Cows, customs and controversy in the great Luo wedding debate

Bolo Bespoke and Mueni [Facebook]

The buzz online has centred around a traditional wedding that took place in Ukambani this past weekend, sparking varied responses from Luos who felt the ceremony did not meet the customary standards for a dowry payment ceremony—nyombo.

The concerns were primarily about the attire and the overall substance of the event. In Luo tradition, cows must be walked into the bride’s home, and the rope used to lead the cows must be carried back to the groom’s home.

The discussions online delved into what constitutes proper Luo customs. The Ukambani event had more friends than family members in attendance, prompting many Luos to bemoan the watering down of their culture.

This reminded me of a recent discussion about the famous legal battle between Wambui Otieno and the Umira Kager clan in 1986. It was less a battle between the plaintiff and defendant and more a contest between British Common Law and Luo Customary Law.

In case you’re unfamiliar, S.M. Otieno was one of the few Kenyans trained as a lawyer around the time of independence. He became a prominent criminal lawyer, paving the way for figures like Cliff Ombeta. He married Wambui Waiyaki Otieno, a Kikuyu woman from Kabete. At the time, the relationship between Luos and Kikuyus was not as strained as it is now. The post-independence politics of Kenya, however, exacerbated the cultural differences, creating a deep political rivalry between the two groups.

When S.M. Otieno collapsed and died in December 1985, his wife declared that he had expressed his wish to be buried in Upper Matasia, on property he had purchased. However, his clan, the Umira Kager, of which he was a member of their Nairobi Welfare Group, went to court to contest this. The entire country followed the case as it moved from the magistrate’s court to the Court of Appeal. Justice Samuel Bosire eventually ruled that the body should be handed over to Otieno’s widow and brother for burial in Nyalgunga village in Alego, Siaya.

The question I raised was: If this case came up today, would the court rule the same way?

The Umira Kager clan relied heavily on the tenets of Luo customs to define a Luo home. At the time, marriage was largely governed by customary law, except for the few Kenyans who held church weddings. In his ruling, Justice Bosire cited British case law, which stated that if a woman marries a man subject to laws that differ from British laws, she has no grounds to contest her husband's cultural practices. Recently, Kenya passed a law that validates marriage only if it is registered with the Registrar of Marriages.

Today, many Luos have married outside their tribe, and the courts would likely struggle to make a similar ruling. Luo culture has evolved considerably since 1986, and many of the traditional procedures for setting up a home are no longer strictly followed. With land becoming increasingly scarce, many Luos have purchased land outside their ancestral homes. Magistrates today would likely encounter a lot of conflicting evidence regarding Luo customs, and the law must adapt to the social context.

Returning to the debate over the shifts in Luo culture, the number of Luos with little to no connection to their ancestral villages has grown over the years. Many Luos in Nairobi can understand but not speak Dholuo. These are members of the Luo elite across various social classes. Elites are the ones who shape the culture of a community, and as a result, Luo culture will continue to evolve. Meanwhile, conservatives will continue to lament the loss of cultural traditions.

Culture forms quickly but changes slowly. It has been about 40 years since Luo Customary Law won its case against Common Law. In those 40 years, much has changed in Luo culture, and we will continue to witness different interpretations of Luo customs, depending on who organizes the events and their economic status.