The Kipsigis or Kipsigiis are a Nilotic tribe in Kenya. They are contingent of the Kalenjin ethnic group and speak Kipsigis language, a tonal language which is closely related to a group of languages collectively known as Kalenjin language. It is observed that the Kipsigis and an aboriginal race native to Kenya known as Ogiek have a merged identity. The Kipsigis are the most numerous of the Kalenjin. The latest Census population in Kenya put the kipsigis at 1.972 Million speakers accounting for 45% of all kalenjin speaking people (both in Kenya and Uganda). They occupy the highlands of Kericho stretching from Timboroa to Mara River in the south, the west of Mau Escarpment in the east to Kebeneti in the west. They also occupy, parts of Laikipia, Kitale, Nakuru, Narok, Trans Mara District, Eldoret and Nandi Hills.
Kipsigis are the southernmost and most populous of the Kalenjin peoples of Kenya. The term "Kalenjin" (lit. "I say to you") was coined in radio broadcasts and at political rallies during the late colonial period, at a time when political events spurred a growing awareness of the close cultural, historical, and linguistic ties between Kipsigis and neighboring peoples to the north. Within the broader political and cultural context of present-day Kenya, the Kalenjin are recognized as a distinct population that shares a common cultural heritage and common political interests.
The Kipsigis occupy a portion of the highlands in southwestern Kenya that is roughly contiguous with the present boundaries of Kericho District. The terrain is composed of steep ridges, interspersed with numerous rivers and streams, which gradually give way to gently rolling hills and grasslands. Elevations reach nearly 2,100 meters along the eastern extent of Kipsigis country and about 1,450 meters elsewhere. Rain falls most abundantly during two rainy seasons, ranging from 180 to 190 centimeters a year in the high country to 100 centimeters a year in the grasslands. Temperature does not vary markedly by season, but it does fluctuate between daytime highs averaging about 30° C and nighttime lows of about 9° C.
The Kipsigis are a Nilotic people. They are the most populous sub-group of the Kalenjin, itself a subdivision of Nilotes who originated in the South Sudan region.
Another Kalenjin sub-group are the Tatonga people of Tanzania. In the 1700s, the two tribes migrated to the present-day region of Shinyanga in western Tanzania, whereafter the Kipsigis then returned to Kericho.
A smaller group moved south once again, settling in Angata Barigoi near the Tanzanian border. By the end of the 18th century, the Kipsigis were living in the Rift Valley province of Kenya.
They traditionally practiced herding, but are presently known for cultivating "green gold" tea.
A precise population figure for the Kipsigis is unavailable because the most recent Kenyan census data do not distinguish the Kipsigis as a separate population group. Informed sources estimate a population of no less than 600,000, which is at least a threefold increase since 1962. The vast majority of this population lives within Kericho District, an area of 4,909 square kilometers. Few Kipsigis elect to live in the market towns and administrative centers throughout the district, although it is not uncommon for young men and, with increasing frequency, young women, to leave the district to take advantage of educational and employment opportunities in other parts of Kenya. Population density within the countryside falls in the range of 80 to 150 per square kilometer.
Kipsigis is a tonal language. Classified as Nilotic, it is grouped within the Eastern Sudanic Branch of the Nilo-Saharan Language Family.
The Kipsigis speak Kipsigis as a mother tongue. It belongs to the Nilo-Saharan family, with dialects of the language most similar to Nandi.
According to Ethnologue, there were approximately 471,000 Kipsigis speakers in 2007, with the number increasing. Most are concentrated in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya.
