus does better in a dry season.
Maize requires a higher nitrogen content in the soil. so that sorghum produces better
vields on tired soils. and will not accelerate deterioration of the soil at such a rapid rate.
Since sorghum can easily be ground at home, and maize cannot, a household with less
money will prefer to have sorghum on hand (Oluoch. 0.1. 1998). Furthermore, sorghum
is more nutritious than maize. with a higher content of protein, vitamins and mineral salts
(Hay. 1972:207).
The adoption of famine and locust-resistant crops like cassava and sweet potatoes
and the gradual decline of crops which required a high level of soil fertility was another
characteristic of agricultural change between 1930 and 1945. Cassava in particular
steadily increased in popularity, because of its drought-and pest-resistant qualities and its
ability to produce good yields on soils of low fertility. and because it can be left in the
ground for periods of up to 3 years and harvested only when needed (Johnston, pp. 106-
112) A factor which further enhanced its popularity was the fact that it could be dried,
ground into flour, and then added to sorghum flour or maize flour in preparation of kuon
"
- thus stretching the available grain supply.
The locust attacks and famine of the early 1930' s such as Bonyo and Otwoma famines
and the Otonglo famine of 1943 vindicated the efforts of those pioneers who had begun
to plant cassava and sweet potatoes in the 1920's. These people found themselves in
possession of a much-valued commodity and managed to profit from their neighbours
misfortunes (Musewe. Musa. 0 L 1998). During the famine of Otwoma in 1933, for
example. the Government distributed maize flour free to the very poor who were
identified to the Government by the headmen in Siaya. The rest of the affected people in
Siaya District and neighbouring locations depended on cassava and potatoes grown in
Alego, Lolwe and North Ugenya. Traders from Alego and Ugenya brought the crops to
markets such as Akala, Ndori, Aborn. Bondo and Nyamonye (Odero-Ogwel, 1983 :28-
30).
The increased use of cassava was due in part to the activities of agricultural
officials who distributed large bundles of cuttings during both famine periods and carried
on a propaganda campaign to encourage their cultivation. In this they received
considerable support from the missionaries at Maseno and other stations (Department of
Agricultural Annual Report, 193662; DC/CN 1/6/ L 1931: 42 - KNA). The role of
returning workers - especially those from Uganda - in spreading the popularity of
cassava was still important after 1930. By 1936 the Director of Agriculture could
announce that cassava had become staple food in Siaya as well as many areas of yanza
Province (Department of Agricultural Annual Report, 1936:62).
The cultivation of sirnsirn, and pumpkins began to decrease before World War IL
along with the general decline of soil fertility. for all of these crops had fairly high soil
nutrient requirements. Cassava had replaced these older crops ( goha, Ondanda, Otweyo,
Odipo. O. L 1998) The gradual drop in the price of simsim during the 1930s was also a
factor (Department of Agricultural Report, 1934:91). As in the pre-1930 period.
individuals could still obtain vegetable seeds and tree cuttings from the Local ative
Council Seed farms at Maseno, although these did not become a common practice until
after 1945
12.+
The policy of maximum production during the war years led to a state of agrarian
crisis in Siaya. Increased crop production had been encouraged without improvement in
agricultural techniques. This led to soil degradation and erosion. This situation was
exercebated by the fact that although the use of ox-ploughs had become more widespread
than before. people had never been adequately trained on their proper use. Fields were
ploughed down hill. making it easy for rain water to wash away top soil. Farm boundaries
were turned into big gulleys (Othwila, 0100. 0 I., 1998). As soil became exhausted due
to overuse and erosion. and as better land was brought under cultivation. weeds -
particularly striga - invaded the fields and competed with crops for the already depleted
plant nutrients. Crop pests became more rampant. inflicting untold damage to crops.
In contrast to this state of affairs. European agricultural production was better
coordinated and planned by a Board of Agriculture. In this sector. production
committees were formed during the war in each district to approve schedules of crops to
be planted and sold to avoid the disastrous consequences of overproduction (Odero-
Qgwel, 198332). The European settler sector~ therefore. emerged from the war in a better
state than the African sector. the contribution of whose production continued to be
regarded as fortuitous and unstable even in the years that followed the war (Low and
Smith. 1976259).
When World War II ended in 1945. the Director of Agriculture blamed the
underdeveloped nature of African agriculture on the conservative colonial government
itself which was responsible for it. He also reiterated the virtues of paternalism. In his
position:
125
The African in Kenya has not yet arrived at the level of
education, which enables him, of his own accord, to plan his
agricultural economy successfully. He has little knowledge
of farming practices, no means of gauging the effects of
external factors on his economy. In this case, therefore, it is
essential, that his general farming policy shall, to a large
extent be dictated to him in the light of the experience and
knowledge of the officers of government responsible for his
welfare. (Odero-Ogwel, 198335)
It was this attitude that characterised the colonial policy of increasing food
sufficiency and the conservation of soil in African areas during the post war period. The
Troup Commission which compared agricultural prospects in African and European
sectors recommended in 1952 that serious agricultural development such as would
produce large marketable surpluses should only be undertaken in European settler estates
(Low and Smith, 197626) It was not until after the recommendations by Frank
Swynnerton came out in 1954 that the need of greater capitalisation of Africans was
considered. But this was only undertaken in the late 1950' s in Central Province, where
land consolidation had been carried out and individual farm owners granted security of
land tenure. In Siaya, where inheritance customs in land ownership and land~
fragmentation continued to characterise land tenure, such prospects of agricultural
development were precluded.
The period between 1930 and 1945 saw the spread and the gradual incorporation
of the new implements which had first been introduced before 1930. By 1945 most
people had adopted the iembe and abandoned the use of the wooden hoe. The increased
level of money in circulation which reflected the expanded possibilities for wage
employment and the development of trade and marketing allowed more people to hire an
126
ox-plough-team to plough at least one of their fields. or to pay for the use of the h~
mills and water-powered mills owned by a few Africans who had accumulated wealth
either through wage employment or crop production. An example of such wealthy people
was Zepheniah Abungu, the chief of Uholo location, who had purchased an ox-plough. a
hand mill and water-powered mill from Mumias. The water-powered mill was installed in
the River Wuoroya, a tributary of river Nzoia (Otiende, Ondanda. Othwila, 9.I., 1998).
Many of their first customers were among the long-term labour migrants, and they had>"•....
the cash to pay for ploughing services, partly because their extended absences from home
made it difficult for them to assume their normal share of agricultural operations,
primarily the clearing and first digging of the fields. In this way the custom grew up of
"working with money" (tivo gi pesa) - that is. fulfilling one's customary labour
obligations by hiring others to perform the task. For many people. however, ploughing
was still a luxury by 1945. and it was not universally practiced even after 1945
Thus the developments to crop production and technology that took place
between 1930 and 1945 were essentially the spread and gradual incorporation of
numerous innovations first introduced in the early twenties. The overall effect of these
changes was to reduce the investment of labour in agriculture and in food preparation,
and to confine the position of agriculture in the subsistence sphere of the local economy.
