Shifting Cultural Construction of the Bukusu of Bungoma County, Kenya

The study will appreciate the shifting cultural construction of the Bukusu of Bungoma County, Kenya. It will explore the impact of the contemporary global ecological change on the shifting cultural construction of the Bukusu by analyzing Sokoto’s popular poetry and how it depicts the nexus between culture and landscape. To start with, the paper will examine the shift in Bukusu cultural construction through Sokoto’s popular poetry. Using ecocriticism theory, the paper investigates the impact of ecological change on the cultural identities of the Bukusu people. It does this through exploring the relationship between landscape and the Bukusu cultural identities. Privileging historical perspective, the study will unveil the shift in cultural construction courtesy of the forces of urbanization, modernity and westernization. The findings of the study will underscore the impact of environmental change on the construction of the Bukusu people’s culture as it is the underlying factor in the shift in cultural construction. In construction, Sokoto’s popular poetry illuminates the shift in cultural construction due to ecological change, offering valuable insights as we brainstorm possible solutions for the correction of the contemporary environmental situation through poetry to restore, preserve and nature and our cultural heritage.