Kipsigis say that both they and the Nandi come from a place called "To," which some of them locate in the vicinity of Lake Baringo. In the course of their southward migration, sometime between the seventeenth and early nineteenth centuries, the Kipsigis and the Nandi separated. Today the Nandi are their immediate neighbors to the north. Pushing farther south, Kipsigis displaced the Luo, Kissi, and Maasai, the descendants of whom are currently their neighbors to the west and south. The Kipsigis once called these people puniik, meaning "enemies" or "strangers," although relations with these populations were never completely hostile. Relations with the Maasai were often characterized by fierce competition for grazing land. Despite reciprocal cattle raids, Kipsigis and Maasai intermarried and occasionally adopted one another's children. Exchange with the Kissi seems to have been more frequent, particularly in times of famine, when Kipsigis would exchange cattle for Kissi grain. There are a number of Kipsigis clans of Kissi origin. Okiek hunters occupy the forest to the west. Like the Nandi, the Okiek are Kalenjin speakers. Both groups have maintained intimate cultural and political relations with Kipsigis—they intermarry, share clan affiliations, participate in joint initiation ceremonies, and, in the case of the Okiek, they previously exchanged forest products for Kipsigis grain. Indeed, before the imposition of colonial administration, ethnic boundaries between the Kipsigis and their neighbors seem to have been quite fluid and permeable. The arrival of the British (around the beginning of the twentieth century) radically transformed Kipsigis society. White settlers alienated nearly half of Kipsigis land. Through a series of pressures and inducements, the Kipsigis were gradually drawn within the orbit of the colonial market economy. In the late twentieth century structural changes in the regional economy forced thousands of western Kenyans, mostly Luo people, to come to Kericho in search of employment. Many find work on Kipsigis farms, and they may spend years working for the same family.
As with some Bantu groups, the Kipsigis and other Nilotes in the Great Lakes region have through interaction adopted many customs and practices from neighboring Southern Cushitic groups, including the age set system of social organization, circumcision, and vocabulary terms.
Kipsigis men undergo circumcision at about 14 years of age. Afterwards, the boy lives in a "menjo" near a forest or away from the main community while they heal.
During this period, Kipsigis males undergo three main traditional ceremonies called the kelab-eun, the tyenjinet and the kayaet. After the first ritual, the boys are allowed to venture out into the forest for hunting using bows and wood-made-arrows. It is at this point in time that they master the use of these weapons of traditional warfare.
Kipsigis country is a patchwork of contiguous small farms, ranging from less than 1 to more than 12 hectares. Most families live on farms of between 3 and 6 hectares. These farms are grouped into communities called kokwotinwek (sing. kokwet ). These are not nucleated villages; in fact, one who is unfamiliar with a particular kokwet cannot easily discern its boundaries, although certain physical features—such as roads, streams, or marshes—often separate one kokwet from the next. The kokwet provides a pool of neighbors with whom one is expected to cooperate in certain kinds of farm work and to rally behind in times of sickness or need. In the past, kokwet membership was largely elective, at least for married men, given that residence was ideally neolocal. Today land scarcity prohibits such mobility. It is unlikely that a young man can find, let alone afford, a piece of land away from his father's farm, and therefore the kokwet is becoming a less fluid social unit. A mature Kipsigis homestead generally has three house types: a father's house, rectangular in design, often covered by a corrugated tin roof; a kitchen building, which is round, with a thatched roof, where children and unmarried daughters sleep; and a bachelors' house, where initiated young men sleep. Most Kipsigis houses are of mud- and-wattle construction; however, some prosperous farmers are now building stone houses that incorporate various features of European design.
The word kokwet, derived from kok, a man's sitting place, is used to signify the neighborhood or primary community of 20 to 40 interrelated homesteads.
Adult brothers tend to establish homesteads in different areas and thus the dozens of exogamous clans (ortinwek) are dispersed and intermingled.
On the other hand, marriages tend to be between nearby families, and neighborhoods become small networks of direct and indirect affinal relationships with a few further connections of direct agnation or common clan membership.
Strictly speaking kokwet refers to the occasional gatherings of homestead heads and junior men to make group decisions, settle local disputes, reprimand wrong-doers, celebrate communal work harvests, and so on.
Kokwet meetings are held some distance from the personal space of any particular homestead yard. The meetings are open and attendance consists of those men who have, or take, an interest in the matter at hand.
Whether the issue arises from domestic problems or breaches of the norms of public conduct, individual interests are expressed in terms of kinship.
Senior men, with manifold connections to their neighbors, represent themselves at most meetings and dominate discussion. Some of the younger men who attend do so because of their connections; others come along as friends of their age-mates.
