Unpublished
Ethnographical study of the Kipsigis people of Kenya and an unpublished fictional account of Kipsigis life by Ian Q Orchardson
This material is held atSchool of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Archives, University of London
- Reference
- GB 102 MS 380807
- Dates of Creation
- c 1937
- Name of Creator
- Language of Material
- English
- Physical Description
- 2 volumes
Scope and Content
Administrative / Biographical History
Ian Q Orchardson was an analytical chemist working in London who had damged his lungs and went out to Kenya about 1910 on medical advice. He settled near Kericho where he grew coffee and a little tea. He became closely acquainted with the Kipsigis people, married a Kipsigis woman and was given a Kipsigis name - Chemosusu "the man who does anything and everything."
Orchardson went on to write the first Kipsigis grammar and also wrote a detailed study of the Kipsigis people which AT Matson describes as "written with the insight and understanding that can only proceed from long arssociation, sympathy and an unimpeachable knowledge of the language." Orchardson completed the draft study in 1937 and an abridged and edited version, updated by Matson, was published in 1961.
Access Information
Open
Acquisition Information
Donated by Dr Ian Orchardson, son of Ian Q. Orchardson, in 2003
Other Finding Aids
This description constitutes the only finding aid at present.
Archivist's Note
Compiled by Rosemary Seton, Archivist, SOAS
Catalogued