History of Origin - The Luo

The Luo people can trace their origin from the Semitic, Nilo-Saharan and Cushitic speaking people. The Luo people of Kenya share cultures and ways of life including food, conflict resolution mechanisms and rituals with the Acholi, Langi, Toora, Jonam and Padhola of Uganda; the Igbo of Ghana and Nigeria; the Maban of Sudan as well as Chad; the Hutu and Tutsi of the DRC, Burundi and Rwanda; the Alur of the DRC, CAR, Uganda and Cameroon ant the Shilluk, Jur Chol, Naath, Anywaa and Sahari of Sudan and Ethiopia.

The purpose of this article is to establish the history and myth of origin of the Luo people. It is important to note that one of the key problems that traditional historians face is that of chronology. This is because different communities, even within the same tribe, can have different oral histories. As such, it is important to focus on various periods in history rather than specific years to understand the history of certain groups in Africa such as the Luo, where the pre-colonial history was mostly preserved and passed to the next generations orally.

Origin and Migration Story of the Luo

The Luo are believed to have originated from one of the multiple tribes who resided Tekidi or Napata in Upper Egypt or Modern North Sudan from 5500 to 3500 BC and were living under Nubians in one of the initial sacral kingdoms to emerge in the Nile, Ta-Seti which was located in the northern part of Nubia. In around 3200BC the sacral kingdoms were able to consolidate further and Luo were an intergral part of those people and they all pledged to be Loyal to the god Agu or Anu of the Anu/Agu people also known as the Itiyo-pi-anu peoples. The Anu people were the aboriginal inhabitants of Abyssinia, currently known as Ethiopia and they went on to invade the Nubians to create the great Koch (Cush) kingdom that enlarged into Egypt, Sumeria and Phoenicia.

Over the years, a series of conflicts would force the Anu people to migrate south to escape from invasions. For instance, when Egypt fell to the Shephard kings (Hyksos) the Anu were driven from Lower Egypt and they went on to rule the Egyptian empire from 1730-1580 BC after which an Anu leader, Amosis I expelled them and was even able to limit the pharaoh’s power over Egypt. Another example is when an Egyptian expedition backed up by Carian and Greek mercenaries (known as brown men who had dirty beards) invaded the land of Kush in 591 BC under the generals Potasimto and Amasis II and captured the settlement of Napata where the Luos lived. The Persian conquest of Egypt had weakened Napata’s economic role leading to a decline in agriculture and cattle keeping but the raid on Napata finally led it to lose its role as the Meroe’s (modern Butana region) economic capital. To this day, Amasis is remembered as a hate figure who collaborated with the invaders and was involved in the destruction of Tekidi, the capital of Koch (Kush). Afterwards, Amasis became the Pharaoh until the Persians invaded in 525 BC and was the last indigenous Pharaoh in Egypt.

In 525 BC, the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great conquered Egypt and had his son, Cambysis kill the Pharaoh Amasis II. The Persians then continued to conquer territories south of Egypt and enslaved or drove out the black people who had settled there. In fact, 525 BC is associated with the largest migration of black people from the North to the South as the moved to flee away from invaders. As such, the oral history of the Luo derides Amasis for his inability to fight Cyrus the Great’s aggression.

The other notable period in history was the reign of the Aksumite Kingdom which existed from 100-940 AD which was eventually ended by the rise of Islam in the seventh century by taking control of the Red Sea as well as most of the Nile. This led to the economic isolation of the Aksumite Kingdom leading to a further migration inward, southwards and to the highlands by the Cushitic and Nilo-Saharan speaking peoples including the forefathers of the Luo who were seeking protection. The Aksumite kingdom eventually fell in the 11^th century.

The Luo people trace parts of their origin to this period when people who had the culture of Kush, Meroe and Kush developed and continued to interact with the black people. From 990 to 1125, the Luo people were in Sudan at Bahr el Ghazal, Wau. A series of calamities such as the serious outbreak of anthrax (Opere in Luo) and an explosion in the population led to the wiping out of the cattle owned by the Anu tribe which engaged in crop and livestock production. These crises forced the community to adapt and resort to fishing along the river Nile to survive. This is also how the Luo earned the name Jo-Oluo-Aora meaning “followers of the river”.

Since the 10^th Century, the Luo lived along the Nile and a lake known as the Nam Lolwe (water which extends to the end of the vvearth) which was later renamed as Lake Victoria by the British during the colonial era. The first place where the Luo were called Jo Luo was in modern day South Sudan and this was also where the Luo emerged as a distinct group of people. The fact that the Luo got their name in Sudan in the tenth century is the reason why most of the myths or stories of origin of the Luo people start in South Sudan at a place known as Dog nam, meaning ‘a lakeshore’. The Acholi equivalent of Dog nam is dhonam which is a Dholuo name meaning ‘the mouth of the lake’. Although there no agreement on which lake is referred to in the Luo oral history, most historians believe that the lake is Lake No or River Palugo which is known by the Arabs as the Bahr El Ghazal or the “Sea of the Gazelle”.