Younger men speak only when their opinions or knowledge of a case are solicited. Women and children may be called to kokwet meetings to give evidence but otherwise do not attend.
Streams and rivers hinder interaction and local networks tend to develop on particular hillsides or higher ground.
Thus, although the composition of the group is slightly different in each instance, the large majority of men present are always close neighbors.
Hence, communities are spatial entities although they are not ultimately defined by topographical features.
Similarly, place names refer more often to a past event or a significant natural feature within a community than to a naturally demarcated area.
The referents of Kipsigis place names are neither hierarchically arranged nor mutually exclusive.
The term koret, used to refer to a coherent land area of a few communities, and emet, used to refer to a wider region or even the land controlled by a whole tribe, are likewise indefinite. In short, the key to understanding Kipsigis spatial concepts beyond the personal space of homesteads is the realization that they are defined in terms of nodes or focal points and lack true boundaries.
Subsistence and Commercial Activities. Although the Kipsigis have always cultivated a range of food crops, they are generally—but perhaps anachronistically—identified as "cattle-raising people." Nearly every adult male owns at least one cow. Milk is a favored food and is considered crucial for the welfare of young children. Livestock, which include goats and sheep, are a unique form of value, insofar as they remain an important part of bride-wealth payments. Nevertheless, livestock are but one component of a mixed farming regime. Like other farming activities, herd-management decisions are heavily influenced by market factors and cash requirements. There is a growing market for milk, which is sold through cooperatives to the government creamery, and a brisk trade in livestock at weekly cattle markets. Maize has largely replaced finger millet and sorghum as the staple food, although the latter are often grown on small plots for home consumption. Maize is also an important cash crop. Given an average harvest, nearly every farmer has some surplus to sell to the staterun cereal board. Some farmers grow maize on a commercial scale. A variety of vegetables is grown in kitchen gardens. At higher elevations, where soil conditions and rainfall are favorable, most farmers grow tea on plots that generally range between 0.2 and 2.4 hectares. Green leaf is plucked throughout the year and sold to state-run factories, where it is processed. The Kipsigis themselves buy their tea at local stores. Served with milk and copious amounts of sugar, tea has become a mainstay of their diet.
Industrial Arts. The Kipsigis are renowned for building handsome and durable houses. Many are competent tanners and leatherworkers. Some women still construct delicately woven food baskets and decorate gourds, which serve as milk containers.
Trade. Small stores, rarely more than 1.5 kilometers or so apart, sell the basic items—cooking oil, salt, sugar, tea, kerosene—that are consumed in nearly every household. Often the proprietors also run a diese1-powered mill that neighborhood women use to grind their maize. Market towns, which are usually within walking distance of many kokwotinwek, offer a wide range of consumer products and services that are provided by commercial artisans. There is a growing cadre of Kipsigis entrepreneurs who run all sorts of businesses; the transport business is the most popular. Weekly cattle markets are lively events: women come to buy and sell fruits and vegetables, itinerant traders buy livestock from farmers and bring them to market, and other farm products are sold directly to government marketing boards.
Division of Labor. Women do all the cooking, which includes the ancillary tasks of collecting water and firewood. They tend the kitchen gardens and often grow small plots of finger millet and sorghum. Women are also the caretakers of children. Men build houses, repair fences, and clear rough land. They provide veterinary care for livestock and, when the situation demands, perform autopsies. Major agricultural tasks involve the entire family and, frequently, cooperative work groups composed of kokwet members. Plowing with oxen is men's work. Planting maize is done by all available family members. Weeding is generally done by women. Maize is harvested by work groups composed of both men and women, who move in a round from one farm to the next. Plucking tea, which is a daily chore on plots of more than 0.4 hectares, is shared by all available hands. Many farmers also engage migrant workers to pluck their tea.
Land Tenure. By the 1950s, virtually all agricultural land was claimed as private property. Land is owned almost exclusively by men, but it is difficult for a man to sell his land if his wife or elder sons object. Title deeds devolve to a man's sons. The rights of unmarried daughters and their children to stay on the farm are recognized; however, there is as yet no consensus regarding what portion of the farm, if any, such women or their children can claim.
