Water as a Source of Life and Death: A Comparative Analysis of Flood Myths among the Luo and Kalenjin Communities in Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to address the limited scholarly engagement with African flood myths, particularly those of the Kalenjin and Luo communities of Kenya, despite their rich ecological, moral, and cosmological insights. Existing ecocritical studies have largely privileged Western mythologies, leaving Indigenous African narratives under-theorised within discussions of human–environment relations and contemporary ecological crises. The study adopts a qualitative comparative methodology grounded in ecocriticism, analysing selected oral accounts and published versions of Kalenjin and Luo flood myths associated with Lake Bogoria and Simbi Nyaima. Close textual reading is combined with contextual interpretation to examine symbolic representations of water and their ethical implications. The findings reveal that in both traditions, water functions as a moral and ecological agent that simultaneously sustains life and enacts destruction. Floods are represented as responses to human arrogance, inhospitality, and ecological transgression, while survival and renewal are linked to humility, hospitality, and moral balance. The myths operate as mnemonic landscapes and ethical frameworks that encode communal environmental values and regulate human conduct toward nature. The study concludes that Kalenjin and Luo flood myths articulate an Indigenous environmental ethic in which ecological harmony is inseparable from moral responsibility. It recommends the integration of African oral narratives into contemporary ecocritical discourse and environmental education, highlighting their significance in offering culturally grounded perspectives for addressing climate change and promoting sustainable human–environment relationships.