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Nandi people
The Nandi are part of the Kalenjin, an ethnic community living in East Africa. The Nandi ethnic group live in close association and relation with the Kipsigis tribe. They traditionally have lived and still form the majority in the highland areas of the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya, in what is today Nandi County. They speak the Nandi dialect of the Kalenjin language which is classified as a Nilotic language.
Before the mid-19th century, the Nandi referred to themselves as Chemwalindet (pl. Chemwalin) or Chemwal (pl. Chemwalek) while other Kalenjin-speaking communities referred to the Nandi as Chemngal. It is unclear where the terms originated from, though in early writings the latter term was associated with ngaal which means camel in Turkana This is notable given the significant population shifts brought about by Ateker movements during this time.
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). 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 mnandi in Kiswahili. A Nandi person like other Kalenjin will usually identify themselves by their name and family name, and where they come from.
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 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.
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.
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[definition needed] 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.
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Nandi people
The Nandi are part of the Kalenjin, an ethnic community living in East Africa. The Nandi ethnic group live in close association and relation with the Kipsigis tribe. They traditionally have lived and still form the majority in the highland areas of the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya, in what is today Nandi County. They speak the Nandi dialect of the Kalenjin language which is classified as a Nilotic language.
Before the mid-19th century, the Nandi referred to themselves as Chemwalindet (pl. Chemwalin) or Chemwal (pl. Chemwalek) while other Kalenjin-speaking communities referred to the Nandi as Chemngal. It is unclear where the terms originated from, though in early writings the latter term was associated with ngaal which means camel in Turkana This is notable given the significant population shifts brought about by Ateker movements during this time.
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). 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 mnandi in Kiswahili. A Nandi person like other Kalenjin will usually identify themselves by their name and family name, and where they come from.
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 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.
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.
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[definition needed] 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.