Samburu
Quick Facts
Location:North
Central Kenya (East Africa)
Population:Approximately
100,000 in 1992 Kenya Census
Natural
Environment:Arid
and semi-arid lands, open scrub and grasslands; Significant environmental
variation based on altitude.Highlands
of the Leroghi Plateau (Ldonyo) are relatively cool and well watered.Lowlands
(Lpurkel) are quite dry and hot semi-desert.
Economy:Traditional
economy based exclusively on the herding of cows, sheep, goats and sometimes
camels.Within the last 20 or so
years other economic activities, such as migratory wage labor, small scale
agriculture (in well watered areas), and home brewing have become important.
Language:Samburu
(Northern Maa)--A dialect of the same language spoken by the Maasai.
Closely
related groups:Maasai
(Kenya and Tanzania), Lchamus (Kenya) Arusha (Tanzania)
Village
life:Usually
live in small settlements (nkang) of 1-3 families.Each
of these families may be composed of a man and two or more wives, since
Samburu practice polygynous marriage.Settlements
may sometimes be larger, particularly the lorrora, a settlement
of 50 or more families coming together for the ritual initiation of a new
age set.Distance between settlements
varies significantly by ecological conditions--dry, lowland ecology requires
greater dispersal of the population.
The
House:Each
wife in a settlement has her own house for herself and her children, which
she herself builds.Men do not have
their own houses, but sleep in their wives' houses, alternating between
houses if they have more than one wife.
Religion
and Belief:Traditional
deity known as Nkai; Not a personified being, but symbolically has
both male and female aspects; Provides life giving force to the world.Practice
little sorcery, but have a strong belief in the power of the curse--the
old in particular have the ability to curse the young.
Notable
cultural features:
Age
Set System:At age 15-20 young
men are initiated into an age set.This
group forms a man's peer group for his entire life.Group
moves together through distinctive age grades including:
Moranhood:Live
as bachelor/warriors, lmurran, (ages approx. 15-30).May
not marry or eat food seen by women (except milk and blood).Distinguished
by their braided hair style.
Elderhood:Married
men (Lpayen).Figures of authority
in Samburu culture.Distinguished
between junior elders, firestick elders (lpiroi), senior elders,
retired elders.An age set moves
together through these stages.
Women’s Life Stages:Women usually marry between the ages of 15 and 17--often to men 10-40 years their senior.Although not as institutionalized and significant for historical record keeping, women also pass through a number of stages which signal a change in their status.As unmarried girls, they are ndito (girl).As they near puberty, they become the girlfriends of moran.Next, they become young wives.When they give birth, their status increases (particularly with the birth of sons).When their first son is initiated into moranhood, their status increases again, and yet again when all of their children are grown.As old women with fully grown children who have families of their own, women are believed to have a powerful curse.