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    The Collapse of Bridewealth and its Impact on the Isukha Marital Institution, 1894-1945
    (International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2019-05) Kavulavu, Leen; Tanui, Prisca J.
    This study examined the centrality of bridewealth payment in Isukha marriage before the establishment of colonial rule and missionaries activities. Bridewealth guaranteed stability in Isukha marriage. The study argues that colonialism was responsible for the changes that took place in Isukha marriage. In addition, Christianity impacted on marriage tastes and choices. To them bridewealth made marriage a mere mercantile transaction and they resolved to discourage the practice among baptized Christians as far as possible. In this effort however, they were not very successful for Christian continued to receive and give bridewealth, given the important symbolic role placed on it by the people of Isukha. What determined and shaped Isukha marriage bridewealth was the economic stresses suffered by the people when it came to using cattle to pay taxes. This meant a total loss of bridewealth. Methodology for this study involved data collected from secondary and primary data derived from archival and field research. This study findings argues that colonial and missionary penetration disrupted the social fabric which weaved and kept moral and responsible behaviours in marriage relations in a state of equilibrium. It did this in several ways, for instance through imparting western cultural attributes to the Isukha, in attempt to undermine their culture by targeting features such as bridewealth exchange. The consequences of this was gradual and systematic transformation of Isukha marriage.
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    TOILING FOR NIL; Women in the Western Kenya Sugar Industry.
    (Himalayan Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies, 2021-04-20) Mukhwana, Duncan M.; Kavulavu, Leen
    Women provide the need for a major reassessment of the labour relations in the sugar industry which results in positive attempts to maximize on their labour in western Kenya. The sugar industry sought to encourage women particularly in Kakamega, Bungoma and Busia, in order to bolster sugarcane output in the area. With the onset of the private sugar companies in the area, exemplified by Butali, West Kenya and Busibwabo, sugarcane production had to continue to prosper instead of diminishing at the expense of the benefits to the labourers (the women). The Luhya women in the area bore the greatest responsibility of ensuring that sugarcane is not only produced to meet the needs of the “hungry” sugar companies, but equally the returns from sugarcane production was substantial. By 2004, increased women labour in the sugarcane industry of western Kenya had produced Luhya proto-capitalists (exclusively men), who had managed to accumulate the returns from sugarcane production at the expense of the woman labourer. The Luhya proto-capitalists have threatened the sociological equilibrium in western Kenya which saw the women in the area toil in the sugar industry for nil at the expense of communal solidarities. This paper applies the concepts of utility and expropriation to analyze how women were exploitatively utilized in the sugar industry for nil returns. The concepts illustrate how the sugar companies squeezed the labour out of the Luhya women while the Luhya men siphoned the sugarcane returns from the women labour, therefore, letting the women in the western toil for nil in the sugar industry. This paper is founded on paramountcy of primary data, from farmers’ records corroborated by researcher observations, interviews and backed up by secondary data especially library literature for purpose of content and context analysis and grounding.
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    The Changing of African Traditional Celebration of the Living Dead and the Effects of Cremation in Kenya
    (International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Sciences, 2023-09-11) Kavulavu, Leen; Achar, George Okumu
    This paper investigates the effects of cremation on African traditional celebrations of the living dead in Kenya. The study examines bereavement and mourning practices in communities, with a particular focus on traditional modes of mourning, grieving, and remembering the living dead. According to the study, African traditions, the spread of Christianity, the influence of the Hindu culture, and Islamic beliefs all conflict with the changing culture that is slowly embracing cremation. The methodology for this study involved secondary data. The conclusion drawn from the study is that even as the scarcity of land pushes societies to consider the option of cremation, cultural and religious perceptions have painted the practice unethical and term it “un-African.” In Kenya, the majority of the population still opts to bury their dead in their ancestral homes in order to perform ritual and religious burial rites.
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    Sociodemographic determinants of households’ food wastes in Garissa Sub-County, Kenya.
    (Budapest International Research and Critics Institute, 2020-05) Huho, Julius M; Musyimi, Peter; Kosonei, Rose C
    Food waste occurs when food is ready for consumption but not consumed. Food waste has considerable social, economic and environmental impacts. Even though it has become a global concern, no comprehensive studies on food waste in Kenya is available. This study sought to establish the sociodemographic determinants of households’ food waste in Garissa sub-county, in Garissa County, Kenya. A total of 165 consumers were involved in the study. Bakery products were the most wasted. The per capita food wasted was 6.1 kg/person/year or approximately 5.1 tonnes (equivalent to 39,352,110 Kcal) for Garissa County. At a per capita consumption of 2360 Kcal/ person/day, the food wasted was enough to feed 16,674 people for one day. Males were more wasteful than females. Food waste was higher in households: headed by people aged 25 – 34 years; with higher income; with urban residency and with large sizes. Annually, Kshs 9600 (US96) per-house hold was lost from the wasted food translating to a loss of Kshs1.4 billion (US 13.6 million) from the 141,353 households in Garissa County. With guidance and good policies, food waste can be managed since the majority of the consumers were concerned about food waste and had intentions to reduce it.
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    Interpretation of EkeGusii Pop Songs within the Great Chain of Being Metaphor
    (Chuka University, 2017-10) Ntabo, Victor Ondara; Gathigia, Moses Gatambuki; Moraa, Noam N
    A review of literature on pop songs reveals that composers use metaphors to communicate their feelings. In particular, the meaning of the metaphors in EkeGusii pop songs (EPS) needs to be interpreted to reveal the intention of the composers. The EkeGusii pop singer Christopher Mosioma’s songs have gained fame in Kenya because of their use of metaphors. The song amasomo (education) has gained acclaim from Kenyans since its launch in 2014. The song amasomo (education) is basically presented as a piece of advice to students to embrace education in order to optimally reap from its benefits. It is against this backdrop that this study identifies the metaphors in the song through the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU) and interprets them. The study employs four coders (including the researchers) in the identification of the metaphors. The study also takes into account the folk conception of the generic Great Chain of Being Metaphor (GCBM) whose main aim is to assign a place for any phenomenon in the universe in a strict hierarchical system. The study found that, inter alia, human, animal, plant, object and vehicle metaphors are used in the song amasomo. The study concludes that the metaphors in the EkeGusii pop songs belong inherently to different levels of the generic Great Chain of Being Metaphor (GCBM).

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