Tribesmen continue to attack villages in Kenya’s southeast, torching homes and sparking clashes that have to date killed many people in tit-for-tat ethnic violent fights. These are vendettas between the Pokomo farming community and their Orma pastoralist neighbours, which left 52 dead in this past August, Kenya’s worst tribal killings in years.
“Sixteen men, nine police officers, eight children and five women have died with 167 houses burnt”, reported Nelly Muluka, Kenya Red Cross spokesperson (to Al Jazeera).
In September at least 300 members of the Pokomo tribe stormed Kilelengwani, a village in the Tana River delta, attacking an Orma community. “We have 38 people dead including police officers. We are doing everything possible to restore peace there,” local police chief Aggrey Adoli was reported saying.
A Red Cross official said nine policemen were among the dead. “Sixteen men, nine police officers, eight children and five women have died with 167 houses burnt,” Nelly Muluka added. She said the police officers were caught up in the fighting when they tried to respond to the emergency.
“The dispute [between the Pokomo and Orma communities] is over land and water,” Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Adow reported from the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
The two overlapping communities have clashed repeatedly over the use of land and water resources. The Pokomo are a mainly settled farming people, planting crops along the Tana River, while the Orma are mainly cattle-herding pastoralists.
“Some people rule politics in the violence in the Tana river delta,” the Al Jazeera correspondent said. “They say because of the elections that are going to be held in about six months, there are some communities who don’t want to see members from their opposing communities within some constituencies where they want to fill candidates for elective positions.”
Police arrested four local chiefs in connection with the most recent violence, Coast Provincial Commissioner Samuel Kilele said. “Four area chiefs have been arrested. These are the people who are on the ground and who must have had knowledge of the attacks even before they occurred. The hunt is on for the attackers.”
Kenya Red Cross chief Abbas Gullet said in a statement: “The situation is getting dangerous, something needs to be done urgently.”
The attack happened in the Tarassa area of the Tana River district, close to the coast and some 300km from the capital Nairobi. In August, the same area was hit by a wave of violence where over 50 people, mainly women and children, were hacked or burnt to death in the worst ethnic massacre in Kenya for several years. The August attack led to the questioning of local legislator Dhado Godhana, after Kenya’s internal security minister accused him of fanning violence in the region, claims he has denied.
The violence follows warnings last month by the Red Cross’s Gullet that over 200 Kenyans have been killed in ethnic clashes since January. Many of the attacks – often small-scale tit-for-tat raids between rival ethnic groups in remote and impoverished rural regions – generate little attention.
While the tensions between these groups are sparked by land, grazing or water resource problems, not politics, the latest pattern of violence has brought fears of a repeat of the large scale ethnic violence that erupted in the aftermath of disputed 2007 polls.
The northern Kenyan pastoralists are nomadic ethnic groups that are very mobile. They are mainly Turkanas, Samburu, Pokot, Borana, Rendile, Orma, and Somali clans. They
move from one area to another in search of water and pasture for their livestock. Their
movements are not restricted to one area or even one country. They move into and out of the
neighboring countries of Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda. These movements are a major sources of misunderstanding and conflict between them and their neighbours. The
vastness and remoteness of the area, inadequate road networks and scarcity of resources goes
hand in hand with lapses in security occasioning frequent misunderstanding and conflicts among
these pastoral communities. In addition, recent years have seen the blight of drought conditions.
Note: The Orma of Kenya (from The Joshua project)
The Orma are semi-nomadic shepherds, well known from their tall, slender physiques and handsome features. They live in the southeastern deserts of Kenya except during the rainy season when they move their herds inland.
The Orma are remnants of the once powerful “Galla nation” of Ethiopia and northern Kenya. In the late nineteenth century, wars with neighbouring tribes forced the Orma to migrate south. Some moved to the rich delta area of the lower Tana River, and others settled west of the river.
The Orma also go by the name “Galla,” which is widely used in Ethiopia. They do not call themselves this, however, since it is considered to be derogatory.
Herding cattle is their basic means of survival. Their distinct breed of the white, long-horned zebu cattle are among the finest in Africa. Zebu are used as a “bride price” and are slaughtered at weddings and funerals.
What are their lives like?
Though the Orma basically survive by raising cattle, they also raise goats and sheep. Men who own more than 1,000 head of cattle are granted special recognition in their communities.
