Northern Kenya Tribes to Visit

Northern Kenya Tribes to Visit, Kenya is a great place to visit for many reasons, such as safaris with the Big Five (rhino, lion, leopard, elephant, and buffalo), watching the amazing wildebeest migration (from July to October), hiking on challenging mountains like Mount Kulal or Mount Kenya (Africa’s second-highest peak after Kilimanjaro), relaxing on beautiful white-sand beaches along the Indian Ocean, or learning about the many Kenyan tribes that have kept their traditional way of life alive while other places have become more modern.

There are more than 44 tribes in Kenya. They are mostly split into three groups: the Bantu, the Cushites, and the Nilotes. Seventy percent of the people in the country are Bantu, who are thought to have come from West and Central Africa. These are found along the coast, in the middle, in the east, and in the west of the country.

The Cushites, on the other hand, came from Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia. The Rendille, Gabbra, and El Molo people are among them. The Maasai, Samburu, and Turkana are all Nilotes who are thought to have come from what is now Ethiopia. The Cushites and Nilotes mostly live as nomads who take care of livestock.

Kenya has many cultural groups and tribes, but the six tribes in the north—the Turkana, the Gabbra, the Pokot, the Rendille, the El Molo, and the Samburu—are the most interesting to see and learn about on a Kenya safari. These beautiful, bright, and colorful tribal faces stand out against the dry, brown landscape of northern Kenya’s desert. Even though these tribes have different beliefs, traditions, rituals, and cultural practices, they do share some cultural and traditional traits because of where they came from and their past, among other things.

Northern Kenya Tribes

“Turkana”
The Turkana make up about 2.5% of Kenya’s population, or 988,592 people, making them the tenth biggest tribe in the country. They are also one of the most popular tribes in Kenya. The Turkana people of Kenya are from the Karamojong area in the northeastern part of Uganda. They live in Turkana County in the northwest of Kenya. A lot of people who come to see Lake Turkana like to see them.

The Turkana have traditionally been semi-nomadic herders who live around Lake Turkana in the northwest of Kenya. They have to deal with harsh weather every day in Northern Kenya and other nearby groups.

Besides that, Turkana people live by taking care of animals like horses, camels, sheep, and goats. The Turkana are also known for making brightly colored beads and baskets. They are related to the Maasai and the Samburu, and they are known for being tough fighters. The milk and blood from their animals are their main sources of food.

The Turkana follow Christianity, but they also hold on to their native beliefs. The Turkana often have more than one wife, but their marriage process only lasts three years, ending when the first child is weaned. Their stylish accessories and jewelry style show whether they are married or part of a clan.

On a tour in Northern Kenya, people can visit the Turkana and see their villages along Lake Turkana. The Pokot tribe lives to the north of the Turkana tribe. There have been a number of isolated, violent fights between the two tribes, mostly over animal theft, which has killed many.

The Samburu
The Samburu people live in Samburu County, which is in northern Kenya and is very interesting to look at. This group of people is very friendly. They are connected to the Maasai tribe, who also live in East Africa, and speak a language that is related to Maa.

The Samburu are semi-nomadic farmers of cattle, like the Maasai. They are thought to have split off from the Maasai a long time ago. Besides the Maasai, only the Samburu people are still very traditional and haven’t given up on old ways of doing things.

The government, on the other hand, forces some groups to live in permanent communities, so some are trying out small-scale income crop production. The Samburu, whose name means “butterflies,” are the most northern Maa-speaking group. They call themselves Loikop, which means “those who have territory.” To stay alive, they mostly eat things that come from cattle, like milk and blood (without killing the animals).

Because Samburu people have many wives, elders are very important to their society. They decide who can marry whom, how many wives each member can have, and how much a gift each wife is worth. Samburu men and women do different things. Men protect their families by taking care of animals. Women, on the other hand, build homes out of sticks, dung, and mud, then tear them down when they move. If a man has more than one wife, each one builds her own hut for herself and her kids.

Women also gather firewood, milk cows, cook food, take care of their kids, and do arts and crafts like beading. The Samburu are one of the few Kenyan groups that still wears traditional clothes instead of Western-style clothes.

They paint their faces and hair red with ochre and wear bright, intricate headdresses, necklaces, bracelets, and anklets made of beads. They like to sing and dance, but most of the time they don’t use music. Men and women dance in different groups most of the time, with men often jumping into the air. But sometimes they dance together.

Safaris to Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve let you see the Samburu people, and most of the Samburu cattle farmers can be seen in the area letting their animals graze. There are others who work in the area as local guides and in safari lodges. Because so many people visit Samburu National Reserve, village tours have become very popular. These tours are very similar to the Maasai tribal towns in Kenyan game parks and are very interesting.

Gabbra
The Gabbra people can be seen going from Loiyangalani, which is near Lake Turkana, through the Chalbi Desert to Marsabit. The Gabbra people are from Ethiopia and are related to the Borena group. They speak a dialect of the Oromo language that is similar to that of the Borena people instead of their own language. It is thought that the Gabbra moved to Northern Kenya around the year 1400 in search of water and grass for their cattle. The Gabbra might be shy because not many people go there.

The Gabbra homes are surprisingly cool inside compared to the hot sun outside, even though they are in a hard desert and are Kenya’s only dessert. They live in the largest homes in northern Kenya. Their huge dome-shaped homes are covered with grass, dried animal skins, and beautiful bits of fabric. It takes time and attention to get to know the Gabbra and make them feel at ease, just like with any other tribe.

