Folklore of the Luo peoples of Kenya speaks of a mighty warrior known as Lwanda Magere. He was born in the year 1720 to Abonyo Wuod Omolo and his mother, Nyabera. After his mother died during his birth, he was taken into the care of his grandmother, Rapondi. His father died in one of the numerous wars with their Nandi neighbors when Magere was barely a teenager. He belonged to the Sidho clan in Kano, on the shores of Lake Victoria. The Sidho clan occupies the present-day sugar belt at the foot of the Nandi escarpment. He possessed unearthly powers, and his flesh was made of stone. He deflected arrows, spears and clubs, making him invincible during war. He was famously known for his capability to tear an entire army apart on his own.
Story The traditional Luo enemies at the time were the jo Lang'o, the Luo name for the Kalenjin community. The Lang'o, tired of being defeated in war by the Luo, sat down with Nandi elders to discuss the issue and came to the conclusion that they would give Lwanda Magere the woman Maryann to marry, claiming it was a gesture of peace. Maryann's real role was to find out how to defeat him. Though the Luo elders advised him not to marry her, Luanda Magere did not heed their advice.
After many attempts, Maryann was successful when, one day, he fell ill and called for Maryann to take care of him. Luanda instructed her to cut his shadow with a knife and administer the medicine. She was surprised when she saw his shadow bleed. That night, she crept out of Lwanda's home, ran back to her people and told them her husband's weakness.
They then attacked the Luo. The Luo fought fiercely and Lwanda killed so many Nandi warriors that they decided to retreat. As they were running, one Nandi warrior remembered that Lwanda's strength was in his shadow. He stood at a hill and threw his spear at Lwanda's shadow. Luanda Magere fell down and died, and his body turned to stone.
As is the case with many myths, the story comes with several variations depending on the source material.
Legacy
A site in Sidho, near Awasi in the former Nyando District of Kenya, has a stone revered as the spot where Luanda Magere died. Legend has it that Luo warriors sharpened their blades on the shrine before battles.[1] People come from far and wide to conduct rituals and prayers at the site. Luanda Magere is still celebrated among the Luo through song and dance, and several animated shorts have been created based on the story.
Related Research Articles
The Kipsigis or Kipsigiis are a Nilotic group contingent of the Kalenjin ethnic group and speak a dialect of the Kalenjin language identified by their community eponym, Kipsigis. It is observed that the Kipsigis and another aboriginal group native to Kenya known as Ogiek have a merged identity. The Kipsigis are the biggest sub tribe within the Kalenjin community. The latest census population in Kenya put the Kipsigis at 1,972,000 speakers, accounting for 45% of all Kalenjin speaking people. They occupy the highlands of Kericho stretching from Timboroa to the Mara River in the south and the Mau Escarpment in the east to Kebeneti. They also occupy parts of Laikipia, Kitale, Nakuru, Narok, the Trans Mara District, Eldoret and the Nandi Hills.
Scáthach or Sgàthach is a figure in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is a legendary Scottish warrior woman and martial arts teacher who trains the legendary Ulster hero Cú Chulainn in the arts of combat. Texts describe her homeland as Scotland (Alpeach); she is especially associated with the Isle of Skye, where her residence Dún Scáith stands. She is called "the Shadow" and "Warrior Maid" and is the rival and sister of Aífe, both of whom are daughters of Árd-Greimne of Lethra.
The Kalenjin are a group of tribes indigenous to East Africa, residing mainly in what was formerly the Rift Valley Province in Kenya and the Eastern slopes of Mount Elgon in Uganda. They number 6,358,113 individuals per the Kenyan 2019 census and an estimated 273,839 in Uganda according to the 2014 census mainly in Kapchorwa, Kween and Bukwo districts.
The Luhya are a Bantu people and the second largest ethnic group in Kenya. The Luhya belong to the larger linguistic stock known as the Bantu. The Luhya are located in western Kenya and Uganda. They are divided into 20 culturally and linguistically united clans. Once known as the Kavirondo, multiple small tribes in North Nyanza came together under the new name Baluhya between 1950 and 1960. The Bukusu are the largest Luhya subtribe and account for almost 50% of the entire Luhya population, dominating other Luhya subtribes. They live in both Bungoma and Trans-Nzoia counties.
The Bukusu people are one of the 17 Kenyan tribes of the Luhya Bantu people of East Africa residing mainly in the counties of Bungoma and Trans Nzoia. They are the largest tribe of the Luhya nation, with 1,188,963 identifying as Bukusu in the 2019 Kenyan census. They speak the Bukusu dialect.
The Oropom were the aboriginal inhabitants of much of Karamoja in Uganda, Mt. Elgon area and West Pokot, Trans Nzoia and Turkana regions in Kenya. Their descendants were largely assimilated into various communities present in their former territories, including the Iteso, Karamojong, Pokot, Turkana and Bukusu. They are or were found in scattered pockets between the Turkwel River, Chemorongit Mountains and Mt. Elgon. One report indicates that they formerly spoke the unclassified Oropom language.
The Nandi are part of the Kalenjin, a Nilotic tribe living in East Africa. The Nandi ethnic group live with close association and relation with the Kipsigis tribe. They traditionally have lived and still form the majority in the highland areas of the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya, in what is today Nandi County. They speak the Nandi dialect of the Kalenjin language.
