The charm luo people

The Luo (also spelled Lwo) are an ethnic linguistic group located in an area that stretches from South Sudan and Ethiopia through northern Uganda and eastern Congo (DRC), into western Kenya, and ending in the upper tip of Tanzania. The Luo Tribe make up around 12% of Kenya's population, making it the 3rd largest ethnic group (after the Kikuyu and the Luhya). There are approximately 12 sub-groups within the tribe namely   Shilluk, Anuak, Acholi, Jo-Luo, Lango, Palwo, Alur, Padhola, Joluo (Kenyan and Tanzanian Luo), Bor, and Kumam. 

The traditional occupation of the Luo is fishing, though many are also farmers or work jobs in the larger cities. Unlike many other Kenyan tribes, the Luo tribe were not particularly troubled by the arrival of the white Europeans and settlers. Given the location of their territory in western Kenya, they didn't have their lives interrupted nor their land taken from them. They were not particularly involved in the Mau Mau rebellion, but helped create an independent Kenya through politics instead. the language of the Luo tribe is called Dholuo, and it is still commonly spoken among the people of this tribe. 

Like most other tribes in Kenya, their religious beliefs have changed with the coming of the Europeans. Most Luo consider themselves to be Christians today. Even so, the spirits of their ancestors play an important role in spiritual beliefs. They still often refer to the Christian god by the Luo names they are familiar with, such as "Were" or "Nyasaye".Marriage is very important to the Luo, who traditionally practiced polygamy. Men were allowed to have up to 5 wives, though this is no longer a common arrangement.

A bride price is negotiated, even among modern Luo couples. Money or cattle are paid by the groom to the bride's parents. It is very unusual for a Luo to be unmarried. The Luo are one of the few tribes in Kenya who don't practice ritual circumcision among the males. Another important part of Luo life is music. Songs are sung and music is played for many everyday events and occasions. Many musical instruments are used in Luo music, unlike tribes like the Masai who rely on their voices for music.

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The Making of Out of Africa

The Karen Blixen Museum was established in 1985 to commemorate the life of Baroness Karen Blixen, the talented Danish author, poet and farmer. Karen Blixen is the author of several books including the famous “Out of Africa” later documented into a movie with the same title. Karen Blixen lived in the Museum house, Mbogani as it was then known from 1917 to 1931.  She sold the house with the 6000 acres she owned to a land developer in 1931 when she left Kenya. 

The land developer split up the property into smaller acreage to create a housing estate which he named Karen after its previous owner. Mbogani house also changed named at time to Karen house. The house was rented out and later sold to a retired Colonel Lloyd who lived here until his death in 1954.  His daughter occupied the house until 1959 when it was bought by the Danish Government to present it to Kenya Government as a gift to mark the occasion of its independence in 1963. Included with the gift was a grant to build a centre for young women. Karen house was then used by the new college to accommodate the matron when it opened doors in 1966 until 1972.  

At about the same period, Karen’s literary works had captured the readers, a number of her admirers were already visiting Karen house, and the idea of converting the house into the museum had been born, however due to tasks involved this took several years.  The National Museums of Kenya (NMK) had considered prospects of developing Karen house as a museum by 1970 but limited funds could not allow.

Main attractions
The museum presents a glimpse of the life of the talented author and farmer through, photographs, paintings and displays of furniture and a Library of books.  There is a unique collection of agricultural tools, ploughs, wagons, coffee driers and first generation tractors that provide an insight into early twentieth century agriculture, technologies and transportation of goods. Three hundred bags of coffee were hauled by oxen from Karen Blixen’s farm to the Nairobi railway station from where they went to Mombasa for shipping

 Other attractions include

The Museum house is one of Nairobi’s old houses built in 1912, set with a magnificent view of the Ngong Hills.Nature trail into a relic indigenous forest found then in the area. Wonderful life forms: - Birds 116 species, Butterflies, Mammals (Hyrax and bush squirrels) and over 100 types of plants.

During the 25 years celebrations, the museum will be taking stock of its activities, and looking into ways of expanding and bringing out more stories of Kenya’s early history.

Karen Blixen was born in Denmark in 1885. She came to Kenya in 1914 to join her fiancé Baron Bror Von Blixen and they got married here on the second day of her arrival. Baron Bror Von Blixen had preceded her to buy a farm to rear Dairy cattle, but this plan changed, instead they engaged in coffee farming. However, the coffee farm did not do well due to unsuitable climatic conditions: - acidic soils, insufficient rainfall, high altitude, and other factors which included poor returns due to the world 1930 recession. 