The labour power saved in this way was then reinvested in other activities considered to
be more productive. such as wage employment outside the district. and trade. These
patterns of labour allocation. set by 1945. have almost entirely remained dominant since
then.
127
5.3. Migrant labour and the underdevelopment of agriculture in
Siaya, 1930-1945
In a broad sense. the colonial labour market was much freer during the 1930' s
than it had been in the previous decade. Government priorities had been reversed to some
extent: in the colony-wide financial crisis of the early 1930's, potential African
contributions of export crops began to seem more important than the constant supply of
African labour for European plantations. On the other hand the depression itself had hit
many European farmers badly. and as a result, their labour needs dropped sharply. From
1929 to 193 I. for example. the total number of Africans employed on European holdings
dropped from 125.885 to 104.120. largely because of the collapse in the world sisal
market and the subsequent closing of a number of estates (Department of Agriculture:
Annual Report. 193148-49). The colony as a whole apparently went through an
unemployment crisis during the early 1930' s . with more would-be African labourers
than jobs with European employers. In Central Nyanza District, however. the
development of gold-mining operations made a significant impact upon the local
I'
economies by providing labour opportunities for hundreds of Africans (District Annual
Report, 1936:39-40. DC/C~.1/63).
In 193 1 the locusts returned to Nyanza, destroyed crops and precipitated the
Bonyo famine of that year. From 1931 to 1934 there was a disastrous drought in Kenya
(Harlow. et ai, 1965223). The drought led to several crop failures in Luoland, which in
turn led to the otwoma famine in 1933. Again, the most severely hit were the Luo
locations immediatelv around the lake. The government distributed maize flour tree to
128
the very poor who were identified by the headmen. The rest of the affected people in
Siaya District depended on cassava and potatoes grown in Uholo, Alego, Lolwe and
North Lgenya (Odhiarnbo, Ogada, Oduor, O.L 1998). Traders from Alego and Ugenya
brought the crops to markets such as Akala, Ndori, Yala, Aborn, Bondo and Nyamonye
(Ochieng. 1987'12)
These famines of the early 1930' s had several important consequences for the
people of Siava. They gave a new burst of life to trade and to local markets, as people
sought to exchange stock for food supplies. But they also emphasized the importance of
regular wage labour as a means of setting aside small cash reserves in case of future
famines.
The world depression of the early 1930s. though generally swallowed up in the
disaster of the great famines. indirectly impacted on the local economy in at least two
ways. The new policy of government intervention in African agriculture, marked
especially in Siaya by the second cotton-growing campaign, originated in the official
realization that a stable economic future for Kenya would have to be based on the full
development of the colony' s resources. African as well as European. At the same time.
the generally low level of prices for cotton and other cash crops during the 1930s made
much of that campaign a failure. In the short run. low prices reinforced the determination
of the Luo of Siava to cultivate crops which were staple foods as well as revenue
producers. while in the long run, they affected a growing commitment to wage labour as
a more secure means of fulfilling cash needs than surplus agricultural production (District
Annual Report. 19325-6: District Annual Report, 1933:7-8. DC/CN 1/6/2. K),iA).
129
The beginning of gold mining In Nyanza provided critical job and trading < I
opportunities after the years of famines and depression. Gold was discovered in
Kakamega in 1931 which ushered in the beginning of the gold-mining industry in Nyanza
(Fearn, 196126). But the first period of goldmining industry in Nyanza began in 1934.
The main gold-mining areas in Nyanza Province included Asembo, Uyorna, Sakwa,
(Serne and Micalder Mines in South Nyanza and Kakamega in North Nyanza). About
6.000 people in Siaya were employed in the various mining industry within the province
(DC/CN.I/I/1. 1935137-138) The outbreak of World War II brought the gold mining
epoch to a close in late 1939. as the young European operators volunteered for military
service or were called to Nairobi for wartime duties.
Meanwhile, in the period prior to the depression, the problem for the settlers had
been to get enough labourers from the African reserves. But from 1929, the reverse
became almost entirely true. The decline of export crops forced the settlers to disemploy
labour since they were not able to pay labourers. The onset of the depression caused
serious economic constraints to the Africans who had become dependent on wage labour.
I'
The number of Africans in employment in Kenya declined drastically from 160. -D5 in
1927 to 132.000 in 1932 (Onduru, 1992: l33). Clayton and Savage (1974: 175) have
observed that even though by 1933 the number in employment had begun to rise to
14 I. 000 and thereafter annual increases brought the total up to a monthly average of 182,
964 in 1938. this could not cope up with the increased population. They note that
throughout the decade supply exceeded demand.
Thousands of Luo employees from Siaya were declared redundant and forced to
return to the villages. They embarked on crop production and actual production of most
crops increased sharply with the return of labour and the problem that consequently
developed was how to sell what could easily be produced (Agriculture: KSM 11370, p.
14. ~'\iA). For those Africans who remained in employment. the problem was even
worse. The depression made wages to be slashed by 50 per cent from the 1929 level
(Stichter. 197595). Thus declining wages, unemployment and the price decline of some
agricultural commodities were the main features of the depression. This resulted in the
increase of small bands of labour seekers in towns which accentuated vagrancy and
burglary. A large number of male labourers from Siaya who were declared vagrants were
repatriated (Musewe Okinda, 0 L. 1998).
The immediate need to defend Kenya from Italian invasion. when World War II
broke out. led to a tremendous expansion of the King' s African Rifles. Throughout 1940.
1941 and 1942 the Nyanza Provincial administration was pre-occupied with nothing but
obtaining recruits and supplies for the Army. The people of central Nyanza were again
required to contribute foodstuffs. cattle. money. labour. and above all. their men. in the
service of European war. Many Luo men believing that they would be forced into the
Army. opted to leave Nyanza on their own to seek work on settler farms. By the end of
1941. some 91.218 men from yanza were working outside the province. In that year
some 5.131 young men from Nyanza were recruited to the Army (Stichter. 197597). In
the same year a lot of foodstuffs. including 553. 771 bags of maize. 27.126 bags of
finger-millet. 65.000 bags of sorghum and 12,679 cattle were exported from Nyanza to
meet the war effort (Ochieng. 198: 107-108).
UI
In 1942 it was estimated that some 95.000 young men from Nyanza were working
outside the province. In the same year another 544.446 bags of finger millet and 483 tons
of fish were bought by the Government (Nyanza Province Annual Report, 1942). Here
was a situation in which the Government was depleting both labour and food surpluses
from the province. without paying any attention to the province' s food situation.
The attractions of military service. including the payment of regular 'family
allowances' which were sent into the reserves, and a cash grant of some £25 paid to each
soldier on demobilization, brought a number of the people of Siaya into the army who
had not previously been employed outside the district. Thus the experiences of gold
mining and Kenya African Rifles both enlarged the group of men who became part of
the regular labour force.
