COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE AMONG THE LUO OF KENYA.

The Luo of Kenya are a nilotic group of people who migrated from Bahr-el- Ghazal in Southern Sudan. They settled in the western part of Kenya in areas around Lake Victoria, further earning them their description as the river lake nilotes a phrase that is still being used to describe them up to date. They arrived into this part of East Africa from as early as the fifteenth century to the nineteenth. Century, in four distinct groups. The first group to arrive in Kenya were the Joka Jok in the fifteenth century and they settled at Ramogi hill, Sakwa , Asembo and Alego

The second group to arrive were the Joka Owiny who were led by Sigoma , and they came in the Seventeenth century and settled around Kisumu, Nyakach , and South Nyanza.. Joka Owiny were followed by Joka Omolo who came into Kenya from Busoga in Uganda in the eighteenth century. Joka Omolo took there place in areas of Samia, Yimbo and South Nyanza joinig their cousins who had arrived earlier on

The final chunk of the Luo group to arrive were the Luo-Abasuba who arrived from Uganda in the nineteenth century and they settled at Rusinga and Mfangano Islands in Lake Victoria and they are a mixture of Bantus and Luos.

The four groups that arrived and settled in different areas around Lake Victoria and despite the disparity in their time of arrival they share similar cultural values. In this discourse you are going to have a glimpse of the Luo’s process of courtship and marriage.

Marriage among the Luo of Kenya is one of those revered practices and one who is married earns immense amount of respect not only among his peers but from the elders as well (jodongo), for it is a sign that one is no longer a child but has responsibilities to attend to and has contributed to the lineage of the society

Although most of the cultural practices that were practiced by the Luo society have been eroded away, due to westernization and the coming of Christianity, those that are considered not to be retrogressive or at loggerheads with Christianity still remain in practice among this people up to now. One of those practices that is still being observed among the community in some part of Luo - Nyanza “ The native Luo land” is the marriage process

The first step towards marriage starts with a suitor (Ja wang yo). The suitor knows both sides very well he or she is adequately acquainted with the mannerisms of both the bride and the bridegroom to be, not to mention their families. The suitor acts as the bridge between the two parties and paints a rosy picture to both parties to ensure that the two get to meet and know each other. And if the young man and woman meet and strike an agreement then that should be a plus on the part of the suitor for he or she has had an achievement.

After the bride and the bride groom have known each other and feel confident enough in the company of one another then it is now time for the man to take posho (kwon) to his in-laws to be. The kwon is sent with at least two mature cows and a calf or a goat.

It is also important for the husband to be to send some money which is known as the acceptance money (pes ayie) to his bride’s parents. This is an indication that the man and the woman have reached an agreement to take each others hand in marriage. The groom is also expected to send money to the bride’s brothers as a gesture that he is taking their sister’s hand in marriage and also to thank them. This is important for it also cements the groom’s relationship with his brothers-in-law. It is pertinent to point out that at this stage the groom does not take all this prize in person, but these are taken by his uncles, brothers or his close acquaintances. At this point the groom has not yet met his father or mother in law. Worth mentioning is that among the Luo a son-in-law is so much respected that unnecessary meetings between a son-in-law and his parents-in-law are usually restricted and expected to be as minimal as possible.

-It is during this meeting that the date for the lady to go to her new home is slated. The date is agreed upon. This is also the time when the parents to the girl can express their discontentment if in any case they are not yet impressed by the groom’s prize for their daughter. They are at liberty to request for more money or cattle, or just go ahead and consent to the date agreed upon between them and the husband’s representatives.

Upon the agreed date which the bride is to go and meet the groom she is prepared and beautified from her mother’s home, and then she is sent with a party of young ladies who escort her to her new home. But before the party leaves they prepare kong’o traditional alcohol which they prepare for the grooms grandparents and other elderly in-laws.

When the party from the bride’s side arrives they take the Kong’o to the grannies-in-law where more Kong’o has been brewed. Then the party proceeds to the Simba, the young mans hut where he is waiting with his company of peers to welcome his bride with the ladies who had escorted her.

The two sides provide entertainment to each other and further provide company to the new couple. It is during this time that the young men and women interact with each other and also at the same time identify future potential partners.

The party goes on all day and night, and when morning comes the bride’s company prepares to depart. As they go one of the young women is left behind to continue staying with the newly married couple. She keeps the bride company as she gets acclimatized to her new home. And also acts as a spy for the bride’s family for she is the one who after a couple of days discloses more information to the bride’s family about the groom’s home.

The final visit is made by the aunties who bring with them kwon which is the most important of all the foods, and it gives the visit its name “Bringing posho” (Tero kwon), (Ring’o) meat both raw and roasted, they also carry Kong’o. The cooked food goes to the house of the newly wed, while the Kong’o and the raw meat goes to the parent’s and grand parent’s house.

After the final visit by the relatives, the newly wed bride can now go back home to her family and friend to tell them how she is coping up, or in the same token express her disgruntlement. She stays at her maternal home for a few days before heading back to her matrimonial home. At her matrimonial home most of her activities are centered at her grand mother-in-law’s house this is just to prepare her for the life ahead as a mother. She cooks from there and stays there for a couple of days then she goes to her house to start a family.

The groom can now decide to officially go and visit his in-laws and clear part of his bride price that was to be cleared or just pay a courtesy call. It is important to mention that continual payment of bride price to the bride’s family is highly accepted since the payment of bride price (nyombo) among the Luo can be done as many times as long as the groom wishes to do so.