Traditional Kalenjin society is the way of life that existed among the Kalenjin-speaking people prior to the advent of the colonial period in Kenya and after the decline of the Chemwal, Lumbwa and other Kalenjin communities in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
The Kalenjin semi-nomadic pastoralist tradition centered on the raising of cattle, sheep and goats and cultivating sorghum and pearl millet is of long standing. It has been dated back as far as the last millennium BC when Kalenjin-speaking communities first arrived in Kenya.
Geographic extent and divisions
The Kalenjin traditionally occupied, and still form the ethnic majority in, parts of geographical Western Kenya and the Rift Valley. The Kipsigis live in areas centered around Bomet, Kericho, the Nandi around Kapsabet, the Keiyo and Markweta in Kerio Valley and Cherangany Hills. The Tugen inhabit North and South Baringo, the Sabaot and Sebeei areas around Mount Elgon and the Pokot the northern side of Mount Elgon and areas north of Lake Baringo.
Kalenjin territory as a whole was not recognised as a geographic locality; however, the various Kalenjin sub-tribes had a similar set of classifications of geographic localities within their respective tribal lands.
or , equivalent to county, was the highest recognised geographic division among the Kalenjin sections. This unit was identifiable as a political institution but the main work of civil control and administration was done by the (plural of ). Linguistic evidence indicates that this form of societal organisation dates back to their Southern Nilotic heritage. It is believed that the Southern Nilotes of two thousand years ago cooperated in loose supra-clan groupings, called .
This level of governance was unique to the Nandi section of the Kalenjin. The civil council of the bororiet consisted of elders from the senior-age grades of its constituent . It functioned only to settle problems of common concern to the , such as inter- disputes and matters which a had failed to settle satisfactorily.
The was the most significant political and judicial unit among the Kalenjin. The governing body of each was its council; the word was in fact variously used to mean the whole neighbourhood, its council and the place where the council met.
The elders were the local authority for allocating land for cultivation; they were the body to whom the ordinary member of the tribe would look for a decision in a dispute or problem which defied solution by direct agreement between the parties.
Genealogical divisions Traditional Kalenjin society was divided into oret (clans). Some of the more widespread include Toyoi, Tungo, Talai and Kapchepkendi. The members of the clans did not necessarily have a blood tie in common since immigrants into Kalenjin lands would often be accepted into an existing clan. The most notable example of this is the acceptance of members of the Segelai Maasai into the Talai clan among the Nandi.
Social divisions According to the Kalenjin social system, the male sex is divided into boys, warriors and elders. The female sex is divided into girls and married women. The first stage began at birth and continued till initiation.
Age set ()
All boys who were circumcised together are said to belong to the same . These age sets played a significant role in traditional Kalenjin society since they were used to record time. Once the young men of a particular came of age, they were tasked with protecting the tribal lands and the society, the period when they were in charge of protection of the society was known as the age of that . There were eight ages in general though this varied between sections as an age-set would temporarily be dropped from use if a disastrous occurrence occurred during the age of the .
As late as the early 1900s, the central Kalenjin groups initiated the same age-set concurrently while the outlying groups were one or at most two steps out of phase. It has been suggested that such synchronization suggests that most or all Kalenjin groups constituted not merely an ethno-linguistic category but a single information-sharing system.
In contemporary times, the age-set system has become a central focus of various academic studies that try to correlate the method with the Western system of time-reckoning in order to better place historical narratives in time.
Age set names SebeiMainaChumoSoweKoronkoroKwoimetKaplelaichNyikeaoNyonkiSabaot (Kony)MainaChumoSaweKorongoroKipkoimetKaplelachKimnyikeuNyongiSabaot (Pok)SowoMainaGabaiyakKorongoro ?* GamnenacGamnyikewaNyongiikNandiMainaChumaSawe -KipkoiimetKaplelachKimnyigeiNyongiKipsigisMainaChumaSaweKorongoro -KaplelachKipnyigeiNyongiKeiyoMainaChumaSoweKorongoroKipkoimetKablelachKimnyegeuNyongiMarakwetMainaChumoSoweKorongoro/ KipkoimetKaberurKaplelachKimnyigeuNyongiTugen -ChumoSoweKorongoroKipkoimetKablelechKimnikeuNyonkiPokotMainaChumwoSoweKorongoroKipkoimetKaplelachMurkutwoNyongi - *La Fontaine states there are eight "age classes" but lists seven names, the order of which is questionable.
Governance and military Among the Kalenjin, there were no chiefs of any form. Each village or , usually had a headman, celebrated for his wisdom or his wealth or both. He was henceforth distinguished by the name .
The Nandi adopted the Sengwer system of governance in the early 19th century, selecting an Orkoiyot who held precisely the same position as the Maasai Laibon; that is to say, he was the supreme chief of the entire Nandi section. The Kipsigis would adopt this system of governance from the Nandi in the late 19th century.
