Turkana people
Encyclopedia
The Turkana are a Nilotic
people native to the Turkana District
in northwest Kenya, a dry and hot region bordering Lake Turkana
in the east, Pokot
, Rendille
and Samburu
to the south, Uganda
to the west, and Sudan
and Ethiopia
to the north. They refer to their land as Turkan.
According to the 2009 Kenyan census, they number close to one million, or 2.5% of Kenyan population, which makes them the third largest Nilotic group in Kenya, after the Kalenjin and the Luo, and slightly more numerous than the neighboring Maasai.
The language of the Turkana, an Eastern Nilotic
language, is also called Turkana
; their own name for it is Ng'aturk(w)ana or nga Turkana.
The Turkana people call themselves Ngi Turkana. They are mainly nomadic pastoralists.
The Turkana are noted for raising camel
s and weaving baskets. In their oral traditions they designate themselves the people of the grey bull, after the Zebu
, the domestication of which played an important role in their history. In recent years, development aid
programs have aimed at introducing fishing
among the Turkana (a taboo
in Turkana society) with very limited success.
The Turkana people are believed to be of a Nilotic
origin. They are a traditional ethnic group with strict cultural lifestyle. The exact number of the Turkana people is not known. Available population statistics are estimates, mainly by the Kenya Government. The unreliable population estimates are as a result of marginalization in governance process, delimitation of Turkana land which places some sections of Turkan
in Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia and cultural prohibition for physical counting of people. (source needed here)
The Turkana people have elaborate clothing and adornment styles. Clothing is used to distinguish between age groups, development stages, occasions and status of individuals or groups in the Turkana community.
and Kerio River
. When these rivers flood, new sediment and water extend onto the river plain that is cultivated after heavy rainstorms, which occur infrequently. When the rivers dry up, open-pit wells are dug in the riverbed which are used for watering livestock and human consumption. There are few, if any, developed wells for community and livestock drinking water, and often families must travel several hours searching for water for their livestock and themselves.
Livestock is an important aspect of Turkana culture. Goats, camels, donkeys and zebu are the primary herd stock utilized by the Turkana people. In this society, livestock functions not only as a milk and meat producer, but as form of currency used for bride-price negotiations and dowries. Often, a young man will be given a single goat with which to start a herd, and he will accumulate more via animal husbandry. In turn, once he has accumulated sufficient livestock, these animals will be used to negotiate for wives. It is not uncommon for Turkana men to lead polygynous lifestyles, since livestock wealth will determine the number of wives each can negotiate for and support. Today, due to inter marriage with other clans, the Turkana have adopted other forms of cultures like circumcision which was adopted among the Turkana from Isiolo district.
star tiwari.sara lochodo
Nilotic
Nilotic people or Nilotes, in its contemporary usage, refers to some ethnic groups mainly in South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and northern Tanzania, who speak Nilotic languages, a large sub-group of the Nilo-Saharan languages...
people native to the Turkana District
Turkana District
Turkana District is an administrative district in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Turkana is the northwesternmost district in Kenya. It is bordered by the countries of Uganda to the west; South Sudan and Ethiopia, including the disputed Ilemi Triangle, to the north and northeast; and Lake...
in northwest Kenya, a dry and hot region bordering Lake Turkana
Lake Turkana
Lake Turkana , formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake...
in the east, Pokot
Pokot
The Pokot people live in the West Pokot and Baringo Districts of Kenya and in eastern Karamoja in Uganda. They speak Pökoot, language of the Southern Nilotic language family...
, Rendille
Rendille
The Rendille are a Cushitic speaking ethnic group inhabiting the Kaisut Desert, which is in the North Eastern part of Kenya. They also inhibit the south eastern and southern regions of Mt...
and Samburu
Samburu
The Samburu are a Nilotic people of north-central Kenya that are related to but distinct from the Maasai. The Samburu are semi-nomadic pastoralists who herd mainly cattle but also keep sheep, goats and camels. The name they use for themselves is Lokop or Loikop, a term which may have a variety of...
to the south, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
to the west, and Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
to the north. They refer to their land as Turkan.
According to the 2009 Kenyan census, they number close to one million, or 2.5% of Kenyan population, which makes them the third largest Nilotic group in Kenya, after the Kalenjin and the Luo, and slightly more numerous than the neighboring Maasai.
The language of the Turkana, an Eastern Nilotic
Eastern Nilotic languages
The Eastern Nilotic languages are one of the three primary branches of the Nilotic languages, themselves belonging to the Eastern Sudanic subfamily of Nilo-Saharan; they are believed to have begun to diverge about 3,000 years ago, and have spread southwards from an original home in Equatoria in...
language, is also called Turkana
Turkana language
Turkana is the language of the Turkana people of Kenya, numbering about 340,000.It is one of the Eastern Nilotic languages, and is closely related to Karamojong, Jie and Teso of Uganda, to Toposa spoken in the extreme southeast of Sudan, and to Nyangatom in the Sudan/Ethiopia Omo valley borderland;...
; their own name for it is Ng'aturk(w)ana or nga Turkana.
The Turkana people call themselves Ngi Turkana. They are mainly nomadic pastoralists.
The Turkana are noted for raising camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
s and weaving baskets. In their oral traditions they designate themselves the people of the grey bull, after the Zebu
Zebu
Zebu , sometimes known as humped cattle, indicus cattle, Cebu or Brahmin cattle are a type of domestic cattle originating in South Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent. They are characterised by a fatty hump on their shoulders, drooping ears and a large dewlap...
