The Nandi are a Southern Nilotic tribe of the Kalenjin ethnic group. They speak the Nandi dialect, which is closely related to Kipsigis, a Kalenjin language part of the broader Nilo-Saharan linguistic family. With a population of nearly 1 million, they historically occupied the highland areas of the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya, in what is today Nandi County. The Nandi resisted British colonial rule in the early 20th century. They are agriculturalists and pastoralists.
Before the mid-19th century, the Nandi referred to themselves as (pl. ) or Chemwal (pl. )A. C. Hollis. The Nandi: Their Language and Folklore. Clarendon Press: Oxford 1909, p.306 while other Kalenjin-speaking communities referred to the Nandi as .A. C. Hollis. The Nandi: Their Language and Folklore. Clarendon Press: Oxford 1909, p.xv It is unclear where the terms originated from, though in early writings the latter term was associated with , which means "camel" in Turkana.
Various accounts suggest that the name Nandi was applied to these people after the mid-19th century and more so after the assimilation of the Uasin Gishu Maasai (referred to in various accounts as Sirikwa people).Bishop, D. Warriors in the Heart of Darkness: The Nandi Resistance 1850 to 1897, Prologue A similar process is seen occurring among the Kipsigis, formerly known as Lumbwa at the same time. It is suggested that the name was applied by outsiders and comes from the cormorant, which is known as in Kiswahili.Lagat, A. Arap, The historical process of Nandi movement into Uasin Gishu district of the Kenya highlands: 1906-1963, University of Nairobi online A Nandi person, like other Kalenjin, will usually identify themselves by their name and family name, and where they come from.
Nandi position and facet to Kalenjin The Nandi people are one among a group of communities that share cultural traits and a Southern Nilotic language known as Kalenjin. The dialects are seen as being distinct languages, thus for instance the Nandi speak the Nandi language which may or may not be mutually intelligible with another Kalenjin language. The Kalenjin ethnic groups inhabit the highlands of East Africa in the African Great Lakes Region. They include: the Nandi, Kipsigis, Tugen, Keiyo, Okiek, Marakwet, Sengwer, Sabaot, Terik, Pokot and Sebei. The confederation came about as a result of the upheavals of the First and Second Mutai.
The Kalenjin languages are broadly similar, with most of the dialects being mutually intelligible. The Nandi use Kalenjin nomenclature, which is similar across most communities apart from the Marakwet where names of persons may be inverted gender-wise; certain folklore indicates that this may have been as a result of a genocide that targeted either the males or females of Marakwet. Kalenjin mythology was broadly similar and is thought to have stemmed from an earlier worship oriented at the sky, later turning its focus of worship to the sun. This change may have radiated from the Kibasisek clan originally from Marakwet. Today most Nandi are either Protestant Christian or Catholic as are most Kalenjin.
The interaction of Ateker, Lumbwa and Sirikwa communities in the late 18th and 19th centuries contributes a great deal to commonly perceived Kalenjin heritage as well as to contemporary Kalenjin culture. Many customs are shared across Kalenjin communities though circumcision is absent in some communities. Kalenjin can traditionally marry from within Kalenjin as if it were within each individual's community. Oret (clan) membership cuts across the various communities with Nandi and Kipsigis ortinwek ties being particularly intricate thus making both seem as a single identity even to date.
History
A synthesis of various oral traditions concerning the Settlement of Nandi suggests that the emergence of a distinct Nandi identity took place in the early decades of the nineteenth century, and at the latest, by the latter part of the eighteenth century. The formation of this identity occurred over several decades, during which diverse clans gradually came together, and a clear distinction from the earlier Chemwal identity began to take shape. Early accounts describe settlers arriving from the Mount Elgon region, followed by two significant episodes of contact: one in the Kipchorian/Nyando Valley, and another involving encounters with a community on the Uasin Gishu Plateau. These areas—corresponding roughly to present-day Nandi and Uasin Gishu Counties—remain predominantly inhabited by people of Nandi ethnicity.
19th century Settlement of Nandi
Within Nandi tradition, the existence of a differentiated Nandi identity is understood as a distinct process through which various Kalenjin and Maa-speaking clans came to occupy the present day Nandi county. The traditional Nandi account is that the first settlers in their country came from Elgon during the time of the Maina and formed the Kipoiis clan; a name that possibly means 'the spirits'. They were led by a man named Kakipoch, founder of the Nandi section of the Kalenjin and are said to have settled in the emet (county) of Aldai in south-western Nandi. One of the earliest Bororiet was named after Kakipoch and the site of his grave, still shown on Chepilat hill in Aldai was marked by the stump of an ancient olive tree. The account of his burial is that his body was laid on ox-hide, together with his possessions, and left for the hyenas.
Studies of the settlement pattern indicate that the southern regions were the first to be settled, the emet of Aldai on the west and the emet of Soiin on the east, being the first to be established. It has been conjectured that the first pororosiek were Kakipoch in Aldai and Tuken in Soiin.
