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hopeforexcel · 4 years ago

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Written by: Leah Bryant

The Different Tribes of Kenya

What are the key differences between contrasting tribes?

Kenya is an incredibly diverse country that is filled with endless cultural differences and an essence of long lived customs and traditions. There are over 40 individual ethnic groups in this East African country, all equally as connected and affiliated with the love and adoration of communal bonds. Kenya is home to a variety of tribes, all filled with contrasting heritage and folklore practices. In this blog post, we are going to delve into some of the more popular and controversially interesting tribes in Kenya, in hopes to grasp a sense of what the Kenyan people can share with us.

The first tribe we’re going to talk about is the “Kikuyu” tribe. The Kikuyu tribe is one of the most popular tribes in Kenya and has developed its own set of cultures and traditions.

The tribe members are usually acknowledged for their large scale farmers and their “cash crops” which include the selling and distribution of both tea and coffee. They also have their own language which has kept its high importance in multiple areas where urban language (such as English and Swahili) hold great value! The Kikuyu man is given permission to marry more than just one woman at a time, providing that he is able to prove that he can support the wife accordingly. It is also common for a man to pay for his bride, as a sign of respect in their culture. The tribe is often associated with being both aggressive in behaviour, but subsequently looking after their own and showing respect to one another.

The next tribe we’re going to talk about it the “Mijikenda” tribe, which is located in the coastal region of Kenya. This tribe is so big that it comprises of over nine sub-tribes, whose cultures all revolve around the areas of “clans” and “age-sets”. Altogether there are around 1,900,000+ tribe members! It is considered as one of the most important Kenyan tribes as it gave birth to the Swahili culture. Often referred to as “clans”; Mijikenda members tend to live in groups of several family members and often have their own scared space to conduct rituals and prayers which is known as a “Kaya”. They are additionally known for their incredibly impressive cooking skills, with their staple dish being “Wali”; a meal prepared with rice and coconut milk.

Our third tribe is called the “Luhya” tribe. This is the second largest tribe in Kenya, holding an incredible 14% of the Kenyan population. They are based in the Western part of Kenya and withhold an impressive eighteen sub-tribes within the Luhya name, all in which practice their own dialect of the Luhyu langauge. A large part of their culture lies within the circumcision of young men. It is seen as an important ritual in majority of the sub-tribes, as it marks the transition from boyhood to manhood. The tribe is also known for its popular sport of bull fighting, alongside also being renowned for their love of food.

Our fourth tribe is called the “Kalejin” Tribe, which is the third most popular group in Kenya, forming an imposing 12% of the Kenyan Population, whilst additionally holding eight sub-tribes. Kalejin people live together in thatched huts which are often created out of mud, cow dung and wood. They enjoy practicing large-scale farming as a means of living and enjoy engaging in cattle keeping. They are also known for their love of fermented milk.

Our fifth tribe is called the “Kisii” tribe, which forms 6% of the Kenyan population and is based in the highlands of Nyanza in Western Kenya. Kisii families are usually large in quantity and choose to live closely together, with their daily activities include cooking and farming. Male circumcision is also an important factor in this tribes beliefs, but with the addition of female circumcision also being introduced. Although originally mandatory to be carried out by this tribe to circumcise a young woman (often before the age of five), the ritual has since been outlawed though continues to be practiced in some parts. Kisii members have been described as rather short-tempered, but also adhere to worshiping a god named “Engoro” who is a supreme deity of an ancestral spirit. The Kissi culture is also known for its development of basketry, soap stone carvings and pottery making.

Our sixth tribe is called the “Maasai” tribe, who are known for their renowned affinity with their cultural history in which they effortlessly mix with their more modern way of life. Only inhabiting around 840,000+ people and famous for their distinctive dress sense, The Maasai tribe are incredibly fascinating. Maasai families usually live in groups of ten to twenty members within their enclosure that they call “Enkang” which is protected by wires, fences and bushes. They live their lives dedicated to cattle farming which steadies their primary source of nutrition. They believe in a supreme god called “Enkai” and are known for their endurance and courage to become fearless warriors.

The last tribe we will be looking at is the “Luo” tribe, forming a grand 13% of the Kenyan population and residing within the Western parts of Kenya. Luo people depend on fishing as their main means of living and usually show reprimand if a Luo member does not dedicate their livelihood to this. Something authentic about this tribe is that they are known for their act of mourning. Luo tribe members are rotationally hired as “professional mourners” by locals, in which they will collectively mourn the life of someone who has passed. An important Luo tradition is to not only practice male circumcision on young boys, but to also introduce the extraction of six lower teeth. This practice is said by the Luo’s to distinguish the men from the boys. Luo people are additionally acknowledged for their reputation of bragging.

When learning about these tribes and all of the differing traditions and cultural preferences, it is incredible to acknowledge the depth into which each tribe possesses. Whether it be a means of community, the importance of survival, the principal of dialect or the significance of food, each of the tribes have one thing in common, and that is the connection they hold between themselves and their chosen tribe members.