Kin Groups and Descent. The Kipsigis have more than 200 exogamous patrilineal clans, which serve as descent groups. Clans are not localized and have a rather diffuse corporate character. Clansmen are expected to make homicide payments when one of their own is held responsible for a death. Close clansmen often take a keen interest in one another's careers and home affairs and may be called on when disputes develop within the family concerning inheritance of land or livestock, but clan identity as such has little influence in day-to-day affairs.
Kinship Terminology. The Kipsigis employ a modified Omaha kinship terminology.
Marriage. The Kipsigis are polygamous. Rates of polygamy may be declining, however, as people continue to adjust to structural changes within the local economy. Christian strictures against polygamy also influence marriage patterns for many Kipsigis. Bride-wealth payments include livestock and cash. Kipsigis say it is best if co-wives live far apart, but the increasing cost and scarcity of land make such arrangements impracticable for most. Men are expected to supply stock to each house, so that each wife will have cows to feed her children. Over the years, women develop a proprietary interest in these herds, which come to include bride-wealth cattle from their daughters' marriages. If a woman has no sons, she may use some of these cattle to "marry" another woman. According to convention, she will choose her "wife's" principal lover, whose status is acknowledged with the payment of one cow. Children born from such marriages take the clan identity of the cow giver's husband. Divorce is exceptionally rare, even in cases where husband and wife have been separated for many years.
Domestic Unit. Every married woman keeps her own house, in which the cooking is done and the young children sleep. As a man's family matures, certainly before his daughters reach puberty, he will build his own house nearby. Once initiated, young men move to separate sleeping quarters some distance from the main family compound. Older brothers who have married before a farm is subdivided build separate compounds for their families. Each household operates as a relatively autonomous family unit.
Inheritance. When a man is close to death, custom dictates that he call his sons together and instruct them about the disposition of his property, which, these days, may include certain off-farm assets. The livestock that a man has acquired by his own efforts—by purchase or by patient husbandry—are divided equally among all his sons. Bride-wealth cattle, however, are attached to the households from which his married daughters have departed, so that brothers from different houses may be more or less fortunate in the number of cattle they inherit. In cases where extended families occupy one farm, each household ideally receives an equal share of the land, which, over time, will be divided evenly between the sons of each house. If a man has more than one farm, each will be regarded as a separate estate to be shared exclusively by the members of the household who live on that farm.
Socialization. Young children are nursed, fed, dressed, bathed, and watched over by women. Fathers take a keen interest in their children, but physical contact and displays of affection are generally restrained. As a rule, young girls are given household chores at an earlier age than their brothers. Shortly after puberty, boys and girls undergo separate initiations, which coincide with a one-month break in the school calendar. Boys are circumcised, and girls have parts of the clitoris and labia removed. Boys return from initiation with an ascetic bearing that signifies their ascent from childish things and childish behavior. They are expected to remain aloof from their mothers and sisters, who in turn treat them with respect. Girls return from initiation with the expectation they will soon be married, a situation that is often forestalled these days by their continued education. Kipsigis who belong to certain Protestant sects do not send their daughters for initiation; some are developing a "Christian" version of initiation for their sons.
A Kipsigis man can have as many wives as he can afford to take care of. This is called polygamy. A man's first wife is his chief wife, and he seeks her approval before taking a second.
Each wife has her own house. It is important that a family's wealth be kept within that family. If only daughters have been born, either the youngest or the favourite daughter remains at home unmarried. In that way the wealth is not passed on to another family by her marriage.
To marry a Kipsigis woman, a man must give gifts, or bridewealth, to the woman's parents. A typical bridewealth is three cattle and three sheep or goats. The bridewealth is not necessary to the completion of marriage. It is principally a means to cement the relationship between two families. If a woman fails to bear children, the bridewealth must be returned to the husband.
This puts pressure on the woman, who must stay in her marriage, no matter the personal cost, so that her parents may keep the bridewealth.
