article

Luo entrustment: foreign finance and the soil of the spirits in Kenya

Africa65 (2)Published In 1995 • Pages: 165-196

By: Shipton, Parker MacDonald.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article examines the cultural dimensions of financial credit and debt among the Luo of Kenya. The article places these issues against a deeper and broader background of entrustments and obligations. Based on intensive field research, the article shows that Luo farmers already have a broad assortment of borrowings and lendings of their own, some far more meaningful to them than loans from banks, cooperatives, or marketing boards will ever be. Some of these practices are only partly economic in nature; some involve sacred trusts or important political contacts.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Credit
Borrowing and lending
Real property
External relations
Research and development
Cultural identity and pride
Labor supply and employment
Property in movables
Exchange transactions
Medium of exchange
Mutual aid
Cult of the dead
Mode of marriage
Sacred objects and places
Gift giving
Accumulation of wealth
Inter-ethnic relations
Saving and investment
Administrative agencies
Acculturation and culture contact
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Luo
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2010
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Eastern Africa
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Anthropologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Teferi Abate Adem; 2009
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1980-1991
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1950-1995
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Luoland, Kenya
NotesAdditional notes
Parker Shipton
Includes bibliographical references ( p. 192-195)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
29010790
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Luo (Kenyan and Tanzanian people)