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CULTURAL
SAFARIS
Kenya
is a country full of contrasts. The tribes of Kenya are
as diverse as it's country and many people still practice
a traditional lifestyle, even amidst the modernity of urban
Kenya. It is not uncommon to hear five or six differnet
native Kenyan languages as you walk down the streets of
Nairobi. With many years experience working with the Samburu,
The Laikipia Masai, The Pokot and The Turkana we have made
many friends in these traditional communities.
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Many
people express concern that the tribal life in Kenya will
be commercial or artificial. On our trips you will only
meet real people living real lives. Often times, we travel
to these communities in order to learn a skill or craft,
like making beadwork, identifying medicinal plants, or tracking
animals. Other times we are simply visitors and depending
on the situation and the tribe, we may be allowed to take
photographs. Mostly, we will travel with a lightweight mobile
camp that is easy to pack and move and these safaris can
be easily combined with game viewing and a trip to the coast.
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LAIKIPIA
MASAI – An offshoot of the Masai people this
small group settled on the edge of the Laikipia Plateau
and were originally hunter-gatherers. They speak the same
tongue as the Masai and look very similar to the Samburu
people in the adjoining area. They are well known for honey
gathering and we buy a lot of their honey to sell to wider
markets. They have become more sedentary and have livestock
now but they remain very close to the land which they share
with Laikipia's rich wildlife. |
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TURKANA
- The Turkana are also a Nilo-Hamitic people and like the
Pokot migrated from Eastern Uganda. The Turkana occupy land
in the northern section of Kenya. They take great pride
in their elaborate Ostrich headresses and are generally
thought of as a very tough people, surviving off a harsh,
dry land. The Turkana keep camels, goats, cattle and sheep
and supplement their diet with Nile Perch that they net
and spear from the shallows of Lake Turkana. |
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SAMBURU
– The Samburu are part of the Masai group and have
common customs and language (Maa). They range from Laikipa
to Mt Nyiro and these graceful people are charming, beautiful
and witty. Their lifestyle is very similair to that of the
Laikipia Masai living in a mud and wattle style houses with
the livestock enclosure in the middle of the boma. Steeped
in tradition, the Samburu mark each stage of life with a
ceremony and like the Masai, these ceremonies observe large
age groupings. |
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POKOT
- The Pokot are a Nilo-Hamitic peoples who migrated from
the Nile Valley of Sudan about 200 years ago. They occupy
north-eastern Kenya, stretching from Lake Baringo to Lake
Turkana. They are nomadic people and live of the land in
this remarkably dry area. Some Pokot are sedentary while
others keep livestock. Some Pokot farm on the steppes of
the Rift Valley while others herd livestock in semi arid
lands.. They are very decorative people, often wearing plumes
of ostrich feathers in a mud and wattle cap that is moulded
on the back of their head. |
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RENDILLE
- The Rendile are a handsome people ranging from Lake Turkana
to Marsabit and are always on the move with their camels
and livestock. The Rendille are Mohammedan and they are
the only tribe in East Africa whose women wear a coxcomb
hairstyle. They live chiefly on camel milk, blood and occasionally
meat and for water they often must travel great distances.
A long time ago the men were circumcised between twenty
to twenty five years, but now the age is between fifteen
and twenty and each young man has to present the circumiser
with a goat. |
GABRA–
The Gabra are originally a Somali people and they still
speak this language. The Gabra split off from the Somailis,
mixed with the Borania and gave up Islam. Most Gabra live
in Ethiopia today while some live in the Huri Hills and
the Kaisut desert of Kenya where they are able to find good
grazing for their camels. Gabra women decorate themselves
beautifully with white metal bands that they wrap around
their heads. |
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MASAI
- One of Kenya’s best known tribes, the Masai believe
that God gave them exclusive rights over all cattle in the
world. They were a warring tribe and may have dominated
Kenya at one time, had there not been three catastophe’s
that brought them under British rule. In the 1880’s
there was a Rindepest outbreak that dwindled their herds.
This was followed by an outbreak of smallpox and finally,
their great leader Mbatyany, died and they could not decide
on a new leader. This led to a great deal of fighting amongst
themselves durring which time the British were able to gain
control of the land. The Masai people do not hunt wildlife
but they can be lethal killers of Lions, as a tribal custom
as well as to protect their livestock. |
There
are many more tribes in Kenya, the Luo people near Lake
Victoria, the Bajun and Boni people of the Lamu area, the
Giryama from the Malindi region, the Meru group of people
at the foothills of Mt Kenya; the list goes on and if you
would like we can design a safari to visit a specific tribe.
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