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Samburu
Kinship and Marriage (Background Sheet)
Samburu kinship (ntipat):Samburu are patrilineal, and kinship terms reflect an emphasis on relationship within the father’s lineage.Mother’s kin are considered to be similar to what we think of as ‘in-laws’.Terms for father’s kin can merge with terms for father and mother.Kinship terms are complicated by the fact that, when addressing someone, the speaker’s gender is included in the term used.Thus, a woman addressing her mother’s brother says, “Ng’apula!” while a man addressing his mother’s brother says, “Apula!”Samburu are also polygynous, and terms used to refer to brothers and sisters can be general or more specific, to reflect that a sister or brother are of ‘one stomach’.Thus, a brother and sister are generally referred to as lalashe and nkanashe (masculine and feminine variants of the same root for ‘sibling’).However, more specific terms for brother of one mother are leyieyio (he of my mother) or lalashe ong’ar (brother who shared the breast).More specific terms for sister of one mother are neyieyio (she of my mother) or nkanashe ng’ar (sister who shared the breast).
When a Samburu man is preparing to marry, he often has a girl in mind.He consults with his own father, mother, and other kin about the match and about his wishes to marry.He must especially have his father’s permission.Once he has his father’s permission, he begins a negotiation process with his prospective wife’s family that may take months.He must not only convince them that he is a good choice and that his family is a good family for their daughter to marry into, but he must negotiate the price of bridewealth as well.In the 1990s, it was common to include cows, goats, sheep, as well as money, cloth, beads for the prospective wife and her family, hundreds of pounds of sugar, and several pounds of tea leaves.Depending upon the families being joined in the marriage, the cash amount of the bridewealth could amount to fifty to one hundred dollars (a decent sum for the Samburu), while the number of cows (the greatest outlay) might be between five and eight.Once the agreement has been made (with no consideration for whether the girl/woman wishes to marry--she may not even have met her future husband), preparations begin for the actual wedding.(Girls sometimes run away to voice their disagreement with a choice of husband.Girls invariably return--I don’t know how often a marriage is called off through such actions.)
The wedding lasts three days:On the first day, important kin and clan members begin to arrive, last minute preparations are made, and typically there are even last minute negotiations on the part of the bride’s family.On the second day, the preparations and negotiations continue, and the groom brings the bridewealth animals near to, but not inside of, the bride’s family’s settlement.That evening, elder women and men instruct the bride and groom about how they should conduct themselves in married life.Very early the next morning--at approximately six o’clock, the bride undergoes a clitoridectomy. *Immediately after a woman specialized in the procedure performs it, the groom drives the bridewealth animals into the bride’s settlement.Perhaps unbelievably, although the woman will relax during much of the ensuing ceremony on a special bed prepared for her by her female kin, she will nearly always join in the festivities by the afternoon, dancing with the moran (among whom she probably has a boyfriend) and unmarried girls (her friends).
After a lot of singing and dancing by kin, fellow clan members, and friends, the husband and wife will prepare to leave for the husband’s settlement.Male elders will make a path for the couple, blessing them as they go on their journey.A close friend of the husband, who has played an important role throughout the ceremony, will accompany them.The husband’s home is usually a few hours away or more.Along the way, whether or not she is feeling well in her post-surgery condition, the bride will complain.She may take very small steps, and sometimes insist on being carried part of the way.(At the wedding my husband and I filmed, the bride and groom arrived before we did, so she could not have been stepping too slowly!)Once at the groom’s home, the bride will be shy about entering, and will only come through enticement as the husband’s family (including other wives and their eldest children if the bride is a second or third wife) offer her gifts--especially livestock.
If the groom is young, he and his wife will live in his parents’ settlement--the usual practice.Later though, when he is ready to make a settlement of his own as his family matures and his father dies or is ready for him to go, he will live wherever he chooses.Thus, a second or third wife may never live with her husbands’ parents.Occasionally, a man lives with his wife’s family instead of his own.This is not the common pattern though, and usually happens because the wife’s family is wealthy and are in a position to assist the couple as they build up a herd.
In Samburu society, livestock and names are passed through the father.However, women are given animals to care for and for their use, and they later give these animals to their adult sons.In this way, the animals pass “through” the women, and the women play a very important role with the livestock even though the animals pass from father to son.As in many societies, the father’s side of the family is an important source of assistance, and residence is usually with the father and his brothers.Yet children have a special relationship with the mother’s side of the family as well.In addition, the Samburu belong to clans, and fellow clan members can be important sources of support just as members of one’s ageset can be.Finally, it is important to keep in mind the special relationship a man has with his mother.Mothers and daughters continue to see one another if possible and to assist one another.It is the duty of a woman’s youngest son however, to take care of her in her old age.Although a man’s eldest son is supposed to cradle the head of his father as he dies, a woman’s youngest son will be with her has she dies.It is also at death (with all children gathered) that a mother and a father utter their most potent blessings--and curses.
*This is a procedure which has been deplored by many Euro-Americans for nearly a century--and it remains a difficult topic which has recently been addressed more successfully by focusing on health rather than condemning people’s cultures.Interestingly however, clitoridectomy was practiced in the United States and Europe in the 19th century as one ‘cure’ among many for women’s ‘hysteria’.In the Samburu form of this procedure, the woman’s entire clitoris is removed--excision (in the less extreme form--sunna--only the tip is cut, while in the more extreme form--infibulation-- the inner and outer labia might be removed and the vagina sewn shut except for a small opening for urine and menstrual flow). [See Circumcision page for some bibliography]