A smaller group of Gabbra people still follow their old Somali-Waqi beliefs and rituals that focus on camels, but most of them are now Sunni Muslims. They make pilgrimages to holy places, most of which are in the mountains, like Hesi-Nabo and Agal. Both of these holy places are now part of Gabbra’s historic borders, and tourists can visit them as part of culture tours in their town. Religious ceremonies, such as animal sacrifices and formal prayers, are led by Dabela, who is the religious head.

The Rendille
The Rendille are a Cushitic group that lives in the harsh climate of northern Kenya, between the Marsabit highlands and Lake Turkana. The Borana, Gabbra, Samburu, and Turkana groups all live on the same land. People from Rendille are said to have moved south from Ethiopia. Their name means “Holders of the Stick of God” in French.

Like the Samburus, the Rendille people live off of the animals they keep as pets. Camels do many important things, like helping people survive in the harsh areas around Lake Turkana because they can go for long amounts of time without water.

They also give the Rendilles their main food source, milk, and make sure that the Rendille homes are always close by by riding on specially made saddles when the clans are traveling. The Nilotic Samburu, on the other hand, have a good relationship with the Eastern Cushitic Rendille, and the Rendille have adopted many of their ways of life, including language, clothing, and habits. In recent years, there has been a lot of marriage between them, creating a new group of people.

The Rendille have a clear system based on age. Every seven or fourteen years, a young person can become a fighter, and then they become an adult. This is when boys are circumcised and given a stick to carry as a sign that they are now men. The adults are getting their heads shaved at the same time. Rendille people live in large towns where many clans live together.

Rendille fighters may also live in temporary shelters outside of their village so that their animals can graze. People and animals sleep in shelters they make themselves out of acacia twigs to stay safe from thieves and dangerous animals like lions, leopards, and hyenas. Around the campfire at night, warriors teach their kids stories and tricks of the tribe.

The government set up a system for migration that makes sure each nomadic group has enough water and green pastures for their animals. With help from a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), central water wells have been built all over the country to help farmers and their animals stay alive.

In the El Molo
The El Molo, who are also sometimes called Elmolo, are Kenya’s smallest ethnic group. There are only about 300 of them. They used to live north of Lake Turkana, but other tribes pushed them to move to the small islands. There are currently two villages, with 150 and 70 people living in each. The El Molo are thought to have come from the Horn region in northern Ethiopia and moved down to the Great Lakes area around 1000 BC. Most of the group’s members have now mixed with people from nearby Nilotic villages. Only a few pure El Molo are known to still exist.

They might go extinct in twenty to thirty years because people are marrying each other and living in cities. Even their language, which is linked to Dassanech, is now extinct. There are no fluent speakers left, and kids aren’t taught it anymore. Instead, the people of El Molo today speak the Nilo-Saharan language of their neighbors. The most recent threat to them is the plan to build a wind farm on land between the two main El Molo villages, which is close to Loiyangalani.

Along the shores of Lake Turkana, the El Molo live in a group of small homes made from palm fronds and acacia sticks. They are seen as “lesser people” by neighboring groups because they don’t own cattle, don’t live like herders, and don’t eat meat very often. Instead, they go out on boats and use spears, nets, and harpoons to catch fish for food.

Crocodiles used to be one of the main foods that the El Molo ate, but because of new efforts to protect them, they only hunt them very rarely now. On these trips to catch big fish and crocodiles, traditional spears made from Oryx horns were used. People may still be making beautiful baskets or drying fish when you go to El Molo villages. Men sit in the shade fixing nets and making plans for their next fishing trip.

The Pokot
The West Pokot and Baringo counties in Kenya are home to the Pokot. The Pokot also live in Uganda’s Pokot District in the eastern Karamoja area. Their tongue is Pökoot, which is related to Marakwet, Nandi, Tuken, and other Kalenjin language groups.

They are Kalenjin because they speak it. In the Kerio Valley, Pokot culture began to form as early as the late 18th century and most likely no later than the middle of the 19th century. When it comes to money, the Pokot are split into two groups: those who raise animals for food and those who grow crops.

In both groups, though, the amount of cows owned is used to measure wealth. People trade and deal with cows, but most importantly, they use them to get bride wealth. Pokot culture says that a man can marry more than one woman as long as he has enough cows to give each family as a gift. In Pokot society, this is the main way that money and goods are moved around. Among the Pokot, cows are rarely killed for food because they are worth more when they are whole.

Pokot culture has a history of putting women down. Women don’t have any say in public places or in their own homes. The Pokot are afraid of getting sick and dying, and a big part of their religion is focused on keeping people from getting sick or healing them. A lot of Pokots still follow their native religion, but some are Christians.

Many people, even Christians, still believe in the traditional religious view. Pokot women wear Karen, which are very complicated disk necklaces. For young girls, these start out as braided branches, but after they are initiated, they are given huge chains made of colorful glass beads. By the time they get married, they also wear huge brass loop earrings called Tawuyi. From Karachona, which means “little boys,” to Poi, which means “old men,” men and boys go through different stages of life.

Because the Pokot tribe is known for being violent in war, tourists don’t visit them very often. Pokot people often fight with their neighbors and with each other, which makes some tour companies hesitant to plan trips to visit their towns.

But if you want to go on a Pokot cultural tour, you should only do so with a seasoned ground tour guide who knows the areas and has contacts in the area to make your safari one you will never forget. Most of the time, it is safe to go during the day because there are many attacks and fights at night. Still, the Pokot are one of the most beautiful groups to visit.