Karen Blixen faced many challenges in Africa but her spirit never died; she suffered poor health, a failed marriage which ended in divorce in 1925 and the collapse of the coffee farm which left her bankrupt. Karen had invested so much in the farm: her heart was here, the welfare of her farm workers was in her, she kept on trying every year hoping that the returns would improve but this was never to be.Looking back on her life in Africa, Karen Blixen felt “that it might altogether be described as the existence of a person who had come from a rushed and noisy world into a still country”. 

Karen Blixen returned to live with her mother at the family home in Rungstedlund Denmark where she spent the rest of her days. It was at this stage in her life that she seriously started her literary career. Her first book “Seven Gothic Tales was published in America 1934, where it received the “Book of the month” award. “Out of Africa” was published in 1937. Karen continued to write a number of successful books and articles right up to the time of her death in 1962.


The Museum is most grateful to the Danish Government for the initial idea and donation of the property. NMK is also indebted to a number of Contributors over the years. Among them the Rungstedlund Foundation for the photographs in the building, the Kenya Museum Society which has made significant contributions to the Karen Blixen Museum over the years notably for: -restoration of the furniture, construction of lavatories and gate.  A number of Kenya Museum society members also donated a number of books and volunteered their time towards Museum activities. The first Museum guides were trained by KMS one of them is still with the Museum to date.  The Museum is located 16 Kilometers from Nairobi City Centre, it is accessible through both the Ngong and Langata roads, the Museum is at the end of Karen road. 

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The legend of Kenya heritage

Nairobi National Museum is located at the Museum Hill, approximately 10 minutes drive from the Nairobi city centre. It is the flagship museum of NMK, housing some of the most celebrated collections of history, culture and art from Kenya and East Africa. The museum aims to interpret heritage of Kenya to stimulate appreciation and learning. This museum is open daily (including public holidays) from 0830hrs -17300hrs.

The Museum was initiated in 1910 by the then East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society [currently the East African Natural History Society (EANHS)].

The group consisted mainly of colonial settlers and naturalists who needed a place to keep and preserve their collections of various specimens. Its first site was at the present Nyayo House in the Nairobi city centre. The site soon became small and a larger building was put up in 1922 where the Nairobi Serena Hotel now stands.

In 1929, the colonial government set aside land at the Museum Hill and construction work started at the current site. It was officially opened in Sept. 22 1930 and named Coryndon Museum in honour of Sir Robert Coryndon, one time Governor of Kenya and a staunch supporter of Uganda Natural History Society. On the attainment of independence in 1963, it was re-named the National Museum of Kenya (NMK).

On October 15th 2005, previous Nairobi Museum closed its doors to the public for an extensive modernization and expansion project that is now complete.  The outcome is impressive; the Nairobi Museum has been transformed into a magnificent piece of architecture that puts it in competition with other world class museums.

The artworks,  the materials used in the fabrication of outdoor sculptures, the landscaping and the botanic gardens, link to the three pillars of Kenya’s national heritage i.e. nature, culture and history. A welcoming ambience of harmony between the galleries, the non gallery spaces, the museum landscape and its entrances, make museum visits more exciting.

The galleries have been reorganized to interpret the heritage of Kenya to stimulate appreciation and learning. To capture the feel of diversity and interactivity, there are mixed galleries to show the personality of the new museum. Under the nature pillar, there are 5 exhibitions. These are Human origins, Mammalian Radiation, Ecology of Kenya, Natural Diversity and Geology. Under Culture, the exhibitions include Cycles of Life, Cultural Dynamism and Creativity. The history pillar has two exhibitions: Kenya Before 1850 and History of Kenya.
 

This is the first time that the Nairobi Museum has undergone a major development that has witnessed its closure intensive refurbishment and expansion of its facilities.

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Amboseli National Park

Amboseli National Park(formerly Amboseli National Park), located at the foot of Africa's highest mountain, 5895-meter Mount Kilimanjaro, is one of the most popular of Kenya's national parks. Amboseli National Reserve (formerly Amboseli National Park) lies some 240 kilometers south-east of Nairobi very close to the Tanzania border. The snow- capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro rising above a saucer of clouds dominates every aspect of Amboseli. Amboseli was gazetted as a national park in 1974; it covers only 392 square kilometers but despite its small size and its fragile ecosystem it supports a wide range of mammals, well over 50 of the larger species, and birds with over 400 species. Park rangers have often noticed birds that have migrated from as far as Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Years ago, Amboseli National Reserve (formerly Amboseli National Park) was the locale around which such famous writers as Ernest Hemingway and Robert Ruark spun their stories of big game hunting in the wilds of Africa. It is also the home of the Maasai people, those tall, proud nomads whose legendary prowess in battle and single handed acts of bravery in fights with wild animals has spread across the globe. Perhaps more than any other community in Kenya, the Maasai have learned to live in complete harmony with their environment and the wildlife which surrounds them. All round the Amboseli National Reserve (formerly Amboseli National Park) are occupied and abandoned Enkaang's - Maasai villages quickly built out of bent poles and sticks and plastered with cow dung and equally swiftly abandoned when the grazing is finished and the herds must move on.

