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Africa Travel Guide - Kenya Travel
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Kenya - People & Language
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Kenya Travel Guide - Quick Links
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Present day archaeological evidence suggests that some two million years ago, man's ancestors roamed an area in the very north of Kenya, in the region of Lake Turkana near Kobi Foora. Hominid fossil finds dating back that far have earned Kenya the sobriquet "The Cradle of Mankind". Nevertheless, natives of Kenya are almost entirely immigrants whose ancestors reached the country less than 10,000 years ago. Oral and linguistic evidence indicates that Kenya has been the focus of three major immigrations:
In the beginning, the Cushites from the north and northeast - from current day Ethiopia arrived some 9000 years ago. The Cushites who were divided into the southern and eastern groups occupied, unchallenged, the northern half of the country until a movement of Nilotes entering Kenya west of Lake Turkana began a period of interaction with their hosts and later the displacement of the southern Cushites to what is now Tanzania.`The development of these mixed societies led to the Nilotic immigrants being divided into two groups - the Plains Nilotes and the Highland Nilotes. A later immigration (around 500 years ago) of Lake Nilotes, from the direction of what is now Uganda, led to a further Nilotic settlement around Lake Victoria.
The Bantus
Around 1000 A.D there was a considerable movement into Kenya of Bantu from the south and west. This movement, which began in the Cameroon area of West Africa, spread far and wide eventually occupying much of eastern and most of central and southern Africa. The last of the immigrations which has contributed towards the cocktail of cultures now represented in Kenya is that of Arabs and Indians who arrived as traders and railway builders, and became settlers from as early as the third century A.D although the majority have arrived in the last four hundred years. Today the Bantu speakers are in the majority - around 60 percent. The Kikuyu (sometimes called Gikuyu), with their close kin the Embu and the Meru, are the most numerous totaling to approximately six and a half million out of Kenya's total population of about 31.5 million. The next largest groups among the Bantu are the Luhya who occupy the three western districts of Busia, Bungoma and Kakamega and who number around three million. Then, still in numerical order, are the Akamba some two and a half million whose skill in woodcarving is recognized worldwide. Then come the Gusii from the rich highlands just east of Lake Victoria and the Mijikenda from the Coast. Each of these two groups number around 1.5 million. The rural Bantu are agriculturalists growing much of the rich coffee for which Kenya is famous and all are noted for their diligence and industry.
The Nilotes
The Luo, who occupy three districts bordering Lake Victoria, represents the Lake Nilotes. The Luo are farmers (and fishermen of course) in circumstances that are far from easy. This part of the country is perhaps most suitable for cattle and formerly they were owners of huge herds but their growth in numbers has now made this impossible. In a region where rainfall is often either too abundant or totally inadequate, Luo farmers have developed an attitude characterized by stoicism and imperturbability. Luo traditional dress is arguably the most decorative in Kenya. Body ornamentation together with colorful feathers, hippo tusks and metal embellishments make Luo dancing and festivals an eye-catching scene. Music, too, is an important cultural characteristic. Traditional instruments are the orutu a one stringed lyre and the thum, an eight stringed instrument producing haunting melodies.
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The Plains Nilotes are represented by the Maasai, the Samburu and the Turkana all of whom are primarily pastoralists and who are famed for their prowess as fighters. The Turkana inhabit an arid sun scorched land almost as inhospitable as land in use can be. Their district is of great size (67,000 sq km) and lies to the west, and is bordered by, Lake Turkana. Their basic social unit is the family and their simple homesteads reflect the ever present need for mobility. The camel is the principal source of wealth and well being for the Turkana. Perhaps surprisingly their material culture is highly developed and aesthetic and displayed in remarkable personal adornment and wide craft skills. In the first category are the splendid hairstyles of the men often so ornate that they require that the wearer use a neck stool for sleeping. Their crafts utilize the materials of the area, which include leather, seeds, shells, horns, bones and stones. The Maasai are so named because they speak Maa and despite not being numerically strong (about 770,000) they are nevertheless Kenya's best-known tribe. Even in earlier times, they were a formidable force quite out of proportion to their numbers. The Maasai have a deep involvement with their cattle. "I hope your cattle flourish" is a typical Maasai greeting. Cattle represent wealth but they also mean food (milk, blood and meat) and they provide leather for sandals and beds and they are a currency for marriage, fines and sacrifices. Life for a Maasai is a series of rites of passage ceremonies and celebrations. These lead from initiation to junior warrior then to senior warrior and then through junior elder to senior elder.
Cousins to the Maasai are the Samburu who live in a large district north of the equator where they herd cattle but lately have taken up wheat farming on the cool, windswept plateau called Leroghi, where the rainfall is twice the district average. Apart from more lavish ornamentation, a Samburu can be distinguished from a Maasai because he speaks much faster, in fact Maa, spoken by a Samburu, appears to be one enormously long word!
The Highland Nilotes are almost part of a group now called the Kalenjin. This group numbering about 2.3 million is made up of the Kipsigis, the Nandi, the Tugen, the Marakwet, the Keiyo and the Pokot. Somewhat away from the main community is another Kalenjin group, the Sabaot, who live on the slopes of Mount Elgon near the Uganda border. The Kalenjin are disciplined farmers, now mainly agrarian but where space permits, you find cattle rearing, betraying an ancestral love of these animals, which has yet to be lost. Most of Kenya's tea is grown in Kipsigis and Nandi country. One phenomenon not at all understood is that many of Kenya's world-class athletes come from the Kalenjin.
The Cushites
The Cushites' descendants occupy a huge area of land from the east of Lake Turkana stretching throughout the north of Kenya to the Indian Ocean. The Borana, the Rendille and the Oromo represent them today. All of these people are cattle, goat and camel herders as almost their entire country is unsuitable for any form of agriculture.
Kenya Languages
The cities, of course belong to all Kenyans and it is here that despite this ethnic diversity, a nation is being forged. Kenyans are proud of their country and many now consider the nation as more important than ethnic or tribal origins. That is not to say that tradition and cultural identity die hard. Each of these groups has their own language; some 45 languages (not dialects) are spoken in Kenya and for most Kenyans, their mother tongue is their tribal language. Swahili (or more properly Ki-Swahili), a language originating on the east African coast is the national language and spoken as a second language by almost all Kenyans. English, the official language, is widely spoken and taught in all schools and is the medium of instruction at all the universities, corporation and government business.
Related Resource on Afro-Asians
Read complete article on Asians of Kenya.
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