According to the Luo oral history, the Luo people lived together in the East of Bahr el Ghazal upto the year 1300 when they had to disperse due to a quarrel or conflict among three brothers: Gilo, Nyikang’o and Dimo. The conflict within that homestead was caused by a power struggle among the three brothers leading to a split and a separation in the three group’s history. During this period, the Luo people also started to divide into different subgroups which went into different directions. They also started to intermarry with other groups and to assimilate other cultures while some of the Luo people were also assimilated into other cultures. This explains why the Luo share cultures with other community which also migrated from Egypt, Aksum, Meroe and Kush. As such, components of the Luo culture can be observed across 16 language groups in more than 13 nations including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Chad, Eritrea, Kenya, Egypt, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Congo Brazaville, Rwanda, Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), Uganda and Cameroon among others.

The Luo established chiefdoms and kingdoms through mostly peaceful means not through the power of the spear or violence. Although there were periods of conflicts, the Luo did not have a reputation of being warriors or having superior weapons. However, they had high levels of political organization and resilient social systems. As such, they had a reputation of being administrators, arbitrators and rainmakers which enabled them to rule others without having to employ a lot of violence.

Language Groups

The Luo language groups include the Anuak of Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda, the Acholi of South Sudan and Uganda, the Alur of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Bari of South Sudan, the Beland Bor of South Sudan, the Jo Luo of Kenya and Tanzania, the Abasuba of Kenya, the Shilluk/Chollo of Uganda and South Sudan, the Jur Chol/Jo Luo of South Sudan, the Kuman of Uganda, the Padhola of Uganda, the Jonam of Uganda, the Kuman of Uganda, the Pari of South Sudan, the Maban of Ethiopia and Sudan, the Thuri/Shatt and the Langi of Uganda

Shilluk/Chollo

It is believed that Nyikango who was the father of Shilluk or Chollo nation moved north along the Nile to re-conquer and inhabit the land which their ancestors had lost to the Europeans and the Arabs. He was able to conquer and assimilate the Otango Dirim through war and diplomacy. The Shilluk can be seen as a nation because they have a common territory, language, central authority, customs and traditions through which they governed themselves. The Shilluk kingdom was occupied in 1837 by the Turko-Egyptian regime and has never been able to reconstitute itself apart from the short period between 1881 and 1898 during the Mahdiya. Today, the Shilluk like to be known as the Chollo rather than the Shilluk and their language is known as the dhok-Chollo. They are a major Luo group living on the two banks of the rive Nile in southern Sudan and their major towns include Kodhok, Malakal, Tonaga and Tonga.

Maban

Additionally, Nyikango’s clans gave birth to the Maban clan which separated itself from the Shilluk in a place called Soba near Khartoum. They reached their current location after their return from the Baro River area. Today, the Mabaano people are sometimes referred to as the Burun, Chai or Maban and inhabit the plains located between the Nile East of Renk to the Ethiopian Highland’s foot.

Belanda Boor

According to the oral history, Bwor, who was Nyikango’s elder son married a local Bviri woman and established the Beland Boor or the Boor. The Boor people are subdivided into two major groups: the people of the river (Jo Kunam) which is a closely knit community that is believed to have formed the backbone of the migration of the Boor and people of the hill (Jo Ugot) whose relations are loose and are divided into three independent clans: the Mbene, the Fugaya and the Afaranga.

Jur Chol or JoLuo

The Jur Chol are believed to the descendants of Dimo who was Gilo and Nyikango’s brother. They remained in Bahr el Ghazal while Gilo and Nyikango were migrating to the upper Nile. Today, they are found in the Aweil, Tonja and Wau districts and their main settlements are Uariyo, Udici, Barmayen, Mapel, Wau, Thony and Alel.

Thuri/Shatt

Dimo also had a child named Othuru who went on to become the ancestor of the Shatt/Thuri. The Thuri are a Luo group which is closely related to the Jur Chor of Bahr el Ghazal and the Shilluk. It is believed that they settled in their current location 400 years ago after separating themselves from the rest of the Luo. Today, they live in the southern region between Aweil and Wai between the Lol and Jur Rivers. It is also believed that other clans migrated into modern day Ghana and Nigeria, giving rise to the Igbo people in West Africa.

Anywaa

The great ancestor of the Anywaa nation/people is Gilo, the younger brother of Dimo and Nyikang’o. The Anywaa people live both in South Sudan and Ethiopia in Gambrella. The Ethiopian Luos are also known as the Anuak and are no different to the Anuak who live in Sudan’s Upper Nile.

Bari

The Gilo clans also managed to absorb and assimilate the Bari people who are a Nilo-Hamitic group. The Bari people speak the Bari language which is also spoken by the Mandari, Gweno, Nyangwara, Nyepu and Kakwa. The Bari people are located in the Juba district in the modern day.

Pari

The Pari also arose from the Gilo clan and are a Luo speaking people who are also very similar to the Anywaa. The Anywaa and Dhi-Pri languages are very similar and are mutually intelligible. Today they are referred to as the Jo-Pari or the Lokoro and inhabit Lipul Hill area.

