60-551: Kisii may refer to: Kisii, Kenya , a municipality and the capital of Kisii County Kisii County , one of the 47 counties of Kenya Kisii District , a former district of Kenya Gucha District , in Kenya, also known as South Kisii District Nyamira District , in Kenya, also known as North Kisii District Kisii people , an ethnic group in Kenya, also known as Abagusii or Gusii people Gusii language , Bantu language spoken by
120-611: A Tropical highland climate. Temperature vary from lows of 52F July to highs of 79F January, annually . It generally receives rain all year round thanks to its positioning in the Lake Victoria lake basin and the heavily foliaged Kisii highlands. Due to its unique positioning within hills, Kisii town has never experienced flooding. The city frequently receives thunderstorms, and some thirty people in Kisii die each year from lightning strikes because of their frequency and because many of
180-680: A base east of Lake Turkana. This expansion led to the development of three groupings within Loikop society. The Samburu who occupied the 'original' country east of Lake Turkana as well as the Laikipia plateau. The Uasin Gishu occupied the grass plateaus now known as the Uasin Gishu and Mau while the Maasai territory extended from Naivasha to Kilimanjaro. This expansion was subsequently followed by
240-744: A community that occupied the Uasin Gishu plateau perhaps as late as the 17th or 18th century. Seen to have developed out of the Elmenteitan culture of the East African Pastoral Neolithic c.3300-1200 BP, the Sirikwa culture was followed in much of its area by the Kalenjin, Maa, western and central Kenyan communities of the 18th and 19th centuries. Archaeological evidence indicates a highly sedentary way of life and
300-515: A cultural commitment to a closed defensive system for both community and livestock during the Iron Age. Family homesteads featured small individual family stock pens, elaborate gate-works and sentry points and houses facing into the homestead; defensive methods primarily designed to proof against individual thieves or small groups of rustlers hoping to succeed by stealth. Coins of Indian and English origin, some dating to this period have been found at
360-482: A diverse participation. Gusii Stadium has been a popular venue for these meetings for many years. Lastly, golf is mainly played by middle- or upper-income residents who are members of the Kisii Golf & Sports Club, a private members' club in the municipality. This trend is one of the remnants of a tradition that was borrowed from former British settlers by the emerging Kenyan Africa-educated and elite. Many towns in
420-473: A population of 13,422, with 6,839 male and 6,583 female, and a population density of 4,011/km in an area of 3.3 km . It is the second most populous town in terms of population density in Nyanza region after Kisumu. The population of the town grew rapidly after the 2007–08 post-election violence . The growth was due to the consideration that the town experienced peace becoming the hub for all communities in
480-762: A rinderpest epidemic, other stock diseases, drought, mass starvation, and smallpox was referred to as (a second) Mutai . The nineteenth century saw massive upheaval among the Sirikwa societies, old identities such as the Maliri and the Chok were annihilated or assimilated giving way to new identities such as the Pokot . Others like the Sengwer and Lumbwa acculturated to the new reality, merging and dropping their old identities to become Nandi and Kipsigis . These new societies retained many elements of their old way of life – like
540-517: A start about 1800 while oral narratives and the few written records indicate peak aridity during the 1830s resulting in a notable famine in 1836. This arid period, and the consequent series of events, have been referred to as (the first) Mutai . A feature of the Mutai was increased conflict between neighboring communities, most noted of these has been the Iloikop wars . Cultural changes, particularly
600-545: Is a municipality and urban centre in south-western Kenya and the capital city of Kisii County . Kisii Town also serves as a major urban and commercial centre in the Gusii Highlands— Kisii and Nyamira counties—and the South Nyanza region and is the second largest town in formerly greater Nyanza after Kisumu City . Kisii municipality sits right at the centre of the western Kenya tourist circuit that includes
660-504: Is also food processing, health care, and education industries. Although it has few industrial activities, it has potential for larger agro-based industries due to its location in a rich agricultural area. Soapstone quarrying takes place near the town around Tabaka, southwest of the town and a few kilometres off the Kisii-Isebania Road. Coca-Cola had a bottling and distribution plant in Kisii municipality until 2017 when it
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#1732775350399720-406: Is an influx of numerous other business ventures such as the hospitality sector with hotels, bars, restaurants, sports pubs, among other commercial activities. The Kisii County Government runs the town, headed by the governor. The county government headquarters are located in the town. The town hosts Law Courts, Ministry offices, State Law Office branch, among other governmental installations. Kisii
