The Dying “Traditional Affordable Houses” among the Wanga clan in the Luhya Community: Isimba

Having a roof over one's head should be considered priceless. As a matter of fact, according to Maslow, shelter falls under social and security needs, psychological needs, and esteem needs (Maslow,1954). Human beings tend to strive to have that space they can call home. That is why in recent times, we have been subjected to an extensive debate on social media as to which community in Kenya between the Kikuyu and Luo have significant numbers of stately homes. Do not ask me how that debate ended: I am also wondering why the Luhya community was not part of it: I mean, Luhyas are not that traditional or are we?

Traditionally, among the Abawanga clan in the Luhya community one of the ways a man transitions into manhood from childhood was by building a house solely at the age of 15. A man(Omusiani) before building a house, would be allocated land by the father(Omutsatsa). If omutsatsa is dead, then the mother (omuhasi) would be required to call one of the relatives (mulamwah) to allocate the land for the house construction. Digging a stick from a tree locally referred to as olusiola to the ground marked the spot for the construction of the house. In all this process, a woman was not supposed to be involved in any way. A man would make the house right into the night if need be by himself - no help accorded in order to complete it in time even though there was no timeframe. No man was allowed to bring a woman into his father's house: it was taboo: this was a driving force behind a man building an isimba. A man would use no money to build an isimba because everything for the construction was readily available- grass(masinde,ovuveywe or oluvembe) , red clay (lufuyo), and cow dung (masingo). Immediately after the house construction is done, a man will just move in automatically with a woman or women as he pleases. If a woman becomes an orphan and she has no siblings who are men, the land is supposed to be sold and the woman relocates somewhere else to start over again. No woman was allowed to build a house in the father's compound.

Due to modernization, traditions are now being eroded and shipped away slowly by slowly. Men are now bringing women into their fathers' houses and conducting all forms of affairs in the house. It is not all about attaining the age of 15 for a man to build a house. Age is not considered a factor. Men get to build houses even in their 30s,40s, and 50s while some do not. Additionally, as a result of Christianity, upon building a house, prayers would be performed as a way of blessing and cleansing it. Article 45(3) of the constitution of Kenya gives women equal rights as men to inherit and own land (Human Rights Watch,2023). Additionally, the high level of rural-urban migration has left many of our younger generations to abandon their traditional mandate in search of contemporary greener pastures in major towns and cities.

Isimbas are now becoming a concern of the past as men are now geared towards the construction of palatial homes in rural areas as a sign of showing off their might through wealth. The doctrine of marriage is now hybrid as women are becoming more possessive of their partners to the extent that they can walk out at any given moment when they feel like another woman is bruising their relationship. The wave of women's empowerment has given women the power to stand for what they deem as right and also question traditional beliefs about polygamy. Men nowadays are building homes costing them millions of shillings while others prefer selling their inherited land and consider buying land elsewhere with numerous excuses like starting on a clean slate or distancing themselves from family wrangles that surround the compound (boma).

The main reason for building an Isimba by men in the Wanga community is slowly being quashed by the sweeping wave of Western culture and traditions that are destined to leave no sacred cow behind. I have been taken aback by my undergraduate literature studies where Armah in her novel 'The Beautyful Ones Are Yet To Be Born' blames African leaders for adopting the Western mode of development whose main intention is to suppress our native cultural heritage. Maybe the beautyful mansions are the modern-day Isimbas. Who knows?