Meat is the main food of the Orma, supplemented with milk or cow’s blood. They also eat maize, rice, beans, and drink tea. The arid Tana region is not favorable for growing produce; therefore, they have few vegetables in their diet. Any produce they obtain must be bought from another tribe. This is not an easy task since the shortage of watering holes often leads to bloody clashes between tribes.
The Orma live in round, wood-framed huts built by the women. The huts are covered with woven mats and grass. When the family migrates with the herds, the homes must be dismantled and put on pack animals, along with the household goods. A larger version of these huts is built for those who live in permanent villages.
An Orma man typically has only one wife, even though polygamy is allowed. Special ceremonies are performed at the birth of children. Babies are dedicated seven days after they are born. A woman stays secluded for forty days after giving birth. Then, a feast is held with the other women in the village and the baby is dedicated a second time. If the child is the couple’s first, the parents take on the child’s name, preceded by aba (father) or hada (mother).
Orma funerals are also interesting events. The family members sometimes inflict wounds on themselves, scratching their cheeks and bodies to indicate grief.
Among the Orma, the line of descent is traced patrilineally, or through the males. Masculinity in attitudes, rituals, and symbolism is customary. Such things as bravery and warrior ethics are also stressed. Riding, spear throwing, and fighting are admirable skills among the men, and those who have killed dangerous animals or human enemies are honoured.
What are their beliefs?
The Orma are almost 100% Muslim, and have been so for three or four generations. They are devoted in their faith, observing all the rites and religious festivals of Islam. Most of the Orma have never heard the name of Jesus. If they have heard His name, it has been through the Islamic teachings that Jesus was simply a prophet, teacher, or good man, but not that He is God’s Son.
The original religion of the Orma included belief in a creator God associated with the sky. They recognized the existence of many spirits and associated them with various locations in nature such as mountain tops, trees, groves, rivers, and wells. These beliefs have now apparently been combined with their Islamic beliefs.
http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?peo3=14214&rog3=KE
Pokot People – Kenya
http://www.forafricanart.com/Pokot_ep_88-1.html
The Pokot people live in the western Pokot and Baringo districts of Kenya and in eastern Karmoja in Uganda.
The Pokot history is a complicated one, they seem to be related to many peoples of the region, with ties to the Nilo-Hematic people from the north and the Bantu from central Africa. The Pokot have two main sub groups. Due to their nomadic life, adopted by most of the Pokot, they have interacted with many different peoples throughout their history. Social customs of neighbours were thus incorporated into their way of life and marriage with other communities was common. Their neighbors, the Turkana of Kenya and the Karamojo of Uganda seem to have had the greatest influence on the Pokot.
The Pokot society is governed through a series of age grades, and membership to any specific group would be determined by the age at which a Pokot would go through their initiation into that group or society. For the men it is usually between the ages of fifteen and twenty, whereas for the women, it is around twelve. Young people are allowed to for matrimonial binds once the initiation has been completed as well as begin taking part in the local economic functions. There are close bonds formed within the initiation groups, that are functional in future political ties as they move through the ranks of the tribal structure. When Pokot peoples reach old age, they get a certain degree of status and the respect that goes with that. Elders have responsibilities to the Pokot such as presiding over important tribal decisions, festivals and religious celebrations.
The Pokot are mostly cattle herders/farmers, but about a quarter are cultivators, mostly growing corn. However, whether a cultivator or pastoralist, the measure of wealth among the Pokot is determined by the number of cows one owns. Cows are used for barter, and exchange, which further goes into “bride wealth”. A man is permitted to take more than one wife, as long as he has enough cows to offer her family in exchange for her hand in marriage. Their cattle are hardly ever slaughtered for meat as they are far more valuable alive. The cattle also provide milk, butter, and cheese which are an important part of the diet of the Pokot.
The Pokot believe in Tororot being the supreme diety, and prayers and libations are offered to him during a variety of tribal festivals and dances that are overseen by the Pokot elders. The Pokot also have diviners that are responsible for maintaining the spiritual balance of the community. The Pokot are superstitious and believe in sorcery, and call on various forms of protective talismans to ward off the ill will of any sorcerers. The Pokot also revere other dieties such as the sun, moon and the spirit of death.