780-489: Is derived from commerce and agriculture. Crops and fruit cultivated around the area include maize, managu , beans, bananas, pineapples, avocados, pawpaws etc. Cash crops in this area within and outside the municipality include coffee and tea which had been in existence before independence. Coffee processing within the municipality is also carried out. Kisii is the fastest growing town in western Kenya due to its high population, political stability and general tranquility. There
840-445: Is located in western Kenya, on latitude: 0° 41' 0 S and longitude: 34° 46' 0 E. The town is a driving distance of 309 km (192 mi) from the capital city of Nairobi, located east-southeast, on Class B3 all-weather road. Other major urban centre's distances from Kisii town are Kisumu City which is 114 km (71 mi) to the northwest; Nyamira at 23 km (14 mi) to the immediate north; Keroka at 25 km (16 mi) to
900-494: Is present-day north-eastern Uganda by 1000 B.C. Linguist Christopher Ehret proposes that between 1000 and 700 BC, the Southern Nilotic speaking communities, who kept domestic stock and possibly cultivated sorghum and finger millet , lived next to an Eastern Cushitic speaking community with whom they had significant cultural interaction. The general location of this point of cultural exchange being somewhere near
960-690: Is seen as a development from the local pastoral neolithic (i.e. Elmenteitan culture), as well as a locally limited transition from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. Radiocarbon dating of archaeological excavations done in Rongai (Deloraine) have ranged in date from around 985 to 1300 A.D and have been associated with the early development phase of the Sirikwa culture. Lithics from Deloraine Farm site show that people were abandoning previous technological strategies in favor of more expedient tool production as iron
1020-621: The Elmenteitan culture. The bearers of the Elmenteitan culture developed a distinct pattern of land use, hunting and pastoralism on the western plains of Kenya during the East African Pastoral Neolithic . Its earliest recorded appearance dates to the ninth century BC. Certain distinct traits of the Southern Nilotes, notably in pottery styles, lithic industry and burial practices, are evident in
1080-480: The Iloikop wars . The expansion of Turkana and Loikop societies led to significant change within the Kalenjin-speaking society. Some communities were annihilated by the combined effects of the Mutai of the 19th century while others adapted to the new era. Members of collapsing communities were usually assimilated into ascending identities. Significant cultural change also occurred. Guarding cattle on
1140-728: The Kipsigis languages but can also be inclusive of Akie language in Tanzania and Pokot language spoken in Kenya; all being classified collectively as Kalenjin Language; while in combination with Datooga languages of Tanzania, this cluster is called Southern Nilotic languages . The Kalenjin language, along with the languages of the Datooga people of Tanzania , the Maasai , Luo , Turkana , Nuer , Dinka among others are classified as Nilotic languages . Linguistic evidence points to
1200-696: The Chok. The Chemwal appear to have been referred to as Siger by the Karamojong on account of a distinctive cowrie shell adornment favored by the women of this community. The area occupied by the Chemwal stretched between Mount Elgon and present day Uasin Gishu as well as into a number of surrounding counties. Far west, a community known as the Maliri occupied present-day Jie and Dodoth country in Uganda. The Karamojong would eject them from this region over
1260-651: The Great War in the early 20th century. Later Kisii was chosen to be the District Headquarters of the larger South Nyanza and Kisii region. The town is predominantly inhabited by the Gusii community (also known as the Kisii). The Nubians, Arabs, Luo , Luhya , Kuria , Kikuyu, Kamba, Somali, Asian and Kalenjin make up a minority of residents. As of 2019 , Kisii town in its location of Kisii Central had
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#17327753503991320-599: The Hyrax Hill archaeological site and may indicate contacts with international trade networks. At their greatest extent, their territories covered the highlands from the Chepalungu and Mau forests northwards as far as the Cherangany Hills and Mount Elgon. There was also a south-eastern projection, at least in the early period, into the elevated Rift grasslands of Nakuru which was taken over permanently by
1380-537: The Kalenjin and incoming British. This was tempered on the Kalenjin side by the prophesies of various seers. Among the Nandi, Kimnyole had warned that contact with the Europeans would have a significant impact on the Nandi while Mongo was said to have warned against fighting the Europeans. Matson, in his account of the resistance, shows 'how the irresponsible actions of two British traders, Dick and West, quickly upset
1440-641: The Kisii people Kisii School for the Deaf , the only Deaf-run school for Deaf children in Kenya Kisii stone, a name for soapstone , quarried in Tabaka area of southern Kisii District Kisii University , Kenya See also [ edit ] Gusii (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Kisii . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
