IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/rjeaxx/v17y2023i1-2p186-206.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

In the ruins of past forest lives: remembering, belonging and claiming in Katimok, highland rural Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • Léa Lacan

Abstract

This article explores how local inhabitants living near the Katimok Forest in Baringo County, Kenya, engage with the traces of their past embedded in the landscape, and refigure them into politically powerful ruins. Drawing on ethnographic and archival research, the study examines the traces left behind by former forest dwellers before they were relocated by colonial and post-colonial governments, and analyses the current residents’ interactions with these traces. The article shows that traces are mnemonic and affective devices that remind the local inhabitants of emotional stories of a lost past and foster a sense of belonging. In addition, former forest dwellers and their descendants use these traces as evidence and symbols of their belonging and suffering to demand recognition of their historical loss from current national authorities. By performing the traces as ruins of a lost past, claimants harness their political power. This study highlights the importance of considering forest politics in relation to affective and political engagements with the material landscape.

Suggested Citation

  • Léa Lacan, 2023. "In the ruins of past forest lives: remembering, belonging and claiming in Katimok, highland rural Kenya," Journal of Eastern African Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1-2), pages 186-206, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rjeaxx:v:17:y:2023:i:1-2:p:186-206
    DOI: 10.1080/17531055.2023.2231786
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/17531055.2023.2231786
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/17531055.2023.2231786?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:rjeaxx:v:17:y:2023:i:1-2:p:186-206. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/rjea .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.