Further Readings
Owuor, O. B., Oketch-Rabah, H., & Kokwaro, J. O.
(2006, December). Reinventing Therapo-Spiritual
Fellowships: The Jolang’o in Luo African Independent
Churches.Mental Health,Religion & Culture, 9 (5),
423–434.
p’Bitek, O. (1971).Religion of the Central Luo. Nairobi:
Kenya Literature Bureau.
GURO
The Guro people live in Ivory Coast surrounded
by the Baule in the east, the Gagu in the south, the
Malinke in the north, and the Bete in the west.
Consequently, they are influenced by and have
influenced several other ethnic groups in their
region. The Guro are a Mande-speaking people
who probably originated in the Sahel region
during the time of the Mali Empire.
They became over centuries some of the best
sculptors of wood in the region, transmitting their
techniques to other artists. Along with the trans-
mission of their artistic techniques went the Guro’s
significant store of myths, legends, and philosophi-
cal concepts. Some people, such as the Mwa, Gagu,
and Nwan, were assimilated into the Guro culture
so well that they, in actuality, became Guro.
The Guro’s traditional religion depended on the
structure of the ethnic group. They are divided into
nearly 50 villages and territories and given duties
relating to the military and economy by consent.
Because there is no king, queen, or chief, it is the
council of elders who resolve all issues of land and
kinship. In the event of a military action, a comman-
der may be elected or appointed by the elders, but
the commander has no further responsibilities after
the action has been carried out. Thus, war generals
and soldiers have temporary responsibilities. This
system seems to preserve the authority of the elders
and the ancestors in ways that more directly
personal powers of a leader might complicate.
One of the reasons the sculptor is held with
respect is the importance of masks for religious
functions. There are several mask societies, actu-
ally religious communities, within the Guro known
for their strict adherence to discipline. They are the
Zamble, the Goli, and the Gye. Only men can be
initiated into these groups. Among the members of
the Guro who live in the north, actually those who
have been influenced by Islam, young girls are
excised and then initiated into the Kene society. It
is reserved for women only. There are also other
select groups among the Guro. These are called the
Vro, Gi, and Yune.
Power, administration, economics, and cere-
monies are shared among the various groups. The
male-only and female-only groups perform certain
functions and duties; duties are also performed by
select mixed groups. Regardless of the makeup of
the group, it is the eldest descendant of the first
inhabitant, the one who is nearest in line of descent
to the ancestor, a person chosen by divination, or
the oldest man, who makes sacrifices to the village
land. Any of these persons may perform the sacri-
fice to the land, but this does not bestow on him or
her any particular powers of leadership. If there
has been a special relationship with a river, a tree,
or a large mountain or stone, say, someone has
been saved by holding onto a rock, or protected
from animals by climbing a tree, and so forth, a
family may make sacrifices to that particular
natural feature. The same procedure is followed in
terms of selecting a person to lead the sacrifice.
The Guro have a special procedure for seeing
that a person does not accumulate too much
wealth. Should an individual by his energy and
creativity become wealthy through hunting,
exploring, weaving, farming, and selling his
goods, or even warfare, he is given the special
name offwa, rich, ormigone, king. With these
titles, a person does not gain in political power,
but is set up to lose his wealth so that it does not
pass from one generation to the next. The
required generosity prevents the man from gaining
excessive wealth. Everyone expects that he will
give whenever he is asked. Moreover, once he is
dead, the funeral costs are so high that the family
often finds that it will never be able to adequately
recover in order to have some small wealth. The
wealth is depleted in the burial functions and
activities. Neither the children nor the brothers of
the deceased will be able to be a migone. On the
basis of this ethical system, the Guro are able to
protect their egalitarian way of life.Molefi Kete AsanteSee alsoGa; Nuer300 Guro