Military Weapons The arms of the fighting men usually consisted of a spear, shield, sword and club. By the late 19th century, up to four kinds of spears, representing various eras and areas were in use. In Nandi, the of the Sirkwa era was still in use, though only by old men. It had a short and small leaf-shaped blade with a long socketed shank and a long butt. Two types of the Maasai-era spear, known as , were also in use. Those of the eastern, northern and southern counties had long narrow blades with long iron butt, short socket and short shaft. Those of the central county () had short broad blades with short iron butts. In the western counties, a spear that had a particularly small head, a long shaft and no butt was in use, known as . The pastoral Pokot carried two Maasai-era spears, known as , while the agricultural sections armed themselves with a sword, known as .
Economy The Kalenjin society was to a large extent self-sufficient in its needs and a significant amount of intra-tribal trade catered for basic wants.
Hunter client A distinct pattern of trade in traditional Kalenjin economy was the hunter client relationship that was adopted during the Sirikwa era. Within this arrangement, the Okiek would provide produce of the forest that would be exchanged with the Kalenjin for produce of the land. Notable products in this exchange were honey, elephant ivory and rhino horn.
Smithing By the early 20th century, there were a number of smiths () in Nandi who spoke both Nandi and Maasai. The smiths gave the following account of their arrival: "After they had lost all their cattle from various causes, the Uasin Gishu Maasai quitted their homes and split up in different directions. Some of those who wandered into Nandi were hospitably received by Arap Sutek who was the only smith in Nandi at the time.
Money The Kalenjin did not mint their own currency; however, by the late 19th century, and possibly earlier, the rupee (), pice () and cent () were in use among the Kalenjin.
Trade Intra-Kalenjin trade Imports ExportsKipsigis - -Nandi tobacco pipes, iron wire, iron chain, brass wire, white beads and white cloth livestock, ivoryTugen cattle, goats and potterygrain and honeyKeiyo grain and honey cattle, goats and potteryPokot grain and honeycattle, goats and potterySabaot (Kony, Pok, Somek, Sabiny) --Terik - medical services (major operations) Trade with neighboring tribesMaasai swords, spears and magical services livestock Okiek fruits, game meat, leopard and monkey skins, honey and ivory livestockKisii grains livestockLuhya grains and tobacco pipes1 livestock Trade with Eastern Kenya marketsSwahili iron wire, iron chain, brass wire, white beads & white cloth ivory 1. Primarily with the Nandi, the Kipsigis made a liquid snuff which was kept in a snuff box.
Religious beliefs
Religious pillars Three major religious pillars (the sun, thunder and lightning, and living spirits) were explained to have a bearing on Kalenjin religious beliefs. However, additional pillars that include wild game and human specialists were included recently. All these pillars are subsumed within Kalenjin fears and psychologies controlled by taboos and superstitions.
Asis – the Supreme Being The Kalenjin were monotheistic worshippers of one Supreme Being—as were many African ethnic groups.
Names of God The main names for the Supreme Being in Kalenjin mythology were Asis and Cheptalel though other names were also used. For example, the Sabaot used the name Yeeyiin, the Suk used Iilat, the Marakwet used Chebet chebo Chemataw ('daughter of the day'), Cheptalil ('the one who shines') and Chibo Yim ('man of the sky'). Research has found over twelve main names which the Kipsigis used for the deity of their traditional worship. The various names were used to indicate the , the attributes of their deity, much like Jah, Jehovah and Adonai are used in Judeo-Christian faith.
Deities Kalenjin natural philosophy describes two principal deities, Asis and Ilat. Among the southern sections of the Kalenjin, however, there are three principal supernatural beings since Ilat's dual nature is identified as two separate deities, Ilet ne-mie and Ilet ne-ya.
Ilat/Ilet is associated with thunder and rain. He is said to inhabit deep pools and waterfalls and that the rainbow is his discarded garments. Among the Nandi, Ilet ne-mie and Ilet ne-ya respectively are good and a bad thunder gods. The crashing of thunder near at hand is said to be Ilet ne-ya trying to come to earth to kill people while the distant rumbling of thunder is Ilet ne-mie protecting man by driving away his namesake. Forked lightning is the sword of Ilet ne-ya, while sheet lightning is said to be the sword of Ilet ne-mie.
Places of worship The Kalenjin traditionally did not build a structure for worship, "as it was felt that this would have reduced His power and would have limited it to a particular building". They did, however, have three main places of traditional worship.
, which was a hilltop set aside for worship by the Kalenjin. When the Kalenjin or the various sections would settle at a place, one hilltop would be set aside for worship. As the tribe expanded and people moved further away from this point, other hilltops would be set aside as being sacred. Evidently, the first took place very soon after the Kalenjin settled in Kenya—or even long before that time. People gathered on average once a year at , where worship would be led by the priests, known as . is a term used by the Kipsigis section for the family altar or prayer tree which was positioned to the east of the house as one exited from the door. The Nandi and Keiyo sections called it . This was a duplicate of the one at and was the centre for worship and ceremonies connected with the home and family. is a Kalenjin term used for the intersection of two or more paths or roads. is used for the place where four paths or roads branch off. Years ago when a crossroad was being used for a ceremony or practice, it was considered to be a shrine. It was remembered ever afterwards that the spot had been used for the removal of something bad. Children were not allowed to go near a shrine at an intersection. Casting a leaf at was a form of prayer to Asis to drive away disease.
Traditional knowledge