1500-631: The Maasai were struggling to control their resources of cattle and grazing land. Around this time, two instances of epizootics broke out in the Rift Valley region. In 1883, bovine Pleuro-Pneumonia spread from the north and lingered for several years. The effect of this was to cause the Loikop to regroup and to go out raiding more aggressively to replenish their herds. This was followed by a far more serious outbreak of Rinderpest which occurred in 1891. This period – characterized by disasters, including
1560-492: The Maasai, probably no later than the seventeenth century. A body of oral traditions from various East African communities points to the presence of at least four significant Kalenjin-speaking population groups present prior to the 19th century. The earliest mention appears to be of the Lumbwa . Meru oral history describes the arrival of their ancestors at Mount Kenya where they interacted with this community. The Lumbwa occupied
1620-542: The Oropom observed that the corpus of oral literature suggested that, at its tail end, the society "had become effete, after enjoying for a long period the fruits of a highly developed culture". Bordering the Maliri in Uganda were the Karamojong, an Iron Age community that practiced a pastoral way of life. Towards the end of 18th century and through the 19th century, a series of droughts, plagues of locusts, epidemics , and in
1680-685: The Tabaka Soapstone Carvings, Maasai Mara , Ruma National Park and part of the Lake Victoria Basin . Kisii town was originally known by the Gusii people as Getembe. It was later named Bosongo, it originated from 'Abasongo' (to refer to the British or Whites) who lived in the town during the colonial times. The town was originally established by British soldiers who were being forced to retreat from Lake Victoria by heavy gunfire from German soldiers' gunboats during
1740-604: The alarm from ridge to ridge, so that the herds could be combined and rushed to the cover of the forests. There, the approaches to the glades would be defended by concealed archers, and the advantage would be turned against the spears of the plains warriors. More than any of the other sections, the Nandi and Kipsigis, in response to Maasai expansion, borrowed from the Maasai some of the traits that would distinguish them from other Kalenjin: large-scale economic dependence on herding, military organization and aggressive cattle raiding, as well as centralized religious-political leadership. By
1800-618: The archaeological record. Ehret suggests that around the fifth and sixth centuries BC, the speakers of the Southern Nilotic languages split into two major divisions – the proto-Kalenjin and the proto-Datooga. The former took shape among those residing to the north of the Mau range while the latter took shape among sections that moved into the Mara and Loita plains south of the western highlands. The material culture referred to as Sirikwa
1860-458: The area's structures have metal roofs. Soapstone carving is the predominant craft in Kisii. Kisii town is home to the best soapstone carvers in the continent. Their products are very popular in Europe and USA. Kisii is a favourite stopover for tourists who want a taste of the exquisite Kisii carvings. Kisii town is also the venue for the annually held Gusii Cultural Festival, an event focusing on
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1920-624: The colonial government set up base in Eldama Ravine under the leadership of certain Messrs. Ternan and Grant, an intrusion that was not taken to kindly by the Lembus community. This triggered conflict between the Lembus and the British, the latter of whom fielded Maasai and Nubian soldiers and porters. The British eventually overcame the Lembus following which Grant and Lembus elders negotiated
1980-501: The common border between Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Ehret suggests that the cultural exchange perceived in borrowed loan words, adoption of the practice of circumcision and the cyclical system of age-set organisation dates to this period. The arrival of the Southern Nilotes on the East African archaeological scene is correlated with the appearance of the prehistoric lithic industry and pottery tradition referred to as
2040-464: The country. Among Kenya's urban areas, Kisii municipality has a relatively high population density owing to the scarcity of land in the municipality boundaries spurring further expansion of settlement in the outlying area. These alternative settlements have been sanctioned by the municipal government which, in turn, has allowed residents to develop their homes just outside the municipality boundary to alleviate this phenomenon. The economy of Kisii town
2100-523: The course of the century and their traditions describe these encounters with the Maliri. The arrival in the district of the latter community is thought by some to be in the region of six to eight centuries ago. To the north of Chemngal were the Oropom (Orupoi) , a late neolithic society whose expansive territory is said to have stretched across Turkana and the surrounding region as well as into Uganda and Sudan. Wilson (1970) who collected traditions relating to
2160-690: The cultural heritage of the Gusii community. Football (soccer) of Kenya Premier League status is played at Gusii Stadium and other surrounding grounds. Shabana Football Club is based in Kisii town; it has been a popular soccer club in Gusiiland and had featured in the Kenya national premier league for many years. Track sports such as athletics meetings are popular with the town's residents and Gusiiland in general. Such meetings are held during schools' and colleges' sports season in mid year. Other sports in town include volleyball, basketball and netball which attract
