A history of the military tradition of the Jo-Ugenya, C.1700-1920

Abstract

This is a study of the military history of the Jo-Ugenya. It is also intended to be a contribution to the African military studies in general. It attempts to explain the preponderance of warfare that oral tradition and written sources frequently mention in respect to the pre-colonial history of the Jo-Ugenya.

Chapter one encompasses a definition of the problem and of the area study; a review of the literature; a statement of the objectives, justification and significance of the study a description of the methodology used in the collection of data; and a formulation of the theoretical framework against which the data was interpreted. In other words, the chapter constitutes, essentially, the introduction to the main body of the thesis.

Chapter two tries to unravel the origins and foundations of the Ugenya military tradition. A tradition can be defined as the sum total of a community's way of doing something. The chapter tries to identify the characteristics of the military tradition of the Ugenya and the historic circumstances within which they were molded and crystallized.

Chapter three discusses the wars that the Jo-Ugenya fought with their neighbours and attempts to put them in a chronological perspective. In the chapter, the wars with the Iteso, Buhkayo and Marachi in north Ugenya, and the Abakholo clans, the Marama, Wanga and their allies in south Ugenya are discussed. The changes that occurred in the military tradition of the Jo-Ugenya as a result of these wars and other threats from the immediate neighbours are portrayed.

Chapter four is devoted to the wars between the Jo-Ugenya and the Arab-Swahili and, later with the British stationed at Mumias.The chapter discusses the challenges to the Ugenya military tradition that these new adversaries portended. The challenges had a profound impact on the Ugenya military tradition, the consequences of which are identified and analysed.

Chapter five discusses the methods that British administration used to neutralize the indigenous military tradition of the Jo-Ugenya. It shows how the British succeeded in transforming the tradition to suit the demands of their new, colonial order.

The conclusion is essentially a summation of the major findings of the study. The argument is that a military tradition is molded by historical factors, and that it changes from time to time in order to accommodate new circumstances. The changes which occurred within the Ugenya military tradition as a result of the inter-play with other indigenous military traditions, confrontation with the Arab-Swahili, and with the British are recapitulated within the context of the theoretical framework adopted in the thesis.