The Kalenjin are called Highland Nilotes because they live in the Highlands of the Rift Valley and are related to the People in the Nile area of Sudan and Uganda.

The Kalenjin are sometimes considered as a tribe made up of many clans.  The different clans are the Nandi Terik, Tugen, Keiyo, Marakwet, Pokot, Sabaot and the Kipsigis.  Marakwet is actually a blanket term for the Endo groups and the Talai.

The Okiek (also called Ndorobo), though originally of Cushitic... Read More

For both males and females, becoming an adult in Kalenjin society is a matter of undergoing an initiation ceremony. Traditionally, these were held about every seven years. Everyone undergoing initiation, or tumdo, thereby becomes a member of a named age-set, or ipinda.

After male youths were circumcised, they were secluded for lengthy periods during which they were instructed in the skills necessary for adulthood. Afterward, they would begin a phase of warriorhood during which they act... Read More

Kalenjin is an ethnic group of Nilotic origin living in the Great Rift Valley in western Kenya. The Kalenjin population is estimated at roughly 3 million. There are several smaller tribal groupings within the Kalenjin: Elgeyo, Endorois, Kipsigis, Marakwet, Nandi, Pokot, Sabaot, Terik, and Tugen. They are pastoralists and are believed to have migrated to their present location from Sudan 2,000 years ago.

Until the early 1950s the Kenyan peoples now known as the Kalenjin did not have a c... Read More

A Clan in the Kalenjin community is a kinship group based on actual or purported descent from a common ancestor, as traced through the male (patriclan) or the female (matriclan) line. Kalenjin Clans are normally exogenous, marriage within the clan being regarded as incest. Clans may segment into sub clans or lineages, and genealogical records and myths may be altered to incorporate new members who lack kinship ties with the clan. Clan membership may be useful in en... Read More