Samia speaking people live in Western

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and Eastern

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. They are composed of several clans and their ancient economic activities include fishing in

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...

and other rivers such as River Sio, crop farming (''obulimi''), and animal farming (''obutuki''). The Samia speaking people, as widely known by other tribes, predominantly live in Busia districts (Both in Kenya and Uganda) and speak a dialect similar to the Luhya tribe in Kenya. However, on the Ugandan side there is a slight variation in the dialect spoken by the Samia of Southern Busia on the fringe of Lake Victoria and those of North Busia district closer to Tororo District. The former speak Olusamia while the latter speak Olugwe. The two dialects are difficult to differentiate by non Samia speaking people but easily discernible by the natives.

Culture and Music

Samia speaking people love music which is played in their various ceremonies, which include marriage (''Obugole/ Obweya''), funeral (''amasika''), veneration of ancestors (''ebikuda mukutu'' and ''Enga'nyo''), and wrestling (''amalengo''). Their musical instruments include: (a) A large violin-like wooden instrument called Adungu (b) A drum called Engalabe, covered at one end with the skin of a

monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are recogn ...

(c) A flute called Erere and (d) An instrument called Sikudi. The major traditional dances are owaro, ekworo, eboodi and esikudi. The eboodi and ekworo are love dances. Owaro and esikudi are performed when people are happy.

Clans

Samia speaking people have a number of clans, each person belongs to the father's clan. You can not marry from your clan or your mothers clan. The clans include; Bahony, Balundu, Badde, Bakoli, Bamayindi, Balwani, Batabona, Baburi, Bakhoba, Bakukhu etc

History

Years before modern government, Samia people used to live in villages called Engongo which are separated by valleys and within Engongo they had Engoba. Engoba is many; one is called Olukoba. One needed a ladder-like contraption to access or leave Olukoba but the Olukoba also had specific gates. Up to today, the daily lives of Samia people are dictated by customs and traditions. For instance, a woman who loses her husband should be remarried to a brother of the deceased so that should this widow wish to bear more children, they should resemble their kin. Their diet consists of cassava bread made of sorghum or millet, often mixed with fermented cassava also called obusuma. Sometimes white stiff porridge made out of maize flour added. The food is eaten with vegetables, meat, or chicken. The Samia also largely consume gruel, rice and bananas. Samia speaking people are known to be very clever people due to frequent consumption of fresh fish. In fact non Samia speaking people often refer to them as "obusuma ne'ngeni bicha speed" meaning brown stiff porridge and fish roll down the throat very fast.

Notable people

Moody Awori Arthur Moody Awori (born 5 December 1928), known as "Uncle Moody", is a former Kenyan politician who served as the ninth Vice President of Kenya from 25 September 2003Aggrey Soryoyi Awori - Politician, former International athlete, former parliamentarian and cabinet minister. *

Sam Odaka Samuel Ngude Odaka (1929 – 4 August 2015) was a Ugandan diplomat, politician and member of the Uganda People's Congress political party. He served as the Foreign Minister of Uganda from 1964 to 1971 during the first tenure of President Milto ...

– Former Foreign Minister of Uganda (1964–1971) *

Benjamin Josses Odoki Benjamin Josses Odoki (born 23 March 1943) was the tenth Chief Justice of Uganda from 2001 to 2013. Background and education He was born in ''Dhaka Village'', Busia District, in the Eastern Region of Uganda, on 23 March 1943, in a family with ...

- Former Chief Justice of the

Republic of Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The souther ...

, from 2001 until 2013. * Justice James Ogoola - Lawyer, Judge and Poet. Principal Judge of the High Court of Uganda and a Justice of the COMESA Court of Justice in Lusaka, Zambia. * Barbara Nekesa Oundo The former State Minister for Karamoja Affairs in the Ugandan Cabinet. * Professor Fred Wabwire-Mangen - Professor of Epidemiology,

Makerere University School of Public Health Makerere University School of Public Health (MUSPH) is one of the schools that comprise the Makerere University College of Health Sciences, a constituent college of Makerere University, Uganda's oldest and largest public university. Location MU ...

References

Relevant literature

* Oscar, Akumu Brendah. "Imagery and Disability in Samia Proverbs." BA thesis, Makerere University, 2020.

External links

Traditional Marriage Among The Samia People of Kenya
Abasonga {{authority control Luhya Ethnic groups in Uganda Ethnic groups in Kenya Samia people