One of the best ways to understand a human is what they eat. Also, I believe culture and tradition make understanding us easier. As a Kenyan Luo, I can hardly find our forefathers’ meals. This is why like many other people, I’m interested in the Luo traditional food.
Westernization has almost made us shun away from our traditions and culture, both the good and bad. Now I have no problem leaving out the perceived bad, but we have to move along with the good. We fell in love with Western foods and forgot ours that is even richer and healthier.
Who are the Luos?
We know the Luo people are aggressive, proud, good crazy, professionals and academicians, energetic, and driven.
But who are we? The Luo tribe is an ethnic group in East Africa, primarily found in Kenya and Tanzania. Note that the Luo tribe originally migrated from Sudan, and as such, there are Luo people in Sudan; some also settled in Uganda, Congo, and Ethiopia.
They are known for their rich cultural heritage, music, art, and massive political involvement. The Luo people speak Dholuo, which is a Nilotic language.
Historically, the Luo people were hunters and gatherers who lived along the Nile River in Sudan. They later migrated southwards into Kenya and Tanzania while leaving others in Sudan.
They also have a strong musical tradition, and their music is characterized by complex rhythms and lyrics that often convey social and political messages. We also enjoy rich traditional foods, which we are interested in today.
Where are they settled?
In Kenya, the Luo people are mainly concentrated in the western part of the country, particularly around Lake Victoria.
It’s no wonder most of our foods revolve around fish and the different types of fish. We were originally fishermen but are also academicians with many career roles. This is also why we have large percentages in the capital.
When you want to understand more about this culture, it would be best to visit the Luo people, and you will get to understand them more. Take a ride with me for this piece to learn more about what we ate and how we ate it. Maybe through this, you will start to understand Luos a little more.
What are the traditional Luo foods?
It’s hard to pinpoint that Luos eat a particular meal because today we have done a 360, and we eat different foods. But by the end of this piece, you will agree that the Luo traditional food was enriching, tasty, and easy to make. And it’s about time we reintroduced some of them.
1. Fish
At the center of our Luo traditional food is fish. Notice that we were and are still fishermen; to date, we still love fish. At least we still enjoy a few of the fish types we used to back in the day.
The most common fish we had were Ngege – Tilapia, Mbuta-Nile perch, Kamongo Obambo, and more. Mark you; in the past, we liked to eat smoked fish, also called Bude. Smoking was a preservative method for the fish, and of course, it made a proper fish style.
Obambo is the dried fish we would use to ensure we had enough soup to eat alongside the Kwon/ugali. I know most of us don’t eat it today, but when we visit our villages, best believe you still can find it.
Mbuta, best known as Nile perch, is my favorite to date. Of course, we still cook it to date, but when you make it in the pot in the village, this is a different delicious dish. Mind you; if you want to make even the fillets, you will make it from this.
Let’s not forget the Omena and Fulu, which are still common. You can refer to them as small fish.
2. Fruits
Luos had and still has many fruits that we eat. This was supposed to be your regular day snack. The good thing is that as you passed other villages, you could pick the fruits in the gardens to eat.
Such fruits include guavas, pawpaw, lemon, mangos, java plum, Avocado, passion fruit, and pineapple.
The fruits above and more are present to date, and of course, we have borrowed and planted other types to enrich us.
3. Kwon/Ugali
This is mostly our starch; the brown one features millet and cassava flour. However, you can also have the white one that features maize flour. For Luos, this is a staple to date that you will have traditionally and today almost daily.
Not only is it enriching, but it’s also filling, and mind you, we never eat it as it is; instead, we eat it with a sauce. This starch is present in most countries; the only difference might be how others make it.
4. Veggies
Note that we used different leaves as our veggies. But the best part is that traditionally we would get the veggies and then add on milk and allow it to cook. But this is a good option to use in preserving the veggies.
From Akeyo to Osuga to Susa and Apoth, the list of veggies we used to accompany our meats is endless.
Check out the future blogs for the different veggies we ate and still use to date.
5. Meat
In the past, we again preferred Athola (slightly roasted meat) or Aliya fully smoked meat. The Aliya was already preserved, so it could stay for up to a year without getting spoilt. We can still find these meats even in restaurants in Nairobi.
Note that we could eat all forms of meat, including pork, beef, and mutton. We enjoyed the different kinds of meat.
6. Odi
We enjoyed the different bananas, too; of course, this is what we today refer to as matoke. For the luos then we used to cook the matoke together with meat and other veggies. It was one of the best full meals we could have and make.