When a childless couple become too old for childbearing, the man is allowed to marry a younger wife. If this fails., the older wife can find another man for the younger wife in order to conceive children. In Kipsigis custom, the "marriage" is between the two women. The children's biological father is approved by the childless wife, her own family, and her husband's family.
Childbirth is very important to the Kipsigis because they believe that the spirit of a dead ancestor is carried on in the child.
Traditionally, a marriage could not be ended among the Kipsigis. A woman was married into the husband's family, not only to the husband.
If a husband died, a kind of "inheriting" was practiced. The junior brother nearest the husband in age became responsible for the care of the widow. This involved adoption of her children, inheritance of her property, maintenance and rebuilding of her house, cultivation of her land, and care of her cattle. But the brother-in-law acquired these rights only with the widow's consent. Today, this practice is resorted to only in secret. In most cases, the eldest son inherits the dead man's wealth and provides for his mother's welfare.
Only a childless couple can go through the ritual of absolute divorce. But a couple cannot get a divorce just because they have not had children. Something must be seriously wrong with the marriage: adultery, refusal to have sex, continuous fighting, conviction of the wife for sorcery, or incompatibility of wife and husband.
Two exceptional circumstances can lead to divorce: when people marry from clans that are not allowed to intermarry; and when murder occurs between members of the husband's and wife's respective clans.
The typical Kipsigis household consists of husband, wife, and children. The family is made up not only of parents, siblings, and their children, but all members of the kindred group.
The Kipsigis have no terms for aunt or uncle. A person's mother and aunt are both referred to as "mother" and his father and uncle as "father," and all are respected and treated as such. The same is true of grandfathers or granduncles, grandmothers or grandaunts, and so on.
Among relatives, the paternal uncle (the father's brother) plays an important role. Boys in particular have to seek his consent before going through rituals such as initiation. The maternal uncle (the mother's brother) is also important.
In return for kindness and concern, a young warrior gives his maternal uncle a cow secured by raiding.
Exogamy is another practice among the Kipsigis. It is marriage outside a specified group.
The three groups within which Kipsigis cannot marry are the clan3 the kindred group, and the age-set. A man cannot marry a woman of his own clan unless the clan has more than one totem animal. He cannot marry a woman from certain other clans. And a man and a woman from the same kindred group cannot marry because they are considered to be relatives.
A man cannot marry the daughter of a man in his own age-set. He cannot marry a woman in the age-set of his own children; that would be like marrying his own daughter.
It is not considered an offense if a woman continues to keep her old "sweetheart" after her marriage to another man. Also, a man can leave his house and allow a member of his own ageset to mate with his wife. Except for these cases, a married woman is forbidden to have extramarital sex. If a man finds his wife breaking these rules, he can divorce her if they have no children, or beat her and her lover, if possible. If a man beats his wife often, however, he may be reported to the wife's father or brothers and the wife may leave him.
Rape is considered an outrage against women. A man guilty of such an offense is beaten severely by members of his own age-set and denied important social privileges.
Kipsigis define the duties and privileges of each generation by an age-set or ipinda. Each age-set goes through a cycle that lasts about 105 years. A new age-set with the same name cannot be opened until it has been shown that all persons who belonged to the previous set have died.
As soon boys come out of initiation at fourteen to eighteen (until recently, the ages ranged from twenty to thirty), they go through a period of seclusion in the bush for nine months. This allows them to be initiated into an age-set.
There are three age-grades: boyhood, warriorhood, and elderhood. When initiated into an age-set, the boys enter at the same time into the age-grade of warriorhood. During his period as a warrior, a youth can bear arms, raid, hunt, attend dances and festivals, and marry.
When Kipsigis boys and girls have passed through puberty, they go through a six-month ritual called initiation. This series of sacred practices prepares them to become responsible adults. Only those who have passed through initiation are called Kipsigis. The uninitiated can only be "children of Kipsigis”.