2220-423: The development of local sport talent and often doubling up as a helipad for visitors. 0°41′S 34°46′E / 0.683°S 34.767°E / -0.683; 34.767 Kalenjin people Modern ethnicities Diaspora Performing arts Government agencies Television Radio Newspapers The Kalenjin is a group of tribes indigenous to East Africa , residing mainly in what
2280-418: The east; Kericho at 101 km (63 mi) to the northeast; Kilgoris at 46 km (29 mi) to the southeast; Narok at 165 km (103 mi) to the east; and Migori to the south-west 67 km (42 mi) which otherwise connects the town to the Kenya /Tanzania border at Isebania town a further 31 km (19 mi) south. Public transportation, which is operated privately, is available throughout
2340-613: The eastern Middle Nile Basin south of the Abbai River , as the nursery of the Nilotic languages . That is to say south-east of present-day Khartoum . It is thought that beginning in the second millennium B.C. , particular Nilotic speaking communities began to move southward into present-day South Sudan where most settled and that the societies today referred to as the Southern Nilotes pushed further on, reaching what
2400-566: The final decades of the 19th century, a rapid succession of sub-continental epizootics affected these communities. There is an early record of the great Laparanat drought c.1785 that affected the Karamajong. However, for communities then resident in what is present-day Kenya many disaster narratives relate the start with the Aoyate , an acute meteorological drought that affected much of East and Southern Africa. Nile records distinctly indicate
2460-507: The innovation of heavier and deadlier spears amongst the Loikop are seen to have led to significant changes in methods and scale of raiding during the 19th century. The change in methods introduced by the Loikop also consisted of fundamental differences of strategy, in fighting and defense, and also in organization of settlements and of political life. The cultural changes played a part in significant southward expansion of Loikop territory from
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2520-464: The introduction of a variety of beads from European markets. Their territory was not as a whole recognized as a geographic locality. However, there was a standardized set of classifications for geographic localities across the respective territories. Of these geographic classifications, the Kokwet was the most significant political and judicial unit among the Kalenjin. The governing body of each kokwet
2580-531: The iron-age Sirikwa societies they were primarily semi-nomadic pastoralists. Their economy revolved around raising livestock and cultivating sorghum and pearl millet on the western highlands of Kenya as it had since at least the last millennium B.C. There appear to have been areas of specialization across different regions, communities living on the Elgeyo escarpment for instance traditionally focused on irrigated cultivation. A variety of crops had been borrowed from
2640-402: The large population and the positioning of Kisii as a growing commercial hub town. Mwalimu Cooperative Savings & Credit Society Limited (Mwalimu Sacco), the largest Sacco in Kenya, maintains a branch in Kisii. The central bank of Kenya has set up an exchange center to serve the larger South Nyanza region and some parts of Central Rift. Moreover, like many of Kenya's major urban centres, there
2700-486: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kisii&oldid=1237794799 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Language and nationality disambiguation pages Kisii, Kenya Kisii (also known as Bosongo )
2760-424: The local authority. Kisii Golf has experienced major challenges from encroachment through illegal farming activities. The area has since been fenced to control public encroachment. As a result, the area has improved and further developed into a bird sanctuary.. The Kisii Sports Club which claims to have responsibility of managing the golf has put up adequate and viable legislation to govern the green space. Enabling
2820-520: The lower reaches of Mount Kenya though the extent of their territory is presently unclear. North-east of this community, across the Rift Valley , a community known as the Chok (later Suk) occupied the Elgeyo escarpment. Pokot oral history describes their way of life, as that of the Chemwal whose country may have been known as Chemngal, a community that appears to have lived in association with
2880-531: The mid-nineteenth century, both these communities were expanding at the expense of the Maasai . The Iloikop wars ended in the 1870s with the defeat and dispersal of the Laikipiak . However, the new territory acquired by the Maasai was vast and left them overextended thus unable to occupy it effectively. This left them open to encroachment by other communities. By the early 1880s, Kamba , Kikuyu and Kalenjin raiders were making inroads into Maasai territory, and
2940-445: The nation host vast golf courses; Kisii is one of them. A portion of larger Kisii Golf Club's course was open for public recreation by the local authority for a couple of years. This area was later consolidated back to the golf course. Immediate availability of land for commercial or residential development has been the greatest challenge facing its longtime residents and potential investors. Lately, this impediment has been addressed by