, the domestication of which played an important role in their history. In recent years, development aid
Development aid
Development aid or development cooperation is aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social and political development of developing countries.It is distinguished...
programs have aimed at introducing fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
among the Turkana (a taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
in Turkana society) with very limited success.
The Turkana people are believed to be of a Nilotic
Nilotic
Nilotic people or Nilotes, in its contemporary usage, refers to some ethnic groups mainly in South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and northern Tanzania, who speak Nilotic languages, a large sub-group of the Nilo-Saharan languages...
origin. They are a traditional ethnic group with strict cultural lifestyle. The exact number of the Turkana people is not known. Available population statistics are estimates, mainly by the Kenya Government. The unreliable population estimates are as a result of marginalization in governance process, delimitation of Turkana land which places some sections of Turkan
Türkan
Türkan is a settlement and municipality in Baku, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 10,108.- Notes :...
in Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia and cultural prohibition for physical counting of people. (source needed here)
Clothing
Traditionally, men and women both wear wraps made of rectangular woven material. These days these cloths are purchased, having been manufactured in Nairobi or elsewhere in Kenya. Each sex adorns themselves with different objects. Often men wear their wraps similar to tunics, often with one end connected with the other end over the right shoulder, and carry wrist knives made of steel and goat hide. Men also carry stools (known as ekicholong) and will use these for simple chairs rather than sitting on the hot midday sand. These stools also double as headrests, keeping one's head elevated from the sand, and protecting any ceremonial head decorations from being damaged. It is also not uncommon for men to carry several staves; one is used for walking and balance when carrying loads; the other, usually slimmer and longer, is used to prod livestock during herding activities. Women will customarily wear necklaces, and will shave their hair completely which often has beads attached to the loose ends of hair. Men wear their hair shaved. Women wear two pieces of cloth, one being wrapped around the waist while the other covers the top. Traditionally leather wraps covered with ostrich egg shell beads were the norm for women's undergarments, though these are now uncommon in many areas.The Turkana people have elaborate clothing and adornment styles. Clothing is used to distinguish between age groups, development stages, occasions and status of individuals or groups in the Turkana community.
Livestock
The Turkana rely on several rivers, such as the Turkwel RiverTurkwel River
The Turkwel River is a river flowing from Mount Elgon in the border of Kenya and Uganda to Lake Turkana. The river is called Suam River from its source to the border with the West Pokot District of Kenya...
and Kerio River
Kerio River
Kerio is a river in Rift Valley province, Kenya. It flows northward into Lake Turkana. It is one of the longest rivers in Kenya, originating near the equator. In south it flows through the Kerio Valley between Tugen Hills and Elgeyo escarpment. The river also partly bounds the South Turkana...
. When these rivers flood, new sediment and water extend onto the river plain that is cultivated after heavy rainstorms, which occur infrequently. When the rivers dry up, open-pit wells are dug in the riverbed which are used for watering livestock and human consumption. There are few, if any, developed wells for community and livestock drinking water, and often families must travel several hours searching for water for their livestock and themselves.
Livestock is an important aspect of Turkana culture. Goats, camels, donkeys and zebu are the primary herd stock utilized by the Turkana people. In this society, livestock functions not only as a milk and meat producer, but as form of currency used for bride-price negotiations and dowries. Often, a young man will be given a single goat with which to start a herd, and he will accumulate more via animal husbandry. In turn, once he has accumulated sufficient livestock, these animals will be used to negotiate for wives. It is not uncommon for Turkana men to lead polygynous lifestyles, since livestock wealth will determine the number of wives each can negotiate for and support. Today, due to inter marriage with other clans, the Turkana have adopted other forms of cultures like circumcision which was adopted among the Turkana from Isiolo district.
Food
Turkana rely on their animals for milk, meat and blood.Wild fruits gathered by women from the bushes and cooked for 12 hours. Slaughtered goats are roasted on a fire and only their entrails and skin removed. Roasting meat is a favorite way of consuming meat. The Turkana often trade with the Pokots for maize and beans,Marakwet for Tobbacco and Maasai for maize and vegetables. The Turkana buy tea from the towns and make milk tea. In the morning people eat maize porridge with milk, while for lunch and dinner they eat plain maize porridge with a stew. Zebu are only eaten during festivals while goat is consumed more frequently. Fish is taboo for some of the Turkana clans (or brands, "ngimacharin"). Men often go hunting to catch dik dik, wildebeest, wild pig, antelope, marsh deer, hare and many more. After the hunt men go out again to gather honey which is the only sweet thing the Turkana have.star tiwari.sara lochodo
Houses
Houses are constructed over a wooden framework of domed saplings on which grass is thatched and lashed on. The house is large enough to house a family of six. Usually during the wet season they are elongated and covered with cowdung. Animals are kept in a brush wood pen.Due to changes in the climatic conditions most Turkana have started changing from the traditional method of herding cattle to agriculture.Religion
The Turkana are a monotheistic people. They believe in one God, known as Akuj. Akuj is the creator of the universe and to Akuj do all things belong. The Turkana call upon Akuj in times of great need. Akuj is invoked through prayers & chants and through animal sacrifices. The Turkana believe that Akuj is the source of all power and that no challenge is impossible when Akuj intervenes.External links
Wood bowls, containers, cow bells and head rests from the Turkana people. http://www.douglasyaney.com/tribes-turkana.html- Various photographs and further explanation of the Turkana can be found at Ejoka.com. Various missionaries have collaborated on the creation of this supplement.