The snows of Mount Kilimanjaro, white and crystalline, form a majestic backdrop to one of Kenya's most spectacular displays of wildlife - lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, cheetah, buffalo and hosts of plains' game, creating Kenya's most sought after photographer's parades. There are estimated to be around 650 elephants, the largest number in all of Kenyan parks and reserves per square kilometer. The swamps and springs have encouraged the hippos to stay around. Other animals also seen are wildebeest, antelopes, zebras, giraffes, gerenuks, gazelles, and buffalos. Amboseli National Reserve's (formerly Amboseli National Park) best game runs are around the swamps and there is a fine lookout on Observation Hill, which offers views over the whole of the Amboseli National Reserve (formerly Amboseli National Park) and beyond.

 Amboseli is one of the most famous Kenya safari destinations and ies at an altitude of 3,900-4,500 Ft and the dust is volcanic ash which spread from Kilimanjaro a millennia ago. During the dry seasons, a curious feature is the shimmering dry lake bed where false mirages of populated horizons, punctuated by real herds of zebras and wildebeests hover in front of visitors. The principal attraction in Amboseli is its vast herds of elephants within the park. Amboseli is also famous for long-tusked elephant bulls and Plentiful plains game that includes zebras, wildebeests, giraffe, impalas and leopard. Smaller cats can be spotted also.

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The Rothschild Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi)

Family: Giraffidae Genus: Giraffa Species: G. camelopardalis Subspecies: G. c. Rothschild

Is among the most endangered giraffe subspecies with only a few hundred members in the wild. Rothschild Giraffes have a gestation period of 14 to 16 months. Rothschild Giraffes are easily distinguishable from other subspecies. The most obvious sign is in the colouring of the coat, or pelt. They are also taller than many other subspecies, measuring up to six metres tall (20 ft). They live in small herds, with males and females (and their calves) living separately, only mixing for mating. Males are larger than females and their two 'true' horns are usually bald from sparring. They also tend to be darker in colour than the females, although this is not a guaranteed sexing indicator. A giraffe's heart, which can weigh up to 10 kg (22 lb) and measure about 60 cm (2 ft) long, must generate approximately double the normal blood pressure for an average large mammal to maintain blood flow to the brain. In the upper neck, a complex pressure-regulation system called the rete mirabile prevents excess blood flow to the brain when the giraffe lowers its head to drink. While giraffes are usually found in groups, the composition of these groups is more fluid than in other social ungulates. They are a largely transient species with few strong social bonds and aggregations usually disband every few hours, although calving groups can last weeks to months.

 

The Somali Giraffe, or more commonly known as Reticulated Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata), is a subspecies of giraffe native to Somalia, northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia. Its coat consists of large, polygonal liver-colored spots outlined by a network of bright white lines. The blocks may sometimes appear deep red and may also cover the legs. Reticulated giraffe are herbivorous, since they eat mostly plants, although giraffe have been seen eating the carcass of an antelope. A giraffe’s favorite snack is the acacia bushes and trees that frequent the African landscape. While these leaves are preferred, a giraffe will munch on many other kinds of vegetation. Giraffe food preferences change according to seasons: in the dry season, they seem to be fine with pine like needles. Giraffe feed by browsing, which typically means they eat continuously throughout the day. A male is able to eat 75 pounds of food in a single day. Giraffe use their sense of smell to locate the leaves they want. They ingest everything on the branch when eating, including insects, bark, and thorns. The giraffe uses its massive tongue (up to eighteen inches long) to scrape off the leaf. Giraffe have very tough lips to guard against scratching. While the acacia tree is their favorite, giraffe have also been known to eat mareola berries and other fruits. The Sentinels of the Savannah, the giraffe stomach has four parts, with food passing through the first and water going directly to the second. The first stomach partially digests the twigs, leaves, and whatever else the giraffe has ingested whole. During the day, when the animal is not feeding, parts of this fermented mixture are brought back up from the stomach in hard lumps. Giraffe chew on these lumps, called cud, throughout the day, helping to further break the food down. Once they are done chewing on the piece of cud, it is sent to the third stomach, and finally the fourth stomach to be digested fully.Giraffe are able to conserve and maintain their body temperature in part because of their shape- their long thin legs allow heat to release quickly.

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