#kenya #tribes #kenyan tribes #maasai #kikuyu #africa #african art #african culture #travel #travelling #travel blog #leah #charity #charities #donate #fundraise #fundraiser #uk charity #small business

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hvzardly · 8 years ago

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Colomboland

I am just done with sahur. Sandwich. With hard boiled egg. And a date cake. And a danish pastry (and a Danish gal lol). And a banana. Enough for me; not sure about the others. Feeling a bit guilty for telling le hotel guy to prepare “nothing big; just some breads will do”. Huhuu. Subuh is up at 4.30ish. It says 4.38 on Google or MuslimPro web; but le masjid right across the street did azan at 4.32.. so might better take 4.30 as le safe line.

Okay; time to answer le questions from your last post. Hehehe.

What’s cool here? I. Have. No. Idea.

It was only because of this trip, I’ve learnt that Colombo is the capital of Sri Lanka. That its old name was Ceylon instead of Sierra Leone. That it is a big island with 21 million in population; not some land connected to India like Bangladesh or Pakistan. That even tho they claim that the civil war (between the notorious Tamil Tigers vs pretty much everyone else) had ended back in 2009, conflicts are just waiting to resurface; which made everyone (who are familiar with le issue) wonder - why the hell did you guys choose Sri Lanka?!

Well.. because of the sponsor value that they (Sri Lankan government) offered to us; worths more than half a million. Without that, maybe even NZ will not happen at all.

The flight was approximately a 3 hours long bumps-and-smells-filled one. Hence le sickness; which has alhamdulillah now gone after hours. Even as we left the plane (we were seated quite close to the final rows; 60ish), it was like a war zone. Blankies were tossed everywhere. Thrashes; even toothpicks; were on the seats and floors. Eww eww eww. Me not the tidiest person on earth but eww eww ewww.

Owh. Gotta give some credits to le entertainment system on board. They didn’t really interrupt much when we play stuff. Hehe. And quite a good selection of movies too. Me watched ARRIVAL; le story about le aliens language expert played by Kyla Fischer (not bothered to Google le spelling cos me cool liddat lol).

You seem to manage to squeeze in everywhere, don’t you? First; I saw Bangkok on le flight map all the way thruout le flight, even tho we were not going anywhere near Thailand. Second; out of so many countries in the world, le aliens decided to land in Denmark too??!! Huhuu. Me rather it was YOU than those craycray hints tau.

Le meals were fine too, so far. On board, and at le hotel. Quite atuned to our taste buds.. luckily. So Le Gemoks’ 1st world problem seem to solve quite quickly tho. Hehe. Oh. Me think le tummy has grown since you left; but somehow me needed to make extra holes on me belt, went few sizes lower for pants and even managed to pull much remainder of le seat belt (been a while since me last saw any part of le belt remaining tho after locking le buckle huhuu). So what happens here? My theory : waist got smaller, tummy remains as it was pre 2017. Huhuu.

We got quite some hundreds of miles to cover in the next few days; including some stick fishing (men fish while sitting on sticks, literally), jeep-riding through the safari, tea planting, ancient textiles industry, traditional wood carvings etc. So yah; these should be quite compact of episodes. Hopefully. Pray for me. Huhuhi.

Hmm. Not gonna touch on le jealousy much. Just impressed (and a bit relieved) that you now know how it feels. But still sceptical of how risky it could typically be. But as me trust how you’re so many things beyond typical, we shall just leave that aside and move on to.. yah, le next part.

Me glad that you’re getting some breeze now, at last. And also le biking; so that you won’t suffer much behind those 4 walls. I think le monsoon is coming tho, that’s why. Even Sri Lanka does not feel that hot (except to some bunch who just travelled across le hemisphere huhuu). In fact, just as gloomy as your place (weird calling le Thai that now); and even rained last nite.. that was why they got back from le jalan2 so early.

Owh ya; we share quite le same climate here and Malaysia; as both are in le Khatulistiwa center earth line. So me didn’t really need to unpack and repack. Me had actually packed some tshirts and pants (le new ones woot woot) already for Sri Lanka and brought them to NZ; so just had to replace le inner stuff with fresh ones, and also swap to much smaller bag. Hehe.

Oh oh. Of cos me remember Dailamo and le story about your Lankans classmates. Gonna try and sing it to le guide tomorrow and see if he knows it. Lol.

Awh.. fun fact : out of those 21 million, 7% are Muslims; and majority of Muslims are.. jeng jeng jeng.. Malays! Ahahaha. Been speaking with me Abang last night about this; Moana could be about us anyways - le warriors of the sea! Plus; le Maoris could be some Malay outcasts; hence le likeliness. He’s le expert in some history shhtuff, not me; so let him enjoy this one lah. Haha.

About le texting; me really sorry tho. Sorry to you, and sorry to meself. Me seriously getting used to how we roll tho.. even enjoying it liao. So yah; me gonna be extra careful of texting next time. Tau tau.

But not sure if me regret it (minus le hurting you part); cos if le illegal (hehe) texting could tell me one thing, that would be you mishing me as crazy, and how me travelling up North might and should happen eventually.

As me said, let’s just wait and see. If it happens, it happens. Only what matters most is, it COULD happen. And how the both of us mutually agree that it SHOULD happen.

InsyaAllah. We plan, but He plans le best.

Kan?

Mishu. Luhyu. Somach. Even much more than much could logically be.

P.s. : Hence le 3 minutes mini heart attack.

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