World War II, like World War I was also accompanied by a major famine. The
long rains in 1942 were too heavy. and floods destroyed most of the crops. Then at the
end of 1942 the short rains failed when already Nyanzas food surpluses had been
disposed of by the Government. The following year the province was plunged into one of
the grimmest famines it had ever experienced (DC/CN.I/6/5. KNA). This famine of the
1943-44 is known locally as the famine of Otonglo. the ten-cent piece. because the
shortage of food and resulting inflation of prices meant that the smallest unit of money
accepted in the market went from the two or three-cent piece up to the ten-cent piece
(Ochieng Obudho. O. L 1998) This famine and its effects lingered on until 1945. Indeed
the Food Shortage Commission of Inquiry was set up by the Governor in 1943 to
investigate the cause of this disastrous famine which had also affected large parts of
1~2
Kenya. In an apologetic letter to the Chief Secretary in January 1944, yanza s
Provincial Commissioner. K.L. Hunter. blamed the 1943 famine on the Provincial
administration's inabi lity to estimate accurately the already vastly increased rate of food
consumption in the province. He observed: "as late as October 1941 attention was
apparently directed to arranging for disposal of a surplus rather than forestal a shortage of
maize" (Ochieng, 198713).
This food shortage during otonglo famine was an eloquent testimony of the harsh
conditions generated by the war. Hundreds of people in Nyanza Province died due to the
famine especially in Asembo. Uyoma (Seme and Maragoli), The colonial government
responded by suspending conscription temporarily. A Reserve Food-Stuffs Committee
was set up and empowered with purchasing and distributing food supplies to the
localities. But this was a little too late. Moreover, transport system was underdeveloped
and as a result it was difficult for some areas to get food. It is amazing that the colonial
government was not concerned with the root causes of the problem. It is true that other
factors could have contributed towards the food shortage but the male absence from the
localities was a factor which could not be overlooked. The colonial government needed to
be concerned with how the present or existing female labour could be effectively utilised
or even realise that female labour was already stretched to the maximum and find a
solution for the male labour migrant system. Instead in October. 1942 the colonial
government began to question lack of involvement by women in war work. L.D. Owen' s
response is appropriate here:
Women in the reserves are not able to do what is generally
counted as war work, because owing to the absence of so
many men from this reserve. the field work and the upkeep
IJJ
of kraals. and even the care of cattle. increasingly devolves
upon the woman. All the millet which this reserve has
produced. not to speak of other food such as eggs and
chicken. etc. could never have attained the bulk it has
without the hard work of thousands of women and girls
(LO Owen's letter to D.C CK. October 1.3.1942, K A).
Women were faced with added responsibilities. Most of them had to face these alone
because most kraals or homes were left without even a single man although this was not
the government policy in the initial stages. At least one man was supposed to be left in
each homestead but as years went by. men were conscripted indiscriminately until certain
homes had no males left in them. It was the war and the essential undertakings, but not
the African communities from which labour was removed. that concerned the colonial
government (Jalang o-Ndeda, 1991: 192)
Towards the end of 1943. the government realised that cereals production during
the short rains was below average in some areas while in others it was a failure. Alego
was one area that experienced complete crop failure. They did not suffer from lack of
to,..od immediately because they bought from neighbouring areas but the position was
going to be more serious in April, May and June 1944. The Africans were encouraged to
plant sweet potatoes so that they could have a reserve food supply form April onwards
the following year In West Alego the local people were cultivating sweet potatoes on the
Eastern fringes of the Yala swamp. There was still need to extend the cultivation to all
the fringes of the swamp. In Kadimo, sweet potatoes were already being planted in the
L senge area North of Kadimo Bay and also along the Yala River. But this could also be
extended (\Letter from E.W. Godwin Agricultural Officer - Maseno to the D.C CK. 201h
November, 1943 K="iA). Bearing in mind the paucity of males due to labour migration the
~ ~?JVATT41t.IPJFr\~1 I
labour utilised to plant the famine resistant crops was female, moreover the planting of
root tubers. traditionally. was the domain of women (Ochieng. 1987: 14: Jalango-Ndeda.
1991.197)
[n 1944 there continued to be a food shortage in the locations of Central Nyanza
demonstrated in the tables I I and 12 below.
Table 11: Food Shortage in Central ~vanza
Location Area Estimated
population
Kadimo
Sakwa
Lyorna
Asernbo
Alego
Seme
Practically all the locations
Kapiyo and Wayendhe=West Sakwa
Okela and Rachar
Omia sub-location
Kadenge. Muwer and W Alego generally
All area below the road from Awach to Paw Akuche
7,200
20,000
700
I.700
25,000
20.000
TOTAL 56,600
Source Extracted from Figure 13 of Jalang o-Ndeda. 1991: 197.
The government was very concerned about famine relief and was selling grain to the
local people. In March 1944 the following amount of grain was taken to the
undermentioned centres and placed in cotton stores as given in the table below.
Table12 : Amount of Grain taken to Centres as placed in cotton stores
Kadenge
Kombewa
I. 000 bags from Yala
450 bags from Yala
300 bags from Kano
130 bags from Yala
200 bags from Kano
I00 bags from Yala
66 bags from Kano
Bondo
Kadimo
Source Nyanza Province Annual Report, 1944.
It was estimated that the grains would provide five weeks' relief. These were sold every
Wednesday and Thursday and 450 bags were to be sold per week for 14 weeks between
April and July A bag of wimbi was to cost 15/50, and a bag of mtama and maize was to
cost 14/-. In other words, food was sold at two shillings a debe. The food price could only
be kept low if the government provided food at a fair price and in sufficient quantities.
The involvement of the local Indian shop owners or middle men would have meant
exploitation not only of the situation but also of the meagre resources of the people.
By 1945 conscription had caused large numbers of men to leave their homes and
consequently their production. On the 31<1 of December, conscription was withdrawn.
People had become so hesitant to work that by 281h February, 1946 the government was
stating that all must work for the achievement of any form of development. The
government stressed that " ... constant propaganda should be undertaken to emphasize the
necessity of each individual by his work contributing to the development of state." This
recommendation was formally accepted by the government in sessional paper No. 2 of
1945 dated 161h May. 1945. It stated:
It is. therefore. a permanent and pressing duty of the
administrative officers to impress upon the inhabitants ..
that government regards it as essential that all able bodied
men shall work either in their own lands. in their own
businesses. or in outside employment. It is the duty of
administrative officers in cases where surplus able bodied
men are living in idleness to formulate scheme for minor
communal services e.g. land improvement and soil
conservation.
But the irony was that the Nyanza 'reserves' were already depleted of the able bodied
males. The few who remained were regarded as living in idleness if they did not get
outside employment. From the post-war period to the mid-1950s. there was a significant
expansion of the economy. particularly in the private sector. This caused an increasing
number of Africans to leave their locations in search for employment. The labour
Department Report of 1947 noted:
Intact. neither secondary industry. nor agriculture outside
the Native Land Units could absorb a very much larger
proportion of African labour than they do today.