The five elements of the ritual are:
(1) Circumcision, without which no marriage or sexual relations can be established with other members of the community
(2) initiation into the secret rituals of the community, which helps to create a strong link uniting all Kipsigis
(3) A rite of passage from childhood to adulthood
(4) instruction in tribal customs by the elders
(5) Infliction of bodily pain to harden the physical endurance of youngsters.
Circumcision is a trial of physical endurance and bravery. According to myth, a stranger in Kipsigisland once behaved in an offensive way.
To punish him, the elders took him to a hill and circumcised him, leaving him there to die. But instead of dying, the man lived a healthy life.
He married, had many children, and won many cattle. Because he was so prosperous, the Kipsigis decided that everyone should be circumcised.
That hill is now called Tuluap Lagoi (hill of the children)
About a month after circumcision comes the second ceremony, the rite of cleansing, known as the "dipping of the hands”. The initiates have been forbidden to touch or eat food or other things for an entire month. Now they dip their hands into a basin containing tools and sacred objects, after which they can touch many of the things that were once forbidden to them.
The third ceremony of initiation is the teaching of rules of behavior. The lessons are taught by singing to the initiates.
For the fourth ceremony, the casting off of uncleanliness, a pool is dammed in a river. The initiates are required to swim four times through an arch built underwater. The boys then scramble after apples that have been scattered on the ground. Those who collect the most apples are expected to be most successful in cattle raids.
The fifth ceremony is the "coming forth”. This is the big festivity at which the initiates come out of seclusion. Each initiate chooses a member of the opposite sex to act as brother or sister to "open the road to adulthood." The brother or sister greets the initiate at the door of the ceremonial hut and leads him or her out to the grounds where there is a procession. The person whom the initiate chooses is considered really a brother or sister and therefore cannot marry the initiate.
Still another ritual is required before the initiates are allowed to marry. The procession of initiates circles a herd of cattle four times, and a priest blesses the herd. Then the ceremony is repeated around the public altar. The girls twist ropes of grass, then untwist them, as they sing.
Finally they are told that they are adults, and they pray to have many children. The priest breaks their walking sticks and gives the bottom half to the initiates. These broken sticks must be carried until the final rite, when the initiate’s hair is cut for the first time in six months.
The initiation of Kipsigis girls is similar to the boys' ceremonies. However, within three days of her initiation she becomes engaged to be married. A man old enough to marry informs his own parents and the girl's parents of his intention to marry her. In Kipsigis tradition, a young couple intending to marry have some say in the matter.
This is the big festivity at which the initiates come out of seclusion. Each initiate chooses a member of the opposite sex to act as brother or sister to "open the road to adulthood." The brother or sister greets the initiate at the door of the ceremonial hut and leads him or her out to the grounds where there is a procession. The person whom the initiate chooses is considered really a brother or sister and therefore cannot marry the initiate.
Still another ritual is required before the initiates are allowed to marry. The procession of initiates circles a herd of cattle four times, and a priest blesses the herd. Then the ceremony is repeated around the public altar. The girls twist ropes of grass, then untwist them, as they sing.
Finally they are told that they are adults, and they pray to have many children. The priest breaks their walking sticks and gives the bottom half to the initiates. These broken sticks must be carried until the final rite, when the initiate’s hair is cut for the first time in six months.
A major benefit of initiation ceremonies is that they help the Kipsigis feel like a unified group. They allow members of an age-set to form a bond that can be sustained throughout their lives because of the shared experiences.
Social Organization. There are seven sequentially recurring age sets, called ipinda. One is free to dance, drink, and carry on with age mates but ought to be more circumspect in the company of seniors. Men should not marry the daughters of their age mates. Women are also initiated into age sets, but they take the age-set status of their husbands when they marry. Kipsigis men also belong to patrilineal associations called boriet, which, in the past, served as regiments in times of war. The kokwet is the hub of community life. People call on their fellow kokwet members for mutual aid. Members of the kokwet or of neighboring kokwotinwek also cooperate in public projects such as building schools. Church groups, particularly those formed by Protestant sects, are becoming important forms of association. Church women have organized cooperative groups that crosscut kokwet ties. The social and economic distance between prosperous farmers and those who are less fortunate is growing. The social implications of such differentiation are as yet unclear, but the emergence of a landless or land-poor rural proletariat seems a likely prospect.
