Songs and dances among the Abagusii of Kenya : a historical study Evans Omosa Nyamwaka To cite this version: Evans Omosa Nyamwaka. Songs and dances among the Abagusii of Kenya : a historical study. History. 2000. dumas-01332864 HAL Id: dumas-01332864 https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-01332864 Submitted on 16 Jun 2016 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. SONGS AND DANCES AMONG THE ABAGUSII OF KENYA: A HISTORICAL STUDY SERA EMU in vl FRA0011008 0 7 / 0,31 o,5 BY Y A . 76. NYAMWAKA EVANS OMOSA A THESIS SUBMITTED TO GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS OF EGERTON UNIVERSITY August,2000 11 DECLARATION AND APPROVAL This Thesis is my Original Work and has not been presented for award of a degree to any other University. Signature fvJ Date RO\ g ZDOC) NYAMWAKA, EVANS OMOSA This Thesis has been submitted for examination with my approval as the Candidate's Supervisor. Signature Date LJ— PROF. MWANIKI H.S.K. iii DEDICATION DEDICATED TO MY DEAR FATHER, SAMUEL NYAMWAKA OINGA, MY DEAR MOTHER, SIBIA KWAMBOKA NYAMWAKA AND MY BROTHER, GIDEON OYAGI iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I wish to thank our heavenly Father for having created me and exposing me to the world of intricacies whereby I have encountered several experiences which have shaped me to what I am today. Praise be unto Him, the creator of heaven and earth. Secondly, I wish to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to the many individuals and institutions who gave me a lot of assistance in the production of this work. As far as institutions are concerned, I wish to thank Egerton University administration for having offered me a chance for Post-Graduate Studies. My thanks also go to many other Universities such as Kenyatta, Nairobi and Moi for allowing me to conduct research in their libraries. I owe the Kenya National Archives a big debt of thanks for I got a lot of support from the institution. The other institutions which gave me a lot of assistance, are teachers' colleges such as Kericho, Narok and Kisii. Others include secondary schools, which offer Music, and Music teachers in various institutions. To all these I give a lot of thanks and appreciation. I sincerely thank Professor Henry Stanley K. Mwaniki for his continued guidance and encouragement that he gave me when I was undergoing this study. Besides being my supervisor, Prof. Mwaniki gave me a lot of fatherly advice, which was coupled with spiritual, moral and material support. May God bless him abundantly. My sincere thanks also go to Dr. Mosonik arap Korir, Chairman, History Department who encouraged me right from my Undergraduate Degree days to start thinking seriously about Post- Graduate Studies. He gave me a good academic foundation which saw me through this course. He always assisted me in all ways whenever I approached him in his busy office for assistance. His great care for me while I was taking my course cannot go without acknowledgement. I cannot forget to pass my word of acknowledgement to the academic staff of History Department Egerton University, for their continued support and encouragement even when things seemed to be falling apart. They all gave me the hope that kept me working to the very end of my course. Particularly I wish to thank Mr. Charles Choti for the special concern he showed me especially when I was writing this thesis. He was always with me to ensure that I moved to the right direction. He was my academic brother and personal consultant. May God bless him abundantly. To my three classmates, Thomas Rono, Chacha Babere and Zedson Ogembo I owe them a debt of thanks for the support they gave me. The encouragement they gave me through their slogan "We shall overcome, and we shall never be boys again," really gave me a lot of determination and perseverance during my course. To them I say, "God bless you". I cannot also forget to extend my thanks and gratitude to my roommate, Samuel Guto who gave me a lot of material, spiritual and Moral support during my course. I can not forget to acknowledge the kind of support and encouragement that was accorded unto me by my learned friend Jusper Omwenga, especially when I was finishing up this work. May God bless him abundantly. To my friends Evans Nyamache, Michael Orang'i, Shadrack Mule, Richard Onwonga, Joyce Lelei, Roy Mugira, Isaac Masolo, George Otieno, Bathseba Arungo, Emmy Cheraisi and many others I say, thanks for their concern. My special gratitude and appreciation go to my dear father, Samuel Nyamwaka and dew- mother, Sibiah Kwamboka for having introduced me