TOPIC FOUR

FOOD PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN PRE-COLONIAL KENYA/ECONOMIC

ACTIVITIES IN KENYA

1. Food crop production

It refers to deliberate efforts by human beings to domesticate sources

of food crop supply. The change from dependence of human beings on
hunting and gathering to food crop production brought a lot of changes
to human life. Most of the staple food that were produced in East Africa
had their origin elsewhere, however, most of east African food crop
production began about 3000yrs ago. In the Rift Valley, the highlands
in Kenya and in Tanzania, archaeologists have discovered evidence of
food crop production societies dating around 4000yrs ago. These
societies are today known as stone bowl societies because they used
stone bowl in food crop production.

There are ample evidences that food crop production was first
introduced to Kenya through Ethiopia and southern Sudan which
include barley, sorghum, finger millet, wheat, vegetables and some
legumes like cowpeas and beans. Recently about 400-500 yrs. ago
other crops have been introduced from America such as maize,
cassava and groundnuts. There are other staple foods that are grown
in wet regions which include bananas, rice and coconuts that reached
E.A from S.E Asia through Indian ocean trade about 2000yrs ago.

In pre-colonial Kenya food crop production was mostly associated with

the bantu speakers esp. after the development of iron tools. Most of
these communities have settled in areas with constant reliable rainfall,
fertile soil and favorable climate such as mt. Kenya region and the
western region simple tools such as digging sticks, root sticks and
 baskets. These tools where owned by families and each family member
had an equal opportunity to use them.

The hand tools were very important because they carefully removed
weed from the crops and avoided breaking crops. They also gave
people detailed knowledge on soil characteristics and behavior and
determined crop suitability.

There was also clear allocation of labor such that men had a specific
role in food crop production that tilling and breaking the land, clearing
bushes and forest, digging and planting perennial crops such as
cassava, bananas and yams while women’s role in food crop
production was to select quality seed for planting, sowing, planting
seasonal crops such as grains, legumes, weeding, harvesting, storage
and distribution. There were women and men crops and in most cases
men grew crops such as yams, cassava, bananas and sugarcane while
women planted cereals, grains, legumes and vegetables.

The products harvested were owned collectively b the family but the
head of the family was entrusted with the responsibility of how to
utilize the harvest. Any surplus product was consumed in ceremonies
such as marriages & initiating ceremonies that were organize by the
clan.

Apart from growing grains and fruits, food crop producing communities
had a variety of vegetables that they used to improve nutritional value
in the household. These vegetables were very rich in minerals,
nutrients and had medicinal values.

With the introduction of colonial land and labor policies food crop
production in nay was affected significantly.

2. Animal Husbandry
Recent archaeological and animal genetics research has given a different perspectives
on the history of domestic animals in Africa. Genetic analyses of domestic animal
species have revealed that domestic donkeys , domestic cat, and African dogs are
descended from African ancestors. The studies on the genetic traits in African cattle,
sheep, goats, pigs and chickens also indicate adaptations to regional environmental
challenges and also suggest existing patterns of interactions both among Africans and
with Southwest Asia and other Asian regions on the Indian Ocean where most of the
domestic animals may have originated. Studies show that meat animals came first, with
cattle, sheep, goats and pigs initially domesticated between 10,000 and 11,000 years
ago. Animals useful for carrying loads and people, such as horses, donkeys and camels,
came in a later wave about 5000 years ago, which enhanced trade and mobility.

Many traditional societies kept domestic animals such chicken, duck, goats,
sheep, cattle, donkeys, horses, camel around the house. These animals
roamed about freely or are in the care a keeper. These animals were raised
and used as the family or society wished.

As in the case of food crop production there is little doubt that

domestication of animals was first introduced in Kenya from outside.
Over the years local breeding has produced different types of animals
that can adapt to local condition and environment.

By the 17th century some of Kenyans were mixed farmers but there
those Cushitic and Nilotic communities like the Maasai, Somali,
Turkana, Samburu, Rendille, Borana, Gabbra and Orma, who were
largely pastoralists. Pastoralism was a convenient way of storing
wealth than food crop production. The number of animals were a
cherished way of inheritance and items of ownership.

The traditional societies practiced animal husbandry in order to

enhance food security and ensure they had sufficient supply od food
for their households. Every now and then they could slaughter animals
like chicken, goat, sheep, bull or duck ect to supply food in their
households. They also used the animal products such as meat, milk
and eggs to for nutritional value.

They also kept animals for sacrifices and for consumption during
festivals and social- cultural ceremonies such as child birth, marriage,
circumcision, funerals ect. And when guest and visitors arrived they
could slaughter an animal to entertain them with special delicacy.

