THE KIPSIGIS

KIPSIGIS PEOPLE
The Kipsigis are a Nilotic ethnic group of Kenya . Their first language is Kipsigis , which belongs to the Nilo-Saharan language family. The traditional occupation of the Kipsigis is herding .
In pre-colonial Kipsigis society, there was a warrior element. Living on the Western Highlands at an altitude of 1500 to 2000m, the Kipsigis now also grow maize, wheat, pyrethrum and tea.
Workers picking tea near Kericho.
History
Location of Kericho in Kenya. The Kipsigis describe their place of origin as To near Lake Baringo. The Kipsigis are a Nilotic (Nilo hamitic) people. They are the most populous sub-group of the Kalenjin , 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 . Later, the Kipsigis returned to Kericho and a smaller group
moved south to Angata Barigoi near the Tanzanian border. By the 19th century, the Kipsigis were living in the Rift Valley province of Kenya .
British rule forced the Kipsigis into the colonial market economy.
Demographics
The Kipsigis inhabit the highlands of Kericho from Timboroa to Mara River in the south, and from Mau Escarpment in the west to Kebeneti. The Kipsigis also live in parts of Laikipia ,Kitale, Nakuru , Narok, Trans Mara District, Eldoret and the Nandi Hills .Bomet
Language
The mother tongue of the Kipsigis is Kipsigis . It belongs to the Nilo-Saharan language family. Dialects of the language resemble Nandi. In 2007, there were approximately 471,000 speakers of Kipsigis, most in the Rift Valley. The number of speakers has been increasing.
Religion
The Kipsigis have a circular view of spirituality. The ancestors' souls return to earth, and inhabit the bodies of the newly. The traditional religion includes the practice of female circumcision. Christianity has been adopted in some groups. Tulu-ap Sigis, Tulu-ap Sigis is a sacred hill near Londiani township (Kericho county) where cleansing and sacrifices(korosek)  were offered, , Kenya. To the Kipsigis, it has both religious and cultural importance.
Culture
Kipsigis gourd (sotet) used for storing sour milk(mursik).
Kipsigis have a tradition of humility, endurance of hardship, strong emotional expression,loyalty, courage hospitality and courtesy.
Artists such as Joel Arap Kimeto, Paul Sang Temugo, Paul Subembe, Late Kipchamba Arap Tapotuk , Late junior Kotestes, arap Laal, Micah Maritim and the comedians, Bomori Araap Baikalyaang, Oljore, propesa are from the Kipsigis community. The Segechek are a smaller clan with a
belief in luck, wisdom and wealth and secretiveness.
Customs
As with some Bantu groups, the Kipsigis and other Nilotes in the Great Lakes region have, through interaction, adopted customs from Southern Cushitic groups, including the age set system of social
organization, circumcision, and elements of vocabulary.
Coming of age
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 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 the weapons of traditional warfare.
Marriage
Traditionally, marriage is an important custom in Kipsigis society. The belief that the reincarnated spirit enters the newborn means having a family is desired. Secondly, a legitimate male heir is
needed to inherit property (livestock).

Exogamy
Marriage is strictly exogamous, no male may marry a woman of his clan or totem . Descendants of a woman may marry after the third generation.
Exogamy extends to the family of the man and woman assigned to care for teenage initiates (boys and girls). It also extends through generations. One may not marry the children of a man of the same
generation.

Arrangement and ceremony
Girls are available for marriage as soon as their initiation is complete. The betrothal ceremony of girls before their initiation is the same as the actual wedding ceremony. Men may marry at any age. A marriage is arranged through a number of visits of the groom's father to the family of the girl he chooses. A dowry of cattle is promised. The ceremony itself may take up to three hours.
Polygamy and other marriage states
Polygamy is practiced with certain restrictions. A widow may become the partner of her husband's brother. A childless elderly widow may 'wed' a young woman for support.

Community organisation
A kokwet , a word 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.
Connection through marriage
Thus, the ortinwek ( exogamous groups ) are dispersed and intermingled. On the other hand, marriages tend to be between geographically nearby families. Neighbourhoods become small networks of direct and indirect affinal (connected by marriage) relationships together with a few
further connections of direct agnation (relationship through the male side of the family) or common clan membership.
Connection through locality
Strictly speaking, kokwet refers to the occasional gatherings of homestead heads and junior men to, for instance, make group decisions, settle local disputes, reprimand wrong-
doers
or celebrate communal work
harvests. Kokwet meetings
are
held some distance from any
particular homestead yard.
The
meetings are open and are
attended by men interested
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 represent themselves at
most meetings and dominate
discussion. Younger men
may need to attend because
of
family connections or with
friends of their age group.
Younger men speak only
when their opinions or
knowledge
are solicited. Women and
children may be called to
kokwet
meetings to give evidence but
otherwise do not attend.
Connection through
geography
Streams and rivers hinder
interaction and so there is a
tendency for communities to
develop on particular
hillsides
or areas of higher ground.
However, communities are
not
ultimately defined by
topographical features
rather, they are
marked by nodes or focal
points. Place names may
refer to a
past event or a significant
natural feature. The
topographical
areas that place names
describe are not arranged
hierarchically nor are they
mutually exclusive. For
example,
koret , the area of a few
communities and emet, the
tribal
region, are not prescribed by
boundary lines. [9]
Kipsigis clans
Kabioria
kapkitoleek
Kapnabe
Kipsamaek-
Ng'etundo
(in
Tebesonik
Bureti, Kitale,
Ng'ororga,
Kabitungu,
Kipkelion,
Bomet,
Kericho)
Kaptirit
Kipomuek-
Cheptirkichet
(in Sigor
Koitakalyet,
Bomet,Sotik,
Kaplong,
Kericho)
Kimeiteek
Kibasisek
Kibokwoek
Kapsengwere
k
Kipkogosek
Kapcheroigik
Kapmelgut
Kapcheboin
Kaptumoto
Kaptuiyek
Kaparsingil
Kibororek
Kapbecherek
Kipbororek
Kapkolwolek
Kipkendeek
Kapbomoek
Kapbarangw
eek
Kobasisek
Kapkomosek
Kapchamogo
ndek
Kiplegenek-
totem-
cheplanget-
sub clans-
kamerengo,
kapkoloibai,
kapsirere....
(in
Kabianga,
Kiptere,
Bomet-
ndaraweta,
taabet,
chesoen,
kapletundo,
Keongo,
Kebeneti,
sachangwan,
bureti
Kapsoenik
Kapmochoek
Kaptotonek
Kipintoek
Chepkesek
Kipbaek
Kipcheromek
Kipkeles
Kapkechwoe
k
Matoboriik
Kapsoikoek
Narachek
Babasik
Kipang'
wanek
Kapmagu
Kapchebures
Kipsirgoiik
Kapmalumaa
siaan
Kapkenyogor
e
Kaptolil
Kapborowek
Kapcheurek
Kapsegit
(The Segit
or totem is
Ng'okto (the
dog))
Kapcherongo
ng -
Kongonyot
Kapkaon
Kapkarugo
Kapsiteek
Segechek
(a smaller
clan).
Kapmunga
kapsigilaek
Kapcheboror
ek
Baguserek
∗Kapmanerer
iek
Kapchepalun
gu/
Kimaunyiyet-