This article is about the Abagusii people of Kenya popularly known as The Kisii (Mkisii/Wakisii) in Swahili.. For other uses, see Kisii.
Not to be confused with Kissi people or Kisi people.
Abagusii (Aba-goosie)
Abagusii people singing and dancing while playing a native harp (aka Obokano)
Total population
2,703,235[1]
Regions with significant populations
Kenya
Languages
Ekegusii
Religion
Christianity, Traditional Beliefs, Islam
Related ethnic groups
Abakuria,[2] Ameru,[3] Embu,[3] Kikuyu,[3] Mbeere,[3] Kipsigis,[4] Maasai[4] Linguistic-Relationship:Ngurimi,[2] Zanaki,[3]Ikoma,[3]Rangi,[2] Mbugwe,[2]Simbiti.[2] Maragoli[3] and Suba people (Kenya)[3]
Gusii (Goosie)
Person
Omogusii
People
Abagusii
Language
Ekegusii
Country
Gusii
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The Abagusii (also known as Kisii (Mkisii/Wakisii) in Swahili, or Gusii in Ekegusii) are a Bantu ethnic group and nation indigenous to Kisii and Nyamira counties of former Nyanza, as well as parts of Kericho and Bomet counties of the former Rift Valley province of Kenya.
The Abagusii traditionally inhabit Kisii and Nyamira counties, as well as sections of Kericho and Bomet counties, all of which were within the former Nyanza and Rift Valley provinces of Kenya. Studies of East African Bantu languages[2] and anthropological evidence suggests that the Abagusii, together with Kuria, Ngurimi, Rangi, Mbugwe, Simbiti, Zanaki and Ikoma, emerged from East African Neolithic agropastoralists and hunters/gatherers[5][6][7] believed to have come from the North of Mt. Elgon.[3] It's also believed that there was heavy influence on the Abagusii from Bantu speakers migrating out of Central Africa and West Africa; certain groups of the Abagusii may have been assimilated from the Luhya and Olusuba speaking Suba people, which originated from west of Lake Victoria.[8] The majority of Abagusii are closely related to the Maasai, Kipsigis, Abakuria, and Ameru of Kenya.
The Abagusii also have a close linguistic relationship with the Ngurimi, Rangi, Mbugwe, Simbiti,[2] Zanaki, Ikoma and Maragoli people. They speak the Ekegusii language which is classified with the Great Lakes Bantu languages. However, the inclusion of Abagusii in the Bantu language group is a subject of debate, given that studies on East African Bantu languages have found Ekegusii, together with the Kuria, Simbiti, Ngurimi, Rangi and Mbugwe languages to be rather distinct from other Bantu languages in terms of structure and tense.[2]
^"2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume IV: Distribution of Population by Socio-Economic Characteristics". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
^ abcdefghGibson, Hannah (2019). "The grammaticalisation of verb-auxiliary order in East African Bantu From information structure to tense-aspect" (PDF). Studies in Language. 43 (4): 757–799. doi:10.1075/sl.17033.gib. S2CID 204479937.
^ abcdefghiOchieng, W.R. (1972). "'Misri' Legends in East and Central Africa". East Africa Journal.
^ abOmwoyo, Samson Moenga (2000). The Agricultural Changes in the Kipsigis Land, c. 1894–1963: An Historical Inquiry (Thesis).
^Ehret, C. (1980). The historical reconstruction of Southern Cushitic phonology and vocabulary. Kölner Beiträge zur Afrikanistik. Vol. 5. Berlin: Reimer. ISBN 9783496001041.
^Ambrose, S.H (1982). "Archaeological and linguistic reconstructions of history in East Africa". In Ehert, C.; Posnansky, M. (eds.). The archaeological and linguistic reconstruction of African history. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520045934.
^Ehret, C. (2002). The Civilizations of Africa: a History to 1800. University Press of Virginia. ISBN 0-8139-2085-X.
