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E. Afr. Geogr. Rev. No.7, April 1969. pp. 45-52
MIGRATION, SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPANCE ON THE
KANO PLAINS OF WESTERN KENY A
R. MILLMAN
Introduction.
The Kano Plains lie at the head of the Kavirondo Gulf near Kisumu, western
Kenya, over 200 miles by tarmac road from Nairobi'! They are h~mmed in. by
the surrounding highland areas which show faulted, scarped edges 1D close JUXtaposition with the Plains themselves-which lie between 3,750 feet and 4,000 feet
above sea leve1. 2 The area suffers from intractable, alluvial soils which have
very poor drainage, together with overpopulation problems and years of drought
and periodic flooding. 3 Following the most disastrous floods in local living
memory in 1962, a pilot irrigation scheme has been started on the Plains, following on the Kenya government's promise to do something about this overpopulated
area. With Kenya's population increasing at 3% per annum (1962 census estimates) and over half the country classed as semi-arid it is very important that
problem areas like the Kano Plains should come under close scrutiny. For, in
addition to the physical constraints, those of custom and conservatism amongst
the indigenous Luo people present further problems as regards agricultural reforms.
Out-migration of younger age groups, especially men, to seek unskilled jobs in
Nairobi and Mombasa is a consequence of the population pressure on the traditional lands of Kano. Complementary to this trend is the sorry story of recent
years in which land holdings have become excessively small and fragmented. What
is more, the edaphic conditions of the Plains seem to be ill-suited to substantial
changes of farming techniques, unless a great deal of irrigation, draining and soil
conditioning is effected alongside tenural reform. In this respect the latest ideas
for large scale irrigated and resettled areas in and around the Plains are a bold
attempt to settle one major source of Kenya's under-employed population sociably
and economically on their homelands. 4
The Settlement of Western Kenya.
The story of the settlement in the Plains is a fascinating study in itself. Ogot's
recently published book gives the history of the Luo migrationsS south from the
southern Sudan into Uganda and the final settlement along the eastern shores of
Lake Victoria. The whole movement of population, in the words of EvansPritchard6 was like "shunting trucks". First one group moved, then a neighbouring group, and then a whole band of people infiltrated southwards, through areas
controlled by Bantu and Hamitic groups. Thus, during the last five centuries a
whole swathe of country, across the savannahs and swamps of Uganda, became
the scene of a migration which, in its turn, formed part of a much more widebpread movement of peoples in Central Africa before colonial times.
Evidence for the Luo migration is found in the enclaves of people of similar
custom and language which exist between the Albert Nile and Mount Elgon in
Uganda. Through research into the language, legends and customs of the Luo
people, Ogot has traced back the routes of migration, giving them an approxi·
mate chronology in terms of generations, i.e. the way in which the people themselves traditionally measured time. It appears that the climate and ecological
conditions of the areas crossed by the migrants had some influence on the actual
lines of movement, together with the attitudes of local Bantu and Hamitic peoples
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46
EAST AFRICAN GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
whose territory lay in the path of the Luos. Doubtless a considerabl: in~er­
change of ideas took place between the Luos and other peoples on the mIgratIOn
route south. By the eighteenth century the Luo had crossed the northeast
comer of Lake Victoria and proceeded to spread out along the drier parts of the
lake shore away from the highland areas. Subsequently the Kana Plains became settled both by groups from the west and south moving towards one another
in a 'pincer' movement.
The Luo migration was an intrusive one. It is evident, from studies of
neighbouring peoples, that the new lands of the Luo were peopled to some extent
before the migrants arrived and the stories of fierce battles between Luo groups
and tribes in the hills doubtless have some basis of fact. Skirmishing and raiding
took place between tribes and, latterly, between sub-tribes and clans within the
Luo themselves. The motives behind this were often territory and cattle, the
latter being the traditional symbol of wealth amongst the Luo. Clan traditions
are also full of tales of struggles by stronger clans to dispossess the weaker ones.7
What is certain is, that during the occupance phase, the whole Luo nation was in
a state of flux and regrouping. Also, as land became increasingly a scarce
resource, in the face of rising population pressure, each clan staked its claim to
territory that later became adjusted through local warfare and finally codified as
locations and sublocations in the colonial period. Hence today, through Nyanza
Province and the Kana Plains the names of local government divisions and their
boundaries reflect the tribal assessment of the land at the time that the Protectorate was set up in the eighteen-nineties. Although local warfare was discouraged
by the colonial government, cattle raiding still persisted until recent times in some
parts.
