Luhya people

Luhya

Abaluhya
Luhya children in rural western Kenya
Total population
6,823,482 (2019 census)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Kenya (western counties and major cities) Uganda (Eastern Region) Tanzania (Kagera and Mara regions)
Languages
Luhya varieties, Swahili, English
Religion
Predominantly Christianity; minority African traditional religion
Related ethnic groups
other Great Lakes Bantu peoples (for example Ganda, Haya, Kuria)

Person	OmuLuyia
People	AbaLuyia
Language	OluLuyia
Country	EbuLuyia

The Luhya (also known as Abaluhya , Luyia or Abaluhya)) are a Bantu ethnic group comprising more than 20 related sub-tribes. Geographically centered in the fertile Lake Victoria Basin of Western Kenya, they also maintain significant populations in eastern Uganda and northern Tanzania. They are Kenya’s second-largest ethnic group, numbering 6,823,482 per the 2019 census (approximately 14% of the national population), making them the second largest ethnic group in the country after the Kikuyu.[2] Often described as an "ethnolinguistic constellation," the group includes the Bukusu, Maragoli, Kabarasi, Tachoni, Wanga, and Samia, among others. Each sub-tribe maintains a distinct dialect and clan system while sharing a unified identity and common cultural institutions.[3][4] [5]

Location of the former Western Province of Kenya, the historic heartland of the Luhya people.

Historically, most Luhya were smallholder farmers who grew sorghum, millet and later maize, kept cattle, goats and chickens and participated in extensive cross border trade and labor migration. Since independence, Luhya individuals have been prominent in Kenyan national life, producing several vice presidents, speakers of parliament, cabinet ministers, judges, academics, church leaders and elite sportspeople, as well as musicians, journalists and other cultural figures.[6][7]

The autonym Abaluhya or Abaluyia is commonly glossed as "people of the same hearth" or "people of the north" in several Luhya varieties, from the root -luhya/-luyia and the plural prefix aba- meaning "people of".[8] Individuals are OmuLuyia, the people are AbaLuyia, the language cluster OluLuyia and the imagined homeland EbuLuyia.

The term "Luhya" gained political salience in the 1940s and 1950s when colonial administrators, African politicians and mission educated elites began to group a number of western Kenyan Bantu communities together for representation in new colonial institutions. Earlier labels such as "North Kavirondo" and "Kavirondo Bantu" gave way to a more unified "Baluhya" identity in the decade before Kenyan independence.[9]

Within this broad identity, people usually self identify first by subtribe (for example Omubukusu, Omumaragoli, Omusamia) and then by clan. Luhya identity has nonetheless become important in Kenyan party politics, especially since the reintroduction of multiparty competition in the 1990s.[10]

Archaeological, linguistic and genetic evidence links Luhya origins to the wider Bantu expansion from west central Africa into the Great Lakes region between roughly three and five millennia ago.[11] By the second millennium CE, Bantu speaking communities closely related to contemporary Luhya were established on the northern and western slopes of Mount Elgon, along the middle Nzoia River and in the lowlands around present day Kakamega, Vihiga and Busia.[12]

Precolonial Luhya societies were politically decentralized. Most groups lived in small clan based polities headed by councils of elders, ritual specialists and lineage leaders. The exception was the Wanga, whose kingdom under the Nabongo (king) developed a more centralized court and tributary system that interacted with neighboring Luo, Nandi and Maasai communities and later with Arab and Swahili traders.[13]

Economically, Luhya groups combined shifting cultivation of sorghum, finger millet, cowpeas and bananas with livestock herding and hunting. Iron working and pottery were well developed, and households engaged in regional exchange networks that linked the highlands to Lake Victoria and, through caravan trade, to the coast.[14]

From the early nineteenth century, intensified long distance trade, cattle raiding and population movements reshaped western Kenya. Maasai and Kalenjin cattle raiding occasionally reached Luhya areas, while Luo groups expanded along the Nzoia and Yala rivers. The Wanga kingdom under Nabongo Mumia consolidated its influence through alliances, warfare and control of trade routes linking Buganda, Busoga, Kavirondo and the coast.[15]

Arab and Swahili traders reached Wanga and Samia areas in the mid nineteenth century, exchanging cloth, beads and guns for ivory and other products. British explorers such as Henry Morton Stanley and Joseph Thomson encountered Luhya communities while passing around Lake Victoria in the 1870s and 1880s, describing the region in terms that later fed into British colonial mapping.[16]

With the creation of the East Africa Protectorate in 1895 and later the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, Luhya territory was incorporated into the North Kavirondo and Elgon Nyanza districts. Colonial rule introduced new administrative boundaries, taxation, Christian missions and cash crop production.