Acholi

It is believed that in the latter part of the 16^th century, other Luo clans migrated into the area which includes modern day Northern Uganda, Southern Sudan and North-Eastern DRC. These are the Ateker people who migrated from Abyssinia in Ethiopa in the 1600s. They had conflicts with the Kuman, Lang’o and the Madi. However, part of their clan intermarried with the Madi people and created a group known as the Acholi.

Lang’i

Over time, the Acholi assimilated and intermarried with the Lang’i.  Although the Lang’i people lost their ancestral language, they still have some traditional practices which are similar to the previous/earlier groups. They live in the Lagnu sub-region which is in Central Uganda, north of the Lake Kyoga.

Kumam

The Kumam speak a Luo language and are one of the communities which were assimilated by the Luo clans. However, they belong the Ateker group along with other groups such as the Lang’i, Karamajong and Teso.

Alur

Over time, a further wave of Luo clans migrated and intermarried with the Bantus in the modern-day Democratic Republic of Congo and created the Alur tribe/community. The Alur people currently live in the DRC and Uganda. The DRC has a large Alur community where they live in the Oriental Provice, in a territory known as Mahagi. The Alur in the Congo are also known as the Dho Alur, Luri, Aloro, Alua and Lur. They are famous for having created several brands of African Music including Lingala, Benga and Rhumba which went on to be famous around the African continent.

Jonam

The Jonam group separated itself from the Alur after their language or dialect known as Jonam became dominant and formed their own community or tribe, also known as the Jonam. They currently live along the river Nile.

Jopadhola

Some Luo groups migrated towards the east between the middle of the 16^th century (1550) and the start of the 17^th century (1600). One of those groups was led by Adhola and inhabited the Budama area in the 17^th century. They preferred to settle in the deeply forested areas where they were protected from attacks by the Bantu groups which had already settled there. The fact that they lived in relative isolation enabled them to preserve their language known as Dhopadhola. The word Jopadhola means Adhola’s people while Dhopadhola means the Adhola’s language.

Jo Luo

Some of the Luo groups migrated to the Nyanza region of Kenya and the Northwest Tanzania region in five waves namely: the Joka-jok which was the first group to reach the areas from the land of the Acholi: Joka-Owiny who are the brothers to the Padhola: the migration from Alur: The Jok’omolo who came from Pawir and the Abasuba who arose from the intermarriage between the Baganda and the Luo people.

In Kenya, the Luo refer to themselves as the JoLuo or JaLuo meaning the ‘people of Luo’. They are one of the largest communities in Kenya along with the Kikuyu, Luhya and the Kalenjin. By the year 1750, some of the Luo clans had migrated further in to area which is currently in the north of Tanzania. The fact that the Tanzanian Luo community migrated from Kenya means that they are the same community with no differences in the language or culture. Some of the Luo community is also settled in eastern Uganda.

The Migration into Kenya

The Luo in Kenya migrated into the western part of Kenya in five waves through Uganda’s eastern region. The first wave of migration arrived in western Kenya in the 1500s. The first Luo settlement in Kenya was at Alego in 1600 where they found Bantus who had settled into the area from Uganda. The groups they found there included the Kisii and Luhya. The Luos displaced them and forced them to migrate to the highlands and the west of Kenya. Other Luo clans were completely assimilated by the Nandi clans to create the Samia people of Western Uganda, the Ragol of Western Kenya and the Marach.

Jo Kowiny

The first group of clans to arrive was known as the Jo Kowiny who were part of the Jo Padhola and they included the JoSakwa, JoKajulu, JoUyoma, JoKisumo, JoAsembo and JoSeme. They currently live in today’s Siaya county as well as parts of Kisumu. The historical ruins of the JoOwiny can be identified at bungu Owiny located near lake Kanyaboli to the present day.

Joka Jok

The Joka Jok were the second to migrate into Kenya. The Joka Jok were comprised of the JoKadem, JoKarachuonyo, JoKanyada and JoNyakach and others. They Joka Jok came from the Acholi people who had moved into northern Uganda. Today, they live in the Homabay, Nyando, Rongo and Rachuonyo areas.

Jo Komolo

Jo Komolo migrated into western Kenya later and included the JoYimbo, JoAlego, JoGem and JoUgenya. Today, they mainly live in Siaya County in the Gem and Ugenya areas. The last group of the Jo Komolo were the Jo Kager. Their leader was Ochieng Waljak Ger who was a highly skilled military leader who used his military skill to drive away the Bantu or Omiya who inhabited the Ugenay area in around 1750.

References

Ayot, H. (1973). A history of the Luo-abasuba of western Kenya from CAD 1760-1940 (Doctoral dissertation).

Campbell, J. R. (2006). Who are the Luo? Oral tradition and disciplinary practices in anthropology and history. Journal of African cultural studies, 18(1), 73-87.

Ogot, B. A. (1967). History of the southern Luo (Vol. 1). East African Publishing House.

Shiroya, O. J. (1992). Essays on the Pre-colonial History of North-western Uganda. Jomo Kenyatta Foundation.

Sutton, J. E. G. (1968). Some Reflections of the Early History of Western Kenya. The Association.