The western Kenya area, which is home to the Luhya, possesses rich and fertile highland soil. Because of this, agriculture is a large part of the economy. The Luhya raise finger millet, sweet potatoes, peas, bananas, sorghum, and livestock. Cash crops such as sugar cane and cotton are also sold in the markets on Lake Victoria and the surrounding areas. Many Luhya have given up their tribal ways of life and have moved into towns and cities to find work in the urban communities. They also raise cattle and sheep; the boys look after the herds while the girls help in the fields and with food preparation.
The luhya dress just like Kenyans, they wear locally manufactured and imported dresses, pants, shirts and many more. Traditional clothing is usually worn during special occasions and only by certain people. In cultural dances, performers can put on feathered hats and skirts made of sisal strands. For the luhya groups that still maintain the traditional circumcision rites. During war even luhyas used to paint themselves with frightening colors and wore frightening apparel such as horns. Women never wear pants because if they wear them they are considered to be abnormal. It is particularly inappropriate for women to wear pant or a short skirt or dress in the presence of their father-in-law. Earrings, necklaces and bangles bracelets are commonly worn by women. Luhya men used to wear the skin of a goat or a calf. It was passed under one armpit and fastened with a strap over the opposite shoulder. The skin hung in this position, it was not sufficient enough to cover the whole body; what th
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