Social and economic organization of the Boran of Isiolo district, Kenya
Abstract
This thesis describes recent changes in the way of life of Boran
pastoralists in Isiolo District, Kenya. I focus, in particular
on changes in their social and economic organisation since the
of Shifta, the Somali-Kenya border war of the mid-nineteen sixty
and the ways the Boran have coped with the extensive destruction
of their livestock and with settlement at irrigation schemes.
In Chapter I I outline the history of Boran in Isiolo District,
their co~version to Islam, and the massive economic dislocatior
caused by Shifta. Chapter II shows how Boran now 'make ends me
as part-time pastoralists, farmers, wage labourers and traders,
and the increasing wealth differentiation which has been a result
of economic diversification. Chapters III, IV and V detail ceremony
aspects of social organisation, and how the maintenance of traditional
relationships, particularly those involved with the transaction
of property, continue to be crucial to the success of boran economic adaptations. In the last the chapters (Chapters VI, VII and
VIII) I discuss the ways Boran have adapted to settlement and
agriculture in three different settlement schemes· sited along
the Ewaso River, and describe how farmers at the schemes continue
to invest in livestock and to maintain links with kinsmen and
affines in pastoral areas. I argue that settlement and pastoralist
are not incompatible so long as stockowners can continue to send
stock to mobile stock camps. Finally, I conclude that, largely
as a result of external factors beyond their centrol, many Boran
are caught in a party trap, and are increasingly dependent on
government and relief agencies
Citation
Thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Ph. D. in the Faculty of economics and Social Studies, September, 1981.Publisher
Arts-economics