7. Nyoyo
Another one of the best meals is Nyoyo. Now this one was popular even in other communities, including the Kikuyus. However, we didn’t need to add many other ingredients. Traditionally we boiled the maize and beans, added salt, and served them for breakfast or lunch.
Most people used to take it with Nyuka/porridge after they were from gardening. And you know the good thing is that Nyoyo/githeri is full of fiber to keep you enjoying healthy meals.
8. Sweet potato
Another meal that was so common was sweet potatoes. Remember, these potato type readily grows in our region. They are easy to make, but other than filling nutritions.
You can boil them to have them ready for breakfast and whichever meal your choose. We used to like making sweet potatoes, and to date, it remains a go-to meal.
9. Groundnuts and sim sim
Another of the most common meals is groundnuts; of course, we would use them as a snack. You could either eat the nuts as roasted or boiled versions. Note that nuts dominate in luo culture and most other African countries.
Sometimes we also roasted either sim sim or ground nut and then ground them to make a sauce. We would then eat with cassava or sweet potatoes.
10. Beans
We also did have beans, and, of course, we would eat with Ugali and sweet potatoes. This is well because, in the past, we didn’t grow rice and such like starch. Today we will eat the beans with chapati or rice, but traditionally we would eat it with ugali.
11. Obwolo/mushroom
I know most people already eat mushrooms today, but even in our traditional meal option, we used Obwolo. And, of course, we would go on to mix it with other different veggies. Note that this was made during the rainy season just because we would find more of it during the rainy days.
12. Nyuka/porridge
Of course, this one was one of the most common breakfast meals alongside different starches.
Mind you, in the past; we didn’t add sugar to this porridge. We would ferment the flour and water, giving it a nice sour flavor. In this case, you would have to add sugar, and maybe you would add groundnuts or Nyoyo to make it into a full meal.
13. Gweno/chicken
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This is one of the most significant meats in our culture. It’s tied to most of our ceremonies and beliefs. You will have it served for major celebrations like marriage, funerals, and almost any other occasion.
We aren’t talking about the grade chicken we have today for this chicken. We have the rich traditional chicken we would slaughter, cook and serve at home.
In-laws were some of the most treasured guests, so we served them the chicken alongside Kwon and veggies.
14. Cassava
Like sweet potatoes, we just boiled this cassava and served it for breakfast or even as a midday snack. Mind you, we mostly use cassava to make Ugali flour, too, and of course, this is more than enriching for us.
15. Mor alenya/Ghee
This was very common, too, and of course, the women traditionally made it and used it to cook different veggies. I don’t see it as much these days, but when you use Mor Alenya on your food, the taste is different and good.
16. Aluru/ Quail
If you know this bird Aluru that is outrightly delicious, then you should know that we used to have it as part of our traditional meals. When cooking it, you only cook it the same way as the chicken.
Of course, when you visit some of these traditional luo restaurants, you will have the Aluru on the list of meals you enjoy.
17. Ngoja / plantain
This is a type of banana that is closely linked to plantain bananas. It’s sweet but then thicker than the plantains are. Traditionally, this ngoja is just boiled; of course, it’s so sweet you don’t need sweeteners for your tea.
18. Riga/cow blood
So when you slaughter the cow, we collect the blood from the neck vein and cook it for a meal. I know you may be weirded out, but you must try it first; then, you will understand why we love it.
This one again, we would eat with our favorite ugali, and of course, depending on who is cooking it, we would ad in milk to enrich it even further.
19. Kwon anang’a / Sweet Ugali
Let’s say it’s a more sweetened ugali that we make using colostrum milk as the water. As you would expect, the ugali is more enriched but also sweetened and smooth. This one works more as a snack, though.
20. Brew
We also had and still do have our local brew (Busa and Chang’aa). We also brewed beer from sorghum or millet, an important part of their social and cultural practices. The traditional method was to consume it in a single pot with a unique straw.
21. Honey
Honey was another important food source used as a sweetener and medicine. Most of us still enjoy honey today to keep off sugar.
Notice one thing about our foods; we had the simpler, more nutritious, and nourishing foods that would enrich our system. We rarely use oils and fats compared to these days, thus a healthier life. Literary, we didn’t even eat bread and rice, but our people were so strong to tackle their days.
We mostly also cooked on the three stones and firewood and in the pots. Mind you, some rich flavor comes with cooking in the pots. I think it has to do with the smoky flavors.
Today, the traditional diet of Luo has been influenced by Western food culture and globalization. Although we still eat a few conventional foods, isn’t it time we reintroduce all of them?
Comment below if you remember another one of the common foods that I may have left out. I’m a proud Kenyan Luo learning more about and embracing our culture. Take a ride with me to understand the Luo traditional food.