^Okello, Ayot. A History of the Luo-Abasuba of Western Kenya, from A.D. 1760–1940.
Abagusii (also known as Kisii (Mkisii/Wakisii) in Swahili, or Gusii in Ekegusii) are a Bantu ethnic group and nation indigenous to Kisii and Nyamira counties...
Kisii County is a county in the former Nyanza Province in southwestern Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kisii. The county has a population of 1...
eastern edge of the lake and is inhabited predominantly by the Luo people and Kisiipeople. There are also Bantu-speaking tribes, such as the Kuria, and some...
in Kenya, also known as South Kisii District Nyamira District, in Kenya, also known as North Kisii District Kisiipeople, an ethnic group in Kenya, also...
classified as a millennialist cult. Mumboism spread amongst the Luo and the Kisiipeople. The Colonial authorities suppressed the movement by deporting and imprisoning...
been shaved depending upon the site of the operation. Trepanning at the Kisiipeople in Kenya was filmed in 1958. Trepanation was also practised in the classical...
Sub-Saharan Africa; an example was documented in 2009 in Kenya when Kisiipeople and Kalenjin people clashed, resulting in four deaths. The British upper class...
European presence in the region. Mumboism was popular among the Luo and Kisiipeople, but its influence spread beyond Africans who were formally followers...
Ekegusii) is a Bantu language spoken in Kisii and Nyamira counties in Nyanza Kenya, whose headquarters is Kisii Town, (between the Kavirondo Gulf of Lake...
mostly by the Gusii people. Nyamira District was later carved out of Kisii in 1989. Further splitting led to the creation of Kisii Central District and...
Nuer languages. Except for some elders living in rural areas, most Maasai people speak the official languages of Kenya and Tanzania, being Swahili and English...
Kisii School is a public high school for boys in Kisii, Kenya, established in 1934. Kisii School was established in July 1934 as Government African School...
free dictionary. Gusii or Kisii may refer to: Gusii people, a tribal people of Kenya Gusii language, their Bantu language Kisii (disambiguation) This disambiguation...
the Kamba, the Luhya, the Kisii, the Meru, and the Mijikenda. The Swahili people are descended from Wangozi Bantu peoples that intermarried with Arab...
stated.[citation needed] Dr Ochieng (1972) noted the legend among the Kisiipeople who claim that before they migrated to Mt Elgon, they lived in a country...
It was also known as South Kisii District or Ogembo District. In 1999, its population was approximately 461,000 people [1]. Its district headquarters...
Maasai people also due to intermarriage prior to colonization. The Gĩkũyũ people between Thika and Mbeere are closely related to the Kamba people who speak...
The Turkana are a Nilotic people native to the Turkana County in northwest Kenya, a semi-arid climate region bordering Lake Turkana in the east, Pokot...
The Luhya (also known as Abaluyia or Luyia) are a Bantu people and the second largest ethnic group in Kenya. The Luhya belong to the larger linguistic...
of Mount Kenya, thus the name Amiiru, meaning 'people of the forest'. [citation needed]The Ameru people comprise nine subgroups: the Igoji, Imenti, Tigania...
The Iteso (or people of Teso) are a Nilotic ethnic group in eastern Uganda and western Kenya. Teso refers to the traditional homeland of the Iteso, and...
The Pokot people (also spelled Pökoot) live in West Pokot County and Baringo County in Kenya and in the Pokot District of the eastern Karamoja region in...
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highlands of southern Ethiopia. They are closely related to the wider Oromo people and practice Islam as their religion. According to Y-DNA analysis by Hirbo...
directed Kalenjin youths to target civilians of the Kikuyu, Kamba, and Kisii ethnic groups, which were perceived to be supporters of the Party of National...
2021) was a Kenyan politician, government minister, and businessman from Kisii County. Simeon Nyachae’s net worth was $2.5 Billion by his death in 2021...
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