Communication, Culture, and the Vanishing Grandfathers of Elgon: A Qualitative Study of the Erosion of Sabaot Cultural Identity in Luhya–Sabaot Marital Interactions

Abstract

This qualitative study explores how communicative practices within intermarriages between Sabaot and Luhya spouses in Mount Elgon shape, challenge, and in many cases erode Sabaot cultural identity. While intermarriage is often framed as a vehicle for integration, this study demonstrates that it also becomes a subtle site of cultural hegemony, where minority traditions are gradually muted and displaced. The research interrogates four core domains of cultural negotiation; naming practices, initiation rites, household discourse, and ritual observances, each of which has increasingly been mediated through Luhya norms that overshadow and marginalize Sabaot heritage.
The study employed an interpretivist paradigm and a qualitative design, drawing insights from twenty purposively selected participants: ten Sabaot men married to Luhya women and ten Luhya women married into Sabaot households across Cheptais, Kopsiro, Kaptega, and Kapsokwony divisions. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and focus group discussions, with triangulation enhancing trustworthiness.
Findings reveal four interrelated patterns: (1) identity dilution, as children are often given Luhya names recognized by state institutions while Sabaot names are relegated to private use; (2) ritual displacement, where initiation ceremonies and domestic rituals increasingly employ Luhya or Swahili, reducing the linguistic vitality of Sabaot; (3) elder marginalization, with Kap-Kugo (custodial grandfathers) excluded from key household decisions, reducing intergenerational transmission of cultural knowledge; and (4) generational ambivalence, particularly among youth who oscillate between assimilation and creative hybridity. Yet, the study also documents resilience; families quietly maintaining Sabaot names, hybrid initiation practices, and symbolic acknowledgment of elders, suggesting that cultural erosion is accompanied by acts of subtle resistance.
The analysis is framed by Gramsci’s theory of cultural hegemony and Muted Group Theory, which illuminate how dominant cultural codes infiltrate everyday communication while muted groups innovate adaptive strategies to sustain fragments of identity.
The study recommends community-driven cultural education programs, school and media collaborations to digitize and broadcast Sabaot oral traditions, intercultural dialogue forums, and the promotion of cultural tourism as tools for preservation. Without such deliberate interventions, Sabaot heritage risks becoming a symbolic memory remembered rather than lived, reducing the Kap-Kugo, the once-vibrant grandfathers of Elgon, into fading echoes of tradition.