From the foregoing, we can advance some observations. It is our observation that
colonialism through its economic and labour policies created a crisis in local agriculture.
Civil and military conscription accelerated the tendency to remove labour from
agriculture and invest in outside employment. The interference with agriculture
eventually resulted in acute shortages of labour in Luoland. Acute labour shortages also
contributed to the famines in Luoland. During the war. famine did not mean total
shortage of food everywhere. Sometimes food could be found in a neighbouring territory
but the inability to import caused the problem because the transportation and marketing
1~7
systems were underdeveloped and as a result food could not reach these isolated
communities in time.
On the other hand socio-economic relation between men and women changed.
There was increased responsibility for women regarding the reproduction and the running
of daily affairs of the household. Women cultivated land and engaged in trade to maintain
their households.
It is this economic division of the household between katich (Work place) and
dala (reserves) that was one of the means through which women were made to subsidize
the development of the European economic sector. The impact on women was that they
were left as the foundation of subsistence sector. In other words, the traditional
subsistence sector (pre-capitalist mode of production) and modern sector (capitalist mode
of production) were existing side by side, as a product of capitalism. The pre-capitalist
mode of production were not to be destroyed but only to be marginalised. Through them
women were to provide food for the family. Men who were mostly engaged in wage
labour were to be paid low wages to allow the modern sector to accumulate more capital.
The low wages earned by many African male labourers rendered them incapable of
buying some basic commodities. Jalang 0- deda has rightly observed that:
The function of (domestic) agriculture was to be viewed
(by migrant labourers) as holding an opening. It was to
continue providing the basic elements of subsistence food
for the familv in the rural areas and often for the absentee
labourer it guaranteed him a home and a place in his
community which could be activated when necessary
(Jalang o-Ndeda, 1991: 166)
138
It should be noted. however. that there existed migrant workers who were
employed under long-term basis in good places such as the railways and other
governmental departments. These workers received relatively better wages and send
money to their parents and wives at home to hire labour during planting seasons. In
Siaya. most of them were found in areas in proximity to the mission stations such as
Sigomere. Arnbira, Rangala and Ngiya. They had to cultivate strong cultural ties with
their families at home so that in case of lack of employment or retirement they could
return to the rural area. However. these remittances were quite irregular since the
African worker themselves did not own post office boxes and also a man hardly send
money to his rural family on a monthly basis. For example. in 1936 a total of £ 176.000
was paid as wages to Luo migrant workers. Only £25.000 was sent to the reserve in form
of goods. postal orders or in cash as a result of wages received outside the province and
in 1938 the amount was about £26.000 (PC 'lA.ld L 1936: DCIKSM.1I36/38. KNA).
It is. therefore. suffice to conclude that the family back in the reserve could not depend
on remittances due to their unreliable nature.
Migratory labour caused the gradual decline of the once valued tradtional
communal work. saga. As the people of Siaya attached more importance to cash as an
exchange value. it meant that there was no longer free labour. but labour was now to be
exchanged with cash. What should be noted is that saga is still in existence, but at a
marginal level. It can till be organized. but not as popular as it was in pre-colonial
period.
lY)
Important changes also occurred in the social concepts of agriculture and its
relations to economic security. The proliferation of opportunity for wage labour, together
with failure of cotton as a high value cash crop. and the constant food shortages.
produced the conviction that labour export was the most profitable allocation of resources
and certainly the most secure. Culturally. the land was no longer such a feasible means of
acquiring wealth as it had been in the past. By 1945 a large number of the people had
come to feel that the only real economic security lay in some form of education and long-
term wage employment outside home. The function of agriculture was seen as a holding
operation. It was to continue providing basic elements of subsistence food to the family
in the rural areas and often for the absentee labourers as well, guaranteeing him a home
and a place in the community which could always be activated when necessary. In other
words, the aim was to avoid having to spend cash for any needs which could be provided
locally (Jalang o-Ndeda. 1991 :207: Onduru, 1992:63).
Conclusion:
In this chapter we have discussed how colonial policies transformed agriculture in
Siaya between 1930 and J 945. We have emphasized that colonial economic and labour
policies were influenced by the needs of metropolitan capital, the need by the colonial
state to get revenue and the interest of local European settlers. The responses of the Luo
of Siaya were. on the other hand, influenced by pre-existing forms of production and the
new obligations and needs created by colonial situation. In other words. by 1945 the
varied institutions in Siaya were undergoing change as a result of both internal societal
dynamism and external factors, specifically colonialism and its attendant institutions.
1.+0
We have contended that low prices of cash crops such as cotton discouraged Luo
peasants from cash crop production. Consequently, some of them were forced to seek
wage labour as an alternative financial source. In the process there was a shift of labour
from the rural sector (pre-capitalist mode of production) to the settler sector (capitalist
mode of production). Migratory labour indirectly undermined African attitude towards
agriculture as a means of production and survival. The increasing opportunities for
employment, coupled with crop failure and poor harvest, produced the conviction that
wage labour was the most profitable and certainly the most secure. Civil and military
conscription accelerated the tendency to remove labour from agriculture and invest in
outside employment. This interference with agriculture eventually resulted in acute
shortages of labour in Luoland which in turn contributed to the famines in the area.
The study has also demonstrated that the household was not virtually distorted.
That the household survived as the basic unit of production and reproduction in Siaya is
no doubt since the sustenance of the community still remained in essence. the task of the
household. Despite the exportation of labour to meet colonial demands, the household re-
organised its labour patterns to make up for the absent members. We have demonstrated,
for example, that there was increased responsibility for women regarding the
reproduction and the running of daily affairs of the family. Women cultivated land and
engaged in trade to maintain their families
The colonial government had neither the will nor the power to totally displace the
household production and self-sustenance as this would have become counter-productive
in economy. The pre-capitalist modes of production were not to be destroyed but only to
l-ll
be marginalised. Through them women were to provide food for the family. Men who
were mostly engaged in wage labour were to be paid low wages to allow the modern
sector to accumulate more capital. The low wages earned by most African male labourers
rendered them incapable of buying some basic commodities. In other words, the
government encouraged, through direct and indirect methods, greater local commodity
production at a controllable level within the capitalist production set-up. Thus, the
households were not set free to excel in production and accumulation and grow too
powerful economically so as to disregard colonial labour demands. Despite this some
local farmers accumulated wealth and bailed themselves out of forced labour.
The commoditization of labour power, the colonial labour demands and the
necessity to work for wages to pay taxes were part of the process of articulation where
the pre-capitalist institutions were modified, restructured and conserved to operate within
and for the benefit of the new capitalist production system. That the basic structure of
administration and production (institutions) remained is a clear witness to the necessity to
use pre-capitalist structures to function within the new economic system. It is this new
economic system that enabled the enterprising individuals to accumulate more wealth
than the rest of the community thereby en-gendering socio-economic differentiation
amongst the people of Siaya. In the final analysis, it should be remembered that
colonialism through its economic and labour policies created a crisis in local agriculture
of Siaya.
