EGALITARIAN CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AMONG THE ÎGEMBE OF KENYA

Abstract

In a farming community of the Îgembe (a subgroup of the Kîmîîrû-speaking people) of the Kenyan central highlands, people do not rely primarily on judgements by specialists, professionals or experts for conflict management; instead, they have recourse to conditional curses using oaths or the power of îchiaro. A conditional curse provides a mechanism that can be an alternative to reasoned judgement. The third party does not convict the disputants but enables them to wait for either party to recognise his or her responsibility and confess at any time in the future. In these respects, conflict management in the Îgembe community is confession-oriented. Conflict management with îchiaro is egalitarian and democratic to the extent that every person has the power of îchiaro. Theoretically speaking, the power of îchiaro is universally given to all individuals of the Îgembe. If one is born as a member of the Athimba clan, he or she is automatically mwîchiaro to the Antûambûi and Andûûne clans. Such a biological determinism is, from the local perspective, a dominant means of identifying and understanding their îchiaro relationships. While everyone is eligible to represent his or her clan as mwîchiaro, some individuals may be appreciated as more powerful mwîchiaro than others. Nevertheless, as shown in a case study in this paper, îchiaro men are not required to identify themselves as 'experts' in their private capacity. This biological determinism thus serves to depersonalise the îchiaro.