3000-737: The neighboring Bantu communities and New World foods introduced following the arrival of the Portuguese on the Swahili coast during the fifteenth century. Of these, indigenous vegetables and herbs, beans, pumpkins, sweet potatoes and tobacco were grown widely while maize and bananas were also cultivated though in small quantities. They traded locally for goods such as honey, pottery, tobacco pipes and weaponry as well as medical and magical services while connections to international markets supplied foreign goods such as iron wire and cloth in exchange for ivory. The long tradition of beadwork benefited from
3060-416: The nineteenth century, saw the early European explorers start advancing into the interior of Kenya. By this time, the Kalenjin – more so the Nandi, had acquired a fearsome reputation. Thompson was warned in 1883 to avoid the country of the Nandi, who were known for attacks on strangers and caravans that would attempt to scale the great massif of the Mau. Nonetheless, trade relations were established between
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#17327753503993120-448: The plateaus depended less on elaborate defenses and more on mobility and cooperation. Both of these requiring new grazing and herd-management strategies. The practice of the later Kalenjin – that is, after they had abandoned the Sirikwa pattern and had ceased in effect to be Sirikwa – illustrates this change vividly. On their reduced pastures, notably on the borders of the Uasin Gishu plateau, when bodies of raiders approached they would relay
3180-601: The precarious modus vivendi between the Nandi and incoming British'. Conflict, led on the Nandi side by Koitalel Arap Samoei – Nandi Orkoiyot at the time, was triggered by West's killing in 1895. The East Africa Protectorate, Foreign Office, and missionary societies administrations reacted to West's death by organizing invasions of Nandi in 1895 and 1897. Invading forces were able to inflict sporadic losses upon Nandi warriors, steal hundreds of livestock, and burn villages, but were not able to end Nandi resistance. 1897 also saw
3240-668: The town centre. The facility is underused, but many of the residents especially businessmen, local politicians, and tourists use it for convenience. From Kisii, it is easy to get to Tabaka Soapstone quarries, the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Narok County, Lambwe Valley Game Reserve in Homa Bay County, Kisumu, Lake Victoria, and the Kenya/Tanzania or Kenya/Uganda border points. Kisii town enjoys
3300-491: The town. A good example is private-owned taxis (matatus), taxi cabs and 'boda-boda' (motorcycle taxis) as an alternative to privately owned vehicles. Kisii town has one of the most organized bus stations and public transport systems in the country. Buses and matatus are not allowed inside the town. Air service to Kisii is minimal. However, chartered flights mainly from Nairobi's Wilson Airport transport passengers to Kisii's Suneka Airstrip situated 9 km (6 mi) southwest of
3360-594: The tumwek of marriage such as Koito . The Saget'ab eito ceremony was held every number of years to mark the change of 'ages' and the Kipsundet festivals celebrated every September (Kipsunde) and October (Kipsunde oeng) to mark the change in seasons. To a significant extent however, the Maasai era fundamentally changed the character of the Sirikwa/Kalenjin-speaking communities, the magnitude of which still remains unclear. The latter decades of
3420-521: Was closed . The town hosts large supermarket chains e.g., Naivas and Quickmart . It also hosts commercial banking and financial institutions' branches. These include the long-existing Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Absa Bank, National Bank, Post Bank, and Co-operative Bank. Newer entrants in the banking sector such as Equity Bank, I&M Bank, CFC Stanbic, Credit Bank, Kenya Women Finance Trust, Family Bank, Chase Bank, Eco-Bank, Diamond Trust Bank and K-Rep Bank and have launched new branches taking advantage of
3480-616: Was entering common use. The spread of iron technology led to the abandonment of many aspects of Pastoral Neolithic material culture and practices. From the Central Rift, the culture radiated outwards toward the western highlands, the Mt. Elgon region and possibly into Uganda . The Sirikwa culture was the predominant Kenyan hinterland archaeological culture of the Pastoral Iron Age, c.2000 BP. The name Sirikwa derives from
3540-829: 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 Kalenjin have been divided into 11 culturally and linguistically related tribes: Kipsigis (1.9 million), Nandi (937,000), Pokots (778,000), Sebei (350,000), Sabaot (296,000), Keiyo (451,000), Tugen (197,556), Cherengany 8,323, Marakwet (119,000), Ogiek (52,000), Terik (323,230), Lembus (71,600) and Sengwer (10,800). The Kalenjin speak
3600-430: Was its kokwet council; the word kokwet was in fact variously used to mean the whole neighbourhood, its council and the place where the council met. The head of kokwet was poyop kok (village elder). Social order was regulated by Kamuratanet and cultural life largely revolved around its teaching through folklore and observation of the various tumwek (rituals/customs), the important one's being Tumdo (Initiation) and
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