The occupance of the Kano Plains.
By the middle of the nineteenth century the Luo had occupied the Plainlands. In the south, Luo groups had defeated the Kipsigis people of the Nyabondo Plateau area and residual groups of Masai. Nandi and Kipsigis peoples that
formerly lived on the plains were either killed, pushed out, or assimilated. It
seems that a group of clans called Nyakach occupied most of the southern plains.
coming from the south and west whilst another group called Kano, moving eastwards from the Kisumu area, occupied the locations now called West and East
Kano. The most recent migration, in the form of agricultural re-settlement
schemes, has occurred in the northeast comer of the area during the last few
years. Luo settlement has there penetrated the foothill zone and the Nyando
valley and provincial boundaries (after Independence, 1963) have now been
adjusted in response to these changes. Even now, it seems the migration has far
from ceased, with groups of people (especially the young men) moving eastwards
to Nairobi and south, into Tanzania, in search of work.
The evidence for the occupation phase on the Plains stems from place names.
territorial names and local legend and tradition. In addition to this, the analysis
of topographic names on the Plains gives a valuable clue as to the assessment of
the area by the Luo migrants, in terms of their technology and genre de vie. As
individual clans spread out over the ground, local tracts of country became associated with particular chiefs or elders and the legacy of this assessment is seen in
the number of personal names that appear on the map. Elsewhere. local settlements or markets may bear the name of particular personalities or products made
or exchanged there. Three types of place names can be distinguished on the
plains. according to modes of origin. 8 They are:
~~ Topo/fraphical Names. These are names describing the character and
condI.tI<;>n of ,Dvers. marches, plateaux. hi11rocks, ridges and, in particular. names
descrIbmg soIls and areas liable to be dry ground or flooded in the rains. Also
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47
MIGRATION, SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPANCE KANO PLAINS
names of areas once rich in grass or badly overgrazed, give a hint of the assessment of the land made by the Luo cattle herders. Similarly names like "Rabuor"
(meaning dry brown soil on a ridge) are those given as assessments of the land
by the people who tilled the ground in the traditional society.
2) Names referring to persons and things or to activities traditionally pursued
In the area.
Personal names, e.g. Ka-no and Ka-julu refer to the nineteenth
century spheres of influence and occupation by the people (Ka) of No and Julu
respectively-where both No and Julu were leaders of a sub-tribe. Similarly
there are many names referring to clans, at a sub-Iocational level, e.g. Kadiang'a
and Kochieng (Ka-O chieng)-again referring to the traditional lands of certain
local groups. The personal name is that of an ancestor or elder. Other names,
like Bodi (girl's dance) or Nyabondo (musical instrument) or Remulla (mulaBrass in Luo) are indicative of the activities that once occurred in the places
<.:oncerned, e.g. a trading place, chiefs camp or meeting place.
3) The third type of place name contains elements of both 1) and 2) above.
For example, a personal name (or that of an activity or thing) may be connected
with a topographical name. Examples are names like Pap-Onditi (meaning Onditi's field) or Thurgem (Thur-Gem) meaning the ridge occupied by a group of
people from Gem location.
