One regularly sees Somali, Ethiopian and Sudanese men and women plying their trade, or simply walking, on the streets of (particularly downtown) Nairobi. Eastleigh is the unofficial free-trade area for these people and driving in the area is fraught with duelling dusty busses that have just arrived from Mogadishu, Juba, and Addis Ababa. Somali women dressed in black are often refered to, jokingly, as "Isili" (as in 'Eastleigh')...
Ethiopian women (the younger ones) in Nairobi are sometimes seen wearing very long dreadlocks, and generalised legend has it that they are the most beautiful in this part of Africa. I can't say I always agree. There was a lone, fine-featured Ethiopian woman I saw at a club's 'Reggae Night' once. Her dreadlocks had obviously been growing since childhood and were wound around her head in a veritable ‘nest’ of hoops and swirling circles, with the occasional errant lock falling to the middle of her back. With a middle-Eastern, somewhat Judaic ‘look’, and semi-Caucasian skin tone, her hair was clearly a lot ‘softer’ than that of the Bantu-African peoples, and, in her case, had been bleached light brown by the sun.
The people of South Sudan are noticeable for their height and most are probably over six feet tall. The older men seem often to have trouble with their legs, perhaps because of this height. The Sudanese are a Nilotic people and their history runs parallel with the history of the Nile River Valley that starts at Lake Victoria. Many men from South Sudan (and much fewer women) are refugess from the fighting between the Dinka and Nuer tribes that seems to continue unabated, despite a few attempts at peace talks and mediation.
The diversity of what one sees in Nairobi covers all the above, aplenty. It is such that there is an abiding interest in who-is-who-in-the-Nairobi-zoo. Ambiguously-non-Bantu people (like, for example, a Somali woman not dressed in black) will walk past, and the comments will issue forth:
“… Somali…”
“… No, she’s Ethiopian”
“… Not tall enough to be Sudanese …”
“… No, she’s a Luo chick …”
(I jest but it's not that untrue)
One would notice Nairobi’s diversity that much more if it weren’t for the fact that so many people from neighbouring countries are not that distinct from Kenyans: On the whole this applies to the Bantu people of the region. For example, one won’t tell a Tanzanian from a Kenyan (I won’t tell, anyway) until the former starts to speak Swahili. I have noted before that it is a different Swahili, soft and lyrical. As I have noted too, the Ugandans are ‘bigger’ than the average Kenyan, and Ugandans speak Luganda, yet their ‘look’ is not that distinct that one readily sees the difference. Good looking men, on the whole.
It is among the non-Bantu people in this region that the differences are easy to see. The non-Bantu people are mainly ‘Nilotic’ in origin and in Kenya, first up are the Luo people who live (traditionally) on the ‘lake side’. They typically have the fabled ‘eyes of Cleopatra’. In Uganda, just the ‘other side’ of the lake, there are also Luo people. Initially this was surprising to me – and it was explained to me by reference to ‘travel’ - until I realized that the borders between the countries were drawn up by (largely ignorant) Colonists who saw nothing of the ethnic unity that existed across their imposed territoriality. The Luo of Kenya share exactly the same origins as the Luo of Uganda, the only difference today being that they have both undergone genetic changes as a result of their enforced association with other peoples (principally via the limitations imposed by the exigencies of cross-border travel). And in both countries, Luo surnames most often start with the letter “O”.The Luo are known as 'proud people' and in Kenya, at least, there seems to have been very little deviation from the original genetic pool. They are particularly ‘dark’ in complexion – dark brown - but not quite the same dark colour as the ‘black’ African skin one sees in the west of the African continent. They are big people, and non-Luo women sometimes remark (slightly jealously) on the Luo women’s skin texture. Their skin is often very smooth and soft. The Nilotes of South Sudan (Nuer and Dinka tribes) are quite closely related to the Luo. The Luo, Dinka and Nuer peoples are all known as 'Lake Nilotes' as opposed to 'Plain Nilotes'.
The Plain Nilotes mainly comprise the Kalenjin, from where most of Kenya’s long-distance champions come, and the Maasai.
The Kalenjin, like the Maasai, are a 'warrior nation'. They are noted for smaller eyes and slight frame atop long, thin legs. Daniel Arap Moi, who was Kenya's president for 27 years, is Kalenjin and, at time of writing, 90-something and still very much alive.
Of course, this discussion of people in Kenya would not be complete without mentioning the Maasai. There are various ‘Maasai’ groups, all of which speak minor dialect variations of the Maa language. The Maasai are quite closely related to the Samburu and less so to the Turkana in the north of Kenya.
The Maasai of the Serengeti live on both sides of the Kenya-Tanzania border. On any day, one might find a few of them riding a bus from Arusha, Tanzania, to say, Namanga on the Kenyan side. When the bus is a little distance from the border, someone gets on to check their (usually shabby) travel papers (never a passport). When the bus stops at the border post, they don't get off but just wait for the bus to continue its ride, having already had their papers checked. The Serengeti is still their place and the drawing of arbitrary borders between Tanzania and Kenya never changed much for them.
The Samburu are often quite decorative in their dress. On special occasions (like when Moses the taxi driver came to my house for the first time), Samburu will be seen in full battle dress but also adorned with trinkets, bracelets, chains and talismans all over their person. It is exceptionally beautiful to see and it can be quite humbling to be in a Samburu’s presence.
The Maasai from the Mara seem to be more ‘down-to-earth’. They are pastoralists, famed for their drinking of blood and milk from the live cow. Some research I was exposed to recently cites the fact that the Maasai from Arusha liken the eating of vegetables to ‘being a goat’. It is not something they do with much gusto despite attempts by NGOs to counter rising malnutrition and develop a vegetable-eating habit among Maasai children.
These are bits of rural Kenya and surrounds that are seen in Nairobi. This, of course, says little of the rural Kenya that has remained the same for quite some time now. This is the Kenya that people call the ‘original Africa’… the image that comes to mind when one hears the Swahili word ‘safari’ (to travel). It is the land of lions (‘simba’ in Swahili), elephants, and plenty of giraffe. I have seen very little of this Kenya so far but we can only hope that it stays the way it is, at least until I get a chance to see it all! … Wild animals, warriors, tribes, and chieftainships.
So, what (really) is the point of all this writing? It is to say that Kenya is seriously diverse, and there’s a very high level of tolerance for other people and nations. People from all over Africa are seen regularly in Nairobi. Everyone is just getting on with life, doing their 'thing', whatever that is. Witnessing this is both illuminating and exciting (for me, anyway). The problems facing Kenya (internally) stem from an essential distrust between various of the resident people. That they have different ‘ethnic roots’ - on an 'ancient' scale - probably exacerbates the problems they experience.
It will all be okay in the end... it's all okaynow, really.
Peace and Love, Amani na Upendo, to everyone.
B-)