1.+2
CH.-\PTER SIX
6.0 SClVll\'IARYAND CONCLLSION
This study purposed to analyse how colonialism transformed agriculture in Siaya
upto 1945 It has been argued that agricultural change was brought about by changes in
forces and relations of production during the colonial period. The colonial administration
played a primary role in the incorporation of agriculture of Siaya into the colonial
capitalist system. In the process the colonial economy disturbed. partially destroyed and
then restructured local production and exchange through commodity production. wage
labour and trade: and finally. the colonial economic system led to socio-economic
differentiation among the people of Siaya.
The agricultural changes which took place were the result of the incorporation of
Siaya into the capitalist economy by the colonial state. This event brought about new
stresses and opportunities to which people continued to respond. The colonial political
structure was a system of control whose chief purpose was to ensure the security of the
colonial state for its organisation of the people for participation in the colonial economy
and its supervision of the transfer of surplus to Britain. Colonial institutions such as
chiefs and headmen. local councils and the system of taxation and labour expropriation
were the major instruments in this exercise. A new situation was created whereby
people's agricultural activities were no longer undertaken independently but in line with
the needs of the colonial capitalist state which represented the interests of local European
settlers and expatriate traders.
The incorporation of the people of Siaya into the colonial economy through
commodity production led to partial changes in the pre-existing forces and relations of
production. In the forces of production. there occurred changes in the variety and quantity
of crops grown by local farmers and also in the technology they used. In the relation of
production. the division of labour. the purposes for which what was produced was put,
and how surplus was extracted and distributed. and finally, the reproduction of producers
were all considerably altered.
In commodity production, the colonial state encouraged. mainly through coercion,
the local production of greater surpluses of traditional crops such as sorghum and millet
and also of those it officially sponsored like maize. simsim, groundnuts and cotton. As a
result, there was dramatic increase in the quantity of marketed crops as people sold these
produce to pay tax. As local markets were established and as new needs such as iron hoes
(jembe), ox-ploughs and clothing arose. production ceased to be mainly for use value.
Surplus produce for exchange increasingly acquired prominence. Population increase also
led to more land being brought under cultivation.
Increase in commodity production was made possible by changes in technology
as imported iron hoes and ox-ploughs were incorporated and used side by side with
traditional small-bladed iron hoes which did not disappear by the 1940s. The new
agricultural implements increased physical efficiency in production. Imported technology
led to the gradual transformation of the traditional industrial skills. particularly the
manufacture of iron tools. In the process. traditional craftsmen were increasingly engaged
144
in both manufacture and repair of traditional implements and repair of imported hoes and
ox-ploughs. and other domestic tools.
But the quantitative Increase In crop production was never accompanied by
appropriate techniques in agriculture due to lack of adequate extension agricultural
services. Agricultural services were confined to the settler areas. There was no need for
the capitalization of local production through technical and organizational improvements
of production so long as the people produced sufficient quantities of commodities
required by the capitalist state. As we have seen. this led to the deterioration in soil
fertility which led to a relative reduction in crop yields per acre. African production
continued to be organised on ·traditional· methods and remained vulnerable to drought
and crop diseases. Prices for commodities and wages for labour which was, to a large
extent, requisitioned by force. were kept low as the costs of the reproduction of both the
producers and wage labourers were transferred to those aspects of the local economy
which remained intact. This arrangement was economically and politically convenient for
the colonial state but it precluded local economic development. Further. the
~administrative emphasis on crop production gradually led to the predominance of
agriculture over livestock keeping. This undermined the balance which had existed
between the two forms of production during the pre-capitalist period. Other economic
activities like hunting of wild animals and gathering of fruits and roots which were
significant during the pre-colonial period also declined as bushes were cleared for
settlement and crop production.
The transformation of production from use-value to exchange-value also led to
changes in the division of labour within and among households. Whereas before the
advent of colonialism people worked in their fields just long enough to satisfy their
subsistence requirements, during the colonial period they were forced to work for longer
hours to produce surplus for sale. Also, due to the general absence of males from their
homes to places of wage labour. domestic farm work, and even the herding of livestock,
which had been traditionally the work of men, increasingly became the responsibility of
women. It is also true that the participation of men in crop production was made more
regular by the gradual use of ox-ploughs which required more physical effort.
Furthermore, as each household became increasingly concerned with its own well-being,
and as labour became monetarized, the traditional cooperative work, saga, declined. It
was replaced by paid labour as the more prosperous farmers hired labour at a cost
(Abudo, Okoth, O.L 1998).
Commoditization further led to the marginalization of the producers. Although the
entire colonial economy occupied a position which was marginal to the capitalist system,
within the colony itself. the African (farmers) sector became increasingly subordinated to
that of the European settler farmers. It became what may be described a sub-economy
Through commodity production and deepening market relations, the Luo of Siaya came
to serve capitalist development by offering cheap labour. cheap food and markets for
profit-making goods from Britain. Like African farmers in other parts of Kenya their
'ultimate security and subsistence [lay] in their having certain rights in land and in the
labour of family members on the land, but who were involved, through rights and
obligations, in a wider economic system which included the participation of non-farmers'
1.+6
(Arrighi and Soul. 1974:407; Shanin. 1982) At the levels of both production and
distribution they became internationally related to Britain and locally to the European
settler farmers. a relation which was based on economic exploitation and political
domination.
Participation in a wider economic world as commodity producers led to a
transformation in the people' s cycle of reproduction. Defining reproduction as 'the
renewal from one round of production to another of the social and technical elements and
relations of production among producers . Friedmann (1980: 162-163) has argued that for
it to occur. the means of production must be renewed and the social product distributed
among those who labour and those who control the means of production in such a way
that production must recommence in its previous form'. According to the author. the
transformation of reproduction takes place when it is undermined and some of the old
elements of production are recombined into new ones. Among the people of Siaya such
transformations did not occur in the actual ownership of land as everyone possessed it.
but in the size of family land holdings. which varied from household to household.
As we have also seen there was decline in the fertility of land. Livestock also
became scarce and more costly. New and more expensive implements of production. iron
hoes and ox-ploughs were also introduced. The prices of surplus produce. which had
acquired an exchange value were low relative to the imported commodities. All these
increased the cost of production and decreased real returns to labour. The people of Siaya
found it increasingly expensive to entirely renew their means of production. to adequately
buy farm inputs. procure wives. rear children. eat a balanced diet as they sometimes even
141
sold their subsistence requirements. This pathetic situation which emerged has been
described as . imple reproduction squeeze' (Bernstein. 1979 427).
Nevertheless. commodity production offered an opportunity for new forms of
accumulation to a few people. Those who owned large pieces of land. oxen and ox-
ploughs were able to produce greater quantities of surplus whose returns they reinvested
in further production and other forms of economic activities. Some of them even hired
and paid labour to work on their farms. lt was these people who bought milk separators.
ox-drawn cans and established water mills. They also entered trade in grain. hides and
skins and cattle. They owned shops and built. mabati (iron-roofed) houses. The more
adventurous ones bought lorries and entered transport business. These new forms of
wealth were indications of the Siaya farmers' economic and social differentiation.
