Famines and Famished Bodies in A Food Deficit Locality Among the Luo of Kenya

The concept of body language and how dietary intake influences that conception is not a new phenomenon in dietary literature. However, there is little or no documented literature on how famines/food shortages may be used in exploring body concept. An anthropological study was conducted among periodically famished local people of Bonde village in Bondo district, western Kenya, on famine/food shortage naming and their associated ethno-semantic descriptions. Through household surveys, key informant interviews and participant observation, the results indicate that the Luo give systematic names to famines/food shortages and some food items that can be useful in exploring body concept. Famines/food shortage naming among the Luo represent significant socio-economic ideological formulation that is equally important in depicting the community's sense of historicity and constructing its social order. By deciphering the coded, unspoken, famished body language famines/food shortages constitute an important lens in exploring body concept.