It is notable that Sirikwa holes (known to the Nandi as mukowanisiek) were almost non-existent in the areas first settled, being only present on the Nandi escarpment itself. They were however found in great numbers in the northern regions of Nandi.
Emotinua development Inward migrants and general population growth are conjectured to have led to a northward expansion of the growing identity during the eighteenth century. This period is thought to have seen the occupation and establishment of the emotinwek of Chesume, Emgwen and Masop. This period would also have seen the establishment of more pororosiek.
The final expansion would occur during the middle of the nineteenth century when the Nandi took the Uain Gishu plateau from the Uasin Gishu.
Emotinua organization
The emotinwek system of territorial organisation was broadly similar to that of other Kalenjin communities. The Nandi territory was by the turn of the century divided into six counties known as emet (pl. emotinua/emotinwek). These were Wareng, located to the north, Mosop in the northeast, Tindiret in the east, Soiin and Pelkut in the south, Aldai and Chesumei in the west and Emgwen in the centre. The emotinwek were divided into districts known as bororiet (borororisiek) and these were divided into villages known as kokwet (kokwotinwek). The Nandi administrative system was unique among the Kalenjin in having the bororiosiek administrative layer.
Within the wider Kalenjin administrative system, the Kokwet was the most significant political and judicial unit in terms of day to day issues. The kokwet elders were the local authority for allocating land for cultivation, they were also 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. Membership of the kokwet council was acquired by seniority and personality and within it decisions were taken by a small number of elders whose authority derived from their natural powers of leadership. Among the Nandi however, the Bororiet was the most significant institution and the political system revolved around it.
Cultural development The social climate of the 18th and 19th centuries—marked by widespread disruption and conflict (see First Mutai and Second Mutai)—was characterized by societal breakdown and the development of cultural institutions adapted to low-intensity but persistent warfare. Nandi social organization was structured around age and gender, dividing males into three main categories: boys, warriors, and elders. Females were similarly categorized into girls and married women. The first stage for both sexes began at birth and continued until initiation, which marked the transition into the next social role.
All boys circumcised together were considered members of the same (age-set). Once the young men of a particular came of age, they were charged with the responsibility of protecting the community and its territory. The period during which a specific held this role was known as the "age of that ." Among the Kalenjin, there are traditionally eight cyclical age-sets (), but the Nandi eventually discontinued one of them——following a tragic episode. According to legend, the members of this age-set were wiped out in war after disregarding the counsel of the (ritual leader). They are said to have defiantly gone into battle wearing (broken pieces of calabashes) on their ears, symbolically blocking out the ’s warning. The outcome was disastrous. In the aftermath, and fearing a repeat of such misfortune, the community chose to retire the age-set permanently.
Mid-19th century Nandi identity Kesby (1977) sheds light on significant developments along the East African coast in the mid-19th century that would later influence the emerging Nandi community. In 1840, Sultan Sayyid Said of Oman relocated his capital from Muscat to Zanzibar to better oversee Omani trade and manage his family's affairs on the East African coast. This move was likely prompted by the growing volume of Indian Ocean trade, driven in part by increased activity from British and other European merchants. The establishment of a royal court in Zanzibar further stimulated commerce along the coast, which, in turn, led to coastal merchants extending their influence into the interior regions from around 1830 onward.
The earliest references to Arab caravans in Nandi oral tradition date back to the 1850s, during the time when the Sawe ibinda (age-set) served as warriors. These encounters were hostile, with Nandi warriors frequently raiding the caravans. By 1854, a subset of the Sawe had acquired the name Mararma ("those who do not fear fire"), possibly in recognition of their chivalrious success in raiding Arab caravans or due to a major Arab defeat at Kipsoboi inspite of the arabs having rifles.
Nandi warriors had never previously faced opponents armed with firearms, and they were forced to adapt their military strategies accordingly. Like the Maasai, the Nandi employed tactics that involved drawing enemy fire through a sudden rush, then dropping to the ground. As the muzzle-loading rifles were being reloaded, the warriors would charge at the caravan porters. The startled porters, retreating into the line of reloading riflemen, created confusion that the Nandi exploited—spearing the disoriented men during the chaos. This tactic proved effective and was used successfully until the battle of Kimondi in 1895.
Part of the reason for the Nandi success was the limited access. The easiest approach was from the north-east, but a caravan had to travel two or three days before reaching principal Nandi settlements. This evidently was not preferable as the Arab caravans diverted east to Kavirondo and Mumias where food and protection was located.
Due to the casualties to the caravans, direct trade increasingly became difficult. Caravans rarely entered or camped in Nandi and a strange "middle man" system evolved after the 1850s. Trusted Sotik and Dorobo agents were employed to act as "middle men" who would trade ivory and other coastal goods for cattle to the Nandi for a large commission.