to this world where I have gone through a lot of experience which has shaped me to what I am. Had it not been for their care I would not have produced this work. To my brother, Gideon Oyagi, sisters Rae! Gesare, Grace Kerubo and others, I appreciate their guidance and the concern they showed unto me during the preparation and production of this thesis. I cannot forget whatsoever to thank Maurice Okello and Oliver Arigi of Chemistry Department, Egerton University, for their valuable assistance both materially and spiritually. They exempted themselves from their busy schedules to come to my aid in the formatting and printing of this thesis. May God bless them abundantly. Finally, I acknowledge constant support in the typing and printing of this thesis from Ms. Esther Muthoni of Egerton University Savings and Credit Co-operative Society. To all other friends whom I leave unnamed due to lack of space, God will bless you all. vi ABSTRACT This thesis is a study based on the History of songs and dances among the Abagusii in the pre-colonial, colonial and to some extent, the immediate Post-Colonial period. It traces the origin, establishment and development of songs and dances among the Abagusii. The study analyses the role played by songs and dances in the reconstruction of the cultural history of the Abagusii. The focus is on the role and dynamism of songs and dances in the community's history. A major factor of the dynamism came as result of the interaction between the Abagusii and the neighbouring communities such as the Maasai, Kipsigis the Luo and the Kuria. These changes also resulted from the Abagusii interaction with the British colonisation and its cultural policies. The imposition of hut tax and abolition of cattle villages (Ebisarate) by the colonial administration compelled the Abagusii men to seek wage labour outside their homes so as to raise money for tax payment. By 1940s a large number of Abagusii men were out on migrant labour, leaving their wives with increased agricultural activities and household tasks. When they were performing all these tasks, they composed and performed some work songs and dances to either keep their low spirits high when working or express resentment against colonial administration for interfering with the community's independence. The colonialists introduced new musical instruments, songs and dance styles that the Abagusii incorporated into their singing and dancing styles. They also introduced settler economy, cash crop production and formal education as well as western religion all of which had a lot of impact in the dynamism of songs and dances among the Abagusii. This study will contribute to the preservation of cultural values incorporated here into the Gusii historiography. Further, the research findings are intended to aid researchers who may want to understand similar or different aspects of the Gusii songs and dances. The Ministry of Culture and Social Services may use findings from this study to plan for the dessemination of cultural activities in Kisii districts. The study methodology employed field interviews suplimented by secondary and archival materials. All these provided valuable data which was collected, sorted, verifield , classfield and organised to produce this thesis. vii GLOSSARY OF TERMS Beni Naoma - This was a popular culture which spread throughout Eastern Africa during the colonial period. It took its name from the essential musical feature and instruments. Dance - This term is used here to refer to songs in terms of form, composition and performance. Mogusii — This is a man who is believed by the Abagusii to be their ancestor. Gusiiland — This refers to the territory /land occupied by the Abagusii.Currently, it consists of three districts namely: Kisii North, Kisii Central and Southern Kisii. Music- This term is used here to refer to traditional songs and dance performances. Omogambi — This term was used to refer to a village elder or chief. Obokano — A Lyre, an eight stringed instrument which accompanied most of the songs. Rirandi — Is an instrument made of a big guord resonator to produce loud sound. Ong'eng'o - This is a musical bow, which is believed to have been introduced to Gusii land by the Luo. Ekonu — It is a cylindrical laced drum played with sticks or with bare hands, said to be originally a Luo musical instrument. It is sometimes called entanda. Embegete — This is a bowed tube lute. War with the Germans — This term is used to refer to the First World War War with the Italians - This term is used to refer to the Second World War viii ABBREVIATIONS E.A.P.H.