Commodity production had direct effects on the social organisation of the local
people. For instance. in pre-colonial Siaya, there existed a strong social bond among the
people. The unmarried young men depended on the elders who provided the bridewealth
I'
for them. But the development of commodity production meant that the young unmarried
men were capable of getting their own cash either from agricultural production or wage
labour. The result was that they no longer depended on the elders for the provision of the
bridewealth as they were capable of raising it. Consequently. they no longer held the
elders in high esteem as before. This weakened the hierarchical social structure of the
people (Ngoha, Orawo, Apondi, 0100. O. I.. 1998).
I.+R
Ir has been demonstrated that many men were leaving the rural areas for the
labour areas. What was the cumulative effect on the rural economy of Siaya of this
prolonged large scale involvement of men In rural rnigrancy? Jalango-Ndedas
( 1991304) response that it takes little imagination to perceive the disastrous effects of
such migration on agriculture is appropriate here. Indeed. the effects were widespread.
Critical to the impact of the absence of male labour was the nature of the agricultural
system: the first consideration being the centrality of the male role in the system and the
extent to which the labour of the women could substitute the male economic roles" An
important aspect of agriculture that was crucial was how much human labour input was
required by the particular crop under production or farming. When so many men left the
areas" this meant that their agricultural responsibilities were left to the women. In
agriculture this meant that either new ground would not be broken for long or there
would be no agricultural expansion or women would undertake to break new ground. The
resultant break in the division of labour definitely meant an increased burden for women.
In Siaya, most women managed for a while, to keep production up. despite loss of male
labour. through the co-operative work party-saga- in the early years. The saga which was
fundamental in the early years began to assume a different stance in later years and in fact
was not widespread in many areas after 1945.
However. in the lake areas of Lvorna, Yirnbo, Asembo and Sakwa women opted
for trade. They walked long distances in groups to local markets all over Siaya and
sometimes Kisumu District and even Western Province to sell their wares in exchange for
< In chapter two the agricultural responsibilities of the males are clearly stated c.g. breaking ground.
cleaning of bush.
grain and other badly needed items. In fact. this trade was not the domain of women
whose husbands were away. but also included everybody who had the need for cash
money and even men could be found within their ranks. There was also a group of men
who became full-time traders. Their trade was mainly in cattle. They travelled to South
~yanza where herds were large and prices low to cell in Central Nyanza. Long distance
cattle trade was a new phenomenon among the Luo and many reknown cattle markets
later developed (for example. Akala in Gern-Serne and Kabungu in Uholo-Wanga
border). This trade was a strenuous engagement that carried with it a package of lasting
effects on the health of participants. for example, swollen knees and ankles and severe
back aches (Jalango-Ndeda, 1(91314).
Kitching (1980: 14) argues that Africans in Kenya adjusted easily to the labour
demands from colonial government due to the fact that in the pre-colonial time, labour
time of both men and women was underutilised in both quantitative and qualitative sense.
The quantitative underutilisation made it possible to redistribute labour time within the
population so as to create a new division of labour: the African could release labour
I'
power which they did not need in rural areas to be utilised in other forms of production.
Concerning the Luo families whose young men were long distance migrants, Kitching
concludes that they rarely needed to replace the labour lost before 1918 (and indeed upto
1(30) because those involved were family members who were least involved in family
production (cultivation and husbandry) even in the pre-colonial period. Kitching
disregards the fact that the choice of men was determined by chiefs. headmen and later
private recruiters who in most cases had no regard for one' s position in the family so
even heads of families went out to work in the pre-1918 era. Again. hut tax was paid by
150
all who owned houses. so if a man lacked the means. head of family or not. he had to go
out to work. Further. the 1914 and 1918 wars took any male regardless of whether he was
a family head or not. Consequently. by 1918 the impact of male labour migration was
already felt by the entire Siaya community
Kitching further states that before 1930 the distribution of African labour time had
not yet started - the spare capacity had not even began to be utilised so migrant labour
could not have any major impact on agriculture. The expansion of women labour time
alone was primarily responsible for the commercialization of African agriculture.
Specifically in Nyanza. women could even hire labour to replace the men. In the main
they filled the gap by their own labour. Qualitatively as Hay (1982) posits, they were
aided by the hiring of replacement the purchase of improved agricultural implements and
the remittances sent by husbands. This was the ideal that could not be applicable to all
areas of Siaya. Kitching sees 1930-40 as the period marking the downward trend in
agricultural development made obvious by the decline in the marketed surplus for Central
Nyanza perhaps due to male labour migration. Our observations in this thesis, is that
I'
while the impact on agriculture of male labour migration became obvious in later years of
colonialism. it was felt all over Siaya much earlier than this by the individual families.
Generally, the migrant labour system brought about decline in food production
and health conditions and paradoxically made impossible the development of a cash crop
economy. Robbed of the labour power of men folk. there was a staggering deterioration
in the productivity of Siaya over the years (Jalango-Ndeda. 199 I :315). The decline was
even more obvious and vivid when compared with the improvement in productivity of
\.:'\
the white farms in adjacent areas (next to Kano and '\iyakach). The system, therefore.
prevented socio-economic structure from undergoing radical progressive change: also to
defend itself. to survive. the Luo society reacted by reinforcing those aspects of their
traditional structures. which enabled them to survive this impoverishment. This
impoverishment in turn reinforced the push effect on certain elements within the society
reproducing the conditions of emigrations.
On the whole. although the local people' s responses to and participation in the
colonial economy were undertaken within the limitations imposed by the colonial
situation, they played a significant role in determining the transformation of the local
agricultural economy Their engagement in the economy was influenced by the pre-
existing forms of production and relations of production and, also, the new obligations
and needs created and imposed on them by the colonial situation. People's entry into
commodity production. wage labour and trade did not result in the transformation of the
entire fabric of the pre-colonial Luo society. They produced for cash to pay taxes and buy
other requirements for reproduction, but they also continued to produce to meet their
I'
subsistence needs. Land continued to be owned on the basis of kinship although this
ideology increasingly became confined to the family. Family labour continued to be used
in production although a few rich people subsidised family with hired labour. As people
had access to land those who were engaged in wage labour did not become a fully
fledged proletarian class. Differential responses to and participation, in the colonial
economy led to socio-economic differentiation among the people of Siaya. The local
agriculture that emerged during the colonial period was underdeveloped.
152
1. Akevo.
2. Akur (Akuru).
.., Aliya:J.
4. A 1111' (A luru):
.:; Ambururu.
6. Apamo:
7. Apedha.
8. Apoth.
Y. Atipa.
GLOSSARY
A kind of green vegetable.
