Colonial Legacies and Their Implication to Marriage Relations among the Gusii of Kenya (1895-1960)

This paper examines the legacies of colonialism using Abagusii, a community in western Kenya, as a case study. Firstly, the paper briefly summarizes the key aspects of Abagusii marriage relations in pre-colonial society. It then defines colonialism in the context of Gusii and examines the effects of invasion, the spread of western ideals, the influence of western education, and missionary interactions in the highlands. The research also looks at how colonial economic and social policies affected marriage relationships. The main contention made in this essay is that pre-colonial and colonial social-political and economic dynamics, in combination, have shaped and continued marriage ties across time