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Sunday, 18 May 2008 13:10 |
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The Kalenjin Indigenous People of Western Kenya, Africa
Living east of Lake Victoria in western Kenya, the Kalenjin indigenous people are part of the larger Southern Nilotic-speaking people of East Africa. Included in this larger language family are the Kipsigis, Nandi, Sabaot, Tugen, Elgeyo, Marakwet, and Pokot indigenous people, together who today number around 2 million.
 Kalenjin indigenous peoples of western Kenya Arriving in western Kenya prior to other Nilotic speaking groups about 1,000 years ago, the ancestors of today’s Kalenjin indigenous people intermarried with Southern Cushitic-speaking people, resulting in today’s Kalenjin indigenous people. Today the Kalenjin are mostly followers of Christianity, but a high percentage still observe and practice traditional rites and beliefs alongside Christian ones. This is reflected to some extent within their culture, such as with the ritual practice of circumcision, various rites of passage, and prohibitions against eating fish. Likewise, the Kalenjin traditionally removed the lower incisors in adolescence and practice intensive cattle husbandry, both cultural components linking them to the larger Nilotic language group.
Although their culture can be traced back over a thousand years, the name Kalenjin is relatively new. Meaning “I tell you,” the term gained currency from a radio program during British colonial rule over Kenya; the Highland Nilotic-speaking radio announcer opened the program with this word trying to gain a listening audience – eventually the term was adopted by the British for all Highland Nilotic-speaking people of western Kenya for political reasons.
Presently most Kalenjin indigenous people are still engaged both in agriculture and animal husbandry. Until 1978 they were a remote group living east of the idyllic Lake Victoria. However, when Kenya elected its second President Daniel arap Moi in 1978, they gained considerable exposure as he was Kalenjin from the Tugen region. Currently the Kalenjin indigenous people make up roughly 12% of the Kenyan population.
Although still practicing animal husbandry and agriculture, the Kalenjin indigenous people have also gained international recognition as excellent runners. Since 1980, over 40% of the top international awards in running have been awarded to Kalenjin runners, primarily at the longer distances (i.e., 5k, 10k, and the marathon). This has brought some money to many Kalenjin families, but impacts to their traditional homelands as a result of drought and environmental degradation of Lake Victoria and other water resources (over fishing, exotic species introductions, deleterious land use practices, and pollution) has impacted many aspects of traditional Kalenjin culture. Drought may be the largest factor as Kalenjin indigenous people still rely heavily on the success of their animal husbandry for both food and money. Like other indigenous peoples in Africa being impacted by large-scale drought, the change in climate can be linked to global warming and human caused factors in the overall change of weather patterns – primarily as a result of the mass consumption of energy by industrialized countries. Maintaining access to clean, perennial water sources is a key issue effecting Kalenjin indigenous people, along with maintaining cultural traditions and practices in the face of a rapidly modernizing nation.
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Further Reading
Heine, Bernd; and Derek, Nurse. 2008. A Linguistic Geography of Africa (Cambridge Approaches to Language Contact). Cambridge University Press.
Iliffe, John. 2007. Africans: The History of a Continent. Cambridge University Press.
Kent, Susan. 2006. Cultural Diversity among Twentieth-Century Foragers: An African Perspective. Cambridge University Press.
Veney, Cassandra R. 2006. Forced Migration in Eastern Africa: Democratization, Structural Adjustment, and Refugees. Palgrave Macmillan.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 09 September 2009 15:11 |
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On This Day in Indigenous History
Sunday, 02 September 1838
Last Sovereign Queen of Hawai'i Born
On This Day: In 1838 the last sovereign Queen of Hawai'i, Lydia Kamakaʻeha Kaola Maliʻi Liliʻuokalani, was born. Liliʻuokalani inherited the throne from her brother Kalakaua on 29 January 1891. On 14 January 1893, a group composed of Americans and Europeans formed a Committee of Safety seeking to overthrow the Hawaiian Kingdom, depose the Queen, and seek annexation to the United States. The Queen was deposed on 17 January 1893 and temporarily relinquished her throne to "the superior military forces of the United States". She had hoped the United States, like Great Britain earlier in Hawaiian history, would restore Hawaii's sovereignty to the rightful holder.
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