| dc.description.abstract | In the traditional African religion, the concept of spirits is widespread. This is because Africans believe in, recognize, and accept the existence of spirits. The spirits sometimes use material objects as temporary abode and manifest their presence and action through natural objects and phenomena. However, the fact that the spirits are non-descript, immortal, and invisible entities have raised deep confusion in terms of their manifestation, prevalence, and effects to the living. Arguments on the origin of the various spirits in Traditional African society remains clouded in mystery not only because of their overlapping and interrelated symbolisms but also because of lack of clarity on how they affect African communities in different geographical settings. It is also unclear how different communities have endeavored to manage their related effects with some informants arguing that within the Luo society, common mechanisms are adopted while some posit that the approaches have changed over time depending on the geographical locations of respective communities in the region. This study has established the origin of nyawawa spirits among the Luo communities, examined their prevalence and manifestation, determined forms of managing their possible effects and explained causes of their perceived decline. The study aimed at assisting researchers in religious studies to improve their knowledge on how the Luo perceive nyawawa spirits and manage their effects. It has further preserved information about nyawawa which with time would be lost. Literature review revealed that belief in nyawawa played a significant role in the world view of the Luo communities as it helped them to explain causes of diseases like smallpox, whose treatment they never knew and hence, helped them to cope with devastating effect of death caused by the diseases which the Luo associated with the nyawawa spirits. This is true to Durkheim Functional theory of Religion which asserts that religion plays several functions among communities that practice them; in this case it helped to rationalize the effects of the said diseases. Secondary data further displayed management strategies of various spirits; a vivid example is amongst the Zulu of South Africa that built huts behind the Kraal to confine them. The study endeavored to interrogate the way the Luo communities under study managed nyawawa spirits. This study was conducted in Kisumu West and Rangwe Sub-Counties. These areas of study were selected purposively to address the possible influence of geographical settings on the opinions on nyawawa a with Kisumu West representing cosmopolitan and peri-urban population while Rangwe representing rural and homogenous Luo population. The study applied mixed methods design that brings together qualitative and quantitative methodologies within a single study to answer or understand a research problem. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data was collected through questionnaires. The questionnaires were used on target population of 382. Key informant interviews and Focus Group Discussions were conducted with selected informants in different locations. Purposive sampling was used to identify potential informants among who were traditional healers, elderly people above 60 years of age, and religious leaders of African Religious Movements. Qualitative data was analyzed through qualitative techniques involving classification of information based on themes and content according to the objectives and was processed by transcribing, translation, corroboration and validation of results from secondary and primary data. Quantitative data was analyzed and presented through descriptive statistics. The study was also guided by functionalism theory. The study revealed that the Luo associated nyawawa with the lake but was experienced everywhere; that various approaches were employed to manage them as their presence was associated with death and spread of diseases. It further showed that today belief in nyawawa is on the decline due to influence of Christianity and urbanization besides other factors. Further recommendation of the study is that future study on nyawawa should take a multicultural approach as to establish if neighboring communities also held similar views, as the spirits were dispelled to them as well, besides the belief that the spirits came from the neighbors of the Luo necessitates such an inquiry. | en_US |
