Lubukusu Language, Customs and Traditions

The Bukusu people( Bukusu : Babukusu ) are one of the 17 Kenyan tribes of the Luhya Bantu people of East Africa residing mainly in the counties of Bungoma and Trans Nzoia. They are the largest tribe of the Luhya nation, with 1,188,963 identifying as Bukusu in the 2019 Kenyan census. They speak the Bukusu dialect.

The Bukusu myths of origin state that the first man, Mwambu (the discoverer or inventor), was made from mud by Wele Khakaba (meaning God the Creator) at a place called Mumbo (which translates to 'west'). God then created a woman known as Sela to be his wife. Mwambu and his descendants moved out of Mumbo and settled on the foothills of Mount Elgon (known to them as Masaba), from where their descendants grew to form the current Bukusu population.

Anthropologists believe that the Bukusu did not become distinct from the rest of the Luhya population until the late 18th century at the very earliest. They moved into Central Uganda as part of a much larger group of people, many forming the eastern extension of the great Bantu migration out of central Africa. (See Origins of the Luhya.) The Bukusu clan includes a subdivision called ekholo. This subdivision includes the Baala, Bakibeti, the Bakibumbi, the Batilu, the Bameme, Baloncha, Bayundo, Bakimweyi, Bakongolo, Babhichachi, the Baengele, the Batukuika, the Batecho, the Bachemwile, the Bakoi, the Basekese, the Balunda, the Babulo, the Bakhoma, the Balukulu, the Basefu, the Babhuya, and the Basonge.