The Iteso are Nilotes who were nomadic pastoralists once upon a time said to have originated from present-day Sudan. With time they became farmers (mostly of millet and sorghum) and cattle herders, settled in western Kenya and eastern Uganda where climatic conditions allowed for their new lifestyle.
An aerial view of an Iteso boma showed a layout of fenced compounds within a larger compound surrounded by a euphorbia hedge. Iteso homesteads were usually small and compact and even the boma entrance was significantly narrow – though it is not clear why.
Building Iteso bomas started with the men. After planning, they built the huts using mud and thatched the roofs with dry grass. Once this was done, the women would finish by plastering a mixture of mud and cow dung on the walls to strengthen them. The husband’s hut was directly opposite the homestead entrance.
The boma design was structured to allow women to have small shambas next to their huts to grow vegetables. Beyond millet and sorghum, they grew maize and tobacco during the rainy season.
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