Animal manure was also very important because of improvement of

agricultural production through farmyard manure. Livestock also
provided communities with hides for making clothes and beddings,
food & horns for communication.

The ownership of livestock was measured as family property and

individual security. Among the turkana, maasai, Kalenjin’s and the Luo
communities, trade relations with the neighboring communities was
made on basis of livestock ownership.

The European scholars had earlier observed that pastoralism was

wasteful, backward and primitive pre-colonial activity. They argued
that it promoted soils erosion, spread of livestock diseases and
promoted poor breeds of cattle that promoted low quality & quantity
products. However, for the Africans pastoralism wasn’t meant to
indicate the level of civilization but how different indigenous
communities could adapt to environmental changes.

Pastoralism also had organized division of labor that is women and

children would take care of young ones and also took charge of
domestic labor and build houses for them while men took care of the
adult and moved with them for long distances in search of water and
pastures.
Indigenous knowledge Skills on livestock management and protection

Land and land use was one of the basic production units, the
pastoralists had grazing rights in land use in order to rear the livestock
resource unlike other animals. However, competition for fresh
pastures, salt licks and water during grazing times was and upto now
has remained the main challenge faced by pastoralists from wildlife
animals that frequently prey upon them, injuring or infecting them with
diseases and parasites.

Pastoralist societies had acquired necessary indigenous strategies for

reproducing process & breeding animals for example the Samburu had
a well-developed system of inter breeding animals and there were
specific localities where breeding and interbreeding took place.
Indigenous Africans had controlled mating system across productive
and reproductive animals.The traditional application of proper breeding
enabled the pastoralists to come up with livestocks that are well
adapted to the environment.

Indigenous knowledge for quality animal selection was commonly

practiced by many traditional communities. Careful breeding practice
and selection criteria was used for cattle genetic improvement.

Traditional farmers used numerous Indigenous medicine innovations to

treat their animals—with most of the treatments drawing on locally
occurring Indigenous herbs with an ultimate goal of promoting
agricultural development.

The other challenges include accidental incidences such as livestock

raids, laid up traps by hunting communities in forests and lightning
that sometimes caused deaths or injuries to livestock ending up with
pastoralists incurring huge losses.
 Skills and knowledge on the control of pests and treatment of diseases
using local herbal medicine are immense among the pastoralists. This
was an art that was mostly held by elderly people and wa inherited
through word-of-mouth from one generation to another.

3. Hunting and Gathering

Many societies lived by producing and reproducing material means of

its survival, the earliest inhabitants known in Kenya lived by hunting
and gathering. It was a food production system of extracting food from
nature / environment without much investment.

Hunting called for dependence on fauna while gathering called for

dependence on flora. The two techniques of acquiring food in
precolonial Kenya dominated most communities for longer time of their
existence up to the period of Neolithic revolution when societies
invented agriculture but also after the invention of agriculture hunting
and gathering remained a core food production system among the
precolonial Kenyans. Even today communities such as okiek continue
to depend on hunting as a means of food production. However, for
most Kenyan communities, hunting and remained a supplementary
system of agricultural production.

It provided a variety of food, roots, fruits and tree barks that are very
rich in nutrients. It was preferred as food production source and for
protecting cultivated cropsand increasethe crop yield.

There was a clear division of labor along gender lines. Women and
children collected and gathered fruits from the forest margin while
men went deep into the forest and hunted wild animals and collected
honey and food that could not be found along the forest margin. Men
hunted both for trade and for immediate household consumption.

TOPIC FIVE
 TRADITIONAL AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE SYSTEMS IN
PRE-COLONIAL KENYA

Trade or exchange systen refers to an organized activity of people

giving what they have in order to receive what they didn’t have from
other communities. People met in a particular area in order to
exchange their commodities which they had gathered from hunting,
gathering, fishing, pastoralism, craftwork & cultivated food crop.

There are some of the contradicting theories that explain the

development of exchange systems in Kenya that is independent
theory and diffusion theory.

It argues that independent system in Kenya developed as an

outcome of domestication of plants ad animals. These indigenous
communities began to organised themselves as pastoralists,
fishermen, agriculturalists, craftsmen, hunters and gatherers as they
came up with economic needs and self interest which they could not
satisfy by themselves. Each community was producing different
commodities from the other but also needed to consume the
commodities that were being produced by others. The exchange
system therefore was developed as a barter trade in various local
places. Later this Barter trade developed into regional exchange
system, caravan trade , and into international trade systems.

