Jok'Obama

The Jok'Obama (Luo: Jok’Obama, "people of Obama") are a Luo sub-clan of the larger K’Ogelo family, native to the Siaya County of Kenya. Though tracing their ancestry back several generations,[1] the clan today claims their forebear as Obama Opiyo (c. 1864 - 1935), also known as Obama wuod Opiyo or Obama k’Opiyo.[2] In the Western world, the Jok’Obama are probably most known for being the ancestors and extended family of Barack Obama, who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017.

History

The Luo people of modern Kenya and Tanzania form the bulk of the modern-day Nilotic peoples.[3] Though it is somewhat uncertain where their exact origin lies, the Luo underwent numerous gradual migrations down into Kenya and Uganda over a period of at least 900 years, stating from approximately 1000 CE.[4] Between 1490 and 1517, three Luo clans arrived in Kenya in three waves, the Joka Jok, the Jok’Owiny, and the Jok’Omolo.[5]

The Jok’Owiny, named for their apical ancestor Owiny, eventually split into three sub-clans as the people settled in different areas. A son of Owiny and member of the Joka’Ruoth sub-clan named Kisodhi settled north of Lake Victoria near what is now the modern township of Uranga.[5] Kisodhi took two wives and had eight sons, the eldest of which was named Ogelo. When Kisodhi died, the family came together to mourn traditionally. One such funeral rite was to shave the head as a sign of mourning, and Ogelo being the eldest son was the first to be shaved. However, he was admonished by his brothers' wives for sitting down to be shaved while they all went hungry, and so he went to get food. Being the only one to listen to them, the women began to praise Ogelo, and his brothers became angry. One of Ogelo's brothers, Ager, sat down and was shaved in his place. Seeing his brother had usurped his rite, Ogelo became furious and a fight broke out. As the family bickered, Ogelo's youngest half-brother Owiny Sigoma noticed the ritual drummer had ignored the family's strife and continued to play his instrument, and in a rage Owiny killed the drummer with a spear. In the ensuing fracas, Ogelo fled the funeral and took all the family's cattle with him. Fleeing for miles, he and his family finally settled in modern Nyang'oma Kogelo. The area, and his descendancy, later became known as the K’Ogelo. With the firstborn Ogelo having fled, Owiny Sigoma became the undisputed head of the clan, however, his belligerent and dictatorial style of rule quickly cast him out of favor, and he was deserted and killed trying to capture the lands of the neighboring Seje family.[1]

Ogelo's great-grandson was named Onyango. Either at birth or sometime in youth, Onyango was noted for having a curved spine, so he was nicknamed Mobam, from the Luo verb obam which meant "to lean" or "to bend". Onyango Mobam's own great-grandson, Obong’o, had three sons: Opiyo, Aguk (seemingly referencing aruuk, the Luo word for a hump, suggesting some sort of hereditary genetic abnormality) and Obama — seemingly a corruption of his ancestor's byname Mobam. Opiyo took a wife, and around 1864, he had a son he named Obama after his uncle. Per tradition, he took his father's personal name as a surname, and thus became known as Obama Opiyo.

Obama Opiyo, considered the founder of the Jok’Obama, took five wives and died around 1935. He had a multitude of children, and today the Jok’Obama number more than 500.

See also

References
  1. P. L. Firstbrook (2011). The Obamas: The Untold Story of an African Family. Arrow. ISBN 978-0-09-955828-6.
  2. Grave of Obama Opiyo, Find a Grave
  3. Ogot, Bethwell A., History of the Southern Luo: Volume I, Migration and Settlement, 1500–1900, (Series: Peoples of East Africa), East African Publishing House, Nairobi, 1967
  4. Ogot 1967, p. 41-43.
  5. Donde, Fredrick (6 August 2015). Obama Senior. A Dream Fulfilled. East African Educational Publishers. ISBN 978-9966-56-039-1.
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