Some names do not easily fit into the three catagories but the broad trends
are clear enough. Here is a silent assessment of the land by the people who
came to occupy it-in terms of their own sense of values. Many names are
particularly interesting because they show how closely related are the Luo people
to the land and also the lake-because fish has become a valuable addition to the
diet of the Luo-especially during times of famine in the past. However, in
between the Luo place names a number of other names appear on the topographic map. These may contain linguistic elements of Kipsigis, Masai or
Swahili - sometimes indicative of groups who once lived on the plains but who
were displaced by the Luo migration. A number of these names appear in the
drier area of East Kano and in the drier southeast of the plains. Such areas
were once marchlands between the various clan groupings, the more fertile parts
in the west of the plains being the first to be settled and divided. Another
marchland lay to the south of the Nandi Escarpment but at an early stage the
colonial government made the lands over to Asian sugar plantations in order
tc form a buffer between the Luo and the Nandi cattle raiders to the north. In
tum, the railway to Kisumu separates the Estates from the present Luo and unit.
The Luo System of Land Tenure:
The order that had emerged by the coming of colonial rule was the product
of much local raiding and feuding. Land became increasingly a scarce commodity as the population of clan groupings rose. Clan elders became responsible for the allocation of cultivable land and cattle grazed large areas of fallow
land and savannah, watched by the smalI boys. No member of the clan could
hold land outside the clan land boundries. 9 All the land of a family was held in
usufruct by the father and no sale was recognised. The family, with the clan,
enjoyed security of tenure through membership of the particular lineage of the
family I?ale head. Within the family, sons inherited land through their mothers
<the socIety being traditionally polygamous). The mothers, in tum, were originally
seconded land by their husband, their job being to raise crops (besides keeping
the family and home) whilst the men raised huge herds of cattle.
Initially, the clan founder subdivided the land amongst his wives, retaining
a portion for himself. Also part of the land claimed by the clan could be held by
"jodak" or clan strangers. Normally, however, ownership of land passed to the
sons of a family (via their mothers) by inalienable right. Usually the sons could
agree to SUb-divide the land retained by their father, upon his death, but in recent
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48
EAST AFRICAN GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
years, with increasing pressure on land, it has become common for the more selfish
descendants of wives to claim lands that belong to other members of the polygamous family)O
In the days of migration and settlement many disputes between clans arose
through territorial claims. Often these claims were prompted by the desire for
enlarging and defining clan lands as population pressures, and hence demands
upon land. grew more acute over the years. The social and legal response to
land hunger was the evolution of the complex tenure system which is still practised
today. Indeed. the problem of growing crops in the face of incursions from
wandering cattle met with a solution not wholly removed from that adopted in
Medieval Europe. Beasts were grazed on scraps of land around plots and homesteads or grazed in common (under the care of small boys) as already mentioned.
What is more, the traditional plot system and method of allocation is not far
removed, in its basic principles. from that found in Medieval Europe and modem
enclaves of other traditional societies.
The Breakdown of the Land Tenure System.
In any event. the very stimulus for the entrenchment of the Luo landscape
has ultimately become its undoing. Population pressure stimulated the elaborate
allocation and parcelling of land over different types of soils and terrain. Now
overpopulation (relative to the present carrying capacity of the land) is forcing
people off the land. leaving the remainder to farm till scattered plots that may
often fall below one third of an acre in size. ll The consequences of these events
would not be quite as serious were it not for the state of the soils over which this
fragmentation is taking place. The land on the Plains is frequently heavy intractable clay which will only respond well to modem drainage and conditioning
at prices far beyond the reach of the individual Luo farmer. Cattle wander aimlessly between scraps of denuded grazings and the scene during times of drought
(or floods) is a pitiful one to see. Indeed, the Kana Plains are one of the classic
examples in East Africa of the effects of a Malthusian style crisis on the land.
The vestiges of the old order that remain are but picturesque anachronisms and
the inherent conservatism amongst the Luo farmers (as found elsewhere in the
world) will mean that changes for the better on the land will have to be a drastic
and painful business. The whole society and economy of the Plains is steadily
being infiltrated from outside and the rump of the old order on the land locally
becomes the "subsidized" family holding or "shamba" which houses relatives who
are living off the earnings of wealthier kinfolk who have managed to get work in
a town. 12
The Landscape of Luo Society.
