History and Culture of Western Kenya: The people of Bungoma District through time

Abstract

As Kenya debates her cultural policy, it becomes obvious that the social institutions which ensured the cohesion of the traditional life are giving way to new cultural institutions. In the traditional past features which held the societies together included the family, the clan and the ethnic group. However, as a result of the adoption of Western life styles by most of the ethnic communities in Kenya, these features have been greatly affected. It was because of this realisation that a research programme was designed to investigate and record as many of these features as possible before they were obliterated. The study target was the peoples of Bungoma District. The project sought to answer two questions: (a) integration of traditional and indigenous cultures in a modern cultural centre and (b} the creation of a new cultural centre, which would immortalise the ethos and the values of the peoples of Kenya. The research centred on a nineteenth century fort-site where, in 1895, the Bukusu people had put up their last resistance to Britain's colonising forces. The site is known as Chetambe, named after its leader Chetambe. The battle that was fought there is remembered with a lot of emotions in the oral history of the local Bantu peoples of Bungoma district. As part of the project, a symposium was organised to provide a forum for exchange of ideas. Scholars interested in various aspects of culture and who had done research on the peoples of Bungoma District were invited to present papers at the symposium. In all nine papers were discussed at the conference, with eminent scholars like Prof. G.S. Were of the University of Nairobi presenting a very thought-provoking paper on 'ethnic identity'. The papers covered such topics as: archaeology, oral history, traditional architecture, precolonial economies, the co-operative movement, precolonial military organisation and traditional crafts. It. was, and still is, our aim to have the .prQceedings of the symposium published. The main justification for this aim is to make the papers available to the reading public. In this connection, it is important to remember that both teachers and students in this country cry for materials which would help them to gain a firm position in their communities, while at the same time preparing them to learn more about Kenya, East Africa, the Black World, the Third World and the rest of the World, in that order. At the moment, the Government is committed to the collection of cultural information throughout the country, with a view to using such information in its development programmes. The publication of these proceedings would therefore, serve as a contribution to this noble effort by the Government.