Language as an Ultra-Human Power and the Authority of Leaders as Marginal Men: Rethinking Kipsigis Administrative Chiefs in the Colonial Period

It is generally said that the British colonial government appointed minor and lesser known persons to positions of chief and headman, as the Kipsigis of southwestern Kenya wanted to hold their traditional leaders in reserve so that they could be consulted in times of need. This essay reconsiders the attribution and authority of both colonial and traditional Kipsigis leaders: were colonial Kipsigis chiefs and headmen really unimportant and peripheral among the Kipsigis in the early stages of colonial days? On the other hand, were the traditional leaders, in fact, very important and central among them? In fact, both types of Kipsigis leaders have marginality in common for two reasons. Firstly, many w'ere from several marginal clans such as those originating from captured and adopted individuals from hostile triPes such as the Gusii and the Masai. Moreover, most were not only bilingual but also so skilful in persuading both their own people in ethnic meetings as well as enemies in inter-ethnic peace negotiations that their speech often made them look like the "playful persons " or tricksters of Kipsigis folk tales