Over much of the Plains the influence of soils. drainage. micro-topography
and tradition is strongly reflected in the field patterns and the structure of rural
settlement. Basically, traditional Luo settlement is amorphous non-villagized and
indeed, at first sight, is seemingly chaotic (see Fig. 1). The smallest functioning
unit is the circular family compound, or "boma". Inside the perimeter of planted
gum trees and euphorbia are arranged the father's huts and those of his wives. in
order of seniority. These are flanked by grain stores and in the centre is a cattle
compound made of brushwood. Building materials were traditionally mUd, wattle
and thatch but now sheet tin, wood and cement are intruding with steady influx
of industrialized living. The cattle pound and outer hedge of the compound
evolved on the Plains in response to the threats of raiding from neighbouring
tribes and clans. Circular "bomas" are found elsewhere in western Kenya but
the expression seen on the Kano Plains is the fullest.
In the last century elders granted land to families who built their homesteads on knolls above normal flood levels. often corresponding to low ridges of
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49
MIGRATION. SErrLEMENT AND OCCUPANCE KANO PLAINS
TYPICAL KANa LANDSCAPE SOILS OF
.~ABUOR ON HEAVY CLAY SOILS
•
Scal~
4~0
M~tr~s
SO?
. 16,000 approx·
I
.. %
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50
EAST AFRICAN GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
hill-wash material or levee fragments. Nearer the lake shore, families settled on
raised beach areas between the papyrus swamps. Cattle were grazed in the
morning and evening around the homesteads, in between the homesteads and the
open areas of land reserved for communal pasture. Arable land became sited in
areas away from the homestead sites and corresponded to abandoned channel
sections or low lying ground that became waterlogged in the rainier season. To
the local people these were the logical areas to plant crops because the soil
remained sufficiently damp through the dry season to ensure harvest. Locally,
nuances of topography and soils meant that lands could vary considerably in
fertility. Again, the logical response was to distribute and subdivide plots that
were scattered over the land in order to give everyone a fair share of the ground.
The edaphic conditions, however. were lean at the best of times, and flash-floods
dumped sterile soil in different areas over the years, making subsequent reallocations very difficult.
During the colonial period population grew steadily on the Kano Plains.
The introduction of medicine and education has meant that most children now
survive the age of 15 years and the majority reach adulthood only to procreate
many more children. The survival of children that in the past would have been
killed by diseases and epidemics has meant that the intricate system of plots have
become ever more fragmented, and grazing ever more denuded. Homesteads
have become forced together over levee areas and ridges, and late-comers must
often be content with house sites at a lower level which are more liable to seasonal flooding. Market places are traditionally sited on the higher areas but in
times of severe flood. like 1961-62, some of these centres become inundated as
well. Communications between settlements in the traditional landscape tended
to be informal and haphazard: tracks and paths were used by both cattle and
people alike. Only during the colonial period has a rationalized superstructure
of earth roads appeared and the main road east across the Plains, from Kisumu,
was only tarmacadamed after the 1962 floods.
Close study will reveal the landscape to be in all stages of change and decay.
The area just beyond the municipal boundary of Kisumu is attracting shanty settlement, built of sheet tin and cement, and an interesting transition is taking pll'::e
on the land and amongst the people who live in these areas. Firstly, the f':~:.;ting
family compounds are "improved". Later more people drift to town and build
houses nearby and the circular cattle pound in the centre of the yard is all that
remains of the former rural occupance. Although the community enjoys freedom
from urban rates, the drawback carries the absence of all essential services and
living conditions are becoming crowded and unhealthy.
Out on the Plains the cultural landscape is one of great complexity. The
succession of family homesteads and intricate field system is, however, an anachronism, because the Plains are now in the process of social and economic transition. The coming of motor transport and the drift off the land to the towns 13
now means that all parts of the plains are in contact with outside influence.
Modem trends are reflected in the fabric of local markets and trading centres
which are steadily being remoulded in sheet tin and concrete. Also, the largest
township on the Plains, now boasts a rank of permanent shops and stores around
the market area--especially since levees were built to contain the nearby river
following the 1962 floods.