Political Organization. Kipsigis place great value on personal autonomy and are reticent to interfere in one another's affairs. Men may be respected for their achievements and admired for their persuasive oratory, but they do not receive consistent support for their positions at public gatherings. Cliques and political factions are ad hoc and unstable. The basic forum of political participation is the kokwet council, which is composed of all adult men within the kokwet. These men appoint a "village elder," who serves as a liaison to the local subchief appointed by the Kenyan government. The subchief or the local chief may call a kokwet meeting to communicate government policy.
Social Control. Kipsigis place great stock in their notion of respect. A sister respects her brother by dropping her playful attitude toward him once he is initiated. A man respects his mother-in-law by keeping his distance from her. Elders always command respect. Losing one's temper is considered an unfortunate and embarrassing lapse. Angry words are rarely spoken; they may cause physical harm. Serious arguments are mended by a formal apology. The ultimate sanction of serious misconduct is a father s or elder's curse. It is believed that some elders have the power to curse even unknown culprits to death. Criminal conduct is defined by the Kenyan government, and local administration police handle it.
Conflict. In cases of chronic marital discord, a man may send his wife back to her natal home, or she may elect to go herself. Disputes between neighbors involving boundaries, property damage, and the like are heard by the kokwet council. Jealousy or hidden enmity may provoke witchcraft, which can be directed at people or cattle, but witchcraft accusations are rare. Sanctions include shunning or, in extreme cases, banishment. Cattle raiding, a once-popular pursuit of Kipsigis warriors, is no longer tolerated.
The Kipsigis observe a belief system maintained by all other Kalenjin people. The system observes polytheistic theism with the deities Asiis (a solar deity) and Tororot are each considered major deities. Some studies suggest that Tororot was the initial kalenjin deity but interactions in Kerio valley led to assimilation of the priestly Kibasisek clan whose peculiarity is having the Sun as their tortem; they were much sought after to perform marriage rituals and other religious activities. While multiple other deities exist independently to one another. In the Kipsigis' monotheistic belief system, Asis is instead considered the single supreme deity and the other deities are considered Asis' attributes, rather than independent entities. The Kipsigis allude to cultural values including superstition, spiritualism, and a sacred & cyclical nature of life. They believe all elements of the natural world are connected, that good deeds never go unnoticed, and that bad deeds lead to consequences in various forms. The Kipsigis view "happiness" as a lack of negative experiences, indicating a quiet and calm state. This convention under the culture and positive psychology studies when contrasted to other indigenous communities gives researchers an obstacle in obtaining a qualitative or quantitative measure of happiness.
The Kipsigis people's oral tradition is observed to have a rich background in songs. Many of their oral traditions feature a creature known as 'Chemosi', which is interchangeable with the Nandi bear; a monstrous ape-like basic-intelligence creature which also feature among other communities of Kenya, Uganda and parts of Congo.
Religious Beliefs. Many Kipsigis are Christians; they hold their faith with varying degrees of orthodoxy. Non-Christians believe in a watchful but distant god, whose main manifestation is the sun. Kipsigis are likely to trace personal misfortune to transgressions committed by themselves or by one of their close kin, particularly a parent.
Ceremonies. Kipsigis have ceremonies to "greet" a mother and her newborn child and also to celebrate the completion of a new house. Marriage ceremonies have become elaborate affairs, particularly in Christian families. There are joyful and sometimes raucous public ceremonies held during the first and final states of initiation.
Arts. The Kipsigis are great singers. Choral groups often compose original songs, which are performed at ceremonies and various public events. There is a small but well-established Kalenjin music industry. Popular singers combine upbeat Western and indigenous musical styles.
Death and Afterlife. The Kipsigis bury their dead quickly. The eldest son will bury his father, and the youngest son will bury his mother. After a death, the immediate family will retreat from public life to mourn. The spirit of a recently deceased patrilineal relative is believed to be reincarnated in a newborn child.