Dove
Smoked meat
A small species of bird
A sting
The great rinderpest of 1890s
Small-scale hunting
A kind of green vegetable (Corchorus olitoriusi
A variety of green vegetable (Asystassia
schimperia)
10 .. Awendo. A big species of bird
I I . Bel: Sorghum
12. Bo. A kind of green vegetable (rhus vulgartsi
13. Chwe kode Famine of 1919
14. Chwiri (chwtr): The long rain season
15. Dala: A homestead
16. Dek: A kind of green vegetable (Gnandropis gynandrai
I-.Dhoillo: A dominant culture and language which has been acquired
and adopted by the diverse people inhabiting Siaya.
18. Dolo A ceremony organised once in every year by the
head of the homestead to celebrate the prosperity In
livestock keeping
19. Dwar.
20. Gunda hill'
Large-scale hunting
Homestead surrounded by trenches for protection
against cattle raiders.
21. .Iadak: A tenant
22. Jatend-dwar. Leader of a hunting group
is. .Iemhe (Gembe): A western imported iron-hoe
2-1. Jodak: Tenants
., - .Iokakwaro: Those who shared the same biological father•. ::Y.
Hi. Jokapango (Jopango):Those who went out on wage labour
.Iopiny: The owners or citizens
28. Kanga. Famine of 1918
29. Kasir (Kasiri). Traditional iron-hoe
30. Ke-otonglo: Famine of 1942
31. Kimirwa (ich-simba). Born out of wedlock
32. Kipande Identity card
33. KWUIl: A type of stiff porridge made by mixing
corn meal with boiling water - or - bread made
from corn flour
34. Kwot: A large hield
35. Lihaya (Rahaya). Traditional curved wooden hoe
36. Lupo. Small scale fishing
37.lvlallYllr (Manyuru). A newly initiated person into adulthood by
the removal of six teeth from the lower jaw
Also refers to a woman who has just given
birth.
38. Misumba (Msttmba): A servant
39. Mhof.[G
Mondo40.
41. Moso
42. MII/()
43. Nako:
44. Napo:
45.
46.
Nyiego
Obwoch alando.
47 Obwoch oruka,
48. Obwolo:
49.0dar:
50.0dwa:
51. Ofuadho tojalo).
52. Ogungo:
53. OnYII/o:
54. Upon:
55. Oro.
A kind of green vegetable
A special garden for the head of the
homestead or produce from that garden
Traditional method of cattle-lease or lending
A kind of green vegetable
The practice of removing teeth during
initiation
Large-scale fishing usually by traditional
fishing baskets or nets
Rivalry among co-wives
A kind of edible mushroom tTerrytomyces
rabuori)
A variety of edible mushroom
(Terrytomyces microcarpas).
Mushroom
A strong wood used for making wooden hoe
(Lihaya or Rahaya)
Our house
Matchet
A big species of bird
A type of green vegetable
The short rains season
Dry season
155
SA:\'IPLE QUESTIONS
Question Guideline
General [nformation
"iame ------------------------------ Sex: ----------------------
Sub-location: -------------
Marital Status: -----------
Clan: -------------------------------
Age: _
Amount of land owned: ----------
How the land was acquired (first occupier. inherited. or bought)
Number of different pieces of land owned: -----------
Types of crops grown _
'\iumber and types of animals kept _
'\iumber of dependants _
Pre-Colonial Agricultural Economv
I I' What forms of land ownership existed among the Luo on the eve of colonial
conquest') How did people acquire land in the pre-colonial period') Were there
any landlords or a group of landless people in your community before the colonial
period')
How did your people allocate land for vanous types of use e.g. cultivation.
grazing and hunting') Who had the right to allocate the land') How were a
person's rights to land protected?
.3. What crops did you grow" What items or crops did they gather tram nature')
What were your planting and harvesting seasons')
-t. How was agricultural produce stored and how was it appropriated" Did your
households always have enough to eat" If not. how did they supplement their
crops" What was their main food"
:; Are there any remembered famines among your people" If so, what were their
causes') What measures did the people take to curb food shortages during
drought. locust invasion and periods of famines')
6. Did your people have established means of predicting calamities') What were the
consequences of remembered famines on the community"
7 Did your people keep animals" If so, Which ones did they keep" Which ones did
they hunt? How did the individuals acquire animals or increase their herds" How
were the animals grazed and protected from enemies')
8. How did vour community organize their labour')
9. Were there specific jobs for categories of people') Was there any form of
payment of labour amongst your people." [f so, how was it paid')
Did your people have any form of exchange" If so. with whom, and In what
commodities') What was the medium of exchange"
1 I. Were there trading centres" Was there a group of people specializing in trade. If
10
so, why') If not. whv not" Colonial Agricultural Economy )
I.'iX
Colonial Agricultural Economv
12 What economic and agricultural changes did the British bring in the area? How
did they affect the people' s land ownership and usage') How did land alienation
affect the people')
13. Were the alienated lands settled on by your people prior to the coming of the
British?
14. How did the introduction of new crops affect agriculture in your area') Did this
introduction of cash crops affect food production? Which of vour people's
indigenous crops still existed by the end of World War II,
15 How did your people sell their crops or farm produce') How fair were the
transactions to your people') Did your people take any initiative to produce more
food to sell to the British colonial officials? If so. what were the colonial
government's efforts to boost trade in food crops?
16 Did there emerge an indigenous group or groups of traders') What obstacles or
prospects did they encounter?
17,. Did the British establish any agricultural farms in Siaya? If so, what agricultural
activities were they engaged in')
18. Were there efforts made by the colonial government to increase food production
among vour people') What were the government' s etforts to increase cash crop
production? Did trade affect production of food in any way')
Io How did the British colonial rule affect the labour organization of the people vis-
a-vis animal husbandry and exchange activities? How were individual roles in the
societv affected?