The Luo of Kenya and Tanzania are a Nilotic ethnic group native to western Kenya and the Mara Region of northern Tanzania in East Africa. The Luo are the fourth-largest ethnic group (10.65%) in Kenya, after the Kikuyu (17.13%), the Luhya (14.35%) and the Kalenjin (13.37%). The Tanzanian Luo population was estimated at 1.1 million in 2001 and 3.4 million in 2020. They are part of a larger group of related Luo peoples who inhabit an area ranging from South Sudan, southwestern Ethiopia, northern and eastern Uganda, southwestern Kenya, and northern Tanzania.
Virginia Edith Wambui Otieno (1936–2011), born Virginia Edith Wambui Waiyaki, who became Wambui Waiyaki Otieno Mbugua after her second marriage, and generally known as Wambui, was born into a prominent Kikuyu family and became a Kenyan activist, politician and writer. Wambui became prominent in 1987 because of a controversial legal fight between her and the clan of her Luo husband Silvano Melea Otieno over the right to bury Otieno. The case involved the tension between customary law and common law in modern-day Kenya in the case of an inter-tribal union. The various legal hearings this case stretched over more than five months and the final verdict suggested that a Kenyan African was presumed to adhere to the customs of the tribe they were born into unless they clearly and unequivocally broke all contact with it. As Otieno retained some rather tenuous links with his clan, they were awarded the right to bury him, ignoring Wambui's wishes. However, Wambui inherited most of her late husband's estate.
Starlight is a children's fantasy novel, the fourth book in Erin Hunter's bestselling Warriors: The New Prophecy series. The hardback was released on 4 April 2006 and in paperback on 27 March 2007.
Warriors: Power of Three is the third arc in the Warriors juvenile fantasy novel series about anthropomorphic feral cats. The arc comprises six novels which were published from 2007 to 2009: The Sight, Dark River, Outcast, Eclipse, Long Shadows, and Sunrise. The novels are published by HarperCollins under the pseudonym Erin Hunter, which refers to authors Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, Tui Sutherland and plot developer/editor Victoria Holmes. Power of Three details the experiences of protagonist of the first series Firestar's three grandchildren, initially known as Jaykit, Hollykit, and Lionkit, whom a prophecy foretells will have "the power of the stars in their paws". The arc's major themes deal with forbidden love, the concept of nature versus nurture, and characters being a mix of good and bad. Though the novels have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List and have been nominated for several awards, none of the novels in Warriors: Power of Three have won a significant literary award.
Otenyo Nyamaterere was a Kenyan warrior who led a battalion of Gusii warriors in resisting British colonialisation. He was encouraged by his aunt, Moraa Ng'iti, to launch an attack against British forces. He is famously remembered for injuring GAS Northcote, a British colonial administrator, triggering a widespread rebellion. Northcote had first gone to Kisii as part of a military force in 1904 which massacred people and raised the Union Jack. He returned in 1907 as the areas first administrator, and was on his way back from a punitive expedition when he was attacked by Otenyo with a spear after shooting dead Okwengu K'Akala at Got Ong'ong'o presently Got Ka'Nyakworo around Ruga Market Centre. Although Northcote survived the attack, Otenyo's ambush inspired widespread resistance which took a month to quell. The warrior was arrested, tried in public, and then killed by a firing squad at Kisii Stadium. His body was then beheaded and transported to London as proof of his death. What remained of him was left on a public bridge as a warning to others.
The Cinder Path is a 1978 novel by Catherine Cookson. In 1994 it was adapted into a film directed by Simon Langton.
Yellowfang's Secret is a children's fantasy novel written by Cherith Baldry under the pseudonym Erin Hunter. It is the fifth "Super Edition" in the Warriors novel series. Yellowfang's Secret was first released in hardcover on 9 October 2012.
Warriors: Omen of the Stars is the fourth arc in the Warriors juvenile fantasy novel series about feral cats who live in Clans. It is made up of six novels published by HarperCollins from 2009 to 2012: The Fourth Apprentice, Fading Echoes, Night Whispers, Sign of the Moon, The Forgotten Warrior, and The Last Hope. The novels were written by Erin Hunter, a pseudonym that refers to authors Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and Tui Sutherland, as well as plot developer and editor Victoria Holmes. Omen of the Stars details the experiences of Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovewing, who, as part of a prophecy, have special powers. The arc's themes deal with forbidden love and the effect that being different can have on relationships. Though the Warriors series has appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list, none of the novels in Warriors: Omen of the Stars have won a significant literary award.
Traditional Kalenjin society is the way of life that existed among the Kalenjin-speaking people prior to the advent of the colonial period in Kenya and after the decline of the Chemwal, Lumbwa and other Kalenjin communities in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
Fighter of the Destiny is a 2017 Chinese television series adapted from the novel of the same name by Mao Ni. It stars Lu Han, Gulnazar, Janice Wu and Zeng Shunxi. The series aired on Hunan TV from 17 April to 1 June 2017.
Kalenjin folklore consists of folk tales, legends, songs, music, dancing, popular beliefs, and traditions communicated by the Kalenjin-speaking communities, often passed down the generations by word of mouth.
The Laikipiak people were a community that inhabited the plateau located on the eastern escarpment of the Rift Valley in Kenya that today bears their name. They are said to have arisen from the scattering of the Kwavi by the Maasai in the 1830s.They were one of two significant sections of that community that stayed together. The other being the Uasin Gishu with whom they would later ally against the Maasai. Many Maa-speakers in Laikipia County today claim Laikipiak ancestry, namely those among the Ilng'wesi, Ildigirri and Ilmumonyot sub-sections of the Laikipia Maasai.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