Astronomy and calendar. The Milky Way is known as Poit'ap kechei (literally sea of stars), the morning star – Tapoiyot, the midnight star – Kokeliet, and Orion's Belt – Kakipsomok. The Milky Way was traditionally perceived as a great lake in which children are bathing and playing. Furthermore, the movement of stars was sometimes linked to earthly concerns. For example, the appearance or non-appearance of the Pleiades indicated whether or not to expect a good or a bad harvest. Sometimes superstitions were held regarding certain events. A halo was traditionally said to represent a cattle stockade. At least as of the early 20th century, a break occurring on the east side was considered to be unlucky while one on the west side was seen to be lucky. A coet was at the same time regarded as the precursor of a great misfortune.
The Kipsigis call a month 'Arawet', which is also the term for our satellite, the moon. A year is called 'Kenyit' which can be derived from the phrase 'Ki-nyit' meaning 'to accomplish, to fill in'. A year was marked by the order of months and more importantly by ceremonial and religious celebration of the yearly harvest which was held at the various shrines. This event being analogous to a practice observed by most of the other Africans has inspired the Kwanza festivities celebrated by predominantly by people of African descent in the United States. Kenyit started in February. It had two seasons known as olto (pl. oltosiek) and was divided into twelve months, arawet (pl. arawek). In place of a decade is the order of Ibinda which is usually between 10 and 17 years. In place of a century is the completion of the age set which takes between 100 and 120 years.
The first season of the year, olt-ap-iwot (iwotet), was the wet season and ran from March to August. The dry season, olt-ap-keme (kemeut), ran from September to February. The kipsunde and kipsunde oieng harvest ceremonies were held in September and October respectively to mark the change in Seasons.
The kokwet or village, which serves as the economic unit, is also the basic unit of administration. It plays a significant role in the regulation of economic cooperation and the resolution of disputes. Authority over the village is held by elders. Most disputes arise between members of the same village; therefore the kokwet is important in their resolution.
During the colonial period some aspects of the British legal system were introduced in Kenya. Today most cases are handled by the magistrate's court and the police. The kokwet is not often used as a court, but it still handles cases of juveniles and first-time offenders.
The Kipsigis clan is descended through males. Today many clans are scattered throughout Kipsigisland, although their origins can be traced to a common ancestor. Members of a clan share a sacred animal or totem. Even when they fight among themselves, members of a clan try hard to seem unified to other clans. Clan marks are proudly displayed on the ears of cattle.
The Kipsigis learn to sing as children. Songs are taught for ceremonies, for herding cattle, and for harvesting crops. Groups of children, sometimes of fifty or more, learn call-and-answer songs that they sing as games while they work.
A number of musical instruments are used by the Kipsigis. They play a flute called ndururet and stringed instruments called kipugandet and ketuba.
Some Kipsigis songs explain the origins of things.
Plants
The grass called scretlot grows in the forest areas of Kipsigisland. The Kipsigis used it to decide when it was lucku or unlucky to hold ceremonies. ScrctiottaKcs eight to ten uears to grow and flower, and the flowering takes three years. It may be that Kipsigis age-sets follow the blossoming cycle of seretiot Trie plant flowers once, then dies.
Initiation ceremonies never took: place in the year after flowering because that period was associated with illness and death.
The sasuriet (wild banana) is important because its leaves are used to make beer. 5ut it is also sacred because of a Kipsigis proverb: "Do not take shelter under a leafy canopy and then cut it down when it stops raining". The saying reminds the Kipsigis never to take Kindnesses for granted.
Animals
Some animals are dangerous and are shown great respect. The Kipsigis may have two names for such an animal, one for everyday use and a special one for use when the animal can hear. A Kipsigis legend tells of an animal called encmosit, either a hyena or a cheetah, when men were near this animal they would call it kononet Ongenuot (elephants) are called dlj the respectful name kiptcchit when they are nearby, because of their great size.
If an animal begins to behave strangely, it is called sogornotct. For example, the name sogornotct is given when an animal bites its young, wraps its tail around a tree, or sticks out and slithers its tongue like a snake. Such are killed and their meat is not eaten.
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