Haggling: The age-old art of determining livestock prices

It is 10am on a Wednesday at Nyamonye market in Siaya County and the market is teeming with activity as buyers troop from all walks of life to purchase livestock.

While some are here to buy cattle for payment of dowry, others are scouting for fat bulls for burial and wedding ceremonies.

The livestock graze along the marketplace, constantly chomping grass, and generally ignoring much of the hustle and bustle going on around them.

For more than five decades, Nyamonye, alongside Aram, Bondo and Boro have been known as the livestock markets in the county.

At this market, located along the Bondo-Usenge highway, stock owners walk around proudly, negotiating the prices of their sheep, goats and cattle.

Here, the official market days are always Wednesday and Saturday.  In the neighbouring Bondo market, livestock traders meet on Tuesdays and Fridays.

But it is not the vibrancy of the market that stands out. It is the unique old-age haggling practice that has stood the test of time that attracts attention.

Unlike other methods of negotiation, the style adopted purely embraces sign language to negotiate prices. It entails stretching out the right hand, grabbing the tips of the fingers of the trader's hands and jerking them down.

The process is replicated by the trader who also jerks the hands of the buyer. Each signal has a meaning and a price tag for the livestock being sold. It is fascinating how the communication takes place and how they seamlessly understand each other.

When The Standard team visited the market, Moses Okoth, a resident of Mageta Island had come to buy a cow. He is aware that every move he makes is being watched by livestock traders keen on attracting his attention.

Minutes later, Okoth settles on a cow and the seller. What follows is the bargaining. The process continues for close to ten minutes until a final agreement is reached on the price.

He stretches out his right hand, grabs the tips of the fingers of the trader’s right hand, lifts them up and then suddenly jerks them down. He then asks the trader to quote his price.

The seller then looks back at him and smiles knowingly, stretches out his right hand in turn, grabs the right hand of the buyer, lifts it up by the fingers, and jerks it down, quotes a price while praising his livestock.

They negotiate until they reach a price of Sh20,000.

According to those who have mastered the rules and art of the trade, traders always ensure that the livestock they have brought for sale are healthy and attractive.

Charles Wanjare, 73, who ventured into the trade more than four decades ago, says haggling is simply the jerking of fingers during negotiations for livestock prices.

Mzee Wanjare, who hails from Sakwa in Bondo sub-county, says this is not only a means of negotiation, but a symbol of unity.

"This is basically shaking hands in order to agree on the prices. While the owner sets the price, the buyer negotiates for a reduction until they both agree," explains Mzee Wanjare.

The old man, who has been in the trade since 1978, says that the trade was previously a preserve of men.

"Women shied away from participating in the trade but with several changes that come with women empowerment, some are now in the trade," he adds.

Victor Marende, a communication expert says that among the Luo community, it is considered rude, vulgar, unseemly and uncivilised for a seller to put a sticker with a price on his animal like people do with merchandise today.

"This practice of jerking fingers therefore is considered a very kind behaviour. So kind is the act that after the rites and rituals have been performed, the seller and buyer would part ways believing that the animals bought are blessed by Obong’o Nyakalaga (the Luo name of God) and the money too is blessed and for whatever purpose it would be used, it will shower blessings," explains Marende.

He adds that jerking of fingers ensures that the seller commits the truth to the health of the livestock.

"It is during jerking that the seller talks about the beauty of livestock he is selling," he says.

He further explains that as the seller mentions the virtues and qualities of his animal, hoping to command a hefty price, the buyer must try to reduce the price he wants to pay by pointing out the flaws and shortcomings of the animal, comparing it to better animals he has seen at the market place that day.

According to Ochieng Alwari, the chairman of the Bondo Livestock Traders Association, haggling is being practised in all livestock markets.

"This is a unique art that can only be identified amongst livestock traders. When I go to a livestock market in Busia, the traders will easily identify me as a fellow trader through haggling," says Alwari.

Another trader, Charles Oyucho, who inherited the trade from his father, says he is not retiring any time soon.

Oyucho, whose father was a livestock trader in Siaya County, says that he has been able to educate his children through the trade.

"Even though I had been employed and retired from public service, I decided to come back to the livestock trade because it's something I really enjoy doing," he says.