History

The Famine of Nyamakongiro

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Published on Saturday, 30 June 2007 23:04

According to Ochieng' (1975b:66), the years between 1885 and 1892 saw a series of bitter famines in Gusiiland. One of those remembered, Nyamakongiro, occurred at this time and one informant dated it to around 1891 (Onchoke O.I. 1989)1 . This period of disaster does not appear to have been unique to the Gusii, but was widespread in the east African region. Mwanzi (1977:84) dates the period in the case of the Kipsigis to 1890. Similar disasters have been reported among the pastorals Maasai (see Jacobs, 1965:96-99) and Kjekshus (1977:126-142) reported about the great rinderpest of the 1890's in many parts of Tanganyika. According to Mwanzi (1977:130, between 1889 and 1892 a cattle disease which the Gusii refer to as Ongonga (sic) swept the Luo, Gusii and Kipsigis country killing thousands of cattle. One informant saw this disease as having been the use of the 1891 famine (Ochoke, O.I., 1989). According to him, a bull brought from Luoland transmitted a serious disease locally called Onkonga which killed so many animals that payment of bride wealth dropped from between about ten to fourteen head of cattle to just one cow. Some people even gave goats as dowry. Apparently due to drought and deaths of many animals the Gusii started using amakongiro, a local drought-resistant creeping weed, as a relish and supplement to milk. According to Ochieng' (1974b:66-67) they also turned to the Luo for help in grain, milk and potatoes especially the Gisii of Wanjare and south Mugirango.

The situation was compounded by the Kipsigis attack and the battle of Saosao. During the disaster of 1889-1892, when cattle disease decimated Kipsigis herds, the latter organized raiding expeditions to Gisii and Luoland ( see Mwanzi, 1977:85). One such raid took place in 1890 (Ibid) or 1891 (Ochieng', 1974b:130). Gisii tradition do mention the raid as having been one of the causes of the famine of Nyamakongiro. The raiders who consisted of men and boys, successfully marched from North Mugirango and ended at Manga, destroying many Gisii villages and capturing a great quantity of food and livestock. Organized parties of Kipsigis warriors, women and children repatriated such booty back home as the rest of the soldiers proceeded. From Manga, the raiders proceeded to Luoland where they were repulsed back and ambushed by the Gusii who killed them to a man at the Charachani River.


Many Gusii people attribute the cause of the famine to the above two reasons. Onchoke (I.O, 1989) 1, one such person, asserted that amakongiro were eaten to supplement milk which was scarce. He therefore refutes drought to have been a cause. Such people argue that rain failure was very rare in Gusiiland given the role played by women and the rainmaker . Hence the famine of Nyamakongiro, according to them, was caused by a cattle disease which decimated their livestock and the raid from the Kipsigis which depleted their food reserves and animals as well.