The Wanga kingdom became an early ally of the British. Nabongo Mumia was confirmed as a paramount chief, and Wanga elders assisted in collecting taxes and labor, a relationship that brought both advantage and controversy among neighboring groups.[17] Elsewhere, Luhya communities experienced land alienation in parts of what became the White Highlands, forced labor on European farms and the recruitment of young men into the King's African Rifles and settler estates.

Christian missions, especially the Friends Africa Mission, the Church of God, the Anglicans and the Roman Catholic Church established schools and churches in Kaimosi, Bunyore, Mumias and other centers from the first decade of the twentieth century.[18] Conversion to Christianity intersected with existing beliefs in Nyasaye/Were, ancestral spirits and ritual specialists.

Luhya soldiers fought for the British in both world wars, and many veterans brought back new political ideas and experiences. In the 1940s and 1950s, the Dini ya Msambwa religious movement led by Elijah Masinde among the Bukusu combined Christian and traditional elements with anti colonial protest and was repressed by the colonial state.[19]

From the 1930s, mission schooling produced an emerging Luhya educated class that participated in nationalist politics and colonial advisory bodies. Leaders such as Masinde Muliro and Moses Mudavadi were active in the Kenya African Union and other organizations that demanded land rights, better wages and representation.[20]

The name "Luhya" was increasingly used in the 1940s and 1950s as a political category for representation in the Legislative Council and in African district associations. By the time of independence in 1963, a sense of being Luhya sat alongside strong loyalties to local subgroups such as Bukusu, Maragoli, Wanga, Banyore, Samia and others.

At independence, most of the Luhya population fell within the new Western Province and small parts of Rift Valley Province. Western Province became associated in popular commentary with high population density, smallholder sugarcane and maize farming, and extensive out migration to Nairobi, Mombasa and other towns.[21]

Luhya leaders played important roles in postcolonial governments. Masinde Muliro and Moses Mudavadi served as ministers in the administrations of Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi. Later, Musalia Mudavadi, Michael Wamalwa Kijana and Moody Awori all held the office of vice president or deputy prime minister at different moments, helping entrench the idea of the "Luhya vote" as a significant electoral bloc.[22]

Political competition in western Kenya was often shaped by national party alignments rather than a single regional party. Luhya politicians appeared across the ideological spectrum in parties such as KANU, FORD Kenya, NARC, ODM and later Kenya Kwanza and Azimio formations.

The 2010 Constitution of Kenya introduced a devolved system of 47 counties. Luhya populations now form majorities in the counties of Kakamega, Bungoma, Vihiga and Busia, and large pluralities in parts of Trans Nzoia and Nandi.[23]

County governors, senators and members of county assemblies from these areas have become significant power brokers in national coalitions. Wycliffe Oparanya served two terms as governor of Kakamega and was chair of the Council of Governors, while Moses Wetang'ula became Speaker of the National Assembly in 2022 and Musalia Mudavadi was appointed Prime Cabinet Secretary in the same year.[24][25]

Analysts often describe the "Luhya vote" as numerically important but politically fragmented, with different subregions and leaders backing competing coalitions in the 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2022 general elections.[26]

Traditional house in rural western Kenya associated with Luhya homesteads.

Most Luhya people live in the western Kenyan highlands between Mount Elgon and the northern shores of Lake Victoria, a region of relatively high rainfall and fertile soils. Western Province, which existed from 1963 to 2013, historically grouped many Luhya districts. With devolution, the population is now counted primarily at county level.[1]

Significant rural Luhya populations are found in:

• Kakamega County (Idakho, Isukha, Kabras, Marama, Tsotso, and parts of Wanga and Banyore)
• Bungoma County (Bukusu, Tachoni)
• Vihiga County (Maragoli, Bunyore/Abanyore, Tiriki)
• Busia County (Samia, Khayo, Nyala, Marachi, parts of Wanga)
• Trans Nzoia County (Bukusu, Tachoni and other Luhya migrants)
• parts of Nandi County, Uasin Gishu County and Nairobi County through urban migration.

Luhya communities in Uganda live mainly in Eastern Uganda, especially in Tororo District, Mbale District and Busia District, where closely related Basamia, Banyole and Gisu (Masaba) populations reside.[27]

The table below summarizes Kenyan counties with substantial Luhya populations, based primarily on the 2019 census and secondary syntheses. Percentages are approximate and may vary by sub location.

County	Former Province	Main Luhya subgroups	Administrative centre	Notes
Kakamega County	Western	Idakho, Isukha, Kabras, Marama, Tsotso, parts of Wanga, Banyore	Kakamega	Considered the demographic and political centre of Luhya country, with dense settlement and sugarcane, maize and tea farming.[1]
Bungoma County	Western/Rift Valley	Bukusu, Tachoni	Bungoma	Large scale maize and sugarcane zone; Bukusu are among the largest single Luhya subgroups.[28]
Vihiga County	Western	Maragoli, Tiriki, Bunyore (Abanyore)	Mbale	Highly fragmented landholdings, significant tea production and commuter ties to Kisumu and Kakamega.[29]
Busia County	Western	Samia, Khayo, Marachi, Nyala, parts of Wanga	Busia	Cross border trading hub linking Kenya and Uganda, with mixed fishing and agriculture along Lake Victoria and the Sio River.[30]
Trans Nzoia County	Rift Valley	Bukusu, Tachoni and other Luhya migrants	Kitale	High potential maize zone; Luhya populations expanded here after the redistribution of former settler farms following independence.[31]

The Luhya speak a cluster of mutually intelligible Bantu languages often referred to collectively as "Luhya" or OluLuyia. Linguists usually treat these as a set of related but distinct languages, including Lubukusu, Lulogooli (Logoli), Lunyore, Lusamia, Lwisukha, Lwidakho, Lunyala, Lukabarasi, Lutachoni, Lumarama, Olutsotso, Oluwanga and others.[32]

Common features include noun class systems, extensive verbal morphology and the use of prefixes such as aba-/ava- for people and olu-/olu- for languages. Many Luhya are multilingual, speaking one or more Luhya varieties, Swahili as the national lingua franca and English in formal contexts.

Luhya identity encompasses more than twenty historically distinct subtribes. The list below gives commonly recognized subgroups and their main areas of settlement. Terminology varies between scholarly sources and in local usage.[33]

Subgroup (autonym)	Common English name	Primary dialect	Main Kenyan districts/counties
Ababukusu	Bukusu	Lubukusu	Bungoma, Trans Nzoia, Mount Elgon
Abamaragoli / Avalogooli	Maragoli	Lulogooli	Vihiga (Maragoli), parts of Kisumu
Abanyole / Abanyore	Banyore (Bunyore)	Olunyole	Vihiga (Emuhaya, Luanda), parts of Kisumu
Abanyala ba Busia	Nyala (east)	Lunyala (Busia)	Busia
Abanyala ba Ndombi	Nyala (west)	Lunyala (Kakamega)	Kakamega (Navakholo)
Abawanga	Wanga	Oluwanga	Kakamega (Mumias, Matungu), Busia
Abatiriki	Tiriki	Lutirichi	Vihiga (Tiriki)
Abasidakho	Idakho	Lwidakho	Kakamega (south)
Abasiiukha	Isukha	Lwisukha	Kakamega (east)
Abakabras	Kabras	Lukabarasi	Kakamega (Malava)
Abatsotso	Tsotso	Olutsotso	Kakamega (central west)
Abamarama	Marama	Lumarama	Kakamega (Butere)
Abakisa	Kisa	Olushisa	Kakamega (Khwisero)
Abakhayo	Khayo	Olukhayo	Busia (Nambale, Matayos)
Abasamia	Samia	Lusamia	Busia (Samia), eastern Uganda
Abatachoni	Tachoni	Lutachoni	Bungoma, Kakamega, Trans Nzoia

Each subgroup is further divided into numerous patrilineal clans, which historically regulated marriage, land rights and ritual obligations. Clans typically trace their origins to legendary ancestors, migration leaders or occupational specializations.

Luhya elder in traditional regalia during a cultural festival.

Traditionally, Luhya communities were organized around extended patrilineal households clustered into villages of about ten to fifteen homesteads. The homestead (olukoba or similar terms) usually belonged to a senior man, his wife or wives, their married sons and their families. The compound layout reflected seniority, with the main house, wives' houses, sons' houses and cattle kraal placed according to local norms.[34]

Village life was governed by elders' councils that mediated disputes, arranged initiation ceremonies, settled bridewealth negotiations and oversaw communal rituals. Age sets provided another layer of organization, especially among groups such as the Bukusu and Tachoni where circumcision cohorts (for example Kolongolo, Kananachi, Kikwameti, Kinyikeu, Nyange, Maina, Sawa) structured male social life.

Marriage historically involved the transfer of cattle, goats or other livestock as bridewealth from the groom's family to the bride's family. Arranged marriages were common, although elopement and love matches also occurred. Polygyny was an accepted ideal for men of sufficient means, though in practice most men had one or two wives.[35]

Inheritance of land and livestock generally followed patrilineal principles, with the eldest son of the first wife enjoying a privileged position. Daughters traditionally did not inherit land, though constitutional and legal reforms in Kenya have increasingly opened inheritance rights to women.

Male circumcision is a central rite of passage among many Luhya subgroups. Among the Bukusu, Tachoni, Kabras and parts of Nyala and Samia, circumcision ceremonies are still conducted in designated seasons in even numbered years, accompanied by singing, drumming, dancing and ritual seclusion. Among other Luhya groups, circumcision has largely moved to clinical settings but remains an important life stage marker.

Female genital cutting historically occurred only in a few Luhya communities and was never as widespread as among some neighboring peoples such as the Agikuyu. It has declined sharply following state bans, health campaigns and changing social attitudes.[36]

Precolonial Luhya religious thought centered on belief in a supreme being often called Nyasaye or Were, associated with the sky, fertility and moral order, alongside ancestral spirits and a range of spirits linked to places, rain, healing and misfortune. Ritual specialists, seers and diviners mediated between communities and the spirit world.

Christian missions, especially Friends (Quaker), Church of God, Anglican and Catholic, spread rapidly in the twentieth century, and today an estimated majority of Luhya people identify as Christian, divided among Catholic, mainline Protestant, Pentecostal and African initiated churches.[37] Minority communities maintain traditional religious practices or participate in movements such as Dini ya Msambwa, which blend Christian and indigenous elements and historically expressed resistance to colonial and postcolonial authority.

Belief in witchcraft, night runners and spirit possession remains part of everyday discourse in some areas and coexists with Christian and Islamic practices.

Traditional Luhya architecture in rural areas often features rectangular or circular houses with earthen walls and thatched roofs, arranged around an open courtyard. Granaries for storing grain are raised on stilts to protect against pests and moisture.

Ceremonial regalia for elders, ritual specialists and dancers includes skin capes, beadwork, cowrie shells, iron bells, ankle rattles, walking sticks and distinctive headdresses. During contemporary cultural festivals, circumcision seasons and weddings, performers often wear a synthesis of older regalia and modern fabrics in the colors of the Kenyan flag or county sports teams.

Luhya schoolchildren in western Kenya. Contemporary dress is similar to that of other Kenyan communities, with traditional regalia reserved mainly for ritual and festive occasions.

Music and dance are integral to Luhya social life. Isukuti drumming ensembles from the Isukha and Idakho, for example, are widely known in Kenya for their fast paced rhythms performed at weddings, funerals and political rallies. Other genres include benga guitar styles from Bukusu and Maragoli areas and church choirs that blend local harmonies with global hymnody.[38]

Western Kenya has also produced many prominent footballers, runners and rugby players, helped by the popularity of school competitions and community clubs such as Abaluhya Football Club, later renamed A.F.C. Leopards.[39]

Historically, most Luhya households combined subsistence farming with small scale trade and wage labor. Maize, beans, cassava, sorghum, millet and vegetables are staple crops, while cattle, goats and chickens provide meat, milk and income. Chicken, often prepared as "ingokho" (chicken stew), is widely considered a delicacy and symbol of hospitality.

From the colonial period through the late twentieth century, sugarcane became a major cash crop in parts of Kakamega, Bungoma and Busia, supplying factories such as Mumias, Nzoia and West Kenya sugar companies. Tea production expanded in parts of Vihiga and Kakamega, while dairy farming grew in higher altitude zones of Bungoma and Trans Nzoia.[40]

Labor migration has long been a key livelihood strategy, with Luhya men and women working as teachers, civil servants, traders, industrial workers and informal sector operators in Nairobi, Mombasa and other towns and sending remittances back to rural homes. In recent decades, international migration to the Gulf states, Europe and North America has also grown.

Only individuals with stand alone articles on the English Wikipedia are normally listed here.

• Francis Atwoli, trade unionist and long serving secretary general of the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU).
• Moody Awori, ninth Vice President of Kenya.
• Aggrey Awori, Ugandan politician and former cabinet minister.
• Nancy Makokha Baraza, first Deputy Chief Justice of Kenya.
• Zacchaeus Chesoni, former Chief Justice of Kenya.
• Cyrus Jirongo, businessman and politician.
• Mukhisa Kituyi, former Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
• Musikari Kombo, former cabinet minister and party leader.
• Kenneth Marende, former Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya.
• Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya and former vice president.
• Masinde Muliro, independence era politician and minister.
• Nabongo Mumia, king of the Wanga kingdom and early colonial collaborator.
• Ababu Namwamba, Kenyan politician and cabinet secretary.
• Burudi Nabwera, diplomat and politician.
• Phyllis Omido, environmental activist and Goldman Environmental Prize winner.
• Paul Otuoma, governor of Busia County and former cabinet minister.
• Wycliffe Oparanya, former governor of Kakamega County and chair of the Council of Governors.
• Martin Shikuku, veteran politician and former leader of the opposition.
• Edwin Sifuna, Nairobi County senator and party secretary general.
• Amos Wako, long serving Attorney General of Kenya and former senator.
• Moses Wetangula, Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya and former foreign minister.
• George Wajackoyah, lawyer and 2022 presidential candidate.
• Michael Wamalwa, former Vice President of Kenya under Mwai Kibaki and Member of Parliament
• Humphrey Wattanga, KRA Commissioner General.
• Dr. Bernard Chitunga, second Co-operative University of Kenya Chancellor

• Laban Ayiro, academic and vice chancellor of Daystar University.
• Calestous Juma, professor of the practice of international development at Harvard University.
• Francis D. Imbuga, playwright and literature scholar.
• Filemona F. Indire, professor, diplomat and former member of parliament.
• Susane Nabulindo, consultant anesthesiologist.
• Catherine Nyongesa, radiation oncologist and founder of Texas Cancer Centre in Nairobi.
• Nanjala Nyabola, writer and political analyst.
• Ken Walibora, novelist and Kiswahili scholar.
• Gideon Were, historian and professor.
• Miriam Were, public health physician and recipient of the first Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize.
• John Nikola Bwire Osogo, historian and educationist.
• Blasio Vincent Oriedo, epidemiologist and researcher in tropical medicine.

• Bien-Aimé Baraza, member of the band Sauti Sol.
• Daudi Kabaka, benga musician.
• Elsa Majimbo, comedian and social media personality.
• Pamella Makotsi-Sittoni, journalist and editor.
• Gloria Muliro, gospel musician.
• Azziad Nasenya, actress and media personality.
• Hilary Ng'weno, historian and journalist.
• Mary Kavere, actress known as Mama Kayai.
• Nonini, musician.
• Winfred Adah Omwakwe, Miss Earth 2002.
• Daddy Owen, gospel musician.
• Khadambi Asalache, poet and artist.
• Willy Paul, musician.
• Eugine Micah, Kenyan journalist and media personality.

• Festo Habakkuk Olang', first African Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya.
• Maurice Michael Otunga, Catholic cardinal.
• Eliud Wabukala, former Anglican Archbishop of Kenya and chair of the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission.
• Joseph W. Sitati, general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.

• Josephat Ababu, cricketer.
• Biko Adema, rugby union player.
• Willy Ambaka, rugby player.
• Violet Barasa, volleyball player.
• Collins Injera, rugby sevens player.
• Humphrey Kayange, rugby player.
• Joe Kadenge, footballer.
• McDonald Mariga, footballer and politician.
• Joe Masiga, footballer and doctor.
• Ayub Masika, footballer.
• Clifton Miheso, footballer.
• Ferdinand Omanyala, sprinter and African record holder in the 100 metres.
• Robert Wangila, Olympic boxing champion.
• Victor Wanyama, footballer.
• Anne Wafula Strike, Paralympic wheelchair racer.
• Allan Wanga, footballer.
• Paul Wekesa, tennis player.
• Paul Were, footballer.

• Luhya languages
• Western Province (Kenya)
• Ethnic groups of Kenya
• A.F.C. Leopards

• Barasa, Patrick Wanakuta. Drumming up Dialogue: The Dialogic Philosophies of Martin Buber, Fred Iklé, and William Ury Compared and Applied to the Babukusu Community of Kenya. iUniverse, 2011.
• Ndeda, Mildred A. J. A History of the Abaluhya of Western Kenya c. 1500–1930. Kenyatta University, 2001.
• Were, Gideon S. A History of the Abaluyia of Western Kenya c. 1500–1930. East African Publishing House, 1967.
• Lihraw, Demmahom Olovodes. The Tachon Peoples of Kenya: History, Culture and Economy. PERC PACE International, 2010.