Ancient Kenyan Tribes

1. Ancient Kenyan Tribes

2. Religions/Beliefs • The people of the ancient Kenyan tribes believed that god created, and maintained the universe. • The name given to the god they believed in changes based on the person, but Ngai, and Murungu were most frequently used. • God could not be seen, and the people of these tribes were monotheistic and only believed in one god. • They believed that when god was mad, he would refuse to bring down the rain which would lead to droughts.

3. Religions/Beliefs • The people of the ancient Kenyan tribes did not worship their ancestors. • They also believed that a person did not completely die when their heart stopped beating. They thought of this the death of the physical aspect of life, and they believed that the spirit would continue to live on. • People would often pray to god together in groups in important passages in lives, during drought and famines, and in times of celebration, and or ceremonies.

4. Traditions/Ceremonies • A very important ritual in the ancient Kenyan tribes was circumcision. • For boys, it marked the initiation into the warrior life. • For girls, it means that you have officially become a woman. • After circumcision, she could be given away to an arranged marriage, and girls as young as twelve go through this and get married.

5. Traditions/Ceremonies • Ceremonies they celebrated included child birth, initiation, and marriage. • People in these ancient Kenyan tribes would often eat meat as a tradition on most ceremonies. • Vomiting of the sins was one ritual where a person is cleansed from the evil.

6. Geographical/Environmental Considerations • People that now live in tropical regions have elongated bodies just like Turkana Boy. • This implies that Turkana Boy, and the other people in the ancient Kenyan tribes lived in a hot, arid environment, or a desert like environment. • Since it was a desert like environment, the climate was hot during the day, and cold during the night. • There was not much moisture in the air, and there was little water where they came from.

7. Food • At celebrations, it was very common to kill, and roast a goat. They would also serve sheep, and cows. • This was called a hymachoma which is also known as burnt meat. • Lots of people worked as subsistence farmers, so they mainly grew corn, millet, and sweet potatoes. • Fruits such as bananas, oranges, and mangoes were also grown.

8. Clothing • In Urban areas, most people would dress in western style clothing. • Clothing was one way to tell a persons social class in the time of the ancient Kenyan tribes. • Women would generally wear colorful Kanga which were large pieces of cloth that were wrapped as a skirt, or shawl. • Head scarves were also very commonly worn.