Ficha Técnica

ceremonies culminating with circumcision for boys at around the age of twelve, and clitoridectomy for girls at around the age of nine. The ceremonies occurred annually, just after the harvest and lasted from October to December. The circumcision of the girls was done before that of the boys. This practice was highly regarded in the community as a way of initiating women and men into adulthood and preparing them for marriage. Women who have not undergone the rite are seen as outcasts and may not find men to marry (Nyang’era, 1999) note that:

Any person who disregards the customary law is also discarded and woman who is not cut (circumcised) is regarded as a child. The initiates do despite them and the society does not respect them. Their failure to go through the ceremonies and

rituals makes them not to be raised to the ranks of the initiates and they fail to be admitted as full members of the society. They do not qualify as adults and therefore they find marriage very rough...they are cut by force. The uncircumcised was not allowed to sleep on bed or sit on a chair in the presence of the initiates. Circumcision was the only root to attain the higher status in the society. The stigma of being despised or abused was only removed by circumcision.

Among the Gusii, the primary domestic unit was the compound (omochie), which comprised of either a polygamous or monogamous senior male, his wives or wife’s hearth-hold and his married sons and their respective wives’ hearth-holds. Husbands did not have a separate dwelling their physically productive years. However, when they became old and weak, they were allowed to dwell in a hut (egesa) constructed as part of their first wife’s property – unmarried sons.

For years, there had been much criticism and agitation against circumcision by certain misinformed missionaries in Nyamira County and other parts of Gusiiland customs and without investigating the psychological importance attached to it, these missionaries drew their conclusion that circumcision of girls was nothing but a barbaric practice as such needed to be abolished (Obae, O.I 2012). On the other hand, the Abagusii looked at these Europeans with great suspicion. Of those who attack the very old traditions to disintegrate their social order and thereby hasten their Europeanization. The abolition of girls’ circumcision, as it will be discussed which identified the age groups and thus prevent them from perpetuating that spirit of collectivism and national solidarity which they had been able to maintain for a very long time (Sibia, O.1 2012).

In pre-colonial past, the Gusii people organized themselves around patrilineal structure whereby descent was traced through the male line. Marriage was virilocal; however, men were prohibited from marrying women from their clans. Clans were exogamous, women were considered strangers in their husband’s clan not only because they had to move

from distant clans but also because they were ritually restricted from forming any lasting links with their own families (Okemwa, 2002).

Historically the Gusii share a common language and cultural heritage but never acted as a unit. Tracing their descent to a common ancestor, Mogusii, the Gusii society was organized around a maximally expanding lineage that fragmented into semi-autonomous family units. Membership and belonging within these units was reckoned in term of interlocking claims to clan succession and ritual (Hakanson, 1987). The Gusii lineage system was also ordered around age sets whereby men and women who were circumcised in the same cycle formed a bracketed cluster of individuals. Spatial and social norms were gauged in terms of mutual reciprocity within and between age sets, in the production, processing and control of resources of the land. Wives were integrated into their husband’s age grade and had to be accorded due respect, regardless of the fact that most of them were much younger than his age mates (Okemwa, 2002).

Since they were not necessarily comprised of individual’s of the same age or sex, relations within and between age sets was fraught with tensions, competitiveness and power imbalances. Notwithstanding these internal age differences and external sexual distinction, both male and female individuals who were circumcised in the same year perceived each other as being “those who gather together” (abagisangio) (Okemwa, 2000). Members of an age set considered each other as being equal in status and influence but had to defer to those senior age sets in respect to those of young ones. Positions of leadership and authority were accorded to those who succeeded in containing these inherent age set tensions, instilling social harmony and thereby promoting the interests of its members. These positions were delineated further on the basis of gender

such that female age sets had to defer to those of their male counterparts, within an equivalent hierarchy.

Despite patrichal tendencies among the Gusii, authority structures allowed men and women to exercise authority over their own sex and activities. Women who were past child-bearing age ensured that social order prevailed in the society. Those senior women had roles to play in the rituals, they were responsible for the education of children, circumcision of girls, settling of disputes and negotiating between two fighting parties. In general, the assignment of separate tasks to men and women stressed the complementary nature of responsibilities, superiority of one sex over the other was not implied on the division of labour and where inequalities arose, these was almost always compensation in some area (Gordon, 1996).

The Abagusii education system begins at birth and ends at death. The child has to pass through various age groupings with a system of education defined for every stage of life. Before the advent of Europeans the parents took the responsibility of educating their children until they reached the age of community education when every member of the society was expected to take part in the provision of education.

The Abagusii education was mainly informal with no special school structures. It took place in the homestead, especially in the grandfather’s or/and grandmother’s house. This education was carried out through the medium of songs, lullabies, recitations and proverbs. It encompassed the entire history of the family and clan traditions absorbed by listening to recitations, songs and lullabies. It was easy for the children to assimilate these early teachings without straining. This kind of education was provided from one generation to another (Kerubo, O.I 2012, Lambert, 1965).

As the young girls and boys grew their future roles became clear as it replicated in their play. The boys played the role of the father and acted in the same manner as their father. On the other hand the girls learnt to behave like their mothers. They made and carried toy babies and cooked imaginary dishes as their mothers. Boys could be seen building houses using sticks as their fathers. The grandparents were in-charge of the co-education of the children. This was done in the form of folklore and ethnic legends (Mwangi, 2004).

In the community education, the emphasis lay in a particular act of behaviour in a concrete situation, while little emphasis lay in the sphere of behaviour. It is nonetheless through this that the growing child acquired a mass of knowledge all the time. It is important to mention here that the Europeans did not realize the importance of the Abagusii education and thus attempted to abolish it by introducing theirs. Moreover they did not understand the reason of educating both sexes. To them the woman’s responsibilities were those in the homestead and therefore they only needed to be taught the duties of housewifery. The missionaries therefore in their attempt to discourage the girls from attending schools authorized all circumcised girls not to attend schools pledged themselves that they would not in any way adhere to or support female circumcision. This raised great controversy between the missionaries and the people of Gusiiland (Kerubo, I.O, 2012). Children of those who did not denounce the custom were barred from attending missionary schools. Later on, the ban of girls attending school was lifted but the missionaries maintained that teachers were to be only those who had denounced the custom, for they hoped that teachers with this qualification would be able to mould the children in the way favourable to the missionary attitudes.

2.2 PRE – COLONIAL ECONOMIC, RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL