Stories, Culture & Roots
Serialized stories exploring culture, roots, and colonial history — grouped by series so you can read them in order.
Culture, roots, and colonial history (Luhya)
SECTION A, PART 6: Culture, roots, and colonial history
Since independence, the Luhya have been described as Kenya's political kingmakers, a large enough bloc to swing national elections but historically divided …
Read Story
Culture, roots, and colonial history (Luhya)
SECTION A, PART 5: Culture, roots, and colonial history
Colonial labor recruitment pulled many Luhya men into railway construction and settler farms far from home, starting a pattern of labor migration …
Read Story
Culture, roots, and colonial history (Luhya)
SECTION A, PART 4: Culture, roots, and colonial history
Colonial-era cash crop policy turned much of Luhya land into sugarcane country, reshaping both the economy and the landscape. Mumias Sugar became …
Read Story
Culture, roots, and colonial history (Luhya)
Featured
SECTION A, PART 3: Culture, roots, and colonial history
The isukuti drum and dance, performed at everything from weddings to funerals to circumcision ceremonies, is one of Kenya's most recognizable cultural …
Read Story
Culture, roots, and colonial history (Luhya)
Featured
SECTION A, PART 2: Culture, roots, and colonial history
The Wanga were the only Luhya sub tribe with a centralized kingdom. Under Nabongo Mumia, the kingdom entered treaties with the British …
Read Story
Culture, roots, and colonial history (Luhya)
Featured
SECTION A, PART 1: Culture, roots, and colonial history
The word Luhya comes from a root meaning people of the same hearth, a fire shared by many households under one roof …
Read Story