turkana tribe
GABBRA TRIBE
POKOT TRIBE
RENDILLE TRIBE
EL MOLO TRIBE
SAMBURU TRIBE
BOLD, BRIGHT, COLORFUL AND CULTURALY RICH AFRICAN TRIBES
Breaking up the muted brown tones of the arid desert landscape in northern Kenya are the bold colourful and beautiful tribal faces that you come across on a Kenyan cultural photography tour. There are many unique tribes in the areas of South Sudan, Eastern Uganda, Southern Ethiopia and North west Kenya. Whilst they are unique to each other with their own traditions, beliefs, rituals and cultural practices there are also some similarities in cultural beliefs and traditions due to their origins, history and current locations.
Introduction to the Turkana, Gabbra, Pokot, Rendille, El Molo and Samburu Kenyan tribes
Whilst there are many tribes and ethnic communities in Kenya, the six Kenyan tribes of Turkana, Gabbra, Pokot, Rendille, El Molo and Samburu are remarkable to visit and to capture incredible tribal photos on a photography tour in Northern Kenya.
KENYA TRIBES: POKOT
THE POKOT TRIBE
With a reputation of being fierce in conflict, the Pokot tribe are not on many cultural Kenyan itineraries. There definitely are times with great conflict challenges with the Pokot tribe and many Kenyan tour operators that focus on African safaris will not travel to the Pokot tribe. However, like with any tribal tour you must go with an experienced ground team (like when you visit the Suri Tribe in Ethiopia) who know the areas and have local contacts. The majority of the time they are safe to visit during the day with many of the isolated raids and conflicts occurring during the night. Most days they are at peace, however the small times of conflict is what everyone hears about and which keeps many tourists away. Due to the limited tourists that visit the Pokot tribe in Kenya they are one of the most wonderful communities to visit.
The Pokot tribe are known within Kenya to win any conflict they are involved with. People in the Pokot tribe have told me that whilst most Pokot people are friendly they do have a few “very bad” Pokot people within their tribe. I have found them to be truly welcoming, happy and friendly and there are a couple of villages that love tourists and photographers visiting them.
Most of the Pokot tribe live in West Pokot District and Baringo County in Kenya, with some Pokot living in the Pokot District of Eastern Karamojong in north eastern Uganda. The Kenyan Pokot tribe are originally from Southern Ethiopia and settled into Kenya more than 2,000 years ago.
KENYA TRIBES: TURKANA
THE TURKANA TRIBE
One of the most well known tribes in Kenya along with with Maasai and Samburu tribes, the Turkana tribe have a very large population being the 10th largest ethnicity in Kenya. They live in Turkana County in northwest Kenya with many people visiting Lake Turkana to spend time with the Turkana tribes. Their fashionable adornments and style of jewellery are symbolic to marriage status as well as which clan they are from. As you travel closer to Lake Turkana you see many Turkana villages and their camels. The Turkana tribe live to the north of the Pokot tribe and the two tribes are involved in isolated intense conflicts mostly due to cattle raids and have resulted in many deaths.
The Kenyan Turkana tribe originally came from the Karamojong region in north east Uganda.
KENYA TRIBES: SAMBURU
THE SAMBURU TRIBE
If travelling from Nairobi to Lake Turkana you will pass many Samburu cattle herders near the beginning of your journey towards northern Kenya. The Samburu tribe live in north central Kenya. For tourists that have been to Samburu National Reserve on their wildlife safari you would have seen Samburu working in the lodges in this famous game park. The Samburu tribe have historic connections with the Maasai tribe, both coming from the “Maa” people believed to have originated from Sudan. Whilst the Samburu settled in northern central Kenya in the 15th century, the Maasai continued further south into southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania.
Due to the amount of tourists visiting Samburu National Reserve many tourists visit a Samburu village. As with the Maasai tribe villages close to Kenyan game parks, it has created very “touristy” village tours. On my northern Kenya tribe photography tours we don’t visit these tourist villages. We spend quality time in Samburu Country in Northern Kenya away from high traffic tourist hot spots.
KENYA TRIBES: GABBRA
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THE GABBRA TRIBE
If you are driving from Loiyangalani, Lake Turkana through the Chalbi Desert towards Marsabit you will come across the Gabbra tribe. Living in a harsh desert landscape and the only desert in Kenya, the Gabbra homes are surprisingly cool inside compared to the relentless sunshine outside. They have the largest homes of any tribe in northern Kenya and are large domed shaped and covered in dried animal skins, grass and incredibly beautiful fabric pieces. The Gabbra originated from Ethiopia and have close connections to the Borena tribe whose dialect of Oromo language the Gabbra now speak rather than their original unique language from the past.
The Gabbra can be quite shy as not many tourists visit them. Time and patience to connect and get them to feel comfortable is really important; as with any tribe and especially the more remote African tribes like the Gabbra. There is lots of driving on a northern Kenya tour that includes the Chalbi desert. I have two different northern Kenya photography tour itineraries to Lake Turkana. One includes driving through the Chalbi desert and one has less driving days and excludes visiting North Horr and Chalbi desert.
KENYA TRIBES: EL MOLO
THE EL MOLO TRIBE
In contrast to the large Samburu tribe population, the El Molo tribe who live in only two small villages on the shores of Lake Turkana are Kenyas smallest tribe. The El Molo tribe live a short drive from the Lake Turkana town of Loiyangalani. Their sturdy small domed homes built to withstand the harsh winds on these rocky shores. The El Molo tribe migrated from Ethiopia around 1000BC heading south into Kenya until they settled towards the south east end of Lake Turkana. They are a peaceful tribe with no conflicts towards their Turkana tribe and Samburu tribe neighbours. They have intermarried with these other tribes with the actual estimate of “pure” El Molo being less than 200.
Their original El Molo language was similar to the language of the Dassanech tribe. However, due to the low population of El Molo their official language is no longer used, with the El Molo now speaking the Samburu language.
To read about the Dassanech tribe on a past blog post CLICK HERE
KENYA TRIBES: RENDILLE
THE RENDILLE TRIBE
My memories from visiting the Rendille village where I took the above tribal portrait are full of joy, freedom, fun, games and laughter! While I originally wanted to meet and photograph the Rendille and learn about their traditional attire and culture, I found myself being hand in hand surrounded by many Rendille children super excited with our visit. Initially a little scared of how I looked, it took one brave child to touch my skin (and nothing bad happened) before they were all touching me and laughing and felt comfortable.
There are a few differing beliefs about the origins of the Rendille. Whilst they are widely accepted as indigenous to Marsabit County in Northern Kenya, there is are alternative views to the Rendille tribes history. Many believe they were originally part of the Oromo people in Ethiopia before connecting with Oromo Somali people. The traditional Rendille Language is similar to Somali linguistically. They are also thought to be closely related to the Samburu. The Rendille tribe live in West Marsabit in Northern Kenya in Kenyas North East Province. The Samburu tribe are the Rendille’s neighbours to the south, with one of the Rendille tribes nine clans speaking the Samburu language.
INTERESTED IN JOINING ME ON AN ETHIOPIAN OR KENYAN TRIBE PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR?
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