The sites were occupied in waves. Oral histories suggest that the earliest inhabitants were a Bantu speaking people prior to the migration of Nilotic speaking groups. Some sources suggest that the proto-Gusii/Kuria or proto-Luhya inhabited the Thimlich Ohinga area. Migrants from Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, and Burundi are believed to have also made their way through the area, some of whom ended up going south into Tanzania. Archaeological and ethnographic analysis of the sites has shown that the spatial organisation most closely resembles the layout of traditional Luo homesteads. For example, Luo homesteads are circular with a focal meeting point adjacent to a central livestock enclosure, a pattern observable in Thimlich Ohinga. Pottery recovered on the sites also demonstrate specific decorative patterns commonly found among Western Nilotic speakers (Luo) and not among Bantu speakers. These findings suggest that the inhabitants of these structures also contributed to the ancestry of present day inhabitants of the area who identify as members of the Luo community. For reasons yet unknown, Thimlich Ohinga was abandoned by the original builders. Over time, other communities moved into the area in the period between the 15th and the 19th centuries and those who lived within the complexes maintained them by repairing and modifying the structures. The re-occupation and repair did not interfere with the preservation of the structures. The site was vacated for the last time during the first half of the twentieth century as the colonial administration established peace and order in the region. The families living in the enclosures moved out into individual homesteads using euphorbia instead of stone as fencing material. A shift in mindset occurred as the local community moved from a communal living set-up to a more individualistic one.
Gusii-Kuria in origin? Similar to The Great Zimbabwe maybe?
The sites were occupied in waves. Oral histories suggest that the earliest inhabitants were a Bantu speaking people prior to the migration of Nilotic speaking groups. Some sources suggest that the proto-Gusii/Kuria or proto-Luhya inhabited the Thimlich Ohinga area. Migrants from Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, and Burundi are believed to have also made their way through the area, some of whom ended up going south into Tanzania. Archaeological and ethnographic analysis of the sites has shown that the spatial organisation most closely resembles the layout of traditional Luo homesteads. For example, Luo homesteads are circular with a focal meeting point adjacent to a central livestock enclosure, a pattern observable in Thimlich Ohinga. Pottery recovered on the sites also demonstrate specific decorative patterns commonly found among Western Nilotic speakers (Luo) and not among Bantu speakers. These findings suggest that the inhabitants of these structures also contributed to the ancestry of present day inhabitants of the area who identify as members of the Luo community. For reasons yet unknown, Thimlich Ohinga was abandoned by the original builders. Over time, other communities moved into the area in the period between the 15th and the 19th centuries and those who lived within the complexes maintained them by repairing and modifying the structures. The re-occupation and repair did not interfere with the preservation of the structures. The site was vacated for the last time during the first half of the twentieth century as the colonial administration established peace and order in the region. The families living in the enclosures moved out into individual homesteads using euphorbia instead of stone as fencing material. A shift in mindset occurred as the local community moved from a communal living set-up to a more individualistic one.
MIGORI NDIO WANA JUA KUWA NA MUSIMAMO, ATA KAMA NI WA MASIKINI BAHASHA YA DICTATORS SHEEP COLONIES WACHA IKAE, NA UKWELI USIMAME.