The second theory was that the exchange system is not considered
to have originated from barter trade but it was as a result of diffusion
of capitalism economy. They argue that exchange systems received
stimuli from external and long distance traders e.g. the coastal
people developed trade through the contact with the Arabs,
Europeans and Indians.
 However, this explanation can’t be used to explain the development
of pre-colonial exchange system because it misses enough
archaeological and anthropological evidence that shows Africans had
movement and exchange of communities in small caravans as their
traditional culture dating back to early iron age and even before the
contact with outsiders.These traditional exchange systems included: local
food markets, boarder markets between neighboring people and special station
for the caravan trade and regional commodity trade.

Recent researches saw the local and regional trade especially in iron and salt
as the basis of commercial expansion in the 19 th c. It is unfortunate that the
overseas commercial initiative could not build on these ready frameworks of
commodities and local routes.

However the scale and intensity of the operation and penetration to the far
interior at this time increased drastically with the establishment of overseas
commercial trade expeditions.

Forms of trade that existed:

Trade between coastal people and people from the interior in form of periodic markets
which was reported in the 19th C between people from Tanga and Mombasa.

Trade between agricultural, pastoral and hunting- gathering people eg the Maasai with
the agricultural neighbours like Mt. Kenya communities

There was also regular trade exchange of handcrafts between those who made them eg
iron items like hoes were exchanged with agricultural commodities. Eg there was a
longstanding trade between the iron-working centers in Kambaland and Kikuyu people

FEATURES OF PRE-COLONIAL MARKETS

Local markets

Local markets existed, although they were rather of relative small and with presumably
specialized in some commodities.
The local markets or food markets were found at known localities all over in many parts
of Africa, especially at the center of kingdoms

The original African local markets systems was characterized by the following:

Exchange as an inter-tribal or inter- group activity

Exchange of basic food-stuff and commodities for diary use

Women as the operating market agents.

Women organized themselves as partners through exchange of different food

productions. The exchange provided variety in the diet and disposal of perishable
goods.

-This traditional food market was mainly for food distribution not for making profit.

A fixed locality and time sequence (periodicity). A series of rules regulation market to its
proper place

- The pre-colonial regional trade was also characterized by the emergence of livestock
particularly cattle in the exchange system. They acquired economic and social value
and were considered as a major store of value and means of exchange. They were
prestigeous items in such a way that trade goods such as cloths, and beads could be
converted into livestock.

How Pre-Colonial Regional Exchange System Was Conducted

In Kenya

Regional exchange involves exchange between communities and her

neighbors where goods and commodities from different regions were
exchanged in small caravans. It was in terms of agricultural products
and livestock products. It was a means of redistributing surplus
products, acquiring and accumulating wealth.

These items acquired economic and social values and were

considered as a medium of exchange for example in Kenya
communities such as Abagusii, Abaluhya, Agikuyu, Ameru practice
extensive food production. In contrast with the Nilotic communities
e.g. Luos, Kipsigis, Nandi and Maasai who led a pastoral life. The
Abagusii and Luo had a well-structured western Kenya trade on
foodstuff, livestock and livestock products. The Abagusii and the Luos
were major trading partners.

The Gusii exchanged grains, bananas, millets, Soghurm and iron

commodities such as spears and arrow heads to the Luo community
and also exported items such as leopard skin and hardwood to the
Luo land. All these items were a variety of luo land items such as fish,
baskets, groundnuts, livestock product ostrich feathers.

Trade between the Kalenjin’s and Maasai and neighboring

communities such as Luo, Abagusii and Luhya wasn’t well structured
although the Maasai exported milk, animal hide and cattle to their
neighboring communities and in return could get grains, iron tools,
baskets and tobacco.

The Mt Kenya communities were the most advantaged in terms of

ecological situation, they had rich soil and favorable climate that
permitted farmers in this communities to grow a wide range of crops
e.g. grains, tuber crops, fruit crops, legumes and vegetables.

Traders moved in small caravans along the path between Mt Kenya

and the plain land of Kamba and Maasai land. This regional trade was
not only important in providing immediate and long term food
security but also led to emergence of wealthy people especially the
organizers of the trade who accumulated a lot of wealth for influence
in the area. The akamba traders were said to be the initiators of the
regional trade in eastern Kenya and moved from south east of
Mbooni area, penetrated into kikuyu land, embu, mbeere and
sometimes they went up to taita and chagga land around Mt
Kilimanjaro. The kikuyu and Meru communities traded in pots,
calabash, spears, swords, honey, tobacco and various foodstuffs to
the Maasai and in return they got livestock products, soda ash, herbal
medicine and magic from the Maasai.

In the 19thcentury, some communities engaged in long distance trade

along the Kenyan coast. In this trade new races such as Europeans,
Arabs, Indians and Persians were involved in this trade. Communities
such as Akamba, Mijikenda, giriama were actively involved in the
long distance trade with the Arabs before the colonial trade.
Communities along the Kenyan coast had come into contact and
traded with the Arabs, Chinese, Greece as as 17 thcentury. This is
indicated in the Arabic and Chinese sources of African history.