Within the Plainlands, however, marked contrasts Can be seen between the
settlement forms in differeI?t ar.eas. Often this stems from the drainage, soil and
topography and locally, hIstOrIcal factors. such as the response of a particular
clan to its surroundings during the occupation phase. The names of local set-
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MIGRATION, SEITLEMENT AND OCCUPANCE KANO PLAINS
tlements and topographic features abound in language elements which give a clue
to the assessment of the land given by the Luo immigrants during the 19th century.
The most obvious contrast in the landscape today is that between the crowded
traditional settlement of Kajulu location, (north of Kisumu) and the adjacent Asian
sugar estates. Lesser variations exist between the drier areas of East Kano location and North Nyakach, whilst contrasting again are the marshy coastlands and
the fully developed Luo landscape of West Kano location further inland. In
Jecent years a rise of lake level of about 4 feet has prompted the abandonment
of many lakeside areas-in tum leading to crowded conditions in parts further
inland. Locally, small rice fields stand in contrast to the traditional field patterns and near the commercial estate to the northeast local cultivators try their
}land at better ways of producing cash crops. Basically. however. the primary
elements of occupance are the same throughout the Plains.
New Schemes on the Kano Plains.
Since 1962. drastic measures have been planned in a scheme for the "crash"
improvement of farming on the Plains. A pilot irrigation project covering 4.000
acres has been started at Ahero. in the centre of the area. 14 Based on surveys
done during the 1950's, it is hoped that this scheme will pave the way for the
comprehensive drainage and irrigation of 33.000 acres of the Plains, which would
involve the total extinction of the traditional tenure system in favour of small
farmers becoming tenants of the state. Also settlement schemes have been
started for landless Luo people over former commercial estates to the northeast
of the Plains. On the Nyabondo Plateau. to the south, a land consolidation
scheme, begun ten years ago. has met with moderate success IS and ways are now
being sought to extend each of these farming schemes where they are most needed.
Water problems are the foremost physical obstacle on the Plains. and the chalJenge is to overcome the extremes of drought and flood which at present seriously
limit farming potential. Although for many local people, changes on the land
may involve a painful process of readjustment. it is hoped that the long term
plans for the Kano Plains will successfully raise farming incomes in the area and
reduce the temptation to drift towards the townS. 16 What is certain is that an
effective agricultural and settlement policy could play a major role in curbing the
present problems of under-employment within Kenya.
REFERENCES
The present article aims to give merely a general survey of the topic, based on the
author's own reading, discussion and personal field work. The following works are recommended as authoritative and detailed studies on the area.
1. Kent, P. E. 1942. The county around the Kavirondo Gulf of Nyanza Geographical
Journal, 1'1'.22-31.
2. Saggerson, E. P. Gea'logy of the Kisumu District. Report No. 21, Gove):'Dment
Printer, Nairobi.
3. Sir Alexander Gibb 1956 & 1961. The water resources of the Kenya Nile Basin.
4. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) 1965. Observations in Central Nyanza.
5. Ogot, B. A. 1967. The history of the Southern Luo. Vol. I - Migration and settlement. East African Publishing House, Nairobi.
6. Evans-Pritchard. E. E. 1936. Luo tribes and clans.
7. Ominde, S. H. 1962. Land and population in Central Nyanza (unpublished Ph.D.),
London.
8. I am i,ndebted to Messrs. Loxton, Oial and Ogendo for data on the origins of topographic names.
9. Wil~n, C. 1960. Luo Customary Law. Government Printer, Nairobi.
10. Whlsson, M. T. 1965. Social and economic change amongst the Kenya Luo. Christian
Council of Kenya Publication, Nairobi.
11. World Bank. op. cit.
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52
EAST AFRICAN GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
12. Whisson, M. T. op. cit.
13. Ominde, S. H. 1966, "Aspects of population migration in Kenya". First African
Conference on Population. Ibadan 1966 Proceedings.
14. Ahero Pilot Scheme. 1965. Feasibility Survey. National Irrigation Board. Government Printer, Nairobi.
15. "History of attempts at land consolidation in Central Nyanza", 1966. (E.A.I.S.R.
Conference, Makerere University College, Kampala),
16. World Bank, op. cit.
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