ISSUE 013, March 1-15, 2010
1
Unfiltered, uninhibited…. just the gruesome truth
March 1-15, 2010
ISSUE 013
A bimonthly on-line newspaper by the Media Diversity Centre, a project of African Woman and Child Feature Service
Architectural marvel Skillful design makes traditional fortress a world site
By Oloo Janak and Odhiambo Odhiambo
T
he Western Kenya tourist circuit boasts of a number of attractions but perhaps the most enthralling and awesome is locally known as Thim Lich Ohinga, a stone fortress in North Kadem location, Nyatike District in southern Nyanza. Thim Lich Ohinga, which has been gazetted as part of the National Museums of Kenya lies about 45 km West of Migori town and 69 km from Homa Bay. Nothing captures the architectural marvel of this ancient feature than a description on the walls of the Kisumu Museum complete with pictures: “Thim Lich Ohinga is a spectacular rare military architecture of completely dry stone walling with massive stones piled on top of one another....this stone complex, consisting of six skillfully joined enclosures was built some five centuries ago when the first communities settled around Lake Victoria region.” Documents on the site in brochures and posters made by the National Museums of Kenya indicate that apparently the Luos settled in the region after the stone fortress was already build by some early settlers.
Ethusiastic builders According to the National Museums, the Luo who later moved into the area also became “equally enthusiastic stone builders” noting that all the later occupations and repair did not interfere with the architecture and preservation of the cultures. The National Museums has been aggressively marketing the site as part of the Western Kenya Tourist circuit and describes it in their documentation as “a symbol of glorious architectural achievement that is unequal to none in the entire East African region North of the Great Zimbabwe”. National Museums of Kenya has made video documentaries of the site, capturing and revealing the breath taking beauty of the stone walls, the mud huts reflecting the
The marvellous architecture of the Thim Lich Ohinga, Inset is the entrance to the fotress. The site is part of the National Museums of Kenya. Pictures: Oloo Janak
traditional Luo homestead and the fecund natural vegetation cover. However local Luo folklore says that the stone walls were built by Kachieng’, one of the early Luo clans to settle in the area and which is famed for having occupied large swaths of what is now South Nyanza. They fought with the Maasai community who were then roaming many parts of
the area around Lake Victoria in search of pasture. To gain entry into the fort, one goes through small gates curved neatly through a skillful arrangement of different sizes of stone. “The entrances were deliberately made small for strategic reasons so that enemies would not get in easily,” says Mr
To gain entry into the fort, one goes through small gates curved neatly through a skilful arrangement of different sizes of stone.
Silas Nyagweth, an employee of the National Museums of Kenya, and curator at the site. There is a control tower made of raised rocks, rising several feet above the walls, to monitor intruders. “Jo Kachieng’ was a large group of people who lived here before the Kadem, Kanyamkago and Karungu came to settle here,” says Mzee Jackton Ojwang’, 76, who lives at Masoge Village at the edge of Thim Lich Ohinga. “We were told by our parents and grandparents that it was them who built these stone walls. I don’t know but it is Continued on page 3