The farming herders: irrigation, reciprocity and marriage among the Turkana pastoralists of north - Western Kenya

Abstract

The Farming Herders: Irrigation, Reciprocity and This dissertation is based on a study of over 552 formerly nomadic families within a total population of over 10,000 people living around the Katilu Irrigation Scheme in Turkana District of Kenya. These former nomads were forced out of their indigenous pastoral economy by loss of all their livestock (their major means of subsistence) through droughts, fatal livestock diseases and cattle rustling. By admitting them into the irrigation scheme, the Kenya Government and charitable organizations hoped to convert them from nomads into farmers, and eventually create a self-reliant agricultural community. To develop commitment to modern settled agriculture, the nomads were expected to give up their pastoral values. This study questions the extent to which this goal has been achieved. The problems of the expected value and behavioural adjustments have been examined through analysis of reciprocity and marriage. The transactional behaviour involved in marriage and reciprocity is important in the examination of the social and economic relationships between the farmers and their herding kin, and also among the farmers themselves. As social and economic institutions, reciprocity and marriage serve as vehicles of adaptation to the nomads' hostile environment by providing security in times of need e.g. during major livestock losses. The major findings of this study include reinvestment into the pastoral sector by the farmers; devaluation of the Turkana women; increased incidence of polygamy; family instability; concubinage and an overall threat of population explosion in the settlement scheme. The data for the study were collected through participant observation, surveys, reading and analysis of ethnographic materials and examination of historical records from the Kenya National Archives