'The Muzungo is a Luo'

I have been able to learn a little bit about Luo language (well some basic greetings) and culture whilst I am here. Luo's are often named after the time of day in which they were born. So as I was born in the early hours of the morning my Luo name would be 'Omondi'! Also I have shaken so many hands that I think it is going to take some time for me to stop doing it every time I meet a friend when I return home! The Luo language often involves a heavy pronunciation of the 'r' with the tongue touching the roof of the mouth, making greetings including good morning, and 'I am good' to be difficult for an English person to pronounce. It really is worth trying to learn just a few words in the language though before visiting Kisumu (and North Nyanza more generally) as it is a pleasant surprise to the locals when you greet them in their language.

Saturday was my last day at Margaret's place, (the leader of Kosimbo CBO). Having been out clubbing until 4am (which was an unusual experience!) I woke up late but in time to be able to interview the coordinator of a group called Nyalenda Women Concern Group.

Margaret and the woman I was interviewing explained that in the past Luo (the tribal/ethnic group which are predominant in Northern Nyanza province – where I am), culture dictated a less coercive approach to re-marriage/inheritance of women and that in the past it had been for the woman to decide whether or not she wished to remarry. Whereas in more recent times the 'culture' had changed towards a system where often a widow is expected to remarry to the relative 'inheriting' her soon after the death of her husband. I thought this was a really interesting example of how it can be problematic to cite 'culture' in defence of controversial practices, when culture is constantly changing and being redefined and presents the question of who is given the chance to define ‘culture’.