These traders established a direct sea route to India, china, Russia

and Thailand. Muslims (Oman Arabs), Kamba and Mijikenda
communities acted as the intermediates of trade between Indian
ocean and Mediterranean Sea and therefore Arabs and Swahili led
caravans into Kenyan interior with goods such as weapons,
glassware, sword, cotton clothes, gun powder and beads from
Greeks, Romans and Chinese. Traders and these goods were
exchanged for ivory and rhinoceros’ horns, ostrich feathers, tortoise
shells ,slaves, fruits e.g. coconut, mangoes which were grown along
the east African coast. This trade was initially conducted using a
barter trade but alter small copper coins from India were introduced
as a media of exchange.

TOPIC SIX
 TRADITIONAL INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM ON
AGRICULTURE

Crop production

Indigenous knowledge system can be defined as a collection of unique

skills, practices, local information and understanding that were
developed by specific communitiesin order to cope with environmental
challenges. It was purposely developed by a particular community from
their advanced understanding of the environment through
experimentation and observation. It was/is usually passed from one
generation to another. The traditional skills and knowledge were
important aspect of culture of any society. They acted as community’s
adaptive mechanism against unexpected environmental and climate
changes and soil conservation.

The traditional systems were expressed and transmitted through

observations, storytelling& training during social organizations and
ceremonies

Men and women had different types of traditional knowledge related to

their crop production practices. Women were more responsible for
production of seasonal crops e.g. cereals, grains and legumes. Men
mostly produced perennial crops e.g. cassava, yams, sugarcane & this
ensured sufficient food production in the household. Most Kenyan
communities demonstrated resourcefulness in food production in the
following areas;

Indigenous methods of ensuring food security

Cultivation of food crops was done at 4 levels:

Women had small gardens near the homestead for the production
of vegetables.
 Cereals, grains and legumes were planted in large plots.

Far away in the field men cleared the field among their wives and
subdivided the farms.

Men also had their own plots where they cultivated perennial
crops separately from those of wives.

After preparation of the land, breaking of the land and harrowing, seed
selection was done mostly by women. They used various knowledge and
skills to ensure the selection of quality seeds for cultivation. Indigenous
farmers used indigenous skills to identify the best(healthiest) grains,
legumes and cereals in the garden which were set aside for seed. The
damaged (spoilt)by insects, rotten and moldy and broken ones weren’t
suitable for farming

They also acquired deep knowledge on how to store different varieties of

seeds deeply & their proper selection of seeds ensured good harvest. They
also identified moisture content by biting the seed and also pinching with the
fingers. There was also need for sufficient knowledge for food storage
because if food crops weren’t stored were they could be spoilt or wasted at
the storage level. In most communities, crops were stored in granaries, some
grains were threshed and stored in the pots and baskets. Granaries were
smeared with cow dung and some were being kept on ceiling.

The indigenous farmers used different farming methods to increase food

production such as broadcasting of the seed, farrow farming, crop rotation,
intercropping, mixed cropping and also various methods of soil fertilization
by using farmyard manure and various harvesting residue.

Protection of crops from insects and pests was also done both in the farms
and in the granary where they sprinkled ash around the granary, used traps
to kill pest and rats and also in the field they used scare masks and also
screaming and yelling for the women and children.
Planting perennial crops such as pumpkins, cassava and sweet potatoes
which could be consumed during dry season &food shortage was also an
indigenous skill.

They also developed kinship relations to curb food shortages e.g. a

household experiencing food shortage could borrow food from relatives &
sometimes they received a lot of help from those with surplus food. If the
household couldn’t manage the drought they could request for bride price in
form of food. Members of household that had experienced food shortage
could move from hunger stricken areas to join relatives who could give them
food and a piece of land to cultivation

b). Animal husbandry

The love of pastoralist communities and their cattle can be

demonstrated by the indigenous knowledge they had in animal
husbandry. They knew their animals very well and they could tell which
one of them was good for meat, milk or hides. They gave names to
their animals according to their behavior, color, physical features, time
they were born, occasion and the place.

They knew all the anatomic parts of the animals e.g. bones, intestines
and horns which had different names. Most of the pastoralists kept the
indigenous zebu cattle that were adopted for the local condition and
they resisted many diseases. Some of the diseases were treated using
herbal medicines e.g. the Kalenjin’s used fermented beer to cure foot
and mouth while the Kamba used special leaves which were given to
cows to cure constipation.

Animals with foot and mouth and anthrax were isolated and carcasses
burnt to prevent spread of diseases.
Grazing area was a common land and all the livestock had the right to graze
their places along the rivers where animals and drug water were also
considered a common land.