1:'9
20 Were there any imported British and Indian goods among your people') [f so,
name them. Apart from these where else did other goods come from') What
were their effect on your technology. industry. trade and agricultural production')
21 How did the introduction of taxes and 'Kipande' affect your people') How did
your people pay their taxes, offer their labour. and maintain agricultural
production at the same time')
")1 How did the World War rand rr affect your people's agricultural production')
23, [n what way would you say your people benefited from colonialism') What were
its bad effects as far as your people' s agricultural economy was concerned')
24 Was there a group of people or individuals that accumulated wealth and land
during the colonial period') If so. what was the economic and social status of
these people or individuals prior to the coming of the British')
160
SOURCES '-\~D BIBLIOGRAPH"-
1. ORAL INFORMANTS
~AME PLACE ESTll\'1ATED INTERVIEW
AGE DATE
Lucas Ondanda Magoya. Lholo 88 loth-13thFeb/ 1998
Jared Okumu Magoya. Lholo 70 14th-16th/FebI1998
Patrick Oluoch Ondanda Magoya. Lholo 65 1ih-18th/FebI1998
Michael Onyalo Arnbira, Lgenya 75 19lh /Sept/1998
David Obudho Lrnala. Lgenya 67 2211d/Sept/ 1998
Ochieng Obudho Alego. Kadenge 63 18th /July/ 1998
David Okoth Alego. Ngiya 56 :Wth/July/1998
Pitalis Ongor Magoya. Lhoio 73 19th-20th/Feb/ 1998
Lienora Ngoha Magoya. Lholo 80 21't-2I1d/Feb/1998
Ochola Othwila Uyundo. Lgenya 74 24th/Sept11998
Peter Ochiel Anyiko. Lgenya 63 26th/Sept/1998
Mark Ogowo Sirnenya, Lgenya 71 28th/Sept1l998
I' Philip Otweyo Masat. Lgenya 58 4th_6th/Nov/ 1998
Ambrose Omollo Gem. Lranga 66 8th/Aug/ 1998
Dorina Orawo 59 9th_I I th/Aug/1998
Teresiah Asiro Magova. Lholo 90 24th-26th/FebI1998
Domtila Ogowo 73 ..+th_5th/April/1998
Margaret Apondi 62 6th_18th/April11998
Jonathan Okwiri Alego. Obambo 68 7th_9lh/April/1998
Okelo Aboch NdoriAsernbo 77 6th_7thlOeC/1998
KENYATTA UlnVERSITY· LfBRARY
Elias Okello Magoya. Uholo 61 9th- loth/ Apri II \ C)c)8
Mary Ang awa Akoko. Sakwa 64 ISthfOec/1998
Judith Aoko Gem. Malanga 70 1ih /Augustl1998
Ziporah Ajwang Nyamira, Sakwa 72 3rd-4thlJune/1998
Zebedo Odawa Ndori, Asembo 58 8th_9thfOec/1998
Fmcis Mangongo Lriya, Uholo 82 11th_13th/April!1998
James Arum Gem. Marenyo 66 13th_25th/Augl1998
Arum Pala Gem. Uriri 76 24th_25th/Augl1998
Oluoch Ofisa Uriya, Uholo 77 23rd _25th!April! 1998
Beatrice Ovolo Sega, ugenya ~~ 26th_28th!April! 1998
Olwenda Sudhe Sigornre, Lholo 60 4th-5th/SeptIl998
Joice Owiny Asango, Uholo 72 6th/Sept/l 998
Michael Ojwang Sifuyo. Ugenya 59 1ih/Sept/ 1998
Mananda Osir Kathieno "A". Ugenya ~~ 4th_6thfNov/ 1998
Paul Dande Ngunya. Ugenya 65 8th_9th!Nov/ 1998
I'
Ochieng Odhong Gem. Uranga 7~ 28th_30th/Augl1998
Veronica Swan Mbosie. Uholo 66 9th/Sept/1998
Martin Ogola Alego, Uranga 73 1ih -13th/Oct/ 1998
Lucas Ojwando Gem. Dudi 67 4th_5thlJuly/1998
Chrispin Omondi Uriya. Uholo 60 I Ith/Sept/ 1998
Dorcas Othieno Masat, Ugenya 77 loth_11th ovll998
Pamela Musewe Alego, Ndere 80 14th-15th/Oct/1998
Vitalis Ogowo Sidindi. Ugenya 53 13th/Nov/1998
102
John Okono Rangala. Ugenya 58 14th_15th 'ov/\998
Francis Aringo Alego. Mbaga 63 23rd -26th/Oct11998
Anastasia Odhuong 0 Arnbira, Ugenya 57 2Ild _3rdl Aug/1998
Andrew Nvalwenge Gem. Ahono 69 2Ild -4th/Oct11998
Kepta Sijeny Gem. Ahono 74 5th-6th/Oct/1998
Meja Okinda Sakwa, Bondo 58 6th_8th1June/1998
Joseph Ougo Alego, Nyadhi 62 7th-9th/Oct/1998
Akongo Abura Kagonya, Ugenya 56 4th_5thl Aug/1998
Andrecus Okelo Magoya, Uholo 68 13th/Septi 1998
Lienora Odindo Gem, Yala 80 6th- fh/July 1998
Livingstone Opondo Gem. Yala 58 8th_9th/July 1998
Thomson ~dege Ndori, Asembo 56 11th-Ith/Decll998
Rose Ralak Gem. Yala 68 Ith-15th/July/1998
Jenifer Rapudo Nyakenya, Lgenya 71 6th_fhl Aug/1998
Johannes A..rudo Tingare, Lholo 69 15thlAug/1998
I' Peter Meda Ndenga, Ugenya 68 8thl Aug/1998
Paul Ofwenya Gem. Dudi 78 I6th/July/l 998
Oduor Ong wen Bonde, Sakwa 57 loth-I thIJunell998
Daudi Ombung Gem, Malanga 63 I fh/July/1998
Samson Otieno Ndori, Asembo 70 I4th/Deci I998
Christopher Omitha Alego, Kadenge 58 19th/Julyll998
Geofrey Onyango Alego. Ng' iya 55 20th/Julyll998
Zacharia Bodo Akoko, Sakwa 63 16thIDec/1998
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PCINZAJI17 1911-1912.
PCINZAJI/8 191.3
PC/J\iZAJI1I7 1922
PCINZA;1/18· 1923
PCINZ:V I121 1926
PC/J\iZAJ 1122 1927
PC/J\iZAJ I123. 1928
PC/J\iZAI I124. 1929
PC/J\iZAJ I125 1930
PC/J\iZAll 126 1931
PC/f\iZAI I127 1932
PC/f\iZ:\/i 13 I • 1936
PC/)\iZ.-\J f /32: f937
PC/J\iZ:VI/35. 1940
PC/NZ.-V1/36. 1941
PC/J\iZ:V 1/37 1942
PC/J\iZ.-V 1/38 1943
PC/J\iZ:\; 1/39 1944
PC/J\iZA/ I140 1945
10'+
PC/"\,iZAllll Central Kavirondo District Annual Report 1905-1906
PC ~ZA; 1/4:
PC':-iZA/I/8
PC':-iZAlI/9:
DCICNIl/6/2: Kisumu District Annual Report
DC'C)j/1/6/4:
DCC~/1/4/2:
1909
1913
1914
1913
1917-1918
1919-1923
DC/KSW 1/41 Central Kavirondo District Annual Report 1929
DC KSMI I128/20 ..
DC IC)j/1/613:
DCKSl'vV 1/4/6
DC/CN/I/613 :
DCIKSl'vVI/6/4: ..
DCKSMJ I1417: .•
DClC~/ 1/615:
DC'KSl'vV 1/17/ 16 Kisumu District Annual Report
DC/KSl'vV17/17
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DCIC)j/313: Central Kavirondo Political Record Book 1899
DCIC)j1312: Kisumu District Political Record Book 1909
DC'C)jI3I3: Kisumu District Political Record Book 1910
1933-1934
1934
1935
1937
1938
1938
1939
1944
1945
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105
DC/C0I"/3/4: Kisumu District Political Record Book 1912
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DC/KSMI 17/ 18
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Lndertakings
Labour Recruitment
1939-1940
1934-1942
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Native Labour Commission Report. 1912.
Northey Circulars